THE IMPACT OF INTERESTS, POWER RELATIONSHIPS, AND ORGANIZATIONAL-STRUCTURE ON PROGRAM-PLANNING PRACTICE - A CASE-STUDY

The central purpose of this study was to show how the personal and org anizational interests of adult educators are causally related to the p lanning of educational programs. A qualitative multi-case study was co nducted of six county extension agents and four district program devel opment specialists in the Cooperative Extension System. The study show s how traditionalist interests are embedded in the contextual factors that affect the planning practices of county agents and the ways in wh ich these factors affected the seven programs planned by these agents. Specifically, three categories of structural factors were found to co nstrain or enable county agents' planning practices: a) organizational structure and culture, b) available resources, and c) power relations hips. These factors affected the programs that county agents construct ed through their planning practices in terms of the needs addressed an d the planning process employed.