The Relationship Between Participation In Community Service-Learning Projects And Personal And Leadership Life Skills Development In 4-H Leadership Activities

Abstract

This study compared perceptions of personal and leadership life skills development of high school 4-H leadership activity participants by whether they participated in the 4-H Junior Leader Club (JLC) and/or the CHARACTER COUNTS! (CC) peer teaching program. The target population was all high school students who participated in either the CC or JLC program when both programs were available. Participants were typically 15 years old, female, white, lived in towns with a population under 10,000 and received mostly A's and B's in high school. Participants perceive they have high life skills in all areas measured by the Leadership and Personal Development Inventory (LPDI). No difference exists in perceived personal and leadership life skills development among students who participated in the CC or JLC programs, or in both. Relationships do exist between personal and leadership life skills development constructs and certain personal characteristics of the students who participated in selected 4-H leadership development activities. Future research should consider using the researcher's reconfigured scales from the LPDI to study 4-H participants involved in more structured 4-H experiences.