A Descriptive View of the 4-H Club Experience Through the Lens of 4-H Youth

4-H like other youth development programs should be generally marked by the presence of three features of optimal youth programming: 1. youth participation and leadership, 2. positive adult-youth relationships, and 3. skill building activities (Lerner, 2004). This paper reviews a study which examined the extent to which 4-H youth felt they had “opportunities” to engage in different learning experiences, and provide leadership to those experiences within their clubs. The study also examined the youth’s perceptions about whether their experience in the 4-H Club helped them spend more time with their parents, have a positive relationship with another adult and do things independently. An examination of whether there is a difference in life skill development in 4-H based on certain key demographic variables is also discussed. The results of this study are shared as well as implications for practice and recommendations for further research.


Introduction
4-H Youth Development (4-H) is the national youth-serving organization of the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).4-H like other youth development programs should be generally marked by the presence of three features of optimal youth programming: 1. youth participation and leadership, 2. positive adult-youth relationships, and 3. skill building activities (Lerner, 2004).
In this paper, the results of a cross-sectional descriptive evaluation study of a 4-H Youth Development club program based on those three key features are shared.
Using experiential, research-based curricula, 4-H offers many opportunities for youth to be active participants in learning."All 4-H curricula and projects, regardless of the differences in content area, provide youth with experiences that foster the development of skills and encourage them to become contributing, caring members of their communities" (Mincemoyer, & Perkins, 2001).4-H also uses a variety of different delivery modes to reach youth (e.g.community club, camps, after school, school enrichment, etc.).While curricula, activities and delivery modes certainly will and must vary in content and structure, the bottom line is clear that youth need to have opportunities to participate in multiple types of activities that interest them (Theokas, Lerner, Phelps, & Lerner, 2006).Therefore, this study examined the extent to which 4-H youth felt that they have "opportunities" to engage in different learning experiences, and provide leadership to those experiences within their clubs.The study also explored those learning experiences 4-H'ers felt they engaged in most frequently.
In keeping with the Lerner framework, in addition to positive relationships with their parents, youth need positive, supportive, mentoring relationships with other caring adults (Perkins, & Butterfield, 1999;Bogenschneider, & Olsen, 1998).The literature is clear that the most positive youth-adult relationship experiences are those with supportive adults willing to share power with youth and give youth opportunities to lead (Jekielek, Moore, Hair, & Scarupa, 2002;Jones, 2006;Perkins, Borden, & Villarruel, 2001).This study examined the youth's perceptions about whether their experience in the 4-H Club helped them spend more time with their parents, have a positive relationship with another adult and do things independently.In addition, this study explored whether 4-H youth felt they received positive feedback from the club leader and helped make decisions in their club.
Building critical life skills is an integral part of positive youth development.The development of life skills through experiential learning continues to be the cornerstone of 4-H youth programming.Numerous studies have shown that it is important to include learning experiences that build and/or enhance life skills into 4-H and other youth development programs (Peterson et al., 2000;Seevers, & Dormody, 2000).Further studies have shown that participation in 4-H does contribute to life skill development (Astroth, & Haynes, 2002;Boyd, Herring, & Briers, 1992).
Using a Life Skills Improvement Scale that had been tested and validated as reliable (Guion, & Rivera, 2006), this study examined whether 4-H youth felt they have increased nineteen key life skills that prevailed in the literature.In an examination of the current literature there were very few studies that looked descriptively to assess whether there is a difference in life skill development in 4-H based on certain key demographic variables.Also, to date, no studies were found that examined whether there is a relationship between the learning experiences and the life skills that 4-H youth develop.
In essence, this study provides a more descriptive examination of the 4-H club experience by assessing the extent to which 4-H youth perceived their club experience as containing the three key features for youth development: 1) youth participation and leadership, 2) positive adult-youth relationships, and 3) skill building activities.
In addition to evaluating whether these key features are present, this study also examined the relationship between certain club experiences and life skill development.While not specific to 4-H, other studies have documented significant differences in participation in after-school activities (i.e.types of activities, number of activities, etc.) based on key demographic variables (Bouffard, Wimer, Caronongan, Little, & Dearing, 2006).Therefore, this study provides insight as to whether perceived life skill development also varied for 4-H youth who differ based on gender, race and age.

Participants
Participants of the study were 126 youth members of 4-H Clubs in Florida, of which 36% (n=45) were male and 64% (n=79) female.The average age was 13.8 years, ranging from 7 to 18 years old.Participants have been members of 4-H an average of 4.7 years ranging from 2 months to 12 years.More than half (66%, n=83) of the youth in this study described themselves as Caucasian/White, 22% as African-American (n=28), 7% as Hispanic/Latino (n=9), and 5% described themselves as Other (n=6).Participants and their parents signed informed consent forms and no compensation was provided for participation in the study.• Opportunities to be an active participant in life-now and in the future."

Instrument
The evaluation instrument consisted of three sections.The first section asked questions related to six of those critical elements (* indicates those elements included in the instrument).For example, study participants were asked how often they were given a chance to do service projects in their community, make decisions in their club, etc.They were also asked how often they had actually helped decide which projects to do in their club for example.
The second section of the evaluation instrument was the Life Skills Improvement Scale that includes the 19 indicators of life skills development.Each indicator used a five point Likert Scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5).The items included in the instrument were determined by conducting two strategic steps.First, the researcher surveyed the literature that conceptualized 4-H life skills.For example, life skills from the Targeting Life Skills model (Hendricks, 1998) were identified.Ultimately, life skills from the Texas 4-H evaluation instrument, which is based on the Hendrix model, were adapted for use in the Life Skills Improvement Scale.The Texas model was adapted because "the youth development skills section is a set of statements that are relevant to all project experiences and to youth of all ages and backgrounds."(Howard, et al., 2001, p. 2).
Second, nine Extension 4-H Agents from different districts in the state of Florida were asked to select the life skills that their 4-H program targets.They were also encouraged to add to or refine the list of life skills.Those items that had the greatest level of consensus were chosen for inclusion in the Life Skills Improvement Scale.The Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients for the Life Skills Improvement Scale was .88above the typical conservative target of at least .80(Guion, & Rivera, 2006).The scale was also found to be face valid and had a very high content validity index of 3.8 out of possible 4 (Guion, & Rivera, 2006).The last section of the evaluation instrument contained key demographic questions.
A copy of the evaluation instrument is provided as an Appendix.

Implementation
Using a cross-sectional survey design, the instrument was administered at the beginning of a regular 4-H club meeting.Each 4-H Agent participating in the study was provided with consent forms that were signed by the parents, as well as detailed instructions and a script in order to make administration of the instrument more consistent across sites.They were also provided postage paid envelopes to return the survey.

Opportunity to Engage In Different Learning Experiences that Foster Youth Participation and Leadership
Participants "frequently" engaged in different learning experiences that are integral to youth development.Opportunities for having fun was the most frequent (M=4.41,SD=.72) followed by opportunities to "feel like part of a group" (M=4.39,SD=.85).Only "sometimes" they had the opportunity to "be a leader" (M=3.44,SD=1.35) or "speak before a group" (M=3.56,SD=1.28) (See Table 1).

Table 1
Means and standard deviations of opportunities given to club members  Some results related to positive adult-youth relationships are encouraging.The club leaders are providing positive feedback and help youth feel successful, respected and heard.Youth are also spending more time with their parents because of 4-H.However, learning by doing also has been the fundamental principle of 4-H since its inception (Woloshuk, Brown, & Wagaman, 1999).Therefore, more strategies must be employed to provide all youth in the club with opportunities to actually assume more leadership roles, beyond just the club officers, and speaking before community groups.Club leaders should also make sure youth get the opportunity to help decide which projects the club will do (self-determination).These all contribute to positive youth development.

Experience in the 4-H Club
Almost all participants (93%) indicated that their experience in the club helped them to "get along well with others in a group."More than eighty percent of participants indicated that their experience in the club helped them to "do things independently," "expect good things from themselves," "have a positive relationship with an adult," and "accept other's views."(See Table 3).

Improvement in Life Skills
Participants indicated an increase in the following skills as a result of 4-H club activities and projects: serving the community or volunteering (M=3.17,SD=.87), setting goals (M=3.14, SD=.78), making decisions (M=3.10,SD=.75), leading a healthier lifestyle (M=3.02,SD=.78), and feeding and caring for animal/pet (M=3.01,SD=.90).Mean scores for the other 14 life skill indicators ranged from 2.43 to 2.99.These mean scores are relatively low given the emphasis on life skill development within 4-H Youth Development.Further study is needed to fully examine these implications.(See Table 4).).An explanatory study is needed to determine whether this difference was due to the types of projects that girls select compared to those that boys prefer.For example, do girls engage more with activities and projects requiring journaling and/or keeping records?If so, then naturally girls would be developing writing skills more.Gender differences were also found in the ability to sew, where females (M=2.64,SD=.93) scored higher than males (M=2.25,SD=.78) (t(120) = 2.37, p<.05).This difference may be the result of there simply being more females involved in club projects related to clothing/sewing.However, it is very encouraging that 17 of the 19 life skills developed did not differ significantly for boys and girls.4-H has always maintained its gender neutrality.This result supports that claim.(See Table 5).These results suggest that the aforementioned skills were improved more in the group of African-Americans than in the group of Caucasian/White participants.Mean scores were higher for African-Americans for 14 of the 19 life skills, and significantly (statistically) higher for 8 of the 19.An explanatory study would be needed to determine "why" African-American 4-H youth feel they are improving more skills as a result of 4-H club involvement.For example, further study to examine different ethnic groups' in involvement in other youth programs and therefore could not contribute skill development solely to 4-H.Also, a study to assess any difference in pre-existing knowledge or mastery of skills and perceptions of skill improvement may reveal the reasons behind these results.

Difference in Life Skills Improvement based on the Age of the 4-H Club Member
To examine differences by age the group was divided into two groups, younger participants (from 7 to 13 years old) and older participants (from 14 to 19 years old).Results showed that older participants scored significantly higher than younger ones in leading a group, planning their career, and speaking publicly.(See Table 7) These results suggest that the aforementioned skills increased more in the group of older participants than in the younger group.The increase in the types of skills for the older 4-H youth seems logical given the difference in ages and stages of development between the groups.For example, it is feasible that the older youth would be improving skills in planning their career more so than the younger youth.The key implication for this finding is that irrespective of age, 4-H youth in this study are developing key life skills namely setting goals, making decisions, serving their community/volunteering (i.e.skills where M for both age groups > 3.00).

Relationships between the activities done by 4-H Club Members and the Life Skills Improvement
Correlation analyses were conducted to determine whether there is a relationship between the learning experiences 4-H youth engage in and the life skills they develop.Results are shown in Table 8.Only those correlations higher or equal to .30will be mentioned here.Those participants that actually spoke before a group more frequently had an increase in their ability to speak publicly (r=.50, p<.01), lead a group (r=.49, p<.01), and make decisions (r=.35, p<.01).Those who felt successful more frequently had an increase in their ability to make decisions (r=.

Further Study
More descriptive studies that look at what specific learning experiences are being provided in 4-H clubs and how these experiences contribute to the critical elements of positive youth development are warranted.This study has demonstrated that we can not only look at outcomes and impacts of programming without spending enough time assessing and understanding the learning experiences and environments that are supposed to produce those outcomes/impacts.This study focused only on the 4-H Club delivery system.Additional studies with youth who are involved with 4-H through other delivery modes such as 4-H After-school Programming, 4-H Camping Program, or 4-H School Enrichment would be very helpful in examining the different contexts in which 4-H Youth Development is taking place.This type of study is not limited to 4-H youth development.Other youth serving organizations could conduct a similar study.
Additionally, while the sample size was sufficient for statistical analysis, further studies should be conducted with larger sample sizes that have even greater age, gender, and race/ethnic diversity.
Finally, given the nature of descriptive studies, a foundation was laid for more specific research questions that must be answered through explanatory research that can answer the question "why."Descriptive studies like the one presented in this paper can provide the catalyst for further scholarship and refinement of knowledge in the field of 4-H Youth Development.

Conclusion
4-H youth development has a long, rich history of enhancing the lives of young people across this nation.Descriptive studies like the one presented in this paper provide a glimpse into the 4-H Club which is one of the hallmark 4-H programming delivery systems.These types of studies help us examine what 4-H youth perceive to be key elements of positive youth development that are being reinforced through their club experience.In this study, the key elements of positive youth development that were explored included: 1) youth participation and leadership, 2) positive adult-youth relationships, and 3) skill building activities.
By focusing even more purposefully on designing and implementing learning experiences that reflect positive youth development, 4-H will continue to be a powerful, proven program of excellence in the field of youth development.
Note: Spoken = spoken before a group.Success = felt successful.Leader = been a leader.Decided = helped decide which projects to do in the club.Learned = learned new skills.Feedback = received positive feedback from the club leaders.Parents = spend time with parents because of 4-H.Meetings = used parliamentary procedures at a club meeting.* p<.01.The number of respondents is in parenthesis.
Giving youth the opportunity to develop leadership skills by providing him/her with opportunities to "be a leader" and "speak before a group" are important.These results suggest that club leaders need to find out from the youth what leadership roles they would like to have, then coach and support them in carrying out those roles.

Table 2
Mean and standard deviations

Table 3
Experience in the 4-H club

Table 4
Means and standard deviation of ability developed by club members in several skills

Differences in the Skills Improved based on the Gender of 4-H Club Member
T-tests were conducted to examine the difference by gender.Results showed that the ability to write more clearly increased more in females (M=2.97,SD=.84) than in males (M=2.64,SD=.71) (t(122) = 2.22, p<.05

Table 5
Group differences for the skills improved by gender

Differences in Life Skills Improvement based on the Race/Ethnicity of the 4-H Club Member
White in planning/organizing, setting goals, writing more clearly, solving problems, sewing, cooking, using a computer, and learning photography.(SeeTable6).
Because only 7 participants identified themselves as Hispanic/Latino and 5 indicated "other," t-test analyses were conducted only with the group of African-American/Black and Caucasian/White 4-H youth.Results showed that African-American/Black participants scored significantly higher than Caucasian/

Table 6
Group differences for the skills improved by group of race/ethnicity

Table 8
Relationship Between Activities and Skills