4-H is the largest youth organization in the US, with six million participants. 4-H contributes to developing positive leadership and life skills (LLS). The purpose of the research reported here was to discover the essence of LLS development of 4-H youth while serving as an officer for the Georgia State Board of Directors. The population was all…

Outdoor adventure education programs often feature common elements, such as backcountry settings, small group sizes, and different levels of challenges. A mandatory outdoor experience program (MOEP), offered at a Canadian university for nearly 50 years, involved a three- to four-day wilderness canoe excursion. Research related to outdoor…

This paper examines what goes on in an improvising jazz combo in a secondary school in Scotland, where teaching follows Rogoff's three-stage sociocultural process, moving from an initial apprenticeship model through one of guided participation to one of participatory appropriation. Using a case study research design and interpretative…

Service-learning practitioners design community engagement activities to affect students in powerful and even transformative ways. This qualitative study explores the long-term impacts (3-16 years after graduation) of participation in a senior-level service-learning course. Through interviews with 20 randomly selected participants, the researchers…

There is recognition that involvement in service-learning can impact positively on the development of pre-service teachers professionally, culturally and academically (Billig & Freeman, 2010; Anderson, 1998). This article explores and describes the experiences of pre-service teachers in the School of Education at the University of Notre Dame…

Within personal leadership education courses, leadership educators should include experiences which help students develop themselves as leaders. In this article, the authors discuss results from a qualitative research study involving the analysis of Personal Growth Project (PGP) assignments in a personal leadership education collegiate course. The…

The "Life Skills and Leadership Manual" is designed to be used by Peace Corps Volunteers and their counterparts who work with youth worldwide to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes integral to three Youth in Development sector competencies: (1) Support healthy lifestyles and prepare youth for family life; (2) Prepare youth for…

Although summer camps can provide opportunities for personal growth, self-worth, and education for living, camp programming changes are necessary because today's youth have had experiences which reduce the novelty of camping. Summer camps can be used to provide the missing rite of passage from youth to adulthood and to create real contexts and…

This qualitative study explores the impact of childhood themes on women's aspirations toward leadership as suggested by the Eccles Model of Achievement Related Choices. Using intensity sampling, the research solicits childhood gender-related experiences of women in leadership and non-leadership roles through interviews, focus groups, check lists,…

Based on techniques of experiential learning, outdoor education, and group counseling, adventure-based counseling aims to improve the self-concept of participants by enhancing trust in others and confidence in self. Groups move through a sequence of carefully orchestrated activities, including trust exercises, games, problem-solving exercises,…

A study examined the extent to which 1994-95 members of the West Virginia chapter of Vocational Industrial Clubs of America (VICA) participated in VICA personal development activities. The study population consisted of all VICA members in West Virginia, and the study sample consisted of all 156 VICA members who attended the annual West Virginia…