Success Story4-H Teen Leadership Academy
4-H Teen Leadership Academy
Author: Lisa Hagman
Planning Unit: Hancock County CES
Major Program: Leadership
Plan of Work: Developing Leadership, Life Skills, and Volunteer Skills
Outcome: Initial Outcome
Kentucky 4-H is grounded in Positive Youth Development. One important focus is working with, high school student to develop and guide them in a variety of settings to help them develop their leadership and life skills and then providing opportunities for them to lead. For this reason UK Cooperative Extension 4-H programs from Hancock, Daviess, McLean, Hopkins, Webster, Union, Ohio, and Henderson Counties partnered to provide a 4-H Teen Leadership Academy (TLA) for 8th-11th grade members. The Academy met monthly throughout the school year in various locations and counties and focused on developing leadership, social, communication, and life skills.
Outcome:
Leadership education builds several important assets in Kentucky youth and provides critical elements of youth development (Search Institute, 2004; Pittman, Irby & Ferber, 2001.) Youth who participate in leadership development opportunities are exposed to a variety of opportunities for personal development. Leadership activities help youth:
-develop confidence in their leadership potential and their own sense of identity
-improve their self-esteem
-enhance their communication skills in sharing, reflecting, and discussing
-understand the importance of diversity and improve their ability to relate to others
-learn effective decision-making methods and experience problem-solving situations
-learn group social skills (Unlock Your Leadership Potential: A Leadership Project Guide, University of Florida, October 2009.)
4-H utilizes high school students in a variety of settings to help them develop their leadership skills as well as life skills. For this reason UK Cooperative Extension 4-H programs from Hancock County, Webster County, Ohio County and Henderson County partnered to offer a 4-H Teen Leadership Academy (TLA) for 8th-11th grade members. The Academy met monthly throughout the school year in various locations and counties and focused on developing leadership, social, communication, and life skills.
The post-evaluation results showed have consistently showed an overall increase of knowledge, skills, and aspirations:
*are more confident in their increased leadership skills as a result of TLA
*believe TLA had a positive impact on their self-confidence
*have a better understanding of personality styles and how to work with others
*understand how personality styles can affect the group’s dynamics
Monthly Leadership Academy sessions prepared them for county, district, and state leadership opportunities in 4-H and at school that will benefit them in post-secondary education and in the workforce.
Stories by Lisa Hagman
Hancock County 4-H Sewing Workshop and Three Completed Projects
Teaching sewing to young people will not only teach them lifelong valuable and practicalskills, but ... Read More
4-H Passport Kitchen Participants "Visited" Five Countries
In our increasingly interconnected world, young people must acquire the knowledge and skills to enga... Read More
Stories by Hancock County CES

Juice to Jelly
Juice to JellyAccording to Kentucky County Health Rankings from 2021, 10% of the population of Hanco... Read More

4-H Sewing Workshop
Sewing is a skill not usually taught in homes today. But there are several benefits to sewing; it ca... Read More
Stories by Leadership
4-H Teen Leadership Academy
Kentucky 4-H is grounded in Positive Youth Development. One important focus is working with, high sc... Read More

Jr. Capitol Experience
Many of our young people today dont understand what our elected officials are responsible for, how t... Read More
© 2024 University of Kentucky, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment