The Impact of Long-Term International Experiences: A Mixed Methods Examination of the International Agricultural Education Fellowship Program

Abstract

In 2020, the International Agricultural Education Fellowship Program (IAEFP) was established by the Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service. IAEFP provided an opportunity for nine fellows to live in Ghana and implement school based agricultural education system. A mixed methods approach examined the impact of a 10-month international fellowship experience on the fellows and their perceived and measured impact on the rural communities they served. Using a convergence parallel method, qualitative and quantitative data were collected concurrently, analyzed separately, then compared to examine the phenomenon and draw conclusions. Themes from the qualitative data include programmatic adjustments, international development, challenges, personal and professional growth, and personal positivity’s. Quantitative results suggest participants had significant growth in professional formation. The qualitative results confirm the statistical significance of professional formation growth, the qualitative disconfirms the insignificance of cultural awareness and agriculture enhancement growth.