Follow Your Bliss

After a long, meandering journey of refining my passions and interests, I finally feel like I am settling down into an area of scholarship that intrinsically excites and motivates me. In the past, all of my scholastic efforts have been extrinsically motivated by my desire to eventually become engaged in science education at the college level. It took a wise friend to help me see that I don't have to wait to be a tenured biology professor before I can immerse myself in my passion. I am extremely grateful that he was courageous enough to recommend that I curtail my studies in biology and move into a program in education research. Without this pointed encouragement I doubt I would be at BYU today.

Currently, I know for sure that I am passionate about science education. Of course, there are multiple areas within this field that are exciting to me. Most recently, I have begun to think a lot about the educational practice of agricultural extension, especially in developing countries. This specific topic interests me on many levels. First, I am moved by the simple fact that a large percentage of growers and farmers in developing countries have little (if any) knowledge about the biological issues affecting their livelihoods. Second, I have recently learned more about the great and often honorable efforts being taken by biologists and others to extend knowledge and skills to farmers and growers in the developing world. I am surprised, however, at how little we know about the efficacy of most of these efforts. The idea of studying, evaluating, and improving the outcomes of agricultural extension efforts - specifically the changes in attitudes, behaviors, and practices of growers and farmers - is something I find at once intrinsically interesting and potentially personally gratifying.

Within the area of educational agricultural extension, a potential "current" research question might look like this:

How do the main educational methods of current agricultural extension efforts in Central Asia affect the attitudes, behaviors, and practices of growers and farmers?