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A Qualitative Descriptive Study Examining the Current State of the

New York 4-H Program From a Leader’s Perspective

By

Megan E. Tifft

Dr. Linda Doty

Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. School of Education

St. John Fisher College

August 2016

Copyright by

Megan E. Tifft

2016

iii

Thank you to my committee chair, Dr. Theresa Pulos, and my committee member

Dr. Linda Doty, for their support and guidance and for believing in me. These two

women pushed me to be a better researcher and a better person through patience,

expectations, humor, and tears. I could not have gotten through this journey without

them. Thank very much to my extremely supportive advisor Dr. Linda Evans who helped

Thank you very much to my friend and mentor Andy Turner who encouraged me

to enter this Program. You have been a wonderful mentor and leader and I thank you for

seeing something in me I could not see myself. I am very lucky to work with amazing co-

workers across the country and the state and I’m extremely thankful to work with such

talented and supportive colleagues in the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins

County office. A special thank you to Brenda Carpenter, Shelley Lester, Ramona Cornell,

and Anna and Athena Steinkraus. They supported me throughout this journey with no

complaints and I am forever grateful to them. I am also very fortunate to work with

amazing 4-H volunteers, kids, and families who took on many projects for me with no

iv

hesitation while I was in school. A special acknowledgement goes to Joann Gruttadaurio

who has provided me with much guidance and support.

I cannot begin to express how grateful I am to my family and close friends for

your support and patience during this journey. I also dedicate this to my lovely mom who

I miss very much. My dad and stepmom, Tom and Doni Tifft, my boyfriend’s parents,

Jose Torres and Gloria Sierra, cheered me on the whole way. Thank you to my wonderful

sister Molly Tifft and stepsister and brother-in-law Andrea and Peter Conrad and my

niece and nephew Payton and Pierce. Thank you to my aunts, uncles, and cousins who

v

Ms. Tifft is currently the 4-H Youth, Family and Community Development Issue

Leader for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County. Megan has worked for

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County since 2004. Ms. Tifft has worked for

the Cooperative Extension system for over seventeen years. Ms. Tifft attended the

University of Vermont from 1993-1997 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in

and received her Ed.D. Degree in 2016.

vi

I would like to acknowledge the financial support that was provided to me to

assist me in pursuing this degree. The Cornell Cooperative Extension State Office and

Director Chris Watkins provided me with scholarship money for this Program. I would

also like to recognize Mission Capital and Tara Levy for supporting me and allowing me

to utilize their framework in my research. Additionally, I would like to thank my

vii

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) represent a fast-growing industry with significant

value in today’s society. NPOs are filling gaps in providing services the government can

no longer deliver and are considered an economic industry worth billions of dollars. As

evidenced in research, NPOs are facing a multitude of challenges. Still, most of these

challenges are addressed as standalone issues. Research has provided tools and

and leadership challenges and organizational effectiveness by examining what leaders do

to lead Programs well. The goal was to gain a deeper understanding from the perspective

of Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) 4-H Program Leaders of the current state of the

New York 4-H Program, which broad collective challenges exist within that program,

and how programs are led well. This topic was explored through open-ended inquiry

utilizing a theoretical framework of Organizational Effectiveness (OE). Implications,

recommendations, and suggestions for future research relate directly to CCE guiding

documents and past organizational research.

Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development Program (CCE4-H), is a

CCE refers to local offices as associations and the goal of local associations are to

Additionally, the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities (APLU) created

lacks and add to the body of knowledge on this topic, this study sought to gain a deeper

understanding of the current state of the 4-H Program from the perspective of the

broad collective challenges that may exist and how Programs are led effectively. The

theoretical framework with which these issues were examined was Organizational

Effectiveness.

Moreover, in functioning effectively, they hold ethical values like accountability and

financial competence that will attract confidence and trust from the public (Strickland &

Vaughan, 2008).

Organizational effectiveness (OE) has become increasingly important to NPOs

because of pressure to show results and responsibility (Lecy, Schmitz, & Swedlund,

2012). Herman and Renz (2008) confirmed the elusiveness of the topic of OE in that the

NPO community has no common agreement on a definition and effectiveness

measurements. Furthermore, they noted that effectiveness has become a common theme

in the NPO community, one on which stakeholders base their decisions. Finally, Lecy et

al. noted the importance of measuring organizational effectiveness in a systematic way

and suggested additional research is needed on this theory. The operationalizing of

elements of OE can be valuable in sustaining organizations by providing a common

language and criteria; however, the community has yet to agree on these (Herman &

Renz, 2008).

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore and understand

the current state of the CCE4-H Program. 4-H Program Leaders were asked to describe

from a leader’s perspective, with a deeper understanding of the challenges of the

organization so that efforts can be developed to resolve those (Gentry et al., 2014).

An additional purpose of this study was to aid in addressing the following

problems: (a) developing a deeper understanding of collective challenges faced by the

describing what leaders need and do to lead well, and (d) utilizing the concept of OE as a

frame for understanding the CCE4-H Program. The participants in the study received a

description of Mission Capital’s six elements of organizational effectiveness and were

interviewed to discuss their role and challenges in the CCE4-H Program. These data

provided an opportunity to reflect on how these leaders’ experiences might further

develop the understanding of OE and examining challenges and solutions on a broader

scale.

Three broad research questions guided this qualitative descriptive study,

particularly the semi structured interviews that were designed to obtain practical

information from leaders within the CCE4-H Program. The research questions were:

1. How does leadership describe the current state of the 4-H Program?

Gentry et al. (2014) confirmed that NPOs need to understand, from a leader’s

perspective, the challenges they face so that efforts are developed to resolve the issues.

Specifically, the study aimed to address this need and attempted to fill in the gaps in the

research on OE, leadership strategies, and collective NPO challenges.

As evidenced in the existing research, NPOs are facing a multitude of challenges,

although most of them have been addressed as standalone challenges. As Chait et al.

(2005) noted, for NPOs to be able to solve their problems, they need to develop a deeper

understanding of them. The significance of the study may inform the NPO community,

10

that professionals face, thus adding to the knowledge on NPO effectiveness and

translating into practical actions for the CE System.

NPOs represent a large industry that fills service gaps while addressing a

multitude of challenges. Most researchers have addressed these challenges as standalone

issues and provided prescriptive practices leaders can follow to overcome them. In

addition, researchers have confirmed the need to examine broadly from the leaders’

perspectives the challenges they are experiencing so appropriate strategies can be

problems.

The theoretical rationale for this study is organizational effectiveness, which is a

component of general organization theory. This theory has been an abstract concept for

many years and researchers have confirmed the need to research it further. The data

gathered in this study provided an opportunity to reflect on current research of OE,

including looking for common definitions.

The potential significance of this study is its contribution to the body of

knowledge on NPO challenges, leaders’ needs and strategies, and definitions of

effectiveness for this context. Furthermore, the study may provide useful information on

11

organizational challenges to administrators so appropriate strategies can be developed.

Chapter 2 next presents a literature review of empirical and recent studies on various

aspects of NPOs. Chapter 3 discusses the methodology undertaken for this involved in

this qualitative descriptive study. Chapter 4 provides a deep description of the results of

the study, followed by Chapter 5 which shares implications and suggestions for future

research and practice.

12

NPOs are struggling to maintain adequate resources and practices to meet

changing populations and additional pressures, including barriers to long-term

sustainability (Mission Capital, 2015). NPOs today are facing significant challenges

associated with funding, staffing, effectiveness, and volunteers (Mosley et al., 2012).

from a leader’s descriptive perspective.

Throughout the review of literature, the common threads that are examined

include: (a) the prescriptive practices/methods NPO leaders can follow and/or the skills

they need to solve challenges, (b) the validation that NPOs are facing a multitude of

challenges and, (c) the need to research these methods further across the NPO

community.

The main research topic of this study was the current state of the CCE4-H

Program from the viewpoint of its leaders and the broad challenges they face, how they

13

respond to these challenges, and what is required to lead a Program effectively. The study

was guided by the theoretical framework of Organization Effectiveness.

The relevant literature has provided insight into the prescriptive practices/methods

NPO leaders can follow and the skills they need to deal with their many challenges,

manage change positively, and lead effective organizations. As noted in Chapter 1, the

literature concludes that NPOs and NPO leadership continue to face many challenges that

require additional research in order to validate strategies and/or frameworks that can be

challenges associated with funding, staffing, effectiveness, and volunteers. This chapter

(a) evaluation, outcomes, and performance measurement; (b) organizational

development; (c) marketing; (d) collaborations; (e) funding; (f) diversity and inclusion;

(g) change management; and (h) broad perspectives on NPO effectiveness and

challenges. The focus of this literature review is on the many challenges NPOs face today

and how leaders can handle these challenges, thereby validating present gaps in the

literature and the need for this study.

20

NPOs in order to generalize the data. The participants represented a variety of NPOs with

budgets of at least $50,000.

The results indicated that the majority of NPOs utilized different marketing

strategies towards varying audiences. Padanyi and Gainer also concluded that if NPOs

have a good reputation, they are more likely to receive higher levels of revenue resources.

The results supported the importance of utilizing different marketing strategies as a

method to maintain high levels of organizational performance. Moreover, NPO leaders

must set aside the resources needed to allow for a variety of marketing strategies. In

approach marketing from an “organization-centered” viewpoint and do not take

community needs into consideration. Furthermore, they confirmed that NPOs face the

challenge of utilizing a business approach to marketing—referred to as a “customer-

centered approach”—in which the chief concern is clientele. The researchers suggested

this technique could aid organizations in better understanding the need for their services

and assist in meeting their missions.

Dolnicar and Lazarevski wanted to gain evidence on how NPOs incorporated a

“customer-centered” or “organization-centered” approach into their marketing and

developed a better understanding of what types of marketing systems were being used.

21

The researchers invited 1,451 NPOs from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United

States to participate in a survey developed by examining literature on NPO marketing.

that most NPOs utilize a “customer-centered approach” and that organization staff

leading marketing are experts or experienced in their field. The findings indicated that

both hypotheses were rejected. The NPOs in the study took an “organization-centered

approach” to marketing, and the staff who led the organization’s marketing efforts had

not been trained or lacked experience in the field (Dolnicar and Lazarevski, 2009). This

Dolnicar and Lazarevski noted two possible future studies to further their research they

proposed a longitudinal study examining how NPO professionals may change their

understanding and use marketing, and why leadership accepts or does not accept new

marketing concepts.

Along these lines, Pope, Isely, and Asamoa-Tutu (2009) conducted an exploratory

study on NPO marketing, seeking to understand the issue of NPO marketing and how it

differs across the community from the NPO perspective. They wanted to fill a gap in the

literature because they found very little research on the topic from the perspective of

NPO leaders. Their method included an extensive literature review, dialogues with NPO

22

leaders, an online marketing survey, and in-person interviews. The random samples were

drawn from small NPOs in western Michigan, resulting 124 surveys and forty-three in-

person interviews.

The results were compared to data found in their literature review, in which some

outcomes aligned and some did not. The majority of participants indicated that:

(a) marketing was valuable to their NPO; (b) they lacked clarity on meaning,

implementation, and target marketing in their NPO; (c) much of their NPO marketing

was carried out to raise funds; (d) their NPO did not have adequate resources for

general, recruit board members with marketing and other desirable skills, develop

marketing plans, secure money for marketing, and utilize up-to-date resources.

Furthermore, Pope et al. suggested future research to address the limitations of their

study. Since the sample was from only one area of the country, they concluded the need

to conduct similar studies in additional locations. By replicating this study, their desire

for a broad strategy to carry out NPO marketing could be developed.

provided many suggestions for solving these challenges. Despite the coverage of this

topic, the research has not tested these approaches to see if and how they have worked.

23

All of these researchers call for additional studies that mainly emphasize the need to

replicate studies to develop broader strategies on this topic, particularly those involving

marketing. The next section then examines another set of challenges faced by

organizations—collaborations.

Collaborations. In 2009, Jessica E. Sowa conducted research to learn the

rationale of why NPOs decide to collaborate to deliver services and what the motivations

are behind entering those collaborations.

Sowa’s findings indicated that the organizational participants felt that being

what dimensions exist within that partnership. Additionally, leaders need to do their

homework to understand their organization’s challenges and pressures, determine if

entering into a collaboration makes sense, consider the reasons for entering into a

collaboration, and discover if the benefits outweigh the obstacles of the endeavor.

collaborations have become commonplace among NPOs for a variety of reasons,

including mandates and pressures, more effective service delivery, revenue development,

sustainability, and maximizing expertise. Sowa sought to understand what NPOs thought

would be gained by engaging in collaborations and what the benefits might be. The

24

sample of 20 different collaborative partnerships (focused on early childhood education)

was examined via qualitative and quantitative methods. Because random sampling was

not possible, Sowa utilized theoretical and purposeful sampling to find the 20 urban and

nonurban participants. The data were collected through surveys, interviews, observations,

evaluations, and analysis of documents. Focus areas of the study included: (a) apparent

benefits, (b) the effect of collaboration on services, (c) the ability to sustain staff, (d)

meeting the needs of clientele, (e) resource needs and development, (f) organizational

benefits, (g) sustainability of organizations, (h) pressures and mandates, and (i) strategic

collaborations in order to address the lack of systematic studies on this topic. The

researchers wanted to develop a deeper understanding for the reasoning behind why some

NPOs enter into formal collaborations that could result in restructuring versus why some

NPOs only enter into informal collaborations. They also sought to understand this topic

from institutional, resource dependency, and network frames. Based in Los Angeles, they

conducted a mail survey resulting in 95 responses from NPO leaders. The 376 NPOs

invited to participate were randomly selected and represented a wide variety of services.

There was one dependent variable (formal/informal collaborations) and nine independent

25

variables, and their analysis included logistic regression and correlation analysis of the

data. Guo and Acar concluded that:

An organization is more likely to increase the degree of formality of its

collaborative activities when it is older, has a larger budget size, receives

government funding but relies on fewer government funding streams, has more

board linkages with other nonprofits, and is not operating in the education and

research or social services industry (p. 356).

Furthermore, this study added to developing a broader understanding of why

One of the most obvious themes surfacing in this section on collaboration

challenges was the critical role of the NPO leader in addressing these issues. In addition,

the researchers noted the need for future research that included broader samples from

across the sector in order to generalize collective approaches and/or solutions. In addition

to the many challenges noted in these sections thus far, another great challenge NPOs

face today is fund development and understanding who to approach for help (Buteau et

al., 2013). The next section thus presents literature on the topic of NPO funding

challenges.

26

Funding. Buteau et al. sought to identify whether NPOs felt foundations

understood their challenges and if foundations might assist them in addressing these

challenges. The purpose of the study was to develop a deeper understanding of how

foundations can play a role in addressing NPO challenges, while simultaneously

identifying the critical issues. Buteau et al. surveyed 121 leaders representing a variety of

NPOs from across the United States with both large and small budgets. The online survey

of 25 questions focused on NPO challenges and how foundations might assist; it utilized

a Likert-type scale and an open-ended response section. Findings suggested the most

In addition to surveying issues where foundations could be of most assistance in

addressing NPO challenges, Buteau et al. collected data on the degree of challenges

NPOs were facing. They identified an extensive list of 25 challenges addressing such

topics as funding, developing effective collaborations, demonstrating impact and

outcomes, utilizing boards effectively, keeping up with best practices, planning

organizational strategies, and retaining staff. The majority of respondents to these 25

challenges indicated that these issues were either somewhat or extremely challenging for

their NPO.

27

Clearly, the study of Buteau et al. provided evidence of challenges facing NPOs

with a focus on funding and noted several others; however, it did not provide evidence on

practical strategies. In their attempt to address this gap, Gentry et al. (2014) noted the

importance of understanding the challenges in order to develop solutions. However, this

review indicated that while the majority of the relevant studies have provided validation

of problems and some practical solutions, they provided little evidence that validated

whether those solutions worked.

In their attempt to validate one possible solution Bell and Cornelius (2011) sought

systems to support fundraising in place. Moreover, NPO boards were not actively

involved in fundraising, and executive directors did not have the skills or desire to

develop funds. Finally, NPOs did not have a culture that supported fund development,

and most fundraising efforts were unsuccessful. Bell and Cornelius concluded the need

for stakeholders in the NPO world to work towards developing systems for success,

which can be done by critically collaborating to address the aforementioned challenges.

challenges, specifically related to funding. The next section reviews literature on an

additional challenge NPOs face in the area of diversity and inclusion.

28

Diversity and inclusion. In a national study produced in partnership with

Commongood Careers and Level Playing Field Institute, Michael Watson, who is Senior

Vice President of Human Resources for the Girl Scouts of the USA, stated the following:

“The nonprofit sector has the potential to set the national standard in fostering diversity. I

am confident that our sector can still claim a leadership role in creating diverse and

inclusive environments. The time to act is now” (Schwartz, Weinberg, Hagenbuch, &

Scott, 2012, p. 3). Schwartz et al., who interviewed Watson and others, confirmed the

value NPOs can feel in having a racially diverse organization, yet little is often done to

these organizations, Schwartz et al. developed 28 questions to address this topic. Sample

data included a large number of respondents who were White, women, ranging in age

from 20-39, the majority of whom held a Master’s degree. Four themes emerged from the

findings: (a) organizations valued diversity but did little to act upon those values; (b) staff

understood whether their organization valued diversity and how important it was to that

organization; (c) if an organization valued diversity and could act upon it, there was a

positive effect on recruitment of staff of color; and (d) if organizations were to retain staff

of color, the organization needed to value diversity and be inclusive (Schwartz et al.,

2012).

29

Furthermore, Schwartz et al. interviewed several NPO leaders and staff in order to

add to these findings, resulting in the development of key strategies to address these

making agreed-upon decisions, (b) developing an organizational definition of diversity

and finding ways to stay committed to it, (c) finding partners who can assist in recruiting

staff of color, (d) utilizing processes for hiring that do not exclude individuals, and (e)

finding meaningful ways to retain staff.

Ospina, Hadidy, and Caicedo (2011) claimed that while people of color are

Program, Ospina et al. sought to understand the current research on diversity leadership.

In addition to learning from this research, they wanted to provide advice to a broad range

of organizations on how to develop diverse leadership. They conducted a literature

review on the topic and found that: (a) further scientific research on individual responses

to diversity was needed; (b) leaders played a vital role in determining the organizationally

appropriate method for achieving this goal; (c) leaders needed to develop new tactics to

solve this problem; (d) organizational adjustments should be made to prepare for more

diverse staff; (e) developing a more representative organization is a crucial skill,

particularly in the midst of demographic shifts; and (f) commitment must be made to

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if change occurred too often, staff were less likely to be satisfied with their jobs, while if

substantial change occurred, staff were more likely to leave their jobs. Furthermore,

leaders played an integral role in helping their staff through a well-planned-out change

event. Rafferty and Griffin confirmed that change management is a challenge for

organizations and leaders play an integral role the process. Moreover, they recommended

future research to explore the effects of change efforts on groups rather than just on

individuals. They expressed a need for a longitudinal study examining how staff level of

satisfaction may influence perceptions of organizational change. Finally, it would be

two questions: (a) how effective were organizational leaders in executing change, and (b)

what were the most valuable leader behaviors related to implementing organizational

change successfully?

Based on reviews of the literature, Gilley et al. developed, tested, and

implemented a 36-question survey to collect data on change in relation to an

organization, leadership, and demographics. They conducted ample testing with the

sample before implementing the survey by asking hundreds of experts in the field to

review and revise it. University Master’s students in three states comprised the sample of

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552 participants. Gilley et al. utilized five-point scales to measure one independent

variable and 6 independent variables.

The critical piece these researchers brought to light in their study was that if

organizational success is to occur, organizations must focus on change to be successful.

This emphasis is a direct link to the aforementioned literature on nonprofit barriers and

challenges in how successful change management processes can address some of those

obstacles. Furthermore, Gilley et al.’s goal was examining the leader’s roles in

implementing change effectively, with an emphasis on six research-based

change process in positive ways; moreover, the two most important behaviors a leader

needs to exhibit are the ability to motivate staff and to communicate effectively with their

followers. Furthermore, future research could study how a professional’s position may

provide insights into change. In addition, Gilley et al. suggested a more in-depth

examination of leaders’ change management expertise and how the knowledge derived

from that examination may impact a change process.

In summary, the studies discussed in this section confirmed another area that

provides critical challenges facing NPOs and provided practical strategies for leaders to

use when addressing them. However, once again, these studies provided little descriptive

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evidence directly from the leaders and did not follow up on testing the practical strategies

offered. The next section now looks at some research that has attempted to look at the

topic of organizational effectiveness and challenges more broadly and tested the

relevance and value of organizational effectiveness frameworks as a tool for leaders to

use in sustaining and/or growing their organizations.

Broad perspectives on NPO effectiveness and challenges. Crutchfield and

McLeod Grant (2007) concluded a four-year study that examined 12 highly successful

modern-day NPOs over a 2-year period to understand what they did to become and

using their framework.

Crutchfield and McLeod Grant (2012) concluded that all 12 organizations were

still in existence, were meeting or exceeding outcomes, and were implementing the six

practices into their organizations. In addition, smaller NPOs were using these six

practices to make their organizations great and provide a practical tool for NPO use. The

researchers noted the following parallels across the NPOs the conducted research with:

They focused very clearly on the outside world, on engaging the sectors, and on

influencing others to become advocates for their cause. As we expressed it then,

they spent as much time focused externally on changing systems—by influencing

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government policies, shaping markets, building fields of practice, and nurturing

social and organizational networks—as they did on their own operations. They

cared less about management practices per se than they did about their ability to

influence others to build entire movements to create more lasting change (p. 5).

In addition, Mission Capital (2015) developed its framework, the Nonprofit

Organizational Effectiveness Framework. Mission Capital’s Nonprofit Organizational

Effectiveness Framework was developed in large part to fill gaps in the research on

organizational effectiveness and address organizational challenges collectively. The six

Texas, further testing for applicability is needed. The goal of the present is to add to the

development of knowledge for researchers and practitioners in the area of NPO

effectiveness by testing out Mission Capital’s Nonprofit Organizational Effectiveness

Framework.

Additionally, Gentry, Eckert, Stawiski, and Zhao (2014) sought to understand the

collective challenges that organizational leaders experience. To understand these

challenges better and assist organizations in addressing these issues, Gentry et al.

collected qualitative information from 763 for-profit organizational leaders from across

the world who were attending and took part in a particular leadership development

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course. The researchers used assessments and open-ended questions in the data collection

process. As a result of a two-part team-coding process, Gentry et al. discovered 6

common challenges among the majority: (a) developing managerial effectiveness, (b)

inspiring others, (c) developing employees, (d) leading a team, (e) guiding change, and

(f) managing internal stakeholders and politics. This research validated that leaders

experience many challenges, but provided them with information on training and support

needs and ways they can deal with each identified challenge. This research is adding to

the research presented above by developing a broader understanding of leadership

(age of youth served, populations served, in the United States, and are not considered

formal educational Programs). To determine if these were fast-growing NPOs they

studied tax information of almost 7,000 organizations and ended up with a list of one-

hundred to invite to participate. The sample and methodology consisted of 26 interviews

with NPO leaders and forty-seven surveys returned.

As a result of these interviews and surveys, four pillars of growth emerged. The

“four pillars of growth are: (1) preparing systematically for growth; (2) demonstrating

clear Programmatic results; (3) marketing purposefully to specific funding; and (4)

actively engaging board members’ time, talent, and financial resources. (p. 11). The

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essence of these pillars align with much of the research noted in the previous three

studies. Chapter 5 will provide suggestions for how these findings may aid improving

practices for CCE.

The overview of the studies discussed in this chapter suggests that while many

researchers have broadly examined the barriers and challenges facing NPOs and,

specifically, their impact on leaders, additional research is still needed to capture the

leaders’ perspective of these challenges and to continue developing practical strategies

development, (c) marketing, (d) collaborations, (e) funding, (f) diversity and inclusion,

(g) change management, and (h) broad perspectives on NPO effectiveness and

challenges. In addition, the literature makes clear that NPO leaders have many strategies

these strategies. The review also provided evidence that little qualitative research has

examined the current state of NPOs from a leader’s descriptive perspective and what it

takes to lead a Program well.

Throughout Chapter 2, evidence, threads, and connections were followed and

examined that clearly validated the need for conducting the present study. While some of

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the studies discussed here have begun to address these challenges and solutions on a

broader scale, the researchers concluded the need for further research on the topic across

the NPO community. The present study continues the effort to understand this topic more

deeply. The next chapter discusses the methodology chosen to conduct this study,

followed by Chapters 4 and 5 which provide results and recommendations.

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The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore, describe, and

understand the broad collective challenges CCE4-H and its leadership may be facing

currently, what the current state of the Program is, and what is needed to lead a Program

effectively. This descriptive qualitative study examined the topic through a practitioner’s

Program?

2. What challenges do CCE4-H Program leaders face?

3. What does it take to lead a 4-H Program well?

This study occurred within the CCE4-H Program, which serves youth in all