The Impact of Wisconsin 4-H Youth Development

Youth Emphasis January 24, 2012

4-H Youth Leadership

Skills

CommunityConfidence

4-H Youth Leadership

TeamEvaluation Leadership TeamEllen Andrews, Matthew Calvert, Heidi Dusek, Sara Gronski, Debra Ivey, Annie Lisowski, Betsy Olson, Sarah Tarjeson, Ellen Taylor-Powell, Shep Zeldin

UW-River Falls Survey Research CenterShelly Hadley, David Trechter Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis TeamEllen Andrews, Matthew Calvert, Heidi Dusek, Barbara Escobar, Sara Gronski, Debra Ivey, Annie Lisowski, Linda Lueder, Kandi O'Neil, Betsy Olson, Denise Retzleff Report PreparationJackie Askins, Matthew Calvert, Ellen Taylor-Powell

Wisconsin 4-H Youth Leadership Survey

Survey sampled 268 youth grades 6 through college freshmen

survey was distributed by UW-RF Survey Research Center via email to 1,576 randomly selected youth

Drawn from 12,942 4-H members statewide + representation of other leadership programs

Follow up focus groups in seven counties.

Focus Groups# counties # participants

4-H Ambassador Groups 3 45

4-H Project Committees & Other County

Groups

2 9

Teen Courts 2 17

After-School Program Leadership 1 20

Community Coalitions 1 12

Demographics

Age Count 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Sample 268 4% 19% 17% 13% 12% 10% 14% 9% 1%

4-H Statewide 12,942 5% 17% 17% 16% 14% 13% 11% 7% 0%

Ethnic Background CountAsian Amer

Black or Afr Amer

White or Cauc

Hispa. or Latino

Native Amer/

Alaskan Native

Native

Hawaiian/

Pacific Islander

Two or More Races Other

Sample 268 1% 0% 99% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

4-H Statewide 12,942 1% 0% 98% 0% 1% 0% 1% 0%

Gender Count Male Female

Sample 268 34% 66%

4-H Statewide 12,942 36% 64%

4-H Leadership OpportunitiesIntentional youth leadership opportunities

% who have participated

Length of participation

Less than 1 Year

1 – 2 Years 3 or More Years

4-H Club Officer 63% 7% 23% 33%

Specific Leadership Training Opportunities

37% 8% 17% 13%

4-H County Committee 35% 9% 11% 15%

Leader/Organizer of Afterschool Programs

32% 10% 12% 9%

4-H Teen Leadership Group

25% 6% 8% 12%

4-H Camp Counselor 15% 2% 8% 5%

4-H State Team 12% 3% 5% 4%

Community Coalition Member

7% 3% 3% 1%

Teen Court Panelist 4% 0% 2% 1%

Local Government Representative

6% 3% 2% 1%

4-Hers’ Number of ActivitiesHow many of the 10 leadership activities have 4-Hers participated in?

Number of respondents

None 721 582 413 374 205 or more 44

Multi-year participationTo what extent have you participated in the following 4-H or UW-Extension youth leadership opportunities or programs?

% who have participated in this

Length of participation

Less than 1 Year 1 – 2 Years 3 or More Years

4-H Club Officer 63% 7% 23% 33%

Specific Leadership Training Opportunities 37% 8% 17% 13%

4-H County Committee 35% 9% 11% 15%

Leader/Organizer of Afterschool or other Out-of-School Time Programs

32% 10% 12% 9%

4-H Teen Leadership Group 25% 6% 8% 12%

4-H Camp Counselor 15% 2% 8% 5%

4-H State Team 12% 3% 5% 4%

Community Coalition Mbr. or Mbr. of Youth Board of a Comm. Coalition

7% 3% 3% 1%

Teen Court Panelist 4% 0% 2% 1%

Local Government Representative 6% 3% 2% 1%

Varied Leadership ActivitiesNumber of leadership activities or programs in which respondents reported participating:

Number of respondents

None 72

1 58

2 41

3 37

4 20

5 or more 44

4-H Leadership and Membership: What’s the Difference?

Those in intentional leadership activities are more likely to: • Work as a group or team• Work in cooperation or partnership with an adult• Guide, train, or advise younger children and peers• Make decisions that affect a club, group, organization, or communityThere is less difference between those in leadership activities and all 4-

Hers in:• Contact and interact with community leaders• Plan and/or act to change something in the community or within a

program• Learn about and/or practice mediation and conflict resolution• Learn and practice public speaking

Leadership Development Constructs

Leadership may be defined as the ability to influence and support others in a positive manner for a common goal. Leadership is a set of skills and attitudes that can be learned and developed to influence the action of others.

--Lisa Lauxman, National 4-H Program Leader

• Identity• Connections• Skills

Skills: What Employers WantHigh School GraduatesRank Applied Skill1 Professionalism/Work Ethic . . 80.3%2 Teamwork/Collaboration . . . . 74.73 Oral Communications . . . . . . . 70.34 Ethics/Social Responsibility . . 63.45 Critical Thinking/Problem Solving . . . . . . . . . . . 57.56 Information TechnologyApplication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53.07 Written Communications . . . . 52.78 Diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.19 Lifelong Learning/Self Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.510 Creativity/Innovation . . . . . . . 36.311 Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.2

Four-Year College GraduatesRank Applied Skill1 Oral Communications . . . . . . 95.4%2Teamwork/Collaboration . . . 94.43 Professionalism/Work Ethic 93.84 Written Communications . . . 93.15 Critical Thinking/Problem Solving . . . . . . . . . . 92.1 6 Ethics/Social Responsibility 85.67 Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81.88 Information TechnologyApplication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81.09 Creativity/Innovation . . . . . . 81.010 Lifelong Learning/Self Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . 78.311 Diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71.8

Leadership SkillsHow much do you feel your participation in 4-H or UW-Extension youth opportunities or programs has contributed to your ability to…?

Count

A Great Deal/To a Great Extent

+Quite a

Bit/Somewhat

Slightly/Very Little +

Did Not Contribute/Not at All Don’t Know

Teamwork

Work cooperatively and collaboratively with others258 74% 24% 2%

AVG 64% 33% 3%

Inclusiveness/Multicultural

Treat people who are different from yourself with respect 258 72% 25% 3% AVG 63% 34% 2%

CommunicationListen carefully to what others say 258 71% 27% 1% AVG 58% 38% 3%Planning and Organizing

Plan and organize group activities 254 57% 40% 3% AVG 56% 39% 5%Decision Making/Problem Solving

Think critically about the advantages and disadvantages of decisions

258 56% 41% 4%

AVG 48% 47% 5%

Leadership Skills in Practice• A youth member of the Fond du Lac County Horse Project Board

talked about how her experiences helped her in her work: “I draw blood for my job. People are sick and not happy about being there. It helps me to read body language and do small talk and relate to the patient. This helps people not to stress out. 4-H experiences make things like this easier in the real world.”

• Washington County Ambassadors built experience in working across individual and cultural differences—starting with different ideas and keeping the focus on helping others learn and have fun. One member said, “One great thing about 4-H is understanding that we are all different and coming to an understanding. Using patience and deciding what works best.”

Leadership Confidence How much do you feel your participation in 4-H or UW-Extension youth opportunities or programs has contributed to your ability to…?

A Great Deal/To a Great Extent

+Quite a

Bit/Somewhat

Slightly/Very Little +

Did Not Contribute/

Not at All Don’t Know

Leadership Identity

Accept responsibility for doing a job74% 24% 2%

Improve your leadership skills 66% 30% 4%

Recognize yourself as a leader60% 34% 6%

Understand your own leadership strengths 67% 27% 5%

67% 29% 4%

Self-Efficacy

Help a team/group reach its goals 68% 29% 3%

Motivate and inspire others 64% 29% 6%Stand up/Speak out for what is right

54% 43% 2%

65% 31% 3%

Leadership Confidence in Practice

• Buffalo County youth felt a responsibility to step into leadership roles: “When I know no one else is willing to do it helps me make the decision to do it and also knowing that there is impact on others.”

• Washington County Ambassadors take ownership of the success and failure of club and county 4-H activities. One ambassador contrasted 4-H with some other experiences: “The adults always try to take control and pipe in. In 4-H – the adults let the youth run the meetings. Adults step back and let the youth take the lead.”

Community ConnectionsHow much do you feel your participation in 4-H or UW-Extension youth opportunities or programs has …?

A Great Deal/To a Great Extent

+Quite a

Bit/Somewhat

Slightly/Very Little +

Did Not Contribute/Not at All Don’t Know

Community Connections

Made you feel more connected to your community83% 13% 3%

Made you feel more important to your community77% 19% 3%

Provided you with a better understanding of community issues

69% 25% 6%

76% 19% 4%

Motivation/Ability for Community Action

Motivated you to work with others to make things better in your community

79% 17% 4%

Provided you with a better understanding of community issues

69% 25% 6%

Made you feel a responsibility to work on community issues

69% 23% 7%

72% 22% 6%

Community Connections in Practice

• Racine County have opportunities to represent the organization in many community venues and build their own personal networks through activities that take them to new places. One youth noted, “You can talk to new people all the time, you get to see things you wouldn’t normally be able to.”

• Iowa County Ambassadors perceived the importance of being an active contributor: “You have to be involved to get anything out of it;” and “We get things from the community and we do things for the community.”

Program Practices: Teen Court/Partnership Council

• Opportunities to make a meaningful contribution towards addressing authentic needs and issues

• Youth feel valued and have a real voice in programming and partnership

• Young people are engaged in significant roles that aid them in practicing communication, teamwork, and decision-making skills

Program Practices:Youth-Teaching Youth --Boomerang!

• Invitation is the First Step

• Recognized as a Leader

• Opportunities for Training & Modeling

• Structure is Responsive to Developmental Interests

In your experience working with “Youth-Teaching Youth” programs, have any of these themes been

strong factors of program success?

• Invitation is the First Step

• Recognized as a Leader

• Opportunities for Training & Modeling

• Structure is Responsive to Developmental Interests

Program Practices: Ambassador/Council

• Youth/Adult Partnership– Ambassadors take ownership of the success and failure of club and

county 4-H activities. Youth realize that if they do not step up to make something happen, it would not happen.

• Expectations and Modeling– “4-H is run by the youth, other groups at school you have teach and

advisors who usually have all the power and control but in 4-H the expectations are higher for us, we run the meetings we do the work we have the power.”

• Teamwork– They have learned the value of shared leadership rather than having

only a few people do all the work.

Discussion