Seeing Is Believing: Effective Components of Professional Development Training for County Extension Educators on an Innovation Perceived as Risky—Food Irradiation

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Decades of research have provided evidence that food irradiation is a safe technology that can decrease the incidence of foodborne diseases; however, adoption of this technology has been slow. The purpose of our study was to qualitatively explore the effectiveness of various components of a professional development training on family and consumer sciences county extension educators' understanding of food irradiation. This training included presentations by experts in the field, a tour of a food irradiation research facility and a meat processing facility, group activities, and a computer simulation model. Data were collected using qualitative research methodology through in‐depth interviews conducted after the training. Results indicated that those components that allowed participants to visualize food irradiation processes seemed most beneficial to their understanding. Based on these data, implications for practice are discussed.