Cathann Kress Director, Youth Development National 4-H Headquarters CSREES, USDA

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Cathann KressDirector, Youth DevelopmentNational
4-H HeadquartersCSREES, USDA
Transforming the Lives of Youth

• Why 4-H Matters

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I pledge

• My head to clearer thinking,
• My heart to greater loyalty,
• My hands to larger service and
• My health to better living,
• for my Club, my Community, my Country and my
  World.

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Our pledge identifies both our

• Guiding Principles
• Intended Outcomes

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Guiding Principles The Essential Elements
Belonging Positive Relationship with a caring adult An inclusive environment A safe environment Mastery Engagement in Learning Opportunity for Mastery
Independence Opportunity to see oneself as an active participant in the future Opportunity for self-determination Generosity Opportunity to value and practice service for others
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I pledge my head to clearer thinking
OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDEPENDENCE

• To develop responsibility, youth need to know
  that they are able to influence people and events
  through decision-making and action.

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I pledge my heart to greater loyalty
OPPORTUNITIES FOR BELONGING

• Current research emphasizes the importance for
  youth to have opportunities for long-term
  consistent relationships with adults other than
  parents. This research suggests that a sense of
  belonging may be the single most powerful
  positive ingredient we can add into the lives of
  children and youth.

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I pledge my health to better living
OPPORTUNITIES FOR MASTERY

• To develop self-confidence youth need to feel and
  believe they are capable and they must experience
  success at solving problems and meeting
  challenges.

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I pledge my hands to larger service
OPPORTUNITIES FOR GENEROSITY

• By participating in community service, youth
  connect to communities and learn to give back.
  These experiences help youth understand the "big
  picture" of life and find purpose and meaning.

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Intended Outcomes of 4-H

• Young people who are
• Trained to think, plan and reason
• Trained to be kind and sympathetic
• Trained to be useful, helpful and skillful
• Able to resist disease, enjoy life and make for
  efficiency

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Source?

• 1912 USDA circular

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1995 National 4-H Base Program Outcomes

• HEAD -- educational commitment and achievement
• HEART -- responsive, caring relationships
• HANDS -- civic and social responsibility
• HEALTH -- healthy lifestyles

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Americas Promise, 1997

• Marketable skills thru effective education
• On-going relationships with caring adults
• Opportunities to serve
• Healthy start for a healthy future
• Safe places, structured activities

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Does 4-H still matter?

• Relevant
• and meaningful outcomes
• Effective program principles

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What is 4-H?

• Programmatic outreach of the Land Grant
  University to our youngest citizens in their
  communities.
• The Land Grant Idea taken to youth.

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The Land Grant Idea

• Access to higher education for those with limited
  resources
• Just good practical science
• Science applied to practical problems
• Education for people of the state with problems
  to solve
• All this and more

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What is the Land Grant Idea?

• It is a set of beliefs about the social role of
  the university.
• Educating and training the professional cadres of
  an industrial, increasingly urban, society
• Providing broad access to higher education,
  irrespective of wealth or social status
• Working to improve the welfare and social status
  of the largest and most disadvantaged groups in
  society.

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The Land Grant Idea

• The Land Grant vision was of an institution that
  could be a training ground for democratic life
  and civic practice and that could quickly move
  knowledge from the laboratory to the community.

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• 1912, Marius Malgren, Hickory, VA

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Canning Clubs
Food Preservation
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Leading Community Change
Raised 209 bushels of corn on one acre (Averages
at that time were 45 bushels per acre).
Led to food safety techniques becoming standard
practice.
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Some things cannot be taught, but must be
experienced.

• Children and youth learn best when they can do
  Experiential Education
• Leading by Example Youth are early adopters and
  will change their communities.

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As the nature of the society that sustains the
university changes in fundamental ways, the
social role of the university will very slowly
undergo change in response to that new social
reality.

• James Bonnen, 1998

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What does America need from 4-H during its
second century?
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• The Land Grant University must be careful to
  commit its limited resources to outreach
  activities that are legitimate for a university
  and are of major social significance.

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What is legitimate? What has major social
significance?

• How will we define what this outreach should be
  so that we know what we are talking about, can
  manage it effectively, and can communicate its
  meaning to others?

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• Degree of consensus in the community
• Creation and organization of clientele (who is
  our constituency?)
• Having command of enough knowledge of the problem
  being addressed

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The Land Grant Mission 4-H

• An idea not a set of academic fields
• This idea is applicable to all the academic
  programs of the university.
• Basic concept is that knowledge has consequences
  and utility, both for individuals and society.
• Mission to serve society by providing access to
  knowledge to everyone who desires it and can
  benefit from the experience.

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How do we serve youth through our programs?
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Approaches to 4-H Youth Development
Focus Risks Risk Factors
Target Social Norms Communities
Goal Eliminate or Reduce Problems
Focus Skills Knowledge
Focus Developmental Needs
Target Individual Learners
Target Opportunities for Youth
Goal Competency in knowledge or skill
Goal Maturity
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Understanding the Different Approaches
Developed by Cathann A. Kress, Ph.D.
EDUCATION
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
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Approaches to 4-H
CONTENT
Belonging Mastery Independence Generosity
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• CONTEXT circumstances and conditions which
  surround an event or individual the
  circumstances or settings which determine,
  specify, or clarify the meaning of an event.
• CONTENT information and experiences created by
  individuals, institutions, and technology to
  benefit audiences in venues that they value.

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Approaches to 4-H Youth Development
CONTENT
Belonging Mastery Independence Generosity
School Enrichment
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All Youth need

• To know they are cared about by others
• (Attachment, Belonging, Connection)
• To feel and believe they are capable and
  successful
• (Achievement, Mastery, Competence)
• To know they are able to influence people and
  events
• (Autonomy, Power, Confidence)
• To practice helping others through their own
  generosity
• (Altruism, Purpose, Contribution)

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Educational Opportunities

• Opportunities to explore dimensions of the human
  experience from many perspectives (personal)
• Opportunities to examine the many kinds of social
  organizations that humankind has invested
  (organizational)
• Opportunities to experiment with the contrasting
  ways in which we explore and interpret our own
  lives and the natural world around us through the
  methodologies and assumptions of various fields
  (technical)

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What does America need from 4-H during its
second century?
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1. To remember our central mission is based on
the Land Grant Idea

• The Imperative vs. The Important
• A Covenant vs. A Contract

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What does it mean to have a COVENANT with youth?

• A covenant rests on a shared commitment to
• Ideas, Issues, Values, Goals
• Covenants are a promise to hold a vision that
  honors youth

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2. To create opportunities to meet the basic
needs of youth

• Belonging
• Mastery
• Independence
• Generosity

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Why meet youth needs?

• If youth needs are unmet, they become defining
  factors in the lives of youth
• If youth needs are met in positive ways, youth
  develop CHARACTER and are more likely to
  CONTRIBUTE

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3. To remember our UNIQUE purpose and plans
Engagement of Resources
Vision of 4-H Youth Development
Programs
Needs of youth and communities
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4. To EVALUATE our impacts
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Evaluation helps us understand our current
reality- where we are -

• and how far we are from our vision - where we
  want to be

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5. To make sure our programs CHANGE
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How do we change?

• We must be drawn to what we want to create not
  simply repelled by what we have.

People dont resist change, they resist being
changed.
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6. To remember the DREAMS of youth
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4-H Study

• Does participation make a difference in the lives
  of youth?

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What difference does 4-H Club participation make?

• Two year study
• To what extent and in what ways do
• 4-H Clubs influence and contribute to the
  context for positive youth development?

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Youth Development defined

• In this study, youth development was understood
  as a process of growing up and developing ones
  capacities in positive ways
• -Walker Dunham, 1994

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• Is success related to active participation and
  involvement in public demonstrations, community
  service projects, and events?
• Is success due to the relationships developed and
  the long-term membership?

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Findings- Members Only Survey

• 4-H Club youth in New York scored higher than
  both the Search Institutes youth with club
  participation and without club participation on
  all developmental assets tested.
• The type of club was not important.
• There was a difference for youth who remain in
  4-H for one year or more.

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Results?

• The results show that the process of youth
  development is positively influenced in multiple
  ways by 4-H membership.
• When membership includes some key essential
  elements

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Belonging

• Feeling Part of a Supportive Community
• Content Sensory, Awareness
• Design Elements Express it, let me sense it,
  involve others in it
• Strategies
• Encourage Peer Group Cohesion (ice breakers,
  games, social time)
• Encourage Cross-age Linkages, Staff-youth
  bonding
• Encourage ties with family and community
• Make small group time available to allow the
  development of close relationships with peers and
  staff
• Encourage collaborative and cooperative learning
  
• Show respect for the value of diverse cultures
• Provide multiple opportunities for youth to
  develop relationships with adults
• Encourage supportive peer relationships.

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Mastery

• Opportunities for Success the source of
  self-esteem
• Content Structure, Implementation Oriented
• Design Elements Order it, sequence it, walk
  through, practice
• Strategies
• Mix hands-on activities, projects or exhibitions,
  applied, contextual or workplace-related
  challenges
• Supplement competition with cooperative
  activities or games
• Develop multi-faceted teaching approaches that
  include group investigation, experiential
  learning and multiple outcomes
• Focus on the long-term goals of learning
  provide prompt feedback model and teach that
  failure and frustration are learning experiences.

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Independence

• Autonomy, Responsibility
• Content Data Oriented, Experiential
• Design Elements Free me to discover,
  experiment, visualize
• Strategies
• Before making decisions, ask if youth could make
  the decision
• Include youth in planning discussions and
  encourage input
• Ask youth to do something instead of telling them
  to do it
• Give youth responsibility to carry out with a
  minimum of reminders
• Commend youth who recognize the limits of their
  independence and seek counsel
• Help youth explore courses of action or
  appropriate decisions
• Never deprive youth of the thrill of overcoming
  an obstacle, dont jump in too quickly to help
• Maintain a close link between independence and
  responsibility
• Share power with young people through
  self-governance in significant areas.

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Generosity

• Purpose, Usefulness
• Content Conceptual, Big Picture
• Design Elements Metaphors, Discovery,
  Experiential, Visuals
• Strategies
• Mentoring/Tutoring programs for cross-age
  linkages, service projects and community service
  
• Tie learned skills/abilities to how they can be
  used in positive ways
• Respect and encourage bonds of friendship among
  young people and between staff and children
• Use as many opportunities as possible to
  encourage young people to imagine the feelings of
  others (discuss feelings or motivations of
  characters in literature, history or social
  studies)
• Highlight the effect of a young persons behavior
  on others (both positive and negative), reinforce
  gestures of caring and concern, and ask young
  people to take responsibility.

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• Youth Development experiences become
  TRANSFORMATIONAL when we provide opportunities
  for young people to
• Belong
• Master Skills through Experience
• Influence others
• Learn the meaning of service

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Challenges for those who care about 4-H

• Build the unique character of 4-H and strengthen
  its identity
• Strengthen the value relationship between 4-H and
  the Land Grant University
• Build a culture of philanthropy within 4-H

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What does America need from 4-H in the next
century?
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To be an effective youth development program
tied to its Land Grant University
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Characteristics of Effective Youth Development
Programs

• Youth as resources
• Ecological Approach
• Caring adults and safe environments
• Belonging with rules
• Flexible and responsive

• Long-term
• Real work and real responsibility
• Experiences resulting in product or presentation

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What does it take to assist young people to
become healthy, problem-solving, constructive
adults?

• Youth must
• Find a valued place in a constructive group
• Learn how to form close, durable human
  relationships
• Earn a sense of worth as a person
• Achieve a reliable basis for making informed
  choices
• Express constructive curiosity and exploratory
  behavior
• Find ways of being useful to others
• Believe in a promising future with real
  opportunities
• Cultivate the inquiring and problem-solving
  habits of the mind
• Learn to respect democratic values and
  responsible citizenship
• Build a healthy lifestyle
• Great Transitions Preparing Adolescents for a
  New Century
• Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development

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If you were to design a youth development program
intended to assist young people to become
healthy, problem-solving constructive adults
what would it look like?
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What would it look like?

• It would offer opportunities for youth to
  experience belonging
• It would offer opportunities for youth to
  experience a hands-on laboratory which connects
  them to the knowledge of the Land Grant
  University
• It would offer opportunities for young people to
  choose
• It would offer opportunities to experience what
  it means to be a citizen

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It would look a lot like the 4-H Club.
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www.national4-hheadquarters.govwww.4husa.orgCa
thann KressDirector, Youth DevelopmentNational
4-H HeadquartersCSREES, USDA
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• How can we strengthen 4-H?

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Remember that youth will participate in programs
that
1) Meet their basic needs 2) Build skills and
values 3) Use their skills, talents, energies
and time in ways that make them feel good and
powerful.
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Challenges in developing or expanding effective
programs for young adolescents

• Participation
• Access
• Funding
• Effectiveness
• Coordination
• The Future of Children When School is Out,
  David and Lucille Packard Foundation, Volume 9,
  Number 2, Fall 1999

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Participation Making programs attractive and
relevant to target audiences

• What do kids say they want?
• Fun and friends
• Voice and choice
• Income, race and gender influence who participates

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Accesswho can participate?

• Low-income communities---rural or urban--were
  least likely to offer consistent support for and
  a wide array of opportunities for adolescents.

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More access issues

• Logistics--transportation, location of services
  (including safety issues), fees, required
  expenses
• Perceptions--who is perceived as welcome in terms
  of race, gender, ability/disability, etc.

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Barriers to involvement...

• Difficulty of identifying programs
• Program costs
• Required parent participation
• Problem behaviors of some youth
• Family pre-occupied with other needs
• Youth lacked self-confidence to initiate or
  sustain participation
• Increasing the 4-H participation of youth from
  high-risk environments, B. Hobbs, Journal of
  Extension, 8/99.

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Funding.

• Multiple sources with multiple expectations
• Instability
• Inadequacy
• Inequity--easier to obtain a million dollars to
  study juvenile purse-snatching than a thousand
  dollars to study youth theatre or dance groups.

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Program effectiveness...

• Reliance on soft measures
• Failure to evaluate core services
• Few big studies
• Thorny methodological issues
• Few good measurement tools

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Coordination

• Competition
• Duplication
• Unique niches and contribution