Importance of Program

Voting is an indicator of community and civic engagement. According to the US Census Bureau, 77.1% of Kentuckians 18 to 24 did not vote during the 2018 presidential election. Low turnout amongst the youngest voter demographic, suggests the need for 4-H to provide experiences to increase youth leadership skills, social responsibility, and community awareness with the purpose of developing active future community leaders.

Response

A robust leadership program, targeting fifth grade and middle school-aged youth, was implemented and presented to 124 youth. Over the course of the fall semester, each participant received ten leadership development hands-on educational hours for a total of 1,240 participant educational hours. A variety of 4-H research-based curriculum was used which included YELL (Youth Engaged in Leadership and Learning), Unlock Your Leadership Potential, and National 4-H Leadership (My Leadership, Leadership Mentor, Leadership Roadtrip, Agents of Change, and Finding Your Voice: Public Speaking Made Easy) curriculums. Session topics included defining leadership, leadership styles, active listening, communicating with a diverse audience, cultural awareness, and community service learning. Activities focused on understanding self-responsibility, civic engagement, team building, reaching a group consensus, critical thinking, and effective communication.

Results

4-H leadership experiences help youth develop into active contributing members of society by aiding youth in gaining life skills including conflict resolution, self-motivation, and responsible citizenship. According to a mid-term evaluation, youth reported that they’ve applied new skills in communication (91/4%), working with differing personalities (96.9%), and goal setting (85.2%). Eighty-nine percent of youth reported increased cultural awareness. Youth reported 4-H as being a place to be a leader (94.3%), ability to work through disagreements with others (97.1%), and the ability to solve “real-life” problems through community service (97.1%).

Quotes from 4-H leadership program participants:

1. “4-H gave me a new definition of leadership of setting an example and helping others,” Connor W.
2. “I learned how to work well with people from a different background than mine through the 4-H leadership program,” Payslee D.
3. “The skills that I learned during 4-H will help me become a better leader in my community,” Addison K.

As the participants in the 4-H leadership program discovered, there are numerous definitions and perspectives of leadership. In this activity, youth brainstorm what they think makes a good leader by identifying role models and thinking of leaders’ skills, qualities, values, beliefs, and actions. Afterward, each participant develops their own personal definition of leadership and what it means to be a leader.

  4-H leadership participants practice their communication skills in the Lions, Tigers, and Bears leadership initiative activity. In this activity, a “mute” group must communicate how to replicate a picture without words to the “physically bound” group which then relays the instructions to the blind group. The goal is for the blind group to replicate the picture.