The purpose of this study was to determine the training competencies needed by area specialized agents in the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. Eighteen competency areas were rated on importance and training need. A total of eight competencies were rated 3.0 (important) or above on a Likert-type scale by area specialists, administrators, and subject matter specialists. Program planning received the highest grand mean of 3.37. It was concluded that all three groups generally agreed on the competencies. It was recommended that six specific elements within the program planning competency be included in area specialist's training.
Gibson et al. (Sat,) studied this question.