| A growing interest in personal financial education exists among policy makers, advocacy groups, and educators. Much of the past research has focused on the impact of personal financial education, personal finance knowledge, and personal finance behaviors. Few studies have examined personal financial educators.;The purpose of this study was to enhance understanding of personal financial educators. The study examined backgrounds and perceptions of a group of personal financial educators. Personal financial educators are an essential component of the implementation of personal financial education. As stakeholders and street-level bureaucrats, county extension agents are important actors in the policy process. An examination of these actors can be used to inform and improve implementation of personal financial education.;The subjects of the study were county extension agents in family and consumer sciences who work for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service. These agents had personal financial education as part of their work assignment. A survey was used to gather information about the background and perceptions of these agents. The survey was adapted from a survey used in a previous study of K-12 educators. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data.;The results show that county extension agents typically practice recommended financial management behaviors. Top areas of personal concern in financial management were investment and retirement planning. Logistic regression analysis was used to test four models as predictors of perceived competency in subject matter and perceived level of qualification in teaching skills. The four models used were Personal Experience, Educational Background, Professional Development, and Extension Experience. There were more significant predictor variables from the Extension Experience Model than from the other models tested. The findings of this study indicate that the background and perceptions of educators may be important considerations in preparing educators to deliver successful implementation of personal financial education. |
