Introduction and Problem Statement

In recent years economic growth has brought expansion of businesses and residential development further and further into the countryside far beyond previous city centers and suburbs, resulting in growing numbers of citizens becoming alarmed about the loss of farmland and open space. The complexity of issues such as this has brought about enormous challenges in program development for Extension educators.

To address these complex issues, Extension programs, typically developed through input from clientele committees, must now move beyond traditional approaches in order to provide relevant and timely programming. Application of research generated at the local level has become inextricably linked to the way Extension professionals develop programming (Nieto, Schaffner, & Henderson, 1997). This became very apparent as land use issues began to take center stage in Portage County, Ohio in the mid 1990s.

Portage County (PC), located in the midst of the metropolitan areas of Cleveland, Akron-Canton, and Youngstown, is perhaps similar to many areas of the country. In the past, Portage County was primarily an agrarian community. However, with easier access to and from places of employment because of improved highways, along with the increased desire of residents and businesses to move away from the cities, Portage County has experienced severe growth pressures in the past decade. During this period, population grew at the rate of about 6% per year. This resulted in the conversion of approximately 1,000 acres of farmland to non-farm uses per year. The number of dairy farms in the county fell from 150 in 1985 to 45 in 1996 (Ohio Department of Agriculture).

As residents observed rapid changes in the landscape, many became alarmed at the encroachment of development on agricultural lands. Township and county-wide organizations sought the assistance of Ohio State University Extension to help them understand what was happening to their community. One of the first steps was to obtain a systematic summary of the views of members of the community at large, since the views of traditional Extension clientele do not necessarily reflect those of the overall public. Research has shown that residents' views on land use issues vary from community to community (Lembeck, Willits, & Crider, 1991; Kline & Wichelns, 1996).

The purpose of the study undertaken was to determine the attitudes of residents about the importance of preserving agriculture in the county. The basic research questions addressed were (a) whether residents of Portage County believe that the loss of farmland and open space are significant problems, (b) what steps they believe are appropriate in dealing with land use issues, and (c) whether these views and opinions vary based upon important demographic factors such as length of residence in the county and occupation.

Survey Design

Mail surveys were sent to a sample of 1,854 residents of six townships in Portage County. The sample was taken randomly from a list provided by Americalist, obtained by Haines and Co. of North Canton, OH. Sampling procedures were undertaken following techniques described by Dillman, (1978). A total of 649 usable responses were returned, for a response rate of 35%.

One of the key questions that inevitably arises in survey research is whether those who responded differ significantly from non-respondents (non-response bias). Miller and Smith (1983) developed a well known procedure to test for this phenomenon, and it was employed in this study. A random sample of 70 of the non-respondents were telephoned, and their answers tested for statistical differences with the responses of those who had returned usable mail surveys. An F test with criteria of p<.05 was used. No differences were found at this level. Thus the authors can say with 95% confidence that non-response bias was not a problem in this survey.

Respondents were presented with a series of statements regarding agriculture and land use in PC. The survey incorporated a 5-point Likert-type scale, with 5 = strong agreement, 4 = agreement, 3 = no opinion, 2 = disagreement, and 1 = strong disagreement. Respondents were also asked about their occupation, and then categorized as one of the following: full-time farming, part-time farming, and non-farming residents. They were asked about how long they had lived in the county, and grouped again: less than five years, between five and ten years, and more than ten years.

Results and Discussion

The frequencies for the responses to the statements in the survey are presented in Table 1. Table 2 shows all three of the cases where statistical differences were found among groups.

Statement 1: We need to preserve agriculture in Portage County.

A total of 90% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with this statement. This result demonstrates that there is a strong consensus among the residents of Portage County that agriculture should be preserved. No significant differences existed among groups. Not a single respondent strongly disagreed with this statement.

Statement 2: New people who move to Portage County want to preserve agriculture.

Only 33% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with this statement. While virtually all respondents want to preserve agriculture, there is not a consensus that newcomers are of a like mind on this, even though they (new residents) expressed this desire in statement one above. Here again there was no statistical difference between groups, which indicates that even the residents of less than five years themselves are saying that residents who just moved to the county do not want to preserve agriculture. Evidently what they mean is that new residents other than themselves are not interested in preserving agriculture.

Statement 3: Agriculture is a major contributor to the economic base in Portage County.

The high rate of agreement on this statement across all groups reveals that respondents value agriculture not only for aesthetic reasons, but also as a viable industry with important economic impact in the community.

Statement 4: People move to Portage County for rural character.

This result, with over 90% in agreement or strong agreement, demonstrates that the residents recognize the role of rural character in making Portage County an attractive community in which to live. Residents of 10 years or less were more likely to agree with this than longer terms residents (Table 2).

Statement 5: Portage County is a farming community.

Here there was an extremely strong level of statistical difference between farm and non-farm groups. Non-farms residents were much more likely than part-time or full-time farmers (p<.05) to agree that Portage County is a farming community (Table 3). This demonstrates that there is a major difference in the way that the county is perceived by the different groups, and probably means that the conceptions of what it is that constitutes a farming community are radically different between farmers and non-farmers. It is interesting to note that a statistical difference was not observed here regarding length of residence, since often perceptions of community character differ between those who have witnessed changes such as growth and those who never knew the community prior to this growth.

Statement 6: Agriculture in Portage County is on the way out.

On this statement, opinions diverged greatly, but with relatively few respondents in strong agreement. This indicates that while most respondents are deeply concerned about the future of agriculture in Portage County, they believe that there is time to take action to preserve it. Even farmers who, in statement five, indicated that they no longer see Portage County as a farming community, were not significantly different from non-farmers in terms of believing that agriculture will vanish from the county.

Statement 7: Free market economics should determine the use of land.

A total of 60% of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement. Only 2% strongly agreed with it. This probably bears on the reactions to statement one. Residents see the changes taking place in the county, the loss of agricultural land in particular, and are aware that market forces that are driving land use. The primary question that emerges from this is, if the market should not be the driving force behind land use, what should? Typically, remedies are divided between regulations (such as zoning,) and incentive programs which involve subsidies or tax breaks. Most subsidy programs (such as purchase of development rights) require financing, which is usually obtained from some type of taxation.

Statement 8: There should be a tax to help pay to preserve agriculture.

The tax idea met with fairly strong opposition. Only 28% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with this position, while 60% opposed it. Another 12% expressed no opinion. Ironically, the opposition was slightly greater among farmers (although not statistically significant with p<.05). Perhaps the opposition here, and particularly among farmers, is a lack of understanding as to how such a tax might be generated and the revenue distributed. It may also be due to the general dislike for taxation.

Statement 9: Portage County should enact legislation to preserve farmland.

This idea had a broad range of support, with two-thirds of the sample either agreeing or strongly agreeing. Typically, farmers may object to this type of approach for fear that it will hinder their choices as to how they use their own land. That sentiment was noticeably absent from this sample, which indicates that members of the farming community in Portage County would be willing to make sacrifices on their land in order to keep it in agriculture.

Statement 10: Farmers in Portage County should receive tax breaks on their land so that we can preserve agriculture.

Tax breaks received a great deal of support across the board, with 89% of respondents in agreement or strong agreement. Despite the strength of support, a statistical difference was noted between groups (p<.05), not surprisingly with non-farm residents less likely to support or strongly support this type of remedy (Table 3).

Statement 11: We in Portage County are well enough informed to make prudent land use decisions.

This result presents the greatest challenge to Extension educators. A total of 55% of respondents were either unsure, disagreed or strongly disagreed that members of the community are well enough informed to address the issue of land use. Given the degree of importance respondents placed on agricultural preservation, along with an unwillingness to allow market forces alone to determine land use, this finding could be interpreted as a "cry for help" from the public.

Conclusions

Land use in this study was identified by local clientele as an important issue that needed to be addressed. OSU Extension personnel had the knowledge base to address the topic, but were not aware of where the citizens of the county were on the "learning curve" related to land use. Initially, an effort was made to develop educational programs related to the importance of the value of agriculture to the local economy. The survey results revealed that the community was already keenly aware of the importance of agriculture to the economy as well as to the rural character of the community. Therefore, to expend efforts in educational programming directed at this aspect of the land use topic would have been superfluous. On the other hand, most respondents are unconvinced that the community is prepared, in terms of information, to address the land use issues which confront the county.

Taken together, these results indicate that the appropriate role for Extension would be to teach members of the community about which land use tools have been utilized in other areas of the country, how they were implemented, and what the impacts have been. Regardless of what tools (if any) are adopted in Portage County, if a survey taken in the future reveals that Extension helped to bridge this significant information gap, then the Extension mission will have been accomplished.

The land use education program launched by Ohio State University Extension professionals consisted primarily of the following efforts:

1) Hosting local round tables where residents were invited to share their concerns about land use trends. This enabled residents to learn about their neighbors' views, to discover how widespread their own concerns were, and to break down misconceptions such as those discussed under statements two and four in the survey.

2) Publishing a fact sheet series on land use. This series consisted of 11 fact sheets which primarily focus on tools that state and local governments, property owners, and developers can utilize to manage growth while preserving farmland and rural character. These tools include tax breaks for agriculture (statement 10), purchase of development rights, agricultural districts, agricultural zoning, comprehensive planning, and cluster development. Copies of the fact sheets have been posted on the Web at htpp://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~landuse.

3) Conducting a series of workshops, seminars, and conferences on land use education. These programs featured a variety of speakers, including public officials and farmers from numerous states where land use has been a dominant issue for considerably longer than in Ohio. The speakers addressed how they had adopted land use tools in their areas, which tools they believed had been most successful, and how they might proceed differently if starting over today.

Since Extension educational resources are scarce, it is far more efficient to conduct survey research of clientele to ascertain their knowledge base and view of a subject than it is to develop programs without an understanding of where potential audiences are in terms of their views and knowledge. The survey results presented in this study were extremely beneficial to Extension educators involved in the land use issue in Portage County and helped to lay the foundation for land use educational programming that was developed and presented throughout much of the state as the issue continued to emerge in the late 1990s.

References

Dillman, D.A. (1978). Mail and telephone surveys: The total design method. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Kline, J., and Wichelns, D. (1996). Public preferences regarding the goals of farmland preservation. Land Economics, 72(2).

Lembeck, S. M., Willits, F. K., & Crider, D. M. (1991). Public attitudes toward farmland preservation in Pennsylvania: Analysis of a statewide survey. University Park: Report 226, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Pennsylvania State University.

Miller, L.E. and Smith, K. E. (1983). Handling non-response issues. Journal of Extension, 21 (Sept/Oct).

Nieto, R.D., Schaffner, D., & Henderson, J. L. (1997). Examining community needs through a capacity assessment. Journal of Extension, 35(3).

Ohio Department of Agriculture. Ohio Agricultural Statistics and Ohio Department of Agriculture Annual Reports, various years. Columbus: Author.

"In our desire to rear healthy productive youth, our policies and actions should not be restricted to prevention or cures but should include cultivating skills and meeting needs" (Pittman & Cahill, 1992).

4-H youth development programs have a long and successful history of enhancing the lives of the youth they serve. 4-H programs can be categorized as prevention programs, that is, they are designed to help keep young people from engaging in risky, health-compromising behavior. However, 4-H is more than prevention; it embraces positive youth development. 4-H is designed to help young people develop the kinds of skills needed to make positive, healthy decisions, now and in the future.

Problem-free youth are not necessarily fully prepared youth. Addressing problems facing youth (alcohol and substance abuse, antisocial behavior, early sexual activity, and teenage pregnancy) requires an emphasis on positive youth development strategies as well as problem prevention and intervention strategies (Perkins, Haas, & Keith, 1997). Both human and capital investments, must be made to create opportunities for youth to expand their own capacities as they journey to adulthood, and to prepare them to be productive citizens in the next millennium.

The aim of this article is to examine the assets of youth in Duval County 4-H (the city of Jacksonville, Florida). This article presents a composite look at the attitudes and behaviors of these youth and presents a plan for programming in Duval County 4-H to help youth develop assets reported as being low.

Sample Characteristics

The data for this study were gathered from a survey administered to 4-H'ers in Duval County. The survey instrument was developed using the Search Institute's Attitudes and Behaviors Survey (Benson, 1990) and a specialized 4-H survey. In order to maximize the sample size, clubs with ten or more members were targeted for this study. A total of 167 youth from eleven 4-H clubs completed surveys. Of these, 151 surveys were suitable for analysis. The other sixteen surveys were considered invalid because they were missing too much information or had a high score on the lie assessment scale within the survey.

Overall the respondents consisted of slightly more females (52%) than males (48%). The majority of the youth sampled were seventh graders (35%), followed by tenth (27%), sixth (20%), and eighth graders (18%). It is important to note that ninth, tenth, and eleventh graders were combined into the tenth grade category to create an adequate size category for statistical analyses. The respondents included European American youth (66%), African American youth(22%), multi-racial youth (9%), Hispanic youth (3%), and American Indian youth (1%).

Three quarters of the youth were from the suburbs of Jacksonville while 25% were from the inner city. Twenty-five percent of youth were home schoolers and 25% were part of Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). Youth who completed this study had been involved with 4-H for over two years.

For approximately one-third of youth who completed the survey, 4-H was their only activity; that is, they were not involved in any after-school clubs, sports programs, or religious groups. Nineteen percent of the youth involved in 4-H were also involved in both after-school clubs and sports programs. Some youth were involved in 4-H and sports programs (18%) while others were involved in 4-H and after-school clubs (11%). Twenty-eight percent of the youth did not answer that question. However, these results indicate the importance of 4-H as the only activity for 33% of this sample.

Importance of Adults: We All Need to Respond

In addition to positive relationships with their parents, youth need positive relationships with other adults. Numerous "resiliency" studies (Bogenschnieder & Olson, 1998; Seita, 1994; Werner & Smith, 1992) have demonstrated that one key factor in a youth's life is a supportive, mentoring relationship with a non-related adult, such as a volunteer leader from a youth development program like 4-H.

Fifty-three percent of the responding 4-H'ers in Duval County reported support from three or more non-parental adults. In 4-H clubs, youth have the opportunity to interact positively with adult leaders. Indeed, the majority of youth in this study reported that adults in their 4-H club make them feel important (65%) and listen to them (64%). In addition, most youth reported that their volunteer leader does pay attention to them (74%).

Thus, youth involved in Duval County 4-H report that at least one adult, their 4-H leader, who cares about them. Positive youth development is most likely to occur in settings that provide an atmosphere of caring and nurturance. According to this data, then, 4-H clubs are providing a setting that is caring and nurturing.

However, fewer than half the youth (43%) reported having a conversation with a 4-H adult that lasted 10 minutes or more. Only 32% of the youth reported having two or more conversations with a 4-H adult for 10 minutes or more. Similarly, 43% of the youth reported feeling comfortable talking to their 4-H leader about an important issue. According to this finding, 4-H youth do not converse with their 4-H leaders as much as might be expected or hoped. Thus, volunteer training may need to spend more time emphasizing the importance of adult-youth conversations.

Assets

Assets are factors promoting positive youth development. The asset-based approach is grounded in the literature on "risk and resiliency." Several factors within this literature appear to protect young people from experiencing severe, long-term damage as a result of adverse conditions (Benard, 1991; Blyth, 1993; Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995; Keith & Perkins, 1995; Lerner, 1995; Rutter, 1987; Werner & Smith, 1992). These assets may result from "external" factors such as positive relationships in families, friendship groups, schools, and the community, or they may result from "internal" factors reflecting the teenager's convictions, values, and attitudes (Benson, 1990).

The assets, as presented in Tables 1 and 2, can equip adolescents to make wise choices. Among surveyed 4-Hers in Duval County, some assets are encouragingly common; 75% or more reported having family support, religious community (constructive use of time category), integrity, and positive view of personal future (see Tables 1 and 2). In general, a higher percentage of Duval County 4-Hers report possessing each asset than did youth from the Search Institute sample. The Search Institute sample includes over 100,000 youth surveyed from 213 community across the United States. While the samples are comparable, the Duval County sample is proportionally more ethnically diverse than the Search Institute sample.

However, fewer 4-H youth in Duval County reported feeling safe than did youth from the Search Institute study (42% and 55%, respectively). Compared to youth from the Search Institute study, fewer 4-H youth in Duval County reported planning and decision-making skills, peaceful conflict resolution skills, and personal power. Moreover, other assets are alarmingly rare among Duval County 4-H'ers. For example, 30% or fewer reported engaging in creative activities and having planning and decision-making skills. As youth get older and face tougher choices, the number of assets tends to decrease in all the categories except the external asset category of constructive time use.

The average 4-H respondent in Duval County reported 53% of the external assets and 55% of the internal assets. On average, 4-H'ers in Duval County had 22 of the 40 assets. This average is higher than the average for the large sample of youth (18 of the 40 assets) collected by Search Institute.

Programming Response

Educational youth development programs like 4-H have a three-fold focus: (a) to afford youth interactions with positive adult role models, (b) to provide youth opportunities to build the skills and competencies necessary for them to be productive, contributing members of society, and, thus, (c) to prevent youth from engaging in problem behaviors. This investigation furnishes important information about assets that provide direction for future programming. Generally, Duval County 4-H youth are doing well in most asset categories. However as noted earlier, one category, social competencies, contains the lowest number of reported assets among the Duval County 4-H youth surveyed. As such, specific programming is needed to provide 4-H'ers opportunities to build and enhance their social competencies.

In order to address this issue, 4-H in Duval County has developed and is currently piloting an asset-building program within four clubs. Three assets from the social competency category (such as, decision-making, cultural competency, and peaceful conflict resolution skills) will be targeted in a club curriculum. Within the curriculum are brief learning sessions and experiential activities designed to afford youth opportunities to learn about and build their decision-making skills, peaceful resolution skills, and cultural competencies.

The county 4-H faculty are providing training and technical assistance to the adult leaders within the participating clubs. There are ten learning sessions that are being conducted in each club over a five-month period (February 1998-July 1998). An evaluation of the program is being conducted to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum in increasing these particular assets. The evaluation design consists of a brief paper-and-pencil instrument to be conducted as a pretest, post-test, and as a six-month follow-up. A comparison group, comprised of 4-Hers in a Duval County 4-H club that is not implementing the curriculum has been established.

The data from clubs participating in the curriculum and the non-participating club will provide a solid foundation for assessing the impact of the curriculum. In addition, information from the formative evaluation will be used to revise the curriculum and prepare it for voluntary use in all of Florida's 4-H clubs.

The Dynamics of Positive Youth Development

Even when youth are not plagued with problems, positive youth development does not occur naturally. Positive youth development involves acting in ways and doing things that build and develop youth's assets. The history of 4-H is one of positive youth development programming. A two-pronged approach "to prevent at-risk behaviors and to promote assets" is necessary to alter the frequency with which adolescents make choices that compromise their health or jeopardize their future (Perkins, Haas, & Keith, 1997).

It is important to note that the assets discussed in this study are powerful in predicting at-risk behavior but do not fully explain at-risk behavior. Other factors are likely to play a role, including family support, specific family discipline styles, family income, school dynamics other than climate, and exposure to particular kinds of prevention programs. Further research is needed to learn more about these relationships. At the same time, it should be noted that broad social and cultural factors might be at work, each of which is beyond the capacity of families and communities to alter.

Conclusion

This article demonstrates the importance of employing strategies that incorporate data about the needs and desires of their target audience. In addition, using a theoretical framework (i.e., the asset model)for program development is useful not only in guiding in the collection of information, but also in providing a systematic plan for program design. Finally, although not addressed in this article, the employment of a theoretical framework affords the potential for sound evaluation of objectives derived from that framework.

Positive youth development, then, is most likely to happen in a program where there is an extraordinary commitment to children and youth. Programs that focus their attention on increasing the assets of young people are most likely to succeed in building strong and resourceful youth. In turn, these programs are decreasing the number of youth who become involved in at-risk behaviors and the resulting loss of human potential. Duval County 4-H offers quality youth development programming. Currently, 4-H is enhancing its ability to meet the challenges facing youth by including targeted asset-based programming as presented here.

References

Benson, P. L. (1990). The troubled journey: A portrait of 6th-12th grade youth. Minneapolis, MN: Search Institute.

Benard, B. (1991). Fostering resiliency in kids: Protective factors in the family, school, and community. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Western Regional Center for Drug-Free Schools and Communities, Far West Laboratory.

Blyth, D. A. (1993). Healthy communities, Healthy youth: How communities contribute to positive youth development. Minneapolis, MN: Search Institute.

Bogenschneider, K., & Olsen, J. (1998). Building resiliency and reducing risk: What youth need from families and communities. Madison: Wisconsin Family Impact Seminars Briefing Report.

Furstenberg, F., Jr., & Hughes, M., E. (1995). Social capital and successful development among at-risk youth. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 580-592.

Keith, J. G., & Perkins, D. F. (1995). 13,000 adolescents speak: A profile of Michigan Youth. East Lansing, MI: Institute for Children, Youth, and Families.

Lerner, R. M. (1995). America's youth in crisis: Challenges and options for programs and policies. Thousand Oak, CA: Sage.

Perkins, D. F., Haas, B., & Keith, J. G. (1997). An integration of positive youth development within the runaway youth and homeless shelter system. New Designs for Youth Development, 13, 36-41.

Pittman, K. J., & Cahill, M. (1992). Youth and caring. Center for Youth Development. Washington, DC: Academy for Educational Development.

Rutter, M. (1987). Psychosocial resilience and protective factors. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 57, 316-331.

Seita, J. (1994, Summer). Children on the edge: Resiliency from the other side of the desk. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Problems, 15-18.

Werner, E., & Smith, R. (1992). Overcoming the odds: High risk children from birth to adulthood. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University.

This article is online at http://joe.org/joe/1999august/ent-a.html.

Copyright © by Extension Journal, Inc. ISSN 1077-5315. Articles appearing in the Journal become the property of the Journal. Single copies of articles may be reproduced in electronic or print form for use in educational or training activities. Inclusion of articles in other publications, electronic sources, or systematic large-scale distribution may be done only with prior electronic or written permission of the Journal Editorial Office, joe-ed@joe.org.