THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITY SERVICE- LEARNING PROJECTS AND PERSONAL AND LEADERSHIP LIFE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT IN 4-H LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES Connie S. Phelps, Assistant Professor University of Arkansas Joe W. Kotrlik, Professor Louisiana State University Abstract This study compared perceptions of personal and leadership life skills development of high school 4-H leadership activity participants by whether they participated in the 4-H Junior Leader Club (JLC) and/or the CHARACTER COUNTS! (CC) peer teaching program. The target population was all high school students who participated in either the CC or JLC program when both programs were available. Participants were typically 15 years old, female, white, lived in towns with a population under 10,000 and received mostly A’s and B’s in high school. Participants perceive they have high life skills in all areas measured by the Leadership and Personal Development Inventory (LPDI). No difference exists in perceived personal and leadership life skills development among students who participated in the CC or JLC programs, or in both. Relationships do exist between personal and leadership life skills development constructs and certain personal characteristics of the students who participated in selected 4-H leadership development activities. Future research should consider using the researcher’s reconfigured scales from the LPDI to study 4-H participants involved in more structured 4-H experiences. Introduction what they experience; that provide opportunities for young people to apply 4-H In 1997, the Division Leader for project skills and knowledge in real life Louisiana 4-H Youth Development brought situations in their own communities; that together a group of experts to develop a enhance what is taught in 4-H by extending training component in the Youth Voices and learning into the community; and that entail Action Campaign training materials. This long-term involvement which may last from training curriculum (Seals, 1998) was a step- one to six months or longer; and that help by-step guide for implementing community foster a sense of caring for others. Through service-learning (CSL) projects by a 4-H’er the experiential learning process, youth or 4-H club. It provided youth a step-by-step internalize knowledge and gain the ability to process and a checklist for planning and apply life skills appropriately. conducting community service-learning The experiential learning process is projects. It was also a teaching tool for based on five steps. The steps include preparing community service organizers, experience (do it), reflection (what youth volunteers, and community happened), process (what’s important), collaborators. generalize (so what), and application (now In 4-H community service-learning, what). This process was created from Kolb youth learn and develop through active and Fry’s model of four learning styles participation in thoughtfully organized elements: concrete experience, observation service experiences that meet community and reflection, the formation of abstract needs; that are coordinated in a collaborative concepts and testing in new situations (Kolb effort between 4-H and other individuals or & Fry, 1975). The experiential learning groups; that provide structured reflection process begins with a person carrying out a time for youth to think, talk and write about particular action (experience) and then Journal of Agricultural Education 67 Volume 48, Number 4, 2007 Phelps & Kotrlik The Relationship Between… seeing the effect of the action in this theory of truth (James). John Dewey was situation (reflect). The third step is to greatly influenced by William James. understand these effects in the particular Dewey believed the mind is an instrument instance so that if the same action was taken for realizing purposes. For him, pragmatism in the same circumstances it would be was a way to show how the conclusions of possible to anticipate what would follow science affect the values guiding human from the action (process). Then, the fourth conduct (Kemerline; Dewey). Dewey step is to understand the general principle believed that individuals should be educated under which the particular instance falls as social beings, capable of participating in (generalize). When the general principle is and directing their own social affairs and understood, the last step, according to Kolb, that education is a process of living and not is its application through action in a new a preparation for future living (Kraft, 1996). circumstance within the range of He wrote that actions directed toward the generalization (Smith, 2001). Community welfare of others stimulate academic and service-learning is built on the experiential social development. He viewed education as learning process that provides young people a way to free the individual to engage in with opportunities to develop necessary life continuous growth directed toward skills by having the learners actively appropriate individual and social aims engaged in posing questions, investigating, (Ozmon & Craver, 1999). experimenting, being curious, solving Youth wish to feel they are valuable and problems, assuming responsibility, being are making important contributions. A creative, and constructing meaning. Gallup poll identified the desire of youth to be involved at significant levels within their Review of Literature communities (Caldwell, 1994). When compared to adults, the poll indicated that Personal and leadership life skills are youth ages 14 to 17 are volunteering at the developed through 4-H subject-matter same rate or higher. The two most projects and community service-learning frequently cited reasons for volunteering projects. The development of these skills were “wanted to do something useful” allows youth to cope with their (47%) and they “thought they would enjoy environments by making responsible the work” (38%) (Groff, 1992). decisions, having a better understanding of their values, and being better able to Community Service Learning communicate and get along with others Community service-learning projects are (Boyd, Herring, & Briers, 1992; Dewey, one method for increasing personal and 1938). William James, John Dewey and leadership life skills development William Heard Kilpatrick, along with C.S. opportunities for youth. Community service- Pierce, laid the groundwork for personal and learning projects offer teens opportunities to leadership life skills development through practice skills and reflect on experiences to learning by doing and service to the learn more about themselves (Boyd, 2001). community (Dewey; James, 1907; It is a pedagogical tool used to enhance the Kemerline, 1997; Kilpatrick, 1927; Pierce, meaning and impact of traditional 1878). The concept of “learning by doing” is course/project content. Connecting service set in the pragmatic philosophical thought directly with projects can help develop a process. The term pragmatism was first well-informed, critically-thinking, and introduced by Pierce in an article entitled civically-engaged citizenry (Sax & Astin, “How to Make Our Ideas Clear.” Pierce 1997). Through this experiential learning believed in putting ideas to the test and then process, youth internalize the knowledge observing the consequences. Thus, the birth and gain the ability to apply the skills of pragmatism. William James, one of the appropriately. As a method of educational founding fathers of the American Pragmatist and informational delivery, the experiential Movement beginning around 1907, learning model emphasizes that clients and considered pragmatism to be both a method youth learn and develop through active for analyzing philosophic problems and a participation in thoughtfully organized Journal of Agricultural Education 68 Volume 48, Number 4, 2007 Phelps & Kotrlik The Relationship Between… experiences that meet actual community Community Service-Learning needs and that are coordinated in on-going and Character Education collaboration among agencies (Simpson, According to the Josephson Institute of 1998). Much like on-the-job training and Ethics (2001), two of five high school age internships, community service-learning students and one-third of college students seeks to provide an educational experience have cheated on an exam. More than one- that is tied to the “real world.” To provide third of 19 to 24 year old males and one- these experiences for youth, relationships fifth of females said they would lie to get a must shift from youth being passive job and half the college males and 38% of recipients to being active members of a team the females said they had driven an which decides on and carries out the automobile while drunk. The Character programs (Israel & Ilvento, 1995). Education Partnership (CEP) (1998) Community service-learning has had a 20- supports the concept that there is an integral year history at the university level and a 15- relationship between community service- year history at the secondary level. In a learning and character education. The report titled, What do we know about the universal values in all phases of school impact of field based program on students, include proactive strategies and practices presented at the annual conference of the that help children to not only understand National Society of Experiential Education core ethical values, but to care about and act in 1993, Giles and Eyler (as cited in Hesser, upon them. The South Dakota Survey of the 1995) cited the lack of research in the field. CHARACTER COUNTS! Program (South Giles and Eyler indicated that most of the Dakota State University, 2000), one of the reported research is anecdotal, based upon most comprehensive assessments of self-reported data, and rarely documents character education, found a dramatic learning outcomes. reduction in crime, drug use, suspension Community service-learning projects are rates, and misbehavior among middle and most often a partnership between a high school students who participated in the community-based program/agency and a CHARACTER COUNTS! program. youth serving organization or educational Service-learning can be another means of institution. In a study by McLaughlin (2001) providing an innovative opportunity to from 1987 to 1999, he and his colleagues connect academic learning and the values came to know hundreds of young people and emphasized in character education with real- their work in approximately 120 youth world application. By doing so, service- organizations in 34 different communities, learning helps all children meet challenging from Massachusetts to Hawaii. Despite the academic standards and integrate core challenges these young people faced in ethical values into their lives (RMC everyday life, compared to many typical Research Corporation). young people in the U.S., those youth with high levels of participation in community Development of Personal and organizations were 26% more likely to have Leadership Life Skills received recognition for good grades and Carter and Spotanski (1989) studied self- 20% more likely to rate their chances of reported perceptions of personal and going to college as very high. They were leadership life skills of selected high school nearly twice as likely to view themselves as students in Iowa. A descriptive case study worthy persons and 13% more likely to was used as the research design. The results believe that they would have a job that they showed that students who had served as an enjoyed. Supporters of community service- officer in a student or community learning believe students involved in organization had developed personal and community service-learning experiences are leadership life skills significantly higher more tolerant of others different from than those students who had not served as an themselves, have a greater appreciation for officer. Significant differences in other cultures, find rewards in helping perceptions of all 10 personal and leadership others, and feel more connected with their constructs were indicated by those students communities (Hinck & Brandell, 1999). who had served as committee chairs in Journal of Agricultural Education 69 Volume 48, Number 4, 2007 Phelps & Kotrlik The Relationship Between… student or community organizations and leadership activities, achievement, ethnicity, those who had not. Students who had served and gender, explained significant amounts of as committee chairs had higher skills as the variance in the Youth Leadership and indicated by each of the 10 constructs. Life Skills Development (YLLSD) scores Mefford et al. (1999) measured 4-H after controlling for self-esteem, years in member perceptions related to leadership. 4-H, age, ethnicity and place of residence. These skills were identified in Carter’s Participation in 4-H leadership activities had (1989) Personal and Leadership Inventory. a positive relationship with youth leadership Responses on the individual ability of life skills development, explaining 12.6 % of leadership skills indicated that 4-H’ers rated the variance in YLLSDS scores. Minority themselves highly in their ability to 4-H members were found to have slightly communicate and make decisions and in higher youth leadership life skills their self-esteem. 4-H members who spent development scores than nonminority more than 16 hours a week on 4-H work members, explaining 3.3% of the variance in reported a higher level of decision making YLLSDS scores. Achievement expectancy abilities. 4-H members who spent more than had a slightly positive relationship with 5 hours in 4-H activities per week were youth leadership life skill development, twice as likely to report a higher level of explaining 1.9% of the variance in YLLSDS understanding of self. Also, approximately scores. Gender was found to predict 1.7% of 89% of respondents agreed or strongly the variance in YLLSDS scores among agreed that they had the ability to senior 4-H members. Female members had communicate, while 94% of respondents higher youth leadership life skills scores indicated having a high ability to understand than males. themselves. Finally, 93% of respondents reported having a higher ability to make Statement of the Problem decisions (Mefford et al.). In 2000, Richey conducted a study The Cooperative Extension Service is investigating if participation in 4-H provided constantly facing demands by funding opportunities for youth to learn and practice agencies for evidence of programming leadership life skills. The study concluded impacts. In 1993, the 103rd U.S. Congress that 4-H members perceived themselves to enacted the Government Performance and have developed leadership life skills at a Results Act (GPRA). One purpose of this higher level of frequency than non-4-H Act is to help federal managers improve members. The study concluded that service delivery by requiring that they plan participation in 4-H promoted leadership life for meeting program objectives and by skills development and that the research providing them with information about questions concerning leadership life skills program results and service quality. development show that there is a significant Adequate evidence does not exist that difference among 4-H’ers and non-4-H’ers documents the effectiveness of 4-H in leadership life skills development for the community service-learning projects. This understanding of self, communicating, study was designed in an effort to provide relating to others, learning/sharing, some evidence of the effectiveness of a managing and making decisions, and community service-learning project as working with groups scales. related to the specific development of personal and leadership life skills in high Relating Personal Characteristics to Life school 4-H leadership activity participants. Skills Development Seevers and Dormody (1994) conducted Purpose and Objectives a study using the Youth Leadership Life Skills Development Scale to determine The purpose was to compare self- predictors of youth leadership life skills reported perceptions of personal and development among 1992-1993 senior 4-H leadership life skills (Carter, 1989) members in Arizona, Colorado, and New development of high school 4-H leadership Mexico. Four variables, participation in 4-H activity participants by whether they Journal of Agricultural Education 70 Volume 48, Number 4, 2007 Phelps & Kotrlik The Relationship Between… participate in the 4-H Junior Leader Club Development Inventory (Carter, (JLC) and/or CHARACTER COUNTS! 1989). (CC) peer teaching programs. A formal CC 3. To compare the personal and community service-learning project has six leadership life skills development as hours of participation in one project area measured by the Leadership and that incorporates a structured reflection Personal Development Inventory component as part of the overall service- (Carter, 1989) by whether students learning experience. A non-formal JLC participate in 4-H Junior Leader community service project is a one-time Clubs, CHARACTER COUNTS! service project that does not incorporate a peer teaching, or both 4-H Junior reflection component. The objectives were: Leader Clubs and CHARACTER COUNTS! peer teaching. 1. To describe students who participate 4. To determine if a relationship in 4-H Junior Leader Clubs and/or exists between personal and CHARACTER COUNTS! peer leadership life skills development as teaching on selected demographic measured by the Leadership and and personal characteristics. Personal Development Inventory 2. To describe students who participate (Carter, 1989) and selected in 4-H Junior Leader Clubs and/or personal and demographic CHARACTER COUNTS! peer characteristics. teaching on personal and leadership life skills development as measured Figure 1 provides an illustration of the by the Leadership and Personal researcher’s model for this study. Figure 1. Phelps-Kotrlik model for personal and leadership life skills development for 4-H leadership activity participants. Journal of Agricultural Education 71 Volume 48, Number 4, 2007 Phelps & Kotrlik The Relationship Between… Methods major areas were group achievement (27 items), attitude toward group work (25 Population and Sample items), and personal development (24 The target population was all Louisiana items). Since the individual items were high school students who participated in based on the personal and leadership life either CC or JLC during the 2003-2004 skills development literature, the decision school year. Therefore, this study was was made to use a factor loading level of .50 limited to those counties that have both CC as the basis for including items in individual and JLC. Youth in grades 9-12 are eligible factors. The .50 loading was used to for JLC membership; however, some strengthen each re-configured scale in counties allow youth to join in grades as low Carter’s Leadership and Personal as seventh. CC peer teachers are typically in Development instrument and eliminated grades 9-12. Parish-level 4-H agents were items that were less related to the constructs. asked to submit a CC and JLC participants The internal consistency coefficients for the mailing list. The combined mailing lists scales ranged from .73 to .86 which contained the names and mailing addresses indicates that all seven scales possessed of 1,193 participants. Cochran’s (1977) either extensive or exemplary reliability sample size formula was used to determine according to Robinson, Shaver and the sample size of 321. Wrightsman (1991). In addition, even though Carter had used individual factor Instrumentation scales plus overall scales as reported above, The Leadership and Personal the decision was made to develop individual Development Inventory (LPDI) developed factor scales only for the purpose of this by Carter (1989) was selected for use in this research. study. Respondents used a seven point scale to rate each of the 76 items and the mean Data Collection responses were interpreted as follows: 1.00- Application for exemption from the 1.49 - strongly disagree, 1.50 - 2.49 - Institutional Oversight Committee was disagree, 2.50 - 3.49 - slightly disagree, 3.50 applied for through the Review Board for - 4.49 - neither agree nor disagree, 4.50 - Human Research Subject Protection. 5.49 - slightly agree, 5.50 - 6.49 - agree, and Exception was granted by the committee 6.50 - 7.00 - strongly agree. because participants were not identified in As a result of minimal internal the study and the responses could not harm consistency coefficients for two of the 10 the subjects if made public. A cover letter scales and confirmatory factor analyses that addressed to each subject, a survey did not result in individual items loading on instrument, and a stamped, self-addressed factors in the same way reported by Carter envelope were mailed to the subjects (1989), it was determined that the scales selected to participate in this study. After reported by Carter were not valid measures two weeks, a second cover letter addressed of the personal and leadership attributes of to each subject, a survey instrument, and a 4-H participants in Louisiana. Because the stamped, self-addressed envelope were individual items had been judged to be valid mailed to those subjects who had not measures of the personal and leadership responded after the first mailing. Four weeks attributes of 4-H participants in Louisiana by after the initial mailing, an e-mail was sent the researcher and the instrument validation to the subjects’ parish 4-H agents. This team, the researcher utilized exploratory message asked the agent to personally factor analysis procedures as recommended contact the subject within the next week by Hair, Black, Babin, Anderson, and after receiving the e-mail message and Tatham (2006) to restructure the items into encourage the subjects to complete and factors valid for Louisiana’s 4-H return the survey. This method of participants. The 76 items in the LPDI were encouraging responses was utilized because divided into three major sections identical to the researcher did not have access to the those used by Carter in his research and subjects’ home phone numbers because of supported by the literature. Those three federal child protection regulations and Journal of Agricultural Education 72 Volume 48, Number 4, 2007 Phelps & Kotrlik The Relationship Between… university policies designed to protect existed for one of the scales, the data could human subjects. Three days after sending not be considered representative of all the e-mail message, a third cover letter participants in JLC and CC programs. addressed to each youth, a survey Therefore, the data reported in this study instrument, and a stamped, self-addressed should be considered as only representative envelope were mailed to each participant of the respondents. who had not responded after the first two mailings. Findings Data Analysis The sample consisted of 321 youth. A Descriptive statistics were used to total of 165 youth returned surveys with 121 describe personal and demographic in the 1st mailing, 29 in the 2nd mailing and characteristics, and personal and leadership 15 as a result of the telephone follow-up of life skills development. Analyses of variance non-respondents described in the data were used to determine if differences existed collection section (44.2% response rate). in life skill development among the three Since the youth could not be contacted groups in the study (CC only, JLC only, or directly for follow-up purposes as stipulated both CC and JLC). Appropriate correlation by the university institutional review board, coefficients (r, r ) were used to describe this response rate was excellent. pb relationships between variables. Forward multiple regression analysis was used to Personal Characteristics of determine if a model existed that explained a High School Students significant proportion of the variance in Three-fourths of the students in the personal and leadership life skill population were female (n = 124 or 75.6%) development. The alpha level was preset at and white (n = 126 or 76.8%), with almost .05 for all statistical tests. After the scales one-fourth being black or African-American were reconfigured, independent samples t- (n = 23 or 14.0%) or other races (n = 15 or tests were calculated to determine if the 9.2%). More than two-thirds (n = 110 or scale means differed significantly between 67.1%) lived in a town with less than 10,000 those who responded after the first two population, while 18.9% (n = 31) lived on a mailings and those who responded after the farm, 12.2% (n = 20) lived in a town with a 4-H agent was contacted via e-mail and population of 10,001-50,000, and 0.6% (n = asked to encourage the subjects to respond. 2) lived in a town with a population over A statistically significant difference existed 50,000. Information on the other personal in the group directing scale mean (t = 2.65, p and demographic characteristics of the = <.01) between the mail and follow-up respondents is presented in Tables 1 and 2. responses. Since a significant difference Journal of Agricultural Education 73 Volume 48, Number 4, 2007 Phelps & Kotrlik The Relationship Between… Table 1 Personal Characteristics of Responding Students who Participated in 4-H Junior Leader Clubs and/or CHARACTER COUNTS! Peer Teaching (Categorical Data) Personal Characteristics n % Membership in Other Extracurricular Activitiesa Church 135 82.3 School or Community Service Organizations (BETA, etc.) 100 61.0 Varsity Athletics 75 45.7 Departmental Clubs (science club, math club, FFA, FHA, etc.) 72 43.9 Special Interest Groups (chess, drill team, girl/boy scouts, etc.) 47 28.7 Student Government 41 25.0 Grades In School Mostly A’s 77 47.0 Mostly B’s 61 37.2 Mostly C’s 18 11.0 Mostly D’s 2 1.2 Mostly F’s 1 .6 Non-Respondents 5 3.0 Total 164 100.0 Note. N = 164. aResponses do not sum to 100% because respondents could hold membership in multiple extracurricular activities. Variable was dummy coded as 1 = yes to membership and 0 = no to membership. Variable was then totaled. Participants could hold membership in 0-6 extracurricular activities. Journal of Agricultural Education 74 Volume 48, Number 4, 2007 Phelps & Kotrlik The Relationship Between… Table 2 Personal Characteristics of Responding High School Students who Participated in 4-H Junior Leader Clubs and/or CHARACTER COUNTS! Peer Teaching (Interval Data) Personal Characteristics Range n M SD Age 12-19 164 15.32 1.64 Grade 7-12 164 9.68 1.67 Years in 4-H 1-9 164 4.70 2.73 Years in 4-H Junior Leader Club 1-6 162 1.51 1.59 CHARACTER COUNTS! lessons taught 0-60 163 6.59 10.98 Years as a CHARACTER COUNTS! peer teacher 0-5 160 1.18 1.21 Note. N = 164. Personal and Leadership Life Skills of High detailed factor analysis results are not School Students presented. The scale grand means indicated The data for the students’ personal and that the respondents agreed with the leadership life skills development as construct represented by the items in the measured by the Leadership and Personal group cohesiveness, group drive, group Development Inventory (Carter, 1989) and interaction, guidance, citizenship and self- after revisions indicated by exploratory assurance scales, while they slightly agreed factor analyses are presented in Table 3. Due with the construct represented by the items to the limits on the length of this manuscript, in the group directing scale. Journal of Agricultural Education 75 Volume 48, Number 4, 2007 Phelps & Kotrlik The Relationship Between… Table 3 Items, Means and Standard Deviations for the Seven Scales in the Leadership and Personal Development Scale (Carter, 1989) After Revisions Based on Exploratory Factor Analyses Items M SD Group Cohesiveness 5.60 .80 17. Group members are friendly. 5.99 1.21 22. Members understand what they are to do. 5.98 .94 16. Our group works well together. 5.84 1.08 24. Members can depend upon each other for help. 5.84 1.18 23. Members enjoy working with each other. 5.80 1.12 27. Members support group decisions. 5.76 1.11 1. Our group is really close. 5.35 1.15 14. Our group is the best group in the school. 5.01 1.54 15. Members of the group are best friends with each other. 4.74 1.58 Group Drive 5.75 .83 11. Our group does a good job. 6.09 .97 3. Group members want to do a good job. 6.07 1.05 8. Members like working on group activities. 5.84 1.05 6. Our group achieves its goals. 5.83 1.10 9. Members follow through with assigned responsibilities. 5.68 1.13 5. Our group is enthusiastic about it activities. 5.51 1.22 20. Members assume responsibility in the group. 5.30 1.35 Group Interaction 5.99 .67 33. I listen carefully to opinions of group members. 6.07 1.00 35. I am willing to accept different ways of doing things. 6.02 1.00 37. I believe that group members are responsible persons. 5.79 1.14 40. I am able to communicate goals and objectives to group members. 5.74 1.18 41. The planning of activities should be a group effort. 6.28 1.00 47. I am confident in the ability of group members. 5.84 .96 48. I believe in dividing the work among group members. 6.22 .92 49. I believe group members are capable. 6.15 .97 50. I am able to check on the progress of group activities without interfering. 5.56 1.24 52. I am a good listener. 6.19 .92 Group Directing 4.49 1.00 29. I am confident of my own abilities. 5.90 1.06 43. I feel comfortable being a group leader. 5.57 1.51 28. I prefer to do things myself to ensure they get done. 4.77 1.60 42. It is easier to do things myself. 4.14 1.62 32. I spend time doing work for other group members which they could do for themselves. 3.30 1.85 30. If it needs to be done right, only I can do it. 3.23 1.66 Guidance 5.76 .93 63. I am respected by others my age. 5.94 1.10 64. I can explain difficult ideas to others to help them understand. 5.86 1.09 55. I am recognized as a leader by those of my own age. 5.52 1.28 Journal of Agricultural Education 76 Volume 48, Number 4, 2007