Chrysanthi Charatsari

Farmers’ motivational orientation toward participation in competence development projects: a self-determination theory perspective

ABSTRACT Purpose: In this study, we use a self-determination theory (SDT) approach to understand farmers’ attitudes toward, and intentions for, participation in competence development projects (CDP). Design/methodology/approach: By applying SDT, we developed two measures. The first one assessed the degree to which the three basic human psychological needs motivate farmers to engage in CDP, and the second concerned farmers’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to seek knowledge through participation in CDP. Using data from two samples of farmers, we examined the effect of SDT needs and the influence of the different regulatory styles on individuals’ decision to participate in CDP. Findings: Our findings indicated that participation in CDP is guided by the most internal forms of human motivation (identified, integrated, and intrinsic motivation), and that deficits in the needs for autonomy and competence predict farmers’ decision to participate in CDP. Practical implications: These results stress the importance of designing CDP that promote self-directedness, emphasise choice rather than rewards, and generate the conditions that support farmers’ autonomy. Theoretical implications: Our work suggests that the integration of social psychology into extension/education research can paint a more detailed picture of the way farmers interact with extension/education services. Originality/value: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that uses an SDT framework to examine farmers’ motivation toward participation in CDP. Hence, this research opens a new realm for extension/education research, while it also contributes to the SDT literature by examining the role of self-determined motivation in a different life domain.

Who is the Customer of Public Agricultural Extension/Education Services?

Agricultural extension education services (AEES) have three major characteristics that complicate their marketing: first, these are ‘rural services’ that are heavily influenced by the ‘rurality’ of their field of action; second, their aim is to promote intangible behavioural changes which inevitably are considered by the potential customers as risky; third, their orientation is usually non-profit. However, there is a surprising lack of studies regarding the marketing of AEES. The aim of this research is to segment rural population based on the usage rate of public AEES and to depict the relative influence of the importance assigned on both services relationship attributes and motivational drivers to this classification. After a random sampling procedure, 202 peasants from the region of Thessaly, Greece participated in the study. Our findings revealed three segments: the ‘Conveniencers’, who are the heavy users of public AEES; the ‘Analysts’, who, although are regular users of AEES, are light users of public services and assign higher importance to the service delivery attributes; and the grey segment of ‘Objective Hunters’, who are occasional seekers of AEES and are primarily motivated by their expectation to gain benefits related to their farm enterprise. Our findings also demonstrate that public rural services have failed to build sustainable relationships with the rural population.

Of Mice and Men: When Face-to-Face Agricultural Information is Replaced by a Mouse Click

In this article we present and discuss two experiments designed to test the effectiveness of the Internet as a tool of agricultural information. Subjects were cotton producers from Thessaly, Greece. Findings suggest that, in the early stages of an innovation diffusion process, the Internet is more effective than social sources (Experiment 1). However, when urgent situations that force quick decisions occur (Experiment 2), the Internet is significantly less effective than face-to-face communication channels. In both cases, farmers who used the Internet spent more time and devoted extra effort. The experiments proved that agronomists remain the most effective information source. Results also illustrate that Internet adoption is not necessarily synonymous with its use.

Collecting and Using Autobiographical Memories in Rural Social Research: A Step-by-Step Guide

Human autobiographical memory, containing information on the self and its sociocultural surroundings, is a unique reservoir of knowledge, valuable in rural social research as well as in several other fields of study. However, the use of autobiographical memories as a source of retrospective information in (rural) social research remains largely underappreciated. This article introduces a five-step guide for designing and implementing research based on individuals’ cued autobiographical memories. The article also briefly outlines some major phenomena associated with human autobiographical memory (reminiscence bump, mood-incongruency, overgeneral memory, telescoping effect) and explains how they can affect a study based on participants’ autobiographical memories.

First be a woman? rural development, social change and women farmers’ lives in Thessaly-Greece

Abstract This research is prompted by a desire to portray how Thessalian women farmers’ lives have been and are still affected by agrarian, economic, political and social transformations that took place in Greece from 1950 onwards. Using a cueing technique, we collected 2034 autobiographical memories from 74 women farmers. In general, the story our data tell indicates that the progress regarding woman’s position within family and society was slow and erratic, whereas it is still underway, since gender role appropriateness remains a robust construction. The analysis proved that the first signs of change appeared in the 1970s, when the migration from Thessaly to Europe brought about some unprecedented ideas on woman’s social and domestic roles. Other factors, such as the modernization of agriculture in 1980s and the consequent economic flourishing, along with the aura conveyed by the new (female) members of farming communities, and the opening of rural societies in 1990s and 2000s, facilitated this change.

Environmental education in university schools: A study in a logistics faculty

ABSTRACT In this study we examine whether Environmental Education (EE) can increase the discipline-specific environmental knowledge of students in a logistics faculty. We also investigate the degree to which logistics students are willing to attend EE classes. Results show that participation in a short EE course supplied students with higher levels of environmental knowledge and a more holistic understanding of the environment, while it also increased their intent to take EE courses. These findings underscore the positive impacts of EE in higher education and suggest that introduction of EE in educational curricula can facilitate the development of environmental thinking among students.