An Empirical Analysis of the Training Program Characteristics on Training Program Effectiveness: A Case Study with Reference to International Agricultural Research Institute, Hyderabad

Abstract

The study explores the relationship between the training program characteristics, the six independent variables with dependent variable training program effectiveness with special reference to International Agricultural Research Institute, Hyderabad. The institute conducts training programs on application of advanced crop improvement methodologies twice in a year for the benefit of the researchers in India and some Sub-Saharan African countries working in the area of agricultural research for crop improvement. The data collected using a post-training survey of 200 trainee participants including 60 women and 140 men, from eight such courses spread over three years to assess the training program effectiveness and to know if the objectives of the course were achieved. The evaluation was done measuring the effect of the six independent variables of the training program—lectures, practical, demos, field visit, methodology, and instructor ability on the dependant variable training program effectiveness (in brief effectiveness) on the participant. We have applied the descriptive analysis, correlation techniques, inferential statistics, and multiple regression analysis to arrive conclusions. To measure the reliability of the scale used for this study, and internal consistencies of the survey questionnaire, the reliability statics Cronbach’s alpha and Spearman-Brown split-half reliability were used. The overall Cronbach alpha is 0.88 whereas Spearman-Brown static was 0.94 and the Cronbach alpha value ranged from 0.68 to 0.82 for all the 6 independent and one dependent variables. The study observed some mean differences in some variables which are significant to effect training program effectiveness.