The purpose of the study was to analyze the impact on 4-H policy council members, extension professionals and 4-H adult leaders regarding the incorporation of a 4-H urban program into the traditional 4-H program. The study was designed to provide data for Cooperative Extension Service personnel concerning the impact of changes in attitudes toward policy and administration of a-H programs, as well as develop ways and means for the integration of an urban 4-H program into the traditional. 4-H program. The documentation produced by the study offered new base line information and will enhance efforts by Extension Administrators in determining resources, training and programmatic needs of an urban 4-H program.The following assumptions were made relative to the study:1. Millions of boys and girls throughout the United States have been helped through 4-H.2. Leadership skills and abilities, as well as interpersonal communication skills, have been developed by 4-H members.3. The Indiana 4-H program is a proven creditable program.4. A vast number of urban boys and girls have been omitted from the 4-H program in Indiana.5. Two distinct and definable 4-H program styles currently exist in Indiana--one rural and one urban. 6. Variations created by long histories of traditions woven into the ongoing 4-H program cannot feasibly be controlled in the research setting and will be assumed to be equivalent for each sample population. The following research questions were attendant to the study:1. How have the attitudes of 4-H policy council members, extension professionals and 4-H adult leaders in the three selected Indiana counties been affected?2. How will/should the Indiana Cooperative Extension Service policy be affected?3. How will/should the Indiana Cooperative Extension Service Administration be affected?The potential population for the study was defined as all 4-H policy council members, 4-H adult leaders and extension professionals (Youth Department, County Extension Coordinator, and Area Administrator) in three selected Indiana counties (Lake, Marion and Vigo). The population also included the State Director, the Associate Directors, and the entire 4-H State Staff. The study population was a stratified random policy council members and 4-H adult leaders resultingFrom sample. One-third of the potential population, 414 individuals, were asked to complete and return questionnaires.A review of related research and literature was conducted and revealed limited research efforts have been devoted to the impact on attitudes of extension professionals, 4-H the incorporation of an urban 4-H program into the traditional 4-H program. The first section of Chapter II included selected information on attitude change, cognitive models of attitude change and problems for research related to changing attitudes. The second section was devoted to studies relative to organizational change in the Cooperative Extension Service; incorporation infers growth and growth will cause change. The third section dealt with management and leadership behavior of extension professionals.Data for the study were obtained from six sources:(1) federal and state Extension Management Information System; (2) yearly 4-H summaries; (3) 1970 U.S. Census Records; (4) State 4-H Department records; (5) County 4-H Department records; and (6) a survey instrument administered to 4-H policy council members, 4-H adult leaders and extension professionals. The questionnaires consisted of thirty statements divided equally into three areas--policy, personnel and program relative to the Indiana 4-H program. Validation of the survey instrument was implemented and completed through appropriate field testing in a county in Indiana not selected for the study.The data were analyzed using a frequency of distribution for each group of the study population--4-H policy council members, 4-H adult leaders, and extension professionals in each of the three selected counties, as well as the three councils, leader groups and extension professionals. A frequency distribution was also developed for the total population sample of the study. Data obtained from the questionnaires were summarized and presented in narrative form. Tables were developed to report raw data.The respondents were in general agreement with six statements, and predominantly in disagreement with one statement. The statements in the survey instrument were divided into three sections: policy 1-10, personnel 11-20 and program 21-30. Eighty-five percent of the respondents agreed with the policy statements, 80 percent of the respondents agreed with the personnel statements and 84 percent of the respondents agreed with the program statements.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/181987 |
| Date | January 1979 |
| Creators | Williams, Charles Edward |
| Contributors | Snyder, Jack F. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | ix, 176 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-us-in |
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