Abstract:
Pesticides can often be toxic and for this reason their methods and
quantities of application are extremely regulated. Pesticide applicators are at
risk of permanently damaging their health from exposure to pesticides. In
order to ensure that these employees have the proper information to protect
themselves, they are required to pass a state certification test. Agriculture, in
certain states, relies on a high number of immigrant workers having varying
degrees of education, thus making it difficult to efficiently and effectively
train each employee in the needed areas.
A computer-based training program for pesticide applicators was
developed to be used by agricultural workers preparing for the state
certification exam. The training program was designed to be effective for
people with varying degrees of knowledge and computer experience. Similarly,
its design has allowed for a method of training employees in their native
tongue. Agricultural workers from a vineyard completed the computer-based
training, in their native language of Mexican Spanish, prior to taking the state
certification test. Nine of the sixteen workers passed the training program
while none of them passed the state certification test. One participant did not
complete either portion of the study, and one participant took the training but
2
did not take the certification test. Although none of the participants passed
the certification test there was a significant increase in the training program
scores between the pre-test and post-test. The statistical significances (tstatistics)
for packages 1-4, were 0.00132, 0.00015, < 0.001, and 0.0004 in that
order. All participants were encouraged to complete basic demographic
surveys. The outcome of the training and state tests indicates a need to revise
the content of the Pesticide Applicator training to better fit the information
required for the certification test and account for the institutional bias that is
inherent in the testing system. A follow-up study ran in August 2007 using the
modified training.
