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Targeting Life Skills in 4-H1
Marilyn N. Norman and Joy C. Jordan2This document is best viewed as a PDF. Click here to access the PDF.
Life Skills
A skill is a learned ability. Life Skills are those competencies that assist people in functioning well in the environments in which they live. Youth development professionals are concerned with helping youth become competent in the life skills that will prepare them for transition to adulthood. Helping youth meet their basic needs and develop the competencies important to their immediate and future success is the role of the youth development professional. 4-H focuses on developing skills that are healthy and productive for both youth and their communities.Positive youth development programs identify the skills within the five targeted competency areas that are appropriate to the age of the youth in the program and offer experiences to teach these skills. Because skills are best learned through practice, many experiences that teach or reinforce skills must be provided. Mastery of any skill requires opportunities to try, make mistakes, and try again.
Skills are learned in sequential steps related to the age and stage of development of the young person. Consequently, it is important to understand the developmental tasks and characteristics common to the ages of the youth with whom you work.
Youth development professionals are expected to have and apply this knowledge.
The 4-H Framework
4-H uses a framework based upon the 4-H Pledge to organize the delivery of experiences that support the growth and development of youth. 4- H refers to this framework as a "Targeting Life Skills Model" (Hendricks, 1998). This model addresses the skills within the five competency areas that youth development traditionally addresses. These are noted in the following description of the model.In this framework, two of the competencies have been combined in order to fit the four-category structure of the pledge. The important point, however, is that the skills needed for positive growth and development are addressed through 4-H delivery format. Because these skills are inter-related, the categories in which they are placed could vary with organizational structures.
4-H Focus of Youth Competencies
HEAD: Knowledge, Reasoning and Creativity CompetenciesThinking: using one's mind to form ideas and make decisions; to imagine, to examine carefully in the mind, to consider. Managing: using resources to accomplish a purpose.
HEART: Personal/Social Competencies
Relating: establishing a mutual or reciprocal connection between two people that is wholesome and meaningful to both. Caring: showing understanding, kindness, concern and affection for others.
HAND: Vocational/Citizenship Competencies
Giving: Providing, supplying, or causing to happen (social responsibility). Working: Accoplishing something or earning pay to support oneself through physical or mental effort.
HEALTH: Health/Physical Competencies
Living: Acting or behaving; the manner or style of daily life. Being: living one's life; pursuing one's basic nature; involved in personal development.
Life Skills Developed through 4-H
Table 1. The following chart lists the specific skills that lead to mastery in the four categories and eight subcategories of the 4-H Targeting Life Skills Model.
HEAD Thinking
Learning to learn
Decision-making
Problem solving
Critical thinking
Service learning
HEART Relating
Communications
Cooperation
Social Skills
Conflict Resolution
Accepting Differences
HANDS Giving
Community Service-volunteering
Leadership
Responsible
Contribution to group
HEALTH Living Healthy life-style
Choices
Stress Management
Disease Prevention
Personal Safety
Managing Goal setting
Planning/organizing
Wise use of resources
Keeping Records
Resiliency
Concern for others Empathy
Sharing
Nurturing
relationships
Working Marketable/useful skills
Teamwork
Self-motivation
Self Esteem Self responsibility
Character
Managing feelings
Self Discipline
The following graphic represents a system for targeting skills that lead to mastery of targeted competencies. These are life skills and it is these skills that 4-H addresses. It is important to know this 4-H framework as well as the structure a youth program uses to organize the competencies it targets. By understanding both structures, professionals, volunteers and parents will know the expectations each organization has for staff and participants and will be able to partner more effectively.
Footnotes
1. This document is 4HS FS101.9, one of a series of the 4-H Youth Development Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date January 1, 2006. Visit the EDIS Web Site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.2. Marilyn N. Norman, Associate Professor in Family, Youth and Community Sciences, and State 4-H Program Leader, and Joy C. Jordan, Associate Professor in Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
Copyright Information
This document is copyrighted by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) for the people of the State of Florida. UF/IFAS retains all rights under all conventions, but permits free reproduction by all agents and offices of the Cooperative Extension Service and the people of the State of Florida. Permission is granted to others to use these materials in part or in full for educational purposes, provided that full credit is given to the UF/IFAS, citing the publication, its source, and date of publication.