Managerial Selectivity of Intensive Extension Work.

Participators in Farm and Home Development in three states are compared with samples of nonparticipating families of similar ages on characteristics considered indirect indicators of managerial ability to determine if there is selectivity in the recruitment of families and whether such selectivity is likely to influence the effects of Farm and Home Development. Data concerning prior educational and occupational experience, tenure and financial status, communication and information-seeking behavior, and attitudes and values functionally related to management are analyzed. These lead to the conclusion that the process which has occurred in the recruitment of participators in all three states resulted in a group which is above average in managerial ability. This paper is therefore designed to explore the problem of the managerial selectivity of Farm and Home Development. In the absence of direct measures of managerial ability this will be done by examining those aspects of the experience, behavior, and attitudes of participators in Farm and Home Development which are indirect indicators of managerial ability.