27 research outputs found
Starting and Maintaining 4-H Clubs
No full textThis revised 16-page guide, intended for 4-H staff and volunteers, provides an overview of the types of clubs, the criteria and forms for chartering a new club, and for maintaining club status annually. It also outlines the fiscal responsibilities of club management and the standards for recognition. Written by J. Jordan, B. Terry, D. Pracht, J. Butterfield, and A. Cletzer, and published by the UF Department of 4-H Youth Development, March 2012
Starting and Maintaining 4-H Clubs
No full textThis revised 16-page guide, intended for 4-H staff and volunteers, provides an overview of the types of clubs, the criteria and forms for chartering a new club, and for maintaining club status annually. It also outlines the fiscal responsibilities of club management and the standards for recognition. Written by J. Jordan, B. Terry, D. Pracht, J. Butterfield, and A. Cletzer, and published by the UF Department of 4-H Youth Development, March 2012
How to Start a 4-H Club (for Youth Ages 8–18)
No full textBeing in a 4-H club provides important opportunities for youth to learn subject matter and life skills while working with a caring adult and other youth. Once youth are 4-H members, they become eligible for a variety of the benefits of belonging to 4-H, including awards, trips, and special events. Of course, it’s meant to be fun for the kids and the leaders too! Starting a 4-H club isn’t difficult, and you are encouraged to seek help from parents or other volunteers. Local Extension/4-H staff can help you get started. This 4-page fact sheet was written by Keith G. Diem, Joy Jordan, Bryan Terry, Dale Pracht, Judy Butterfield, Adam Cletzer, Lindsey McConnell, and Ben Knowles, and published by the UF Department of 4-H Youth Development, July 2014.
4H336/4H336: How to Start a Club (for Youth Ages 8–18) (ufl.edu
Agricultural Communications Practitioners’ Perspectives on Skills and Competencies Graduates Need to Be Career Ready: A Mixed Methods Study with Implications for Undergraduate Programs
No full textAgricultural communications (ACOM) programs contend with continuous disruptive change caused by changing audiences, media technologies, and communications objectives. To keep curricula current, ACOM programs often turn to ACOM practitioners for guidance on how to prepare graduates. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study investigated ACOM practitioners in Missouri\u27s perspectives on which skills and competencies were important for career readiness, as well as why they were important and under what circumstances. “Writing” and “reporting” skill categories were deemed most important. The qualitative follow-up strand revealed several clarifying themes. First, foundational skills, such as writing and reporting, are important because they are often the skillsets that are perennially relevant in a fast-changing field. Second, instruction in even basic technical communication skills prepares graduates to keep up with changing digital design technology on their own while in the workforce. Third, political savviness is a necessary skill for navigating differences both within the agricultural industry and with consumers. Finally, broad agricultural industry knowledge is more important in graduates than narrow technical expertise. This study has implications for ACOM faculty responsible for the continued revision of ACOM curricula
An Examination of the Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Behaviors of Alabama FFA Officers
No full textLeadership has been referenced as, “One of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth” (Burns, 1978/1995). Although numerous leadership theories occupy the literature and seemingly limitless research on the construct exists, the question still remains – what characteristics, skills, or behaviors constitute an effective leader? This study sought to contribute to the field of leadership research by examining the leadership behaviors and emotional intelligence of a group of adolescent leaders. If these student leaders were determined to possess above-average emotional intelligence, then it might open the door for future research regarding the role that emotional intelligence plays in the success of adolescents serving in positions of leadership.
Numerous studies have examined the connection between the emotional intelligence and leadership ability of college and career adults; however, this relationship has not been as well-researched among the adolescent population. This study endeavored to add to the existing literature by providing insight into the emotional intelligence and leadership behaviors of students who had completed a year of service in a leadership role as an FFA officer. The population consisted of students who had served as an officer at either the chapter, district, or state level in the state of Alabama during the 2023-2024 school year.
Through the utilization of two quantitative survey instruments, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version Short Form (Bar-On EQ:iYV(S)), the officers’ emotional intelligence and perceived leadership behaviors were examined. The collected data determined that these student leaders more frequently possessed transformational leadership behaviors as well as the upper echelon of transactional leadership, and the officers’ mean scores on each of these behaviors aligned with the U.S. norms. However, the emotional intelligence of the officers was above the national average in all but one of the Bar-On EQ:iYV(S) scales. Further research is required to determine if these elevated emotional intelligence scores are indicative of only this group of student leaders or if the connection between leadership behaviors and emotional intelligence is applicable to the adolescent population
Eco-Leadership in Practice: A Mixed Methods Study of County 4-H Programs
No full textOur understanding of leaders and the role they play in organizations and society is changing. Four broad discourses of leadership have been identified as occurring during the past 100 years: controller, therapist, messiah, and eco-leader. The most recent, eco-leader discourse, is characterized by collective decision-making, collaboration, shared leadership, and grassroots organization. Eco-leadership is believed to be beneficial for organizations operating in a 21st century, knowledge-driven economy. A quintessential example of an ecological organization is the Extension Service's 4-H program, the organization which this study examines. However, in 4-H, as in many organizations, a majority of leadership development efforts focus on the individual, positional leader. Further, the vast majority of the literature devoted to eco-leadership is conceptual in nature; empirical studies linking leadership approaches to organizational outcomes are rare.
This study uses an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to examine: (a) the nature of the relationship between county 4-H agents' leadership discourse preferences and programmatic success; (b) county 4-H association members' levels of systemic and hierarchical thinking and programmatic success; (c) the way in which county 4-H association members' perceive their leadership within their counties; and (d) the relationship between these volunteers' perceptions of their leadership and other variables associated with programmatic success.
Findings indicate that the therapist discourse was the most preferred discourse among county 4-H agents, but that agents' discourse scores were unrelated to county 4-H program success. Associations' levels of hierarchical and systemic thinking were also not related to county 4-H program success. Additionally, county 4-H association members reported that: (a) agents play a central role in decision making and communication within the association; (b) association members rarely make decisions on programmatic matters; (c) associations are often not structured in accordance with 4-H's policy for associations; and (d) members are not provided opportunities for development in their roles as association members.Ph. D.The one thing we know about leadership is that it changes. Who we recognize as a leader changes over time. What we recognize as leadership also changes over time. In the last 100 years, there have been four eras of leadership, which one researcher dubbed: controller, therapist, messiah, and ecoleader. The latter, eco-leader era, is a 21st century society’s response to the technological and social changes taking place. As the world and its problems become more complex, so too have our ways of addressing them — and that requires a new kind of leader and a new kind of leadership.
But no one knows if this new form of leadership is more effective than any other. There is no scientific evidence, in other words. Rather, most claims are theoretical — it should be better, in theory. This study sought to link the eco-leader era’s approach to actual programmatic success and verify that it is effective. I studied county 4-H programs, which, it is generally believed, subscribe to the eco-leader approach. I surveyed two groups involved in 4-H, categorized the counties as high or low scoring based on their program’s success, and then followed up with small-group discussions in six counties.
What I found is that one group, agents, actually preferred an older era of leadership: therapist. The other group, volunteers, had a variety of views. Regardless of either group’s views, neither seemed to be related to program success. It seems any type of leadership could lead to success or failure. When we met for small-group discussions, however, the three high-scoring counties did tend to describe a more eco-leader style organization, while the low-scoring counties tended to favor older approaches to leadership in which the person in charge makes most of the decisions and the rest carry them out.
This is important to investigate because leadership is, at its root, the way in which people accomplish things in groups. Understanding how we as humans change those ways to meet the demands of our time and determining if they are effective, and, if so, how can we share those strategies with others, is important work to help people grapple with the challenges of an ever-more-complex world
A Programmatic Evaluation of Four-Year Equine Degree Programs in the United States
No full textThe equine industry is a vast and growing segment of the United States economy that is supported by equine educational programs at the post-secondary level. The purpose of this study is to provide a programmatic evaluation of the four-year equine degree programs currently in operation. The potential for this study to inform and influence existing and emerging programs with their curricula and resource offerings could improve both the sustainability and relevance of equine programs nationwide. The quantitative data for this study was collected through the use of an online survey instrument. The instrument was sent to a department head or senior faculty member for each of the 77 institutions identified as offering a four-year equine degree program option. The data collected included the program type and objectives, curricular offerings, supporting resources, graduation rates, and characteristics of both the student and faculty populations. The findings indicate that the main objectives of a four-year equine degree program, regardless of type, should be to produce students with foundational knowledge in equine health, care, and handling, who are knowledgeable about what is currently happening in the equine industry, with the personal and professional skills needed for employment beyond academia, and who have a mindset for continued learning and education. To do this, equine programs need to offer students the time to put their theoretical knowledge into practice with hands on activities. Twenty course topics were evaluated for student success upon graduation, the two highest ranked courses were equine care and management and communications and the two lowest ranked courses for success were general reproduction and genetics. Overall, participating institutions believed that an equine industry internship was the most valuable experience a student could participate in, and that the most needed resources were horses and industry specific teaching professionals. Graduation rates were similar across programs and career paths varied only slightly in terms of primary equine employment or employment in the animal science or agricultural industries outside of equine specific occupations. The information found will inform stakeholders of the key curricula and resource needs of successful post-secondary institutions and serve as a foundation for future studies involving equine educational degree programs
Understanding Writing Expectations and Self-Efficacy in the Cooperative Extension Service
No full textCommunication, specifically written communication, is typically identified as a top competency for Extension agents (Benge et al., 2011; Cooper et al., 2001; Harder & Narine, 2019). However, the competencies within written communication have not been explored or clarified within these studies. As such, this study aims to better define what specific writing competencies are necessary to be an effective writer as an Extension agent, determine what specific types of writing exist in Extension, and assess the writing self-efficacy of Extension agents in Alabama (Bandura, 1997). This study consists of two parts: the first part uses a Delphi method, and the second part uses a quantitative survey method. In the Delphi panel, State Extension directors and other Extension leadership identified seven genres of writing in Extension and the necessary competencies within them. These experts considered each form of writing separately and showed that they considered the contextual differences between each and changed their expectations in response (Flower, 1994). In the second part of the study, Extension agents were asked to consider which genres of writing they engage in; participating agents reported that they engage in several forms of writing. Internal communications and social media were among the highest reported genres of writing that agents produce content for. Extension agents in Alabama also assessed themselves and shared their perceived effectiveness in each relevant writing genre and the competencies within that genre. Agents perceive themselves to be very effective in their writing within every genre of writing that was identified. Social media was reported as a form of writing that the majority of agents engage in, and it was also the writing genre that received the lowest average of effectiveness. Alabama Extension agents might benefit from more training that focuses specifically on writing for social media
Journal of Leadership Education
No full textOur understanding of leaders and the role they play in organizations and society is changing, which has important implications for leadership education. At the turn of the century, society began to move from a mechanistic understanding of leadership to a more ecological one. The latter, ecological approach to leadership is characterized by collective decision-making, collaboration, shared leadership, and grassroots organization. While leadership educators have acknowledged this shift, more case examples are needed to illuminate practical implications for leadership. This study of county 4-H associations uses an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to explore the relationship between three factors: (a) subjects’ levels of hierarchical and systemic thinking; (b) how their associations engage in leadership and organizational learning; and (c) programmatic success. While no direct relationship emerged between programmatic success and subjects’ levels of hierarchical and systemic thinking, mixed methods results revealed several distinctions between high and low scoring programs’ approaches to leadership. These distinctions support an ecological approach to leadership, which in turn impacts modern approaches to leadership education.Published versionTrue (Extension publication?
