Perceptions of youth leadership life skills development: A comparison of high school FFA completers and non -FFA members in first-year community college agricultural programs

In order for employers to maintain a competitive edge in an accelerating global economy, employees must be able to show leadership in solving problems and adapting to technical and social changes. Further, recent legislation imposed additional scrutiny on student learning outcomes as one measure of the value of career technical education programs and the FFA Organization. As a result, agricultural educators want to know how agricultural education and FFA participation prepares students for these leadership roles in higher education and in the workplace.;The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of youth leadership life skills development of high school FFA completers and non-FFA members who were first year community college agricultural program students. The study encompassed eight community colleges offering agricultural instruction in the San Joaquin Valley of California. For this study, the Secretary's Commission on Acquiring Necessary Skills, SCANS Report (1991) workplace competencies and foundation life skills were attributes defined as leadership constructs and incorporated within the definition of youth leadership life skills development in the study. Results from this study may provide a conceptual framework for educational leaders to design, implement and evaluate effective leadership development curriculum in secondary and higher education institutions.