Agricultural Communications Practitioners' Perspectives on Skills and Competencies Graduates Need to Be Career Ready: A Mixed Methods Study with Implications for Undergraduate Programs.

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Title: Agricultural Communications Practitioners' Perspectives on Skills and Competencies Graduates Need to Be Career Ready: A Mixed Methods Study with Implications for Undergraduate Programs.
Authors: Wyss, Elizabeth1, Cletzer, Adam1
Source: Journal of Applied Communications. 2023, Vol. 107 Issue 2, preceding p1-21. 23p.
Subject Terms: *Undergraduate programs, *Preparedness, *Curriculum change, Communication in agriculture, Communication of technical information, Agricultural industries
Geographic Terms: Missouri
Abstract: Agricultural communications (ACOM) programs contend with continuous disruptive change caused by changing audiences, media technologies, and communications objectives. To keep curricula current, ACOM programs often turn to ACOM practitioners for guidance on how to prepare graduates. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study investigated ACOM practitioners in Missouri's perspectives on which skills and competencies were important for career readiness, as well as why they were important and under what circumstances. "Writing" and "reporting" skill categories were deemed most important. The qualitative follow-up strand revealed several clarifying themes. First, foundational skills, such as writing and reporting, are important because they are often the skillsets that are perennially relevant in a fast-changing field. Second, instruction in even basic technical communication skills prepares graduates to keep up with changing digital design technology on their own while in the workforce. Third, political savviness is a necessary skill for navigating differences both within the agricultural industry and with consumers. Finally, broad agricultural industry knowledge is more important in graduates than narrow technical expertise. This study has implications for ACOM faculty responsible for the continued revision of ACOM curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Applied Communications is the property of Association for Communication Excellence and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Agricultural Communications Practitioners' Perspectives on Skills and Competencies Graduates Need to Be Career Ready: A Mixed Methods Study with Implications for Undergraduate Programs.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wyss%2C+Elizabeth%22">Wyss, Elizabeth</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cletzer%2C+Adam%22">Cletzer, Adam</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Applied+Communications%22">Journal of Applied Communications</searchLink>. 2023, Vol. 107 Issue 2, preceding p1-21. 23p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Undergraduate+programs%22">Undergraduate programs</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preparedness%22">Preparedness</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Curriculum+change%22">Curriculum change</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Communication+in+agriculture%22">Communication in agriculture</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Communication+of+technical+information%22">Communication of technical information</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Agricultural+industries%22">Agricultural industries</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Missouri%22">Missouri</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Agricultural communications (ACOM) programs contend with continuous disruptive change caused by changing audiences, media technologies, and communications objectives. To keep curricula current, ACOM programs often turn to ACOM practitioners for guidance on how to prepare graduates. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study investigated ACOM practitioners in Missouri's perspectives on which skills and competencies were important for career readiness, as well as why they were important and under what circumstances. "Writing" and "reporting" skill categories were deemed most important. The qualitative follow-up strand revealed several clarifying themes. First, foundational skills, such as writing and reporting, are important because they are often the skillsets that are perennially relevant in a fast-changing field. Second, instruction in even basic technical communication skills prepares graduates to keep up with changing digital design technology on their own while in the workforce. Third, political savviness is a necessary skill for navigating differences both within the agricultural industry and with consumers. Finally, broad agricultural industry knowledge is more important in graduates than narrow technical expertise. This study has implications for ACOM faculty responsible for the continued revision of ACOM curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Applied Communications is the property of Association for Communication Excellence and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.4148/1051-0834.2471
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 23
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    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Undergraduate programs
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Preparedness
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Curriculum change
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Communication in agriculture
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Communication of technical information
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Agricultural industries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Missouri
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Agricultural Communications Practitioners' Perspectives on Skills and Competencies Graduates Need to Be Career Ready: A Mixed Methods Study with Implications for Undergraduate Programs.
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            NameFull: Wyss, Elizabeth
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            NameFull: Cletzer, Adam
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            – D: 01
              M: 04
              Text: 2023
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              Y: 2023
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