Project Leaders' and Volunteers' Competencies of Kansas Top Eight 4-H Programs

Introduction

Project Leaders and Volunteers provide support for Kansas 4-H programs. In fact, they are vital to the success of  these programs and contribute considerable time and effort to carrying them out. In Kansas, a push towards expanding 4-H to new audiences has caused greater dependence on project leaders and volunteers. The concept of volunteer competencies is critical as Kansas State Research and Extension 4-H Youth Programs move toward this expanded audience.

Little information exists in the literature that identifies and clarifies volunteers' competencies within the Cooperative Extension Service. A study undertaken in another organization, however, shows significant success using the concept of competencies (Baker & Geiger, 1988). The competency listing used in Baker and Geiger provide the basis for this study.

Given the lack of research in this area, the purpose of the study reported here was to identify and clarify competencies needed by volunteers to be successful in Kansas 4-H programs. To accomplish this, a survey was taken of Kansas State University Extension faculty and staff to clarify their perceptions of essential volunteers' competencies. The findings of this study will enable the Kansas 4-H program to more effectively use volunteers in educational programming.

Survey Procedure

A list of modified competencies from Baker and Geiger was modified and evaluated by a panel of 25 expert Kansas Extension faculty and staff. These individuals have tenure of at least 10 years and have particular focus on 4-H Youth programs. The competencies were grouped into categories:

Professionalism

• Knowledge of K-State 4-H Programs
• Personal Growth and Development

Working with Youth and Adults

• Teamwork
• Communication
• Parents

Knowledge of Programs

• Planning and Organizing Programs
• Preparing for Programs
• Reporting and Evaluating for Impact

A questionnaire instrument was developed. Survey instrument content validity was establish from the panel of 25 experts. Survey instrument reliability (0.81) was calculated using the test retest of the instrument using the Cronbach coefficient alpha. Extension faculty and staff were then asked to rate the importance of each competency to the 4-H program and also the level to which that competency exists among volunteers in the organization. A Likert scale (1-2-3-4-5) was used to rank the competency statements, ranging from "1= not important" to "5 = very important." The responses of Extension faculty and staff were grouped into administrators, area directors, agents, program assistants, and office professionals.

The survey instrument consisted of 57 competencies grouped according to the above categories. Extension faculty and staff were asked first, to rate the level of importance each competency statement should have among volunteers in the 4-H programs and then to rate the degree to which that competency statement was actually observed among the 4-H leaders and volunteers. Mailed questionnaires were sent to 225 randomly selected faculty and staff members from 60 counties in Kansas, which were in turn randomly selected out of the 105 counties in the state. One hundred and eighty five (185) returned completed questionnaires: 53% from agents, 32% from office professionals; 6% from program assistants, and 9% from other individuals, including university administrators, area directors, and area 4-H specialists.

Results

For this article, only the top five ranked competencies were reported for all respondents (Table 1), for Extension agents (Table 2), and for program assistants (Table 3). These groups were chosen because they are directly responsible for 4-H program delivery and are in direct contact with volunteers.

Table 1
Overall Organizational Rating (n=185)
(Responses ranged from "1= not important" to "5 = very important.")

Table 2
Extension Agents' Rating (n=98)
(Responses ranged from "1= not important" to "5 = very important.")

Table 3
Program Assistants' Rating (n=16)
(Responses ranged from "1= not important" to "5 = very important.")

Findings

Competencies with the highest means were rated as the most important in each category. The differences in means between the perceived importance and the observed presence in the organization's rating of each competency indicates an importance versus performance gap and the need to improve those volunteer competencies. The greater the differences, the greater is the need to improve. The results are grouped according to the following categories.

Professionalism

Within this category both the agents and the entire organization rated "To maintain confidential information in a professional manner" as most important, while program assistants ranked "To demonstrate a code of ethics for professionalism" as their number one volunteer competency. The top four most important competencies were rated equally among the Agents, program assistants, and the overall organization. However, program assistants' (n=11) order of importance, among the top four, varied. Program assistants rated "To demonstrate a code of ethics for professionalism" as their top volunteer competency.

Working with Youth and Adults

There were no differences between agents and the overall organization in their ratings in this category. Both groups equally selected "To demonstrate appropriately interpersonal skills such as good communication skills"as most important. As in the first category, program assistants differed in their selection. They chose "To demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively with a variety of schools; other community agencies; businesses and private and public organizations" as the number one choice. Again there were variations in the rating of competencies among the three groups.

Knowledge of Program

The program assistants' first choice for this category was "To demonstrate the knowledge and skills associated with the program planning process." While both the agents and the overall organization agreed on "To demonstrate the knowledge and skills concerning the eight program areas and the ability to implement the program" as their first choice. In this category the program assistants' ratings were identical to those of the overall group, but their order of importance varied.

Program assistants indicated that volunteers exceeded their expectations in some competency areas related to knowledge of the 4-H program. Program assistants rated volunteers' competency in the area of "Identifying emotional factors that affect group environment" as greater than their expectations. They also indicated that volunteers' ability to "Demonstrate the knowledge and skills associated with the resource materials" and to "Employ interactive techniques" as only slightly below their expectations.

Planning and Organizing Programs

"Identifying resource people" was rated as the most important competency in this category by both agents and the overall organization. Program assistants, on the other hand, rated "To group 4-Hers for small group instructions" as their first choice. Agents also indicated that volunteers needed to "Identify emotional factors that affect group environment." Three of the top five rated competencies selected by program assistants were identical to those of the overall group.

Discussion

The study shows the relative importance of various volunteer competencies in the Kansas 4-H program as perceived by Extension faculty and staff. Staff members from each category within the Kansas State Research and Extension 4-H Program recognize the importance of having competent volunteers to help in the delivery of youth programs. However, the results show important differences among Extension staff in the perceived importance and the observed presence of these competencies in 4-H volunteers. Extension agents' ratings of the perceived importance of volunteers' competencies are most highly ranked in the areas involving "Professionalism" and in "Working with youth and adults."

The results also show that program assistants, in some cases, rated competencies in order of importance differently from the faculty and staff of the organization. Program assistants also tended to have a higher opinion of volunteers' ability to effectively fulfill their roles as 4-H Youth leaders than did Extension agents. This raises questions as to whether program assistants' views of volunteers' competencies are consistent with those of Extension agents. These results indicate that the organization may need to provide training for volunteers in areas where their competencies are deficient.

The greatest differences between the perceived importance and observed presence of a volunteers' competencies for the overall survey was in "Keeping parents involved" and "Providing information and training to parents" within the category of "Working with youth and adults" (Table 1). When examined separately, extension agents indicated that "Assisting parents and other adults in developing realistic expectations for 4-Hers" within the "Working with youth ad adults" category was the area of greatest difference (Table 2). Program assistants indicated that volunteers exceeded their expectations the most in their ability to "Plan and develop workshops" in the category of "Professionalism" (Table 3). In general, program assistants have a higher regard for volunteers' capabilities than do Extension agents.

Considering the results of this study and the importance of volunteers' competencies within the Kansas 4-H program, adequate volunteer training programs are needed. These findings can help determine the subject matter focus and increase the effectiveness of Kansas 4-H volunteer training efforts. Effective volunteer competency training will provide the basis for a successful 4-H volunteer management system. Although these results pertain specifically to the Kansas 4-H program, this process of identifying and clarifying volunteer competencies may be useful to other organizations or groups working with volunteers.

Note:Because of space limitations, the entire research could not be published. Further information on this study, specifically the list of the 57 competencies and their ratings by various groups, can be obtained upon request. You may contact Walter A. Barker Extension Specialist, at wbarker@oz.oznet.ksu.edu or Dan O'Brien Ph.D., Extension Specialist, Ag. Economics at dobrien@oz.oznet.ksu.edu.

References

Baker, B. C., & Geiger. W. L. (1988. Preparing transition specialists: Competencies from thirteen programs. Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC - ED306755).

Cronbach, L. J. (1960). Essentials of psychological testing(3^rd ed.). New York: Harper & Row.