Search

The problem of decreasing 4-H enrollment among senior 4-H youth in Blount County, Tennessee, was undertaken in this study. Data were collected from 246 ninth grade girls in five county schools. The girls were divided into two groups--current 4-H members (N=62) and 4-H club dropouts (N=184). The groups were compared on personal characteristics, parental and family characteristics, participation in various youth groups, and tasks they wished to learn to perform. Thirty-seven independent variables were identified and used as a basis for comparing the two groups. The subjects' 4-H membership status was significantly related to place of residence, age, length of membership, parents' reactions, number of school and extracurricular groups joined, number of 4-H events and activities participated in, feelings toward competition, attitudes toward record books, and amount of time spent watching television. From the results, it is recommended that (1) there be more planning so that the county 4-H program can meet the needs of girls from urban and rural-nonfarm areas, (2) special attention should be given to first-year members, (3) parents should be better informed of the benefits their children receive at all age levels, and (5) more noncompetitive events should be devised. (Author/JS)

A study of clothing leaders in Meigs and Warren counties, Tennessee, was conducted to find ways to improve the use of new and present clothing project leaders in adult home economics extension programs. An analysis of each county's work plan for 1972-73 was the basis of this research project. The leadership development plan consists of: (1) identifying potential leaders; (2) selecting a clothing project leader; (3) orienting--placing the emphasis on job expectation and initiation of leaders into job responsibilities; (4) training--meetings, workshops, conferences, etc.; (5) utilizing--leaders to their full capacity; (6) recognizing--good leader performance; and (7) evaluating--guidelines for evaluating leader performance. A bibliography is provided. (KM)

Great Britain's Open University, through a unique blend of television, radio, correspondence courses, and local study centers, proposes to offer any adult seeking higher education the chance to earn a degree equal in quality to those from the best British universities, and at a cost to the nation and the student far below standard forms of instruction. This report discusses: (1) the creation of the Open University; (2) how it functions, in terms of admission requirements (one has to be at least 21), degrees, governance, organization and staff, and grading; (3) the planning of course methods and materials; (4) the development of foundation courses in mathematics, science, social sciences and the humanities; (5) the University's finances in terms of costs to students and costs to the nation; (6) the composition of the student body; and (7) the effect of the Open University on higher education in Great Britain. (AF)

This bibliography, intended for teachers of grades 7 and 8, presents 52 annotated literature sources and lists an additional 49 non-annotated sources by and about black Americans. The entries can be used to supplement assigned literature anthologies. Themes or catagories offered (with representations from various genres) are (1) "Black Pioneers and Leaders Worth Knowing," (2) "Who Am I?" (3) "Sports and Adventures," (4) "Shades of Humor," (5) "Black Historty Through Poetry," (6) "Songs to Steer by," and (7) "Celebrating Christmas." (MF)

THE THIRD PART OF THE NEBRASKA CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT CENTER'S ANALYSIS OF THE SYNTAX OF CHILDREN'S WRITING FOCUSED UPON (1) HOW THE SYNTAX OF THIRD- AND SIXTH-GRADERS COMPARED WITH THAT OF PROFESSIONAL WRITERS, (2) WHETHER OR NOT THE RATE OF GROWTH IN CERTAIN SYNTACTIC SKILLS VARIED SIGNIFICANTLY AMONG GROUPS OF CHILDREN IN VARIOUS LANGUAGE ARTS PROGRAMS, (3) WHETHER OR NOT CHILDREN WHO INITIALLY DISPLAYED ADVANCED SYNTACTIC SKILLS ALSO SURPASSED THEIR PEERS IN PROGRESS RATE, AND (4) WHETHER OR NOT GIRLS' WRITTEN SYNTAX DIFFERED FROM THAT OF BOYS. THE COMPOSITIONS ANALYZED WERE WRITTEN BY 180 CHILDREN IN THREE LANGUAGE ARTS PROGRAMS--(A) AN INTENSIVE-TREATMENT PROGRAM AND (B) A MODERATE-TREATMENT PROGRAM, BOTH BASED UPON THE NEBRASKA ENGLISH CURRICULUM, AND (C) A CONTROL PROGRAM CONTAINING NO "NEBRASKA" UNITS. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS WERE THE REPRESENTATION OF ONLY MIDDLE-CLASS STUDENTS OF LINCOLN AND OMAHA SCHOOLS, THE SELECTION OF THE NEBRASKA PROGRAM TO BE TAUGHT, AND THE USE OF TEACHERS IN PROGRAM A WHO WERE BETTER TRAINED IN THIS CURRICULUM THAN THOSE IN PROGRAM B. THE STUDY REVEALED THAT (1) THE SYNTAX OF HIGH-I.Q. CHILDREN AND THE SENTENCE TYPES OF LOW-I.Q. CHILDREN CAME CLOSEST TO THE "PROFESSIONAL" STANDARDS, (2) THE INTENSIVE-TREATMENT PROGRAM AT BOTH GRADE LEVELS YIELDED THE GREATEST DIVIDENDS IN THE RATE OF GROWTH OF SYNTACTIC SKILLS, (3) A HIGH NEGATIVE CORRELATION EXISTED BETWEEN PRE-TREATMENT SYNTACTIC PERFORMANCE AND IN-TREATMENT SYNTACTIC GROWTH, AND (4) GIRLS' SYNTACTIC SKILLS CONSISTENTLY OUTRANKED THAT OF BOYS. (RD)