Understanding extension and practice change over time

Understanding extension and practice change over time Prof Frank Vanclay Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research University of Tasmania

SELN is a gathering of government extension leaders and influencers from each state of Australia. SELN strives to provide leadership and strategic direction in the development of State and National extension service delivery. www.seln.org.au

Drivers
The word ‘extension’ is misunderstood
The value of extension is not recognised
The role extension has played is too easily discounted
Lack of consensus about definition and process
Extension needs to be pitched in modern ‘policy-speak’

‘ Extension’ by other names
Practice change
Knowledge brokering
Change management
Outreach
Interpretation
Community engagement
Capacity building
Social marketing
(Targeted) communication
Health promotion
Road safety education
Adult education
Environmental education
Education for Sustainability
Marketing and Public Relations
Community development
Public participation

Different levels of meaning
As a science/discipline/discourse/ community of practice
As a policy instrument
As a process/activity
As an agency

Getting the message across
Roman times (ca 2,000 yrs ago), Virgil Georgics. Poetry
King George III in 18 th century
Contemporary ‘extension’ originated at Cambridge Uni in 1867 with community lectures – the university extending its work beyond the campus.
USA Landgrant system 1890s. State Universities required to assist the development of agriculture in each US State.
Australia, dust bowl, Soldier Resettlement schemes
UK, radio programs
Landcare, and NRM

Traditional extension = Transfer of Technology
the application of scientific research and new knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education.
How to get the message across?

Critique of traditional extension
Extension uncritically promoted agribusiness products
Social and environmental impacts
Little reflection on theoretical models
Farmers’ local knowledge ignored
Farmers were treated as homogeneous
Farmers’ needs were ignored
Social and political context ignored
Farmers treated as passive recipients

New extension
Extension is a capacity building process that involves the use of communication and adult education processes to help diverse rural people and communities identify potential improvements to their practices, and then provide them with the skills and resources to effect these improvements. (Vanclay after Coutts, Macadam and others)

SELN’s definition
Extension is the process of enabling change in individuals, communities and industries involved in the primary industry sector and with natural resource management.

Extension is a discipline
Extension has developed over time in theory, method & scope
Capacity building, community engagement, social marketing

Extension is a policy instrument to be used in conjunction with other PIs

Shift from old to new
Production to NRM
Technical to social
Teaching/instructing to learning/facilitating
Public to private & third sector (Greening Aust)
One-on-one to group
Top-down to bottom-up
From human capital to social capital
Information transfer to capacity building
Extension as activity to extension as policy instrument
Producer to consumer

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Vanclay, F. 2004 “Social principles for agricultural extension to assist in the promotion of natural resource management”, Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 44(3): 213-222.
State Extension Leaders Network 2006 Enabling change in rural and regional Australia: The role of extension in achieving sustainable and productive futures (a discussion document produced by the State Extension Leaders Network August 2006). Online resource http:// www.seln.org.au

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Understanding extension and practice change over time

by Dave Pannell on Nov 13, 2008

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