Factor Analysis of an Instrument to Measure Perceptions about Adult Agricultural Education Programs / Oren L. Christmas and J. Robert Warmbrod.

Research identified the dimensions (factor structure) of an instrument designed to measure perceptions about adult agricultural education using factor analysis. Objectives were to factor analyze the items comprising the instrument, describe the factors identified, and describe the reliability of the subsets of items that comprise the identified factors. Data were from a study of factors influencing the occurrence of adult agricultural education programs. Nineteen items that measured the perceptions of superintendents, principals, and vocational agriculture instructors toward adult agricultural education programs were used in the factor analysis. Perceptions were measured with a five-point Likert scale. Four factors were identified in the 19-item instrument. The factor structure defined through factor analysis indicated that the instrument measured the following dimensions of the perceptions: benefit, need, instructor, and clientele. Coefficients of internal consistency indicated that the subsets of items measuring each of the four factors were reliable. (YLB)

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