Investigating the Effectiveness of Farmers Occupational TrainingThe Case of: Vermicompost Production Training in Pasargad Township

Education is one of the most important determinants of people's ability to succeed in their job as well as improve their well-being. Also, evaluation is one of the most important stages of educational planning, and the correct implementation of it provides useful information for improving educational programs. Effectiveness is one of the most important aspects of evaluation in which the success of the program is evaluated according to its goals. This research was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a training course on Vermicompost production based on experimental research in Agricultural Jihad Department of Pasargad Township, Fars province in 2013. The research design was one-group pretest-posttest design. The data gathering tool was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by some experts from Fars Agricultural Education Complex and scientific board of agricultural extension and education in Shiraz University, also, the range of Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the questionnaire scales (from 0.72 to 0.78) indicates the reliability of the measurement tool. Research results showed the main motivation of individuals to participate in the course were increasing information and improving the quantity and quality of agricultural products. The degree of satisfaction of the participants in three dimensions; satisfaction from the teacher, satisfaction with the method and content of the training, and the satisfaction of the facilities and the duration of the training was higher than the average. Comparing the mean of attitude and knowledge about the production of vermicompost before and after the course showed a significant difference between them and after the course participants had a higher attitude and knowledge. Based on the results, had not paid special attention to individuals' need assessment. Therefore, it is suggested that measures have been taken to perform this need assessment for time, location and subject of educational classes periodically in different areas.