Spreading Community Education Awareness Beyond the Insiders to the Outsiders.

Overview & Synopsis

The personnel associated with institutions of higher education and state and local education agencies have an intertwined network which keeps everyone connected to these groups informed about community education. They promote the concepts, techniques, and programs of community education with inhouse activities such as workshops, seminars, conferences, newsletters, internships, and research papers. Now that this level of awareness has been reached, the "insiders" must also extend their knowledge of and enthusiam about community education to the "outsiders," who are current and future decision makers who can make or allow community education to develop. These outsiders are busy, involved citizens, including city administrators, extension agents, legislators, and county commissioners. The community education salesperson must: (1) get to know the outside customers and find out what kinds of community education they need; (2) develop an attractive package of community education; and (3) deliver the concept to the outsiders, using the methods developed and used by the insiders. The goal of the insiders should be to work until the insiders can t be distinguished from the outsiders in terms of community education awareness. (FG)