PRINCIPLES OF EXTENSION EDUCATION:

 A principle is a statement of policy to guide decisions and actions in a consistent manner.

Thus a principle is a universal truth or a fundamental truth and a settled rule of action. Some of this related to agricultural extension is given here.

1. Principle of Interest and Needs:

2. Principle of Cultural Difference:

3. Principle of Learning by doing:

4. Principle of Participation:

5. Principle of Adaptability in the Use of Teaching Methods:

6. The Grass Roots Principle of Organization:

7. Principle of Leadership:

8. The Whole-family Principle:

9. Principle of Satisfaction:

10. Principle of Evaluation:

11. Principles of Indigenous knowledge:

12. Principle of Applied Science and Democracy:

13. Principle of Trained Specialists:

14. Principle of Co-operation:

1. Principle of Interest and Needs:

The rural people should voluntarily participate in the extension work. Extension work must be based on the needs and interests of the people. These interests and needs differ from individual to individual, from village to village, from block to block, and from state to state. To be effective, extension work must begin with the interests and needs of the people. Many times the interests of the rural people are not the interest of the extension worker. Even though he sees the needs of the people better than they do themselves, he must begin with the beds and interests as they (the people) see them.

2. Principle of Cultural Difference:

The educational methods should be in line with the culture of the people in order to make extension education effective. Extension work is based on the cultural background of the people with whom the work is done. Improvement can only begin from the level of the extension worker has to know the level of the knowledge and the skills of the people methods and tools used by them, their customs, traditions, beliefs, values, etc. before starting the extension program.

In a vast country, like India, different extension methods need to be used for different states, as people in these states differ in their thinking living and culture.

The blueprint of the extension program developed for one area may not be applicable as such in another area but it can serve as a guide in similar cultural areas.

3. Principle of learning and doing:

Unless people get involved in actually doing the work learns remains not perfect. Learning by

doing is most effective in changing people‘s behavior. This develops confidence as it

involves a maximum number of sensory organs. People should learn what to do, why to do, how to

do and what the result

4. Principle of Participation:

The participation of the people is of fundamental importance to the success of any educational endeavor. People must share in the development of a program and must feel that it is their own program. Good extension work helps the rural people identifying their problems and then helping them in solving these problems, people will not feel attached to the work if they are given ready-made things. The extension helps people to help themselves.

Actual participation and experience of people in these programs create self-confidence in them and also they learn more by doing.

5. Principle of Adaptability in the Use of Teaching Methods:

People differ from each other, one group differs from another group and conditions also differ from place to place. These people differ in their level of understanding and knowledge and therefore, only one extension method will not be of use in providing information to all.

No single extension teaching method is effective in all situations. Written material will be of use for those who can read it, radio programs for those who have the radio, meetings for those who can attend. These different situations require different teaching methods. New situations also arise where a special combination of methods is necessary. Researches show that the use of more than one extension method carries the message effectively to the people.

6. The Grassroots Principle of Organization:

A group of rural people in the local community should sponsor extension work. The program should fit in with the local conditions. The aim of organizing the local group is to demonstrate the value of the new practices or programs so that more people would participate. Different groups work in rural communities.

The extension worker should pay attention to the needs and interests of these groups while planning extension programs. In some places, the extension programs are thrust on the people and the imposed innovations; many times have no relevance to the interests of these small groups.

7. Principle of Leadership:

It is said that there is one leader in ten persons. Local leaders are the guardians of local thoughts and action and can be trained and developed to best serve as interpreters of new ideas to the villagers. They are the representatives of the local situation. Extension work is based of the full utilization of local leadership. The selection and training of local leaders to enable them to help to carry our extension work is essential to the success of the program.

8. The Whole-family Principle:

The family is the unit of any society. All the members have equal importance and they should be developing equally. Extension work is for the whole family and it should reach all the members of the family. Extension work will have a better chance of success if the extension workers have a whole-family approach, instead of a separate and un-integrated approach.

9. Principle of Satisfaction:

The end product of the efforts of extension teaching is the satisfaction that comes to the farmer his wife or youngsters as the result of solving a problem, meeting a need, acquiring a new one. It is learning by doing, which is most effective in changing people‘s behavior and developing the confidence to use the new methods in the future.

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