| The purpose of the study was to identify the perceived educational needs and perceived barriers to Extension participation of rural women in Shurugwi District, Zimbabwe. The study sought to determine the relationship among the selected demographic characteristics of rural women and their perceived educational needs, and their barriers to Extension participation.;Data were collected from 377 rural women. The researcher developed the instrument. A panel of experts and a pilot test established validity and reliability of the instrument. Face-to-face interviews were used to gather data. Interviews were conducted in Shona. Perceived educational needs, the dependent variable, were assessed using the Borich needs assessment model. The model determines a need score by subtracting the perceived knowledge score from the perceived importance score, and multiple the result by the average perceived importance score. Descriptive and correlational statistics were used to analyze and summarize data.;Findings revealed that rural women's highest educational needs were in nutrition and access to land and credit, perceived educational needs scores and the selected demographic characteristic were independent of one another, and outstanding barriers to Extension participation were transportation, lack of information, and time constraints.;Seven items in the area of nutrition and six items in the area of access to land and credit were among the top 16 ranked very high educational needs. The findings indicated that these two areas are the major educational priority for respondents. Educational courses should be planned that meet the identified needs of the rural women. The selected demographic characteristics of the participants failed to predict the needs of rural women, giving the possibility of drawing a conclusion that in principle Shurugwi rural women were similar. A majority of the women in this study did not own land as individuals. Therefore, women continue to have poor control over a range of resources. Results of the study can help AGRITEX in placing its priorities on the items that were ranked high to meet the needs of rural women, attract a wider audience, and lead to the success of Extension programs in Zimbabwe. |
