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

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

• The Essential Elements of Youth Development

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Three Important Discoveries

• Children and youth learn best when they can do
  Experiential Education
• Leading by Example Youth are early adopters and
  will change their communities
• Some things cannot be taught, but must be
  experienced.

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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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Approaches to 4-H Youth Development
CHILD CARE
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Understanding the Different Approaches
Developed by Cathann A. Kress, Ph.D.
EDUCATION
CHILD CARE
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
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Shifting the focus to a Youth Development Approach

• We must emphasize the importance of environment
  and creating opportunities.
• Programs must be available to all young people.
• Youth have to be seen as central actors in their
  own development.

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Assumptions of a Youth Development Approach

• The Youth Development Approach considers the
  whole young person, not just a single
  characteristic or problem.
• Youth Development is dependent on family and
  community development as it occurs in the context
  of the family, community and society.
• Youth Development is designed to focus on the
  positive outcomes we desire for young people, not
  the negative outcomes we hope to prevent.

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All Youth will find ways to

• 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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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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ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF 4-H YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
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Why is Meeting Youth Needs so Important?
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If Youth Needs are met in Positive Ways
Youth develop characteristics most of us relate
to character...
From Brendtro, L., Brokenleg, M., Van
Bockern, S. (1990). Reclaiming Youth at Risk
Our Hope for the Future. Bloomington, IN,
National Education Service.
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If Youth Needs are met in Negative Ways
Unmet needs can become defining factors in the
lives of youth...
From Brendtro, L., Brokenleg, M., Van
Bockern, S. (1990). Reclaiming Youth at Risk
Our Hope for the Future. Bloomington, IN,
National Education Service.
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If Need is Unmet
Some youth retreat or give up on getting needs
met...
From Brendtro, L., Brokenleg, M., Van
Bockern, S. (1990). Reclaiming Youth at Risk
Our Hope for the Future. Bloomington, IN,
National Education Service.
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How do we create opportunities?
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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
• Modify Teaching Strategies to enhance sense of
  belonging
• 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
• Communication Skills, Basic Content Skills,
  Interpersonal Skills and Self Management, Social
  Skills (money management, transportation, etc.),
  Job and Vocational Skills
• Strategies
• Mix hands-on activities, projects or exhibitions,
  applied, contextual or workplace-related
  challenges with paper and pencil exercises
• 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
• Opportunities for youth to influence others
  Opportunities to take responsibility for meeting
  obligations Focus on decision making rather than
  obedience Encouragement to resist peer pressure
• 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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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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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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What makes an effective youth development
program?
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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
• 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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• 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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www.national4-hheadquarters.govwww.4husa.orgCa
thann KressDirector, Youth DevelopmentNational
4-H HeadquartersCSREES, USDA
Essential Elements of Youth Development