The effect of efficacy in instructional strategies and motivational orientations on adult tenure in the Florida Master Gardener program

Abstract

With increased budget cuts and a shortage of funding sources, Cooperative Extension needs a consistent corps of effective volunteers to deliver organizational objectives. Master Gardeners are very important in assisting Cooperative Extension deliver horticultural information to local citizens. Developing an understanding of volunteer motivations will assist Extension agents in identifying and retaining those adults. The theoretical framework of this study was based on self-efficacy theory and Houle s Typology. The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the teaching self-efficacy of Florida Master Gardeners, and adult motivations to participate in the Florida Master Gardener program. The questionnaire included the instructional efficacy construct from the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), forty-one items from the Mergener Education Participation Scale and questions about participant demographics. The sampled population was 613 adult Master Gardeners with a total response rate of 86.79%. The majority of participants were mainly women, white, earned some type of higher education degree, and 70% of the participants were 56 years old or older. Participants felt at least some influence in their effective teaching responsibility as a volunteer educator. Participants felt a Competence related Curiosity had much influence on their participation in MG. Retaining adults as volunteer educators in the Master Gardener program extends the reach of Cooperative Extension throughout Florida s communities. Developing an understanding of adult motivational orientations will assist practitioners alter the program to best meet the needs of Master Gardener participants. Florida Master Gardener participants are primarily learning-oriented and have a moderate level of instructional efficacy. Instructional efficacy, community service, and vary routine predicts an adult s tenure in the Florida Master Gardener program. Of those independent variables only instructional efficacy can be enhanced by Master Gardener coordinators at the state and local level. This finding underpins the need for professional development in teaching strategies for Florida Master Gardeners. The higher the efficacy in instructional strategies, the longer adults will be members of the Florida Master Gardener program.