Florida Association for Family and Community Education Volunteers: Instructional Implications for Professional Development

Volunteerism permeates many areas of American life. Volunteers contribute substantially to the educational programming and effectiveness of the Cooperative Extension Service. The Florida Association for Family and Community Education (FAFCE) is a volunteer group that works with the Family and Consumer Science program area of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service. Currently, there are approximately 3200 FAFCE volunteers in the state of Florida, and their number is declining annually. Extension agents work closely with these volunteers, yet they receive little formal training on volunteerism. A research study was conducted to explore the demographic characteristics and learning styles of these volunteers. Three of the five Florida Cooperative Extension districts in the state of Florida participated in this study. A demographic questionnaire and a learning styles assessment test were administered to volunteers attending meetings in January to April, 1999. Two hundred seventy-four FAFCE volunteers participated in this study. The mean age of these FAFCE volunteers was 71 years of age, with a range from 49 to 90 years of age. The majority of the volunteers were Caucasian females. Slightly under one-half (42%) of volunteers reported they have received some form of professional development as a FAFCE volunteer. As a group FAFCE volunteers were field dependent. The median GEFT score for FAFCE volunteers was 2.0, with GEFT scores ranging from 0 to 18. Findings from this study provided useful insight and baseline data on the FAFCE volunteer program. Professional development for agents and state specialists should include a variety of instructional strategies and techniques to ensure successful transition of information, thereby meeting the preferred learning needs of all participant