FFA and 4-H are two youth-based organizations that cite leadership development as a key foundational component. The purpose of this study was to review and document the historical development of leadership events and activities in both programs. Evidence can be found of leadership development in schools, conferences, and camps. Leadership-related events evolved into public-speaking contests, debates, farm demonstrations, and implementation of chapter and club programs of activities. Leadership resources from both organizations include official manuals, convention proceedings, advisor/leader handbooks, textbooks, and state and national magazines. Historically, both organizations provided members multiple opportunities to develop leadership behaviors, skills, and characteristics through knowledge and skill acquisition, participation in community and civic activities, and in the transition into the workforce and/or postsecondary education.
Five family and consumer sciences career novels written for young people were reviewed for commonalities in theme, experience and setting. Professionals in these books were portrayed as resourceful in designing effective solutions to solve local problems. Since most of the books are about Extension careers and the last book was written in the 1960s, additional promotion of family and consumer sciences as a career is suggested.
The purpose was a descriptive account of the academic characteristics of 35 adults (22 men and 13 women) who perceived themselves as needing help in reading. Ages of participants ranged from 16 through 60 years. All had completed Grade 6, mean of Grade 11. Sixteen were functionally illiterate, that is, read below Grade 5. Twenty-seven were unemployed. The most common deficiencies found were in phonics, comprehension, and perception. All aspects of phonics, but especially the sounds of the short vowels, were a problem. Difficulties in perception were evident in reversals of letters and words, miscalling letters, and adding and omitting letters. Comprehension, the calling of words without knowing their meaning, was a major problem. Some individuals found it necessary to read aloud to understand. Others read so slowly they lost the meaning of a paragraph before they had finished it. Difficulty in remembering was perceived by some subjects as a factor in their lack of reading skill. It is hoped that by identifying these specific deficiencies in reading skills greater emphasis could be placed on them, and illiteracy could be prevented or at least reduced.
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