AnAssessment of Idaho 5th, 7th, and 9thGrade youth on how Involvement in 4-H Influences their Development

Cynthia Barnett, MS

University of Idaho

Dr. Doug Pals, PhD

University of Idaho

Dr. Jeff Goodwin, PhD

University of Idaho

Abstract

Many of today’s youth are involved in out-of-school activities. According to a fact sheet published by the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (2001), 75 percent of elementary school children who have employed mothers attend at least two different out-of-school activities. Additionally, in 1999, researchers at the University of Wisconsin (NIOST, 2001) reported that children who did attend out-of-school activities were rated by their classroom teachers as having better work habits and better interpersonal skills, compared to children who attended on a less regular basis. Additionally, children who attend high-quality programs have better peer relations, emotional adjustment, conflict resolution skills, grades, and conduct in school, when measured against children of the same age who did not attend any after school programs.

Increasing importance placed on achievement has many after-school programs struggling with the demand to improve academics and offer a well-balanced program that provides plenty of opportunities for fun and community contact. Youth get pleasure from project-based experiences so much that they may want to be more involved with the planning, designing, and implementation of a particular operation. 4-H is one such out-of-school activity that meets the aforementioned criteria.

This study was a quantitative analysis of Idaho youth utilizing a survey data collection method to determine if there was a connection between youth development and participation in the 4-H program. The study was performed in 2002 and was conducted using a random sample of 5th, 7th, and 9th grades throughout Idaho. A total of 3,601 respondents responded. Data were analyzed by the Social Survey Research Unit at the University of Idaho. Analysis of the statistics indicated strongly that youth who took part in 4-H and other out-of-school time activities had a closer connection with their families, compared to those who did not participate in these groups. In addition, engagement in at-risk behaviors was lower for students who were active in out-of-school activities than for students who were not active. Other issues, such as academics, self-confidence, empowerment, and social competency, were also measured.

Introduction and Theoretical Framework

“If the 4-H program wants to be a force in the future, it needs to be progressive and adaptive to new trends and ideas, reaching youth from all cultures, races, ethnic groups, and income levels. It needs to continue to address the issues that face today’s youth such as drug, tobacco, and alcohol abuse and violence.” (Van Horn et al., 1999, p. 6)

Over the past 100 years that 4-H has been in existence, life styles have changed dramatically. Participants in today’s 4-H groups are utilizing the concept of “learning by doing” to help their families and neighborhoods adjust to these changes. Ultimately the goal of 4-H, as noted in the University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Idaho 4-H Leader’s Guide, is, as declared in their vision statement, “4-H...A leader in developing Idaho’s youth to become responsible, productive citizens, meeting the changing needs of a diverse society.” The national

4-H vision states that: “Becoming a world leader in developing youth to become productive citizens and catalysts for positive change to meet the needs of a diverse and changing society.” This organization is centered on the development of youth, to prepare them for adulthood and on teaching them how to be productive citizens within their communities.

The Children’s Defense Fund (Williams et al., 2002) data show an increase (for the first time in eight years) in the number of American children living below the poverty line (from 11.6 million children in 2000 to 11.7 million in 2001). The number of poor children living in extreme poverty has increased even more, from 4.8 million in 2000 to 5.1 million in 2001. Williams et al. (2002) stated that, while destitution is not charitable when it comes to affecting families in both rural and urban settings, poverty aggravates most other factors that threaten youth.

Keeping in mind the numbers of rising youth who are vulnerable in their own homes, it is essential to define the term “at-risk.” This phrase encompasses a whole realm of real life dangers that can, and often do, put children in great peril and jeopardy due to no fault of their own. Not only are the obvious hazards an everyday encounter (i.e., health concerns, neglect, crime, and violence) for these young persons, but so, too, are the experiences involving drugs and sex.

Helping youth become capable, contributing, and caring members of society requires an understanding of youth and their basic needs. Some basic needs identified include the need to belong, the desire to achieve, and the wish for independence. Youth need to know that someone cares despite their shortcomings, as they begin to develop a positive view of themselves and their relationship to the world in which they live (Woloshuk et al., 1999).

Larson (2000) pointed out that, while there are plentiful research-based programs for youth aimed at diminishing drug use, violence, suicide, teen pregnancy, and other problem behaviors, there is a “lack of rigorous applied psychology of how to promote positive youth development”(p.170). Larson (2000) also mentioned that high rates of boredom, alienation, and detachment from significant challenge might well indicate an insufficiency in affirmative improvement. One begins to realize that initiative may play a substantial role in the success of youth defeating the “boredom blues.” Larson (2000) indicated that unstructured leisure time does not reflect positively on the right conditions to promote constructive learning motivation. Larson goes on to say that the environment best suited to the development of initiative appears to be that of organized voluntary activities.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, as reported in the NIOST fact sheet (2001), stated that children who attended more days of an after-school program were rated by their classroom teachers as having better work habits and interpersonal skills, compared with children who attended fewer days. Their further examination showed that children who attended high-quality programs have better peer relations, emotional adjustment, conflict resolution skills, grades, and conduct in school, compared to their peers who were not in after-school programs.

All the aforementioned information seems to be in agreement with the study completed by Astroth and Haynes (2001). These two researchers deduced that Montana youth who are involved in out-of-school activities were less likely to be involved in a whole range of “at-risk” behaviors, when compared to youth who were not involved in any out-of-school activities. Data collected revealed that the non-active students were more likely to report that they drank alcohol, shoplifted, purposely damaged property, used drugs to get high, and smoked cigarettes, among other behaviors. Over and above all of this, non-active students reported lower grades and generally were honest regarding being non-committal to school work.

Astroth and Haynes concluded that 4-H members felt that their contributions were more respected by their families, by other adults, and by the communities in which they lived. Collectively, these attributes suggested that 4-H participants have a “positive self-identity which gives them the poise to succeed in life” (p. 13). Montana youth also felt more capable and self-assured socially than other youth. In addition, Astroth and Haynes showed conclusively that 7 out of 10 youth who had been in 4-H for a year or more said that 4-H is “a safe place for learning” and the “4-H clubs are supportive environments where I feel accepted for who I am” (p. 14). Not only is 4-H a proven, research-based program that is making a difference in lives of today’s youth and their families, 4-H also gives all parents of the participants the opportunity to provide their children a safe, nurturing, structured atmosphere during the after-school hours. This setting promotes the initiative to learn and discover while encouraging solid values and ethics. 4-H gives young people the competence, confidence, compassion, and connections with caring adults to be able to contribute to the vitality of their communities, now and in the future.

“Learning by doing” has been the fundamental principle of 4-H since its inception (Woloshuk et al., 1999). By having members physically participate in a lab setting versus a lecture, the level of information remembered is increased by 2:1. Additionally, youth who do participant in this particular setting of discovery over time will develop the knowledge and skills necessary to assist younger children who are new to the 4-H program. Eventually, these leadership skills will help them in their employment, community involvement, and any other future endeavors these young people wish to pursue.

Statistics show there were approximately 6.8 million youth, 5 to 19 years old, who took part in 4-H programs in the year 2000, with the largest portion of these numbers active in school enrichment programs (National 4-H Council, 2002). We suggest that these youth may develop into individuals who will contribute positively within their communities as a result of their participation in 4-H. This study was conducted to ascertain whether this hypothesis illustrates a significant relationship between participation in 4-H and youth experiencing positive developmental skills. The seriousness and magnitude of the problems facing children merit the obligation of both youth and family development components and specialists. University Extension programs have the capacity to provide an extensive range of educational programs for children, youth, and families.

Purpose and Objectives

The overall rationale of this study was to discover whether the 4-H program and corresponding activities children participated in during their out-of-school time were beneficial to their development—academically, socially, and emotionally. Do the program and activities these young people become involved in just give them something to do, or are their skills being improved so they can become successful at contributing as competent adults? The study will focus on the followingobjectives:

  • Describe howIdaho children spend their time after school, and how this use of time shapes their educational, emotional, and social skills.
  • Identify features that are involved when youth build quality developmental skills.
  • Discover if children are involved in an out-of-school activity, and howthat involvement makes a difference in other aspects of their maturity level.

As an alternative to a child spending large numbers of hours alone or with peers in inadequately supervised activities, well-planned and well-staffed programs can provide safe havens where children can learn, take part in supervised recreation, and build strong positive relationships with responsible, caring adults and peers (Astroth & Haynes, 2001).

With so many of today’s youth identified as latch-key children, it is imperative to recognize programs and activities in place that are worthy and important. As a voluntary, structured activity, 4-H provides not only a safe haven for participants, but also assists with their development as they make the change from an adolescent to a young adult. The information derived from this study will show the necessity of youth out-of-school programs and the contributions these curricula make to the participants.

Methods and Procedures

This study was intended to determine the awareness and approach of students in 5th, 7th, and 9th grades within the state of Idaho concerning the depth of the perception of their own development and the impact 4-H may have on this cohort. Approval to survey Idaho 5th, 7th, and 9th grade students was obtained from the Human Assurances Committee at the University of Idaho.There were a number of limiting factors that may have had an effect on the study but were out of the researchers’ control. Those limits include the following:

  1. Respondents may have not answered questions on survey truthfully
  2. Time and method of administration of survey
  3. Students absent from school that day
  4. Missing information on survey, and
  5. Respondents’ interpretation of their participation in a traditional 4-H club or involvement in a school enrichment 4-H program.

Results of the data presented here were part of a much larger study, and are focused on the measured variables (characteristics) presented in the results section. The original design for the populations used for data collection in this study consisted of stratified randomly selected counties within Extension districts inside the state of Idaho. The 18 counties selected were as follows:

BoundaryAdamsBlaineOneida

IdahoElmoreCassiaBingham

LewisGemCusterCaribou

Nez PerceOwyheeGoodingClark

MinidokaTeton

For the random selection of counties to be involved in the study, it was determined that four counties per Extension district would be selected, with the exception of Districts 3 and 4, which would have five counties selected because of their greater number of counties as compared to the other two districts. This stratified random selection was important because of the uniqueness of the four different areas of the state and to insure that each of these areas was equally represented in the study. If one of the randomly selected counties was unable to participate in the study, an alternate county also was randomly selected in case it was needed. In every Extension district at least one county could not participate and the alternate county had to be utilized.

In each county, no more than four schools were randomly selected for participation. The school list was retrieved from the 2001-2002 Idaho Educational Directory. Using the complete list of schools that had grades 5th, 7th, and 9th within their own populations, a computer random generator was utilized to determine the random selections. The population for this study consisted of 6,334 possible participants. Parental cover letters were sent previous to the actual administration of the survey adhering to the APA (2001) guidelines for confidentiality and anonymity.

When it came time to administer the survey a few administrators within a few counties had decided not to become involved: Boundary, Elmore, Custer, and Blaine. Alternate counties were Jerome, Latah, and Bonneville. One alternate county that was chosen did not participate (Latah). No provisions within the experimental design were made in the event alternate counties decided not to participate.

The survey instrument used to assess the ways young people spent their time out-of-school and how that use of time may affect their academic, emotional, social, and cognitive development was patterned after the Astroth and Haynes (2001) model, which was used by the MontanaState

4-H Office for a similar study. Assistance in content and structure was given by faculty at the University of Idaho. The Search Institute (1997) approved the use of some of their survey questions. The instrument consisted of principally high-quality (valid and reliable) questions taken from other national or state surveys. The reliability of the Likert-type items in this survey was assessed by Cronbach’s standardized coefficient alpha, a measure of the extent to which a summated rating scale can be formed meaningfully from a set of correlated items. Cronbach’s standardized alpha has a maximum value of 1, and a minimum that can be less than one (when items have opposite valence, that is, some are worded negatively and others positively). In these results, with one exception, the alpha values are strong. For items q4 through q22 (measuring positive identity and social competency), alpha = .8591; for items q32 through q44 (measuring self-confidence, character, and empowerment), alpha = .8257; for items q48 through q51 (measuring skills learned), alpha = .5729; and for items q63 through q69 (measuring the impact of 4-H), alpha = .8658. Items on the questionnaire addressed several areas. The survey included basic demographic and family-oriented questions as well as questions categorized into seven subscales: 1) Positive identity – personal power, self esteem, 2) Social competency – leadership, planning and decision making, resistance skills, 3) Relationships with adults, 4) Self confidence, 5) Empowerment, 6) Kindheartedness, and 7) Skills.

The student survey was divided into seven sections and consisted of 73 questions. Section one of the survey was designed to gather extracurricular activity and negative behavior information about the subjects of the study. Section two of the questionnaire was designed to determine the way the students perceived themselves regarding their personal identity. Sections three and four were formatted to have the participant assess their levels of social competency. Section five was more specifically at how the individuals felt concerning their self-confidence, character, and personal empowerment. Section six focused mainly on whether the students cared about others, skills they have learned, and demographics. In this section, contributors were asked questions to determine if they belonged or currently belong to 4-H. Those who had no experience were asked to stop at this point. Students who had experience with 4-H were asked to complete section seven, which helped establish the impact of 4-H.