October 2007
Volume 45 Number 5
Article Number 5RIB8

Accentuating the Positive: Colorado 4-H Impact Study

Jeff Goodwin
Director, 4-H Youth Development
Jeff.Goodwin@colostate.edu

Jan B. Carroll
4-H Youth Development Specialist
Jan.Carroll@colostate.edu

Melissa Oliver
4-H Program Coordinator
Melissa.Oliver@colostate.edu

Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado

Abstract: The study reported here measured the impact that the 4-H Youth Development experience has had on Colorado's young people. 4-H Youth Development programs must demonstrate their effectiveness with sound data to enhance the rich anecdotal information more easily available. Data were collected from 5th, 7th, and 9th grade students in Colorado. Results confirm that 4-H Youth Development members had higher grades, were more likely to help others, had better relationships with adults, were glad to be who they are, and had a significantly more positive outlook on life and the world around them than did non-4-H Youth Development members.

Introduction

4-H Youth Development has been in existence since 1902 in the state of Colorado and marked its 100th year anniversary in 2002. Members' participation in 4-H clubs allows them to acquire knowledge and life skills--psychosocial and interpersonal skills--that enable them to become productive citizens and catalysts for positive change to meet the needs of a diverse and changing society. According to the Targeting Life Skills Model (Hendricks, 1996), some measurable life skills include thinking, managing, relating, caring, giving, working, living, and being.

During the centennial celebration, many people speculated whether the Colorado 4-H Youth Development program would be viable for another hundred years. Data are required to demonstrate to citizens and elected officials the continued relevance and worth of this 100-year-old institution. In the past, the worth of the program has been conveyed by anecdotal success stories and the "gut-feeling" of 4-H members, families, agents, volunteers, and others familiar with the program. This method alone is no longer adequate in documenting the importance and value of the program (Goodwin et al., 2005).

The purpose of the Colorado 4-H Impact Study was to provide sound, research-based information to the public about the effect of 4-H Youth Development membership on the lives of young people. Of particular interest were at-risk behaviors. Some of these are among those also surveyed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), including behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence; tobacco use; alcohol and other drug use; sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases; unhealthy dietary behaviors; and physical inactivity (Centers for Disease Control, 2006).

Also of interest in the study were assets reported by youth. Search Institute's 40 Developmental Assets are "concrete, common sense, positive experiences and qualities essential to raising successful young people." Two groups of 20 assets have been identified:

• External assets are the positive experiences young people receive from the world around them. These 20 assets are about supporting and empowering young people, about setting boundaries and expectations, and about positive and constructive use of young people's time. External assets identify important roles that families, schools, congregations, neighborhoods, and youth organizations can play in promoting healthy development.


• Internal assets identify those characteristics and behaviors that reflect positive internal growth and development of young people. These assets are about positive values and identities, social competencies, and commitment to learning. The internal Developmental Assets will help these young people make thoughtful and positive choices and, in turn, be better prepared for situations in life that challenge their inner strength and confidence <http://www.search-institute.org/assets/>.

Cathann Kress, Director, Youth Development, National 4-H Headquarters, CSREES, USDA (2004) emphasizes 4-H Youth Development programs are intentionally designed to include the eight critical elements necessary for positive youth development. They are embodied by "a philosophy that values youth, provides the foundation for the 4-H program, and ensures significant impact" (p. i). The eight essential elements of 4-H Youth Development are:

• Positive relationships with caring adults


• Opportunities for self-determination


• An accepting and inclusive environment


• Opportunities to contribute through community service


• A safe environment for learning and growing


• Opportunities to develop skills and mastery


• Opportunities to be an active participant in life--now, and in the future


• Engagement in learning.

Methods and Procedures

The study was undertaken to determine the impact 4-H Youth Development may have had on 5th, 7th, and 9th grade students in Colorado public schools. The College of Business BK410 Marketing Research class at Colorado State University undertook the survey as a capstone project, dividing into small groups to assist in various aspects of survey administration, data entry and analysis, and reporting.

Population

The populations for the study consisted of a stratified random sample of 15 counties in Colorado. Five were drawn from each Cooperative Extension Region (West, South, and North). In each county, four schools were randomly selected from a complete list of schools that had 5th, 7th, and/or 9th grades (Colorado Department of Education, 2005). These grades were selected because they represent the audience served by 4-H Youth Development (Goodwin et al., 2005) and because they provide data from grade school, middle school, junior high school, and high school, depending on the configuration of the districts' schools. Limited demographic data were collected, in order to maintain anonymity of respondents.

Development of Instruments

The survey instrument used to assess the ways young people spent their time out of school and how that use of time may affect their academic, emotional, social, and cognitive development was patterned after the Montana Extension Service (in collaboration with researchers at Montana State University) study conducted in 2000 and replicated in Idaho in 2002 - 2003. The Search Institute approved the use of some of their survey questions about assets for the Montana survey. Idaho and Colorado requested and were granted permission to carry those questions forward for their replication studies.

The questions' format included fill-in-the-blank, yes/no, essay, circle those that apply (Likert-type scale), and multiple-choice. A Spanish version of the survey was available for those pupils who had difficulty reading or comprehending English. No Spanish-language surveys were returned.

Findings and Discussion

4-H Youth Development Members

Comparing the at-risk behavior of Colorado 4-H Youth Development males and females to non-4-H Youth Development males and females, the "non-4-H" includes those students who indicated they were never members, or had been members for less than 2 years. Results from previous administration of the survey in Montana and Idaho provide interesting comparison, because 4-H programs in all three states are organized in a similar way.

While in Montana (Astroth & Haynes, 2002) and Idaho (Goodwin et al., 2005), 4-H Youth Development participants were less likely to participate in at-risk behaviors than their classmates who were not in 4-H, the results in Colorado were different. Among females, none of the at-risk behaviors is significantly different based on 4-H Youth Development membership. The non-4-H Youth Development male students, however, were almost more than four times more likely to report having smoked and just over six times more likely to have used drugs than their 4-H Youth Development classmates.

With all grades (5th, 7th, and 9th) included in the analysis, 4-H Youth Development members (2 years or more) did not report any significantly different behaviors than non-4-H Youth Development members or those who had been members less than 2 years. However, when only 9th grade responses are examined for these at-risk behaviors, 4-H Youth Development students in this study were less likely to drink alcohol, shoplift, use drugs, damage property, or smoke cigarettes than their non-4-H Youth Development or members of less than 2 years classmates.

While the at-risk behaviors data were not congruent with findings in other states (Astroth & Haynes, 2002; Goodwin et al., 2005), in Colorado there was a notable difference in the two groups of students in the assets they demonstrated. Academically and socially, the Colorado 4-H Youth Development members showed themselves to be much more likely than non-4-H Youth Development students to exhibit positive behaviors.

As shown in Table 1, 4-H Youth Development members were much more likely to report that they received mostly A's than those who have never belonged to 4-H Youth Development. Their pattern of grades distribution was highly significantly different from the others. These data are congruent with findings in the Idaho study (Goodwin et al., 2005).

4-H Youth Development members were more likely to be involved as leaders in their school (Table 2) than their classmates who indicated they had never been a 4-H Youth Development member. These data reflect those collected in the Montana survey, where the 4-H students were significantly more likely to have been elected to a leadership position, appointed to a leadership position, and served as chair or member of a committee (Astroth & Haynes, 2002). In Idaho as well, the 4-H respondents were significantly more likely to report in the same categories (Goodwin et al., 2005).

4-H Youth Development members are more likely to help others within their communities (Table 3). Even more than in Montana (Astroth & Haynes, 2002) or Idaho (Goodwin et al., 2005), these Colorado young people are highly significantly more likely to be involved in projects helping others, to donate time or money to charity, and to help the sick, poor, or others. Nationally, 31% of teens report they donate their time to community service. Their volunteerism provides them a positive experience, benefits communities and society, and establishes a foundation for lifelong civic duty (Marcovitz, 2005).

Colorado 4-H Youth Development youth have better relationships with adults than those students who are not active in 4-H Youth Development, according to this study. When asked if they had a good conversation that had lasted longer than ten minutes with someone besides their parents, 65.3 percent of Colorado 4-H Youth Development members said they had (Table 4). This is a significant difference from the non-4-H Youth Development responses. This finding is consistent with Idaho (Goodwin et al., 2005).

When asked if they could go to their parents to discuss issues related to drugs, alcohol, sex, or any other serious issue, 4-H Youth Development members were not more likely to do so than those who had never belonged to 4-H Youth Development (Table 5). In Montana (Astroth & Haynes, 2002) and in Idaho (Goodwin et al., 2005), significantly more 4-H Youth Development students indicated that they would talk to their parents about these subjects than those who weren't involved with 4-H.

Responses to the "world view" questions were on a Likert-type scale from strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, to strongly disagree. Five of the questions were worded in the direction opposite of the other questions and are reported as disagree and strongly disagree. Four of these questions are noted in Table 6 and the fifth in Table 8 with an "(a)".

There were significant positive differences in the way 4-H Youth Development members responded to positive identity questions (Table 6). They feel they do have control over the things that will happen in their lives, they have much to be proud of, and their lives have a purpose. On the whole, they like themselves and are glad to be who they are.

The next group of questions also revealed that 4-H Youth Development members were more likely to respond in a positive manner to social competency statements than their classmates who had never belonged to 4-H Youth Development. In particular, Colorado 4-H Youth Development students in the study say they care about other people's feelings and stay away from others who could get them into trouble (Table 7).

4-H Youth Development members were more likely to respond in a positive manner to eight out of 11 of the Self Confidence, Character, and Empowerment statements than non-4-H Youth Development students (Table 8). Doing things on their own and setting goals are examples of the life skills built through 4-H Youth Development participation. Community assets recognized more significantly by 4-H Youth Development members include adults in the community who make the young people feel important; a feeling of mattering in the community; and having chances to make the community a better place.

4-H Youth Development members were more likely to volunteer in class to lead activities, and they reported that they feel other youth look up to them and follow their example (Table 9). They meet and greet new people easily, which is another representation of life skills learned in 4-H as well as a developmental asset. All of these differences were highly significant. Youth Development respondents in the Idaho study were significantly different from others in volunteering to lead in class and feeling other youth looked up to them and followed their example (Goodwin et al., 2005).

4-H Youth Development members are more comfortable when speaking in public, and they consider themselves to be better money managers than those students who have not been associated with 4-H Youth Development. At the same time, they are not significantly different from other students in their record-keeping skills or their organizational abilities (Table 10). Idaho respondents did not differ in record keeping skills, either, but did differ in comfort in giving a speech and considering themselves to be good organizers and money managers.

Summary

Results of the study show that youth in Colorado, whether in 4-H Youth Development or not, have many assets. 4-H Youth Development students appear to have more assets and to demonstrate more leadership behaviors and more empathy or caring towards others. In addition, they have higher levels of some life skills.

Conclusions

The study reported here measured the impact that the 4-H Youth Development experience has had on Colorado's young people. 4-H Youth Development programs must demonstrate their effectiveness with sound data to enhance the rich anecdotal information more easily available. Data were collected from 5th, 7th, and 9th grade students in Colorado. Results of the study confirm 4-H Youth Development members had higher grades, were more likely to help others, had better relationships with adults, were glad to be who they are, and had a significantly more positive outlook on life and the world around them than did non-4-H Youth Development members.

The data collected in the replication study support the conclusions drawn by Astroth & Haynes (2002) and Goodwin et al., (2005). Youth who are in 4-H Youth Development programs are more likely to demonstrate life skills and recognize developmental assets. They show positive characteristics, behaviors, and worldview.

Authenticating the significance of successful youth development programs such as 4-H Youth Development should be a priority in the minds of facilitators, legislators, and educators. 4-H Youth Development activities do not simply teach youth skills in agriculture and home economics. They enhance assets and teach life skills through non-formal, experiential, age-appropriate, research-based educational programs.

References

Astroth, K. A., & Haynes, G. W. (2001, February 14). Final report of the Montana Public School student's out-of-school time study. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. [On-line]. Available at: http://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/yuth/4Hsurvey.html

Astroth, K. A., & Haynes, G. W. (2002, August). More than cows & camp; cooking: Newest research shows the impact of 4-H youth development. Journal of Extension, 40. [On-line]. Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2002august/a6.shtml

Centers for Disease Control. (June 9, 2006). Youth risk behavior surveillance - United States 2005. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [On-line]. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/

Colorado Department of Education. (2005). Colorado education and library directory. Denver, CO: Colorado Department of Education. [On-line]. Available at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/edulibdir/directory.htm

Goodwin, J., Barnett, C., Pike, M., Peutz, J., Lanting, R., & Ward, A. (2005 August). Idaho 4-H impact study. Journal of Extension, 43, Article 4FEA4. [On-line]. Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2005august/a4.shtml

Hendricks, P. A. (1996). Targeting life skills model: Incorporating age-appropriate learning opportunities to assess impact of life skill development. Ames, IA: Iowa State University.

Kress, C. (2004). The essential elements of 4-H youth development. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University. [On-line]. Available at http://www.nis.wvu.edu/2004_Releases/n4release.htm.

Marcovitz, H. (2005). Teens and volunteerism. Broomall, PA: Mason Crest.

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