THE ATT ITUDE OF VOLUNTEER LEAD ERS IN CECIL , 
HAR FORD AN D KENT COUNT IES, MARYLAND TOWARD 
INVOLVEME NT OF HAND ICAPPED IN 4-H PROGRAMS 
by 
Be rn a rdin e M. Co l ema n 
Thes i s s ubmitt ed to th e Fac u l ty of the Gr ad ua t e Sc hoo l 
of the Un ive r s i ty of Ma r y l a nd i n pa rti a l fulf illment 
of t he r equir ement s fo r t he deg ree of 
Maste r of Sc ience 
1982 
?' 
? Copy ri ght Be r na r d i ne Co l ema n 
198 1 
APP RO\/ AL SHEET 
Ti t. l e of Th es i s : The At titudes of \/ o 1un tee r Lea de r s in Cec i1 , 
Ha rford, and Kent Coun t i es in Ma r y 1a nd Toward 
\nvo1vement of Handi ca pped in 4-H Prog r ams 
Be rna rdine Ma ri e Co 1ernan 
Mas t e r of Sc i ence, 1982 
\ ~e 5 i 5 a nd Ab s tract Approved : Or. Nan Boo th 
Adjunct Ass i s t a nt Professo r 
Agri cu1 t ur a 1 a nd Extens i on Educat i on 
ABSTRACT 
Titl e of The s i s: 
The Attitudes of Volunteer Leade r s in Cecil 
Harford and Kent Counti es in Maryland Toward 
Invo lvement of Handicapp ed in 4- H Programs 
Bernardine M. Coleman, Master of Science, 1982 
thesis directed by: Dr. Nan Booth, Adjunct As s i sta nt Professor 
Department of Agriculture and Ext e ns ion Educat ion 
University of Maryland 
The purpose of this exp loratory study was to determine i f 
volunteer 4-H l eaders in Cec il , Harford, a nd Kent Counties in Maryland 
were r ecept ive towards in volvement of handicapped youth in 4-H programs 
and if training was need ed prior to program inpl ementati on . Seventy-
four volunt ee r leaders in the three counties s urveyed ret urn ed comp leted 
mai] questionnaires. An attitude rating sca l e wa s used to assess l eaders 
attitudes toward involveme nt of handicapped youth in 4-H programs . 
Demographic and personal data were requested in Part I I of the survey 
instrument. Frequency di st ribution and the chi-square te s t were used to 
analyze data. Level of significance was set at .05. 
The majority of leade r s had positive feeling s about the invo lve -
ment of handicapped youth in 4-H programs but felt training was ne eded 
before involvement took place. Significant r e lati onsh ip s were found 
between age and the att itudes concerning, l) invo lvement of handicapp ed 
youth as being a good expe,ience for other 4-H membe ,s, 2) handicappe d youth 
being able to pa,ticipate adequately in 4-H programs, 3) 4-H being a he l p to 
mentally retarded youth and, 4) the be] ief that ot he , gcoups we,e meet ing 
t he needs of handicapped youth. Significant ?e l ationships wece a l s o found 
between ed ucation and the attitude concecn ing, l) involveme nt of handi capped 
youth as being a good expe ri ence for handicapped youth, 2) f ee ling com-
fortable with emoti onally handicapped, ed ucab l e a nd tra ina bl e mentally 
r e tarded chi l dren and, 3) having adequat e training to work wi t h 
handicapped youth. 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
I wish to exte nd my appreciation for the assistance g ive n by 
my g raduat e committee: Dr. Nan Booth, Chairper so n, Dr. Ge ne Whapl es, 
a nd Dr. Le da Wilson. Their s upport wa s essential for completion of this 
paper and is grat e fully acknowledged. I extend a s pec ial thanks to Dr. 
Na n Booth for he r assistance and guidance in bringing this st udy to it s 
completion. 
am grateful for the interest and s upport of Dr. A. J. Magoo n, 
Professor at the Unive rsity of De lawa re, for hi s in st ructi on in the 
s tatistics needed to complete thi s study and for the comput e r time to 
a na lyze the re s ults. 
I also want to thank the 4-H lead e r s in Cec il, Ha rfo rd, a nd Kent 
Counties who took the time to answer the quest ionnaire which e nabl ed me 
to compl ete th e study and r e port the re s ult s . 
I am most appreciative of the su ppo rt and e ncour ageme nt given by 
my Di st rict Supervisors, Betty Bures and David Eig e nbrod e, as well as th e 
Administrative faculty of the Maryland Coope rative Extens ion Service. 
I especially thank all my co-workers of t he Cecil County Ext e ns ion 
Se rvice who bore the brunt of the press ur es of completion o f my Maste r s 1 
program, assumed some of my job re s pon s ibiliti es when necessa ry a nd were 
a lway s int e re s t e d and s upportive. 
Finally, wi s h to thank my hu sba nd, Les, my daughter, Ann e , a nd my 
Mot her for bearing with me through this e ndeavor. 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
CHAP TER PAGE 
I . INT RODUC TION 
Need for the Study 2 
Object i ves/Quest i ons of the Study. 3 
De finiti o n of Terms. 4 
Li mi tat i ons of Study 5 
I I . LITERATURE REV IEW. 6 
Att i tudes ..... 6 
Attitudes and Be havi or 7 
At t i t ud es Toward t he Ha ndi capped 9 
Prog r amm in g for t he Ha ndi capped. 13 
4- H Invo lvement in Hand i capped Prog r ams. 17 
Attitude Meas ure ment Agreement Sca l es . 20 
I I I . MET HODOLO GY. . . 24 
Des ign of Study. 24 
Subjects ... . 24 
In st rume nt .. . 26 
Data Coll ec ti on. 27 
Ana l ys i s 28 
IV. FINDINGS 30 
Subj ec t s 30 
Character i st ic s o f Respondents 30 
Ha ndicap pe d Childre n a nd th e 4-H Program 33 
Vo lun teers Pe rcept i o n of 4-H Prog ram as Mak in g 
a Diffe re nce for Handicap ped Yo u th ..... 35 
Vo lun teer 4-H Leade r s Att i tudes Toward Ha nd i capp ed 
Pe r so ns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
Vo luntee r s Expe ri e nce wi th Hand i capped Persons . 
Training a nd Vo l unteer s Pe rcep tion Abo ut Workin g 
Wi th Ha ndi capped You t h ..... .. . ... . 46 
V. SU MMARY , CONCLUS IONS, IMPLI CAT IONS , RECOMMENDATION S. 
Summary ... .. . ... . 
Conc l us ion and Di scuss ion. 
Vo l unteer s ' Perception of the 4-H Prog r am a s 
Mak in g a Dif ference for Ha ndi capped Youth. 54 
Vo lun teer Leade r s Att i tud e Toward Ha ndicapped Per son s . 54 
Vo lun teers ' Experi e nce \vith Handicapped Per son s . . 56 
Tr a inin g a nd Vo l unt ee r s ' Pe rcept ion About Work i ng 
Wi t h Hand icapped You t h . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 
iii 
lmpl ic a tion s . ......... . 58 
Recomme nd a ti ons for Furthe r Study. 61 
REFERENCES . . ... . 62 
APPEND IX A: BIBL IOGRAPHY OF 4-H PROGRAM S AND RE SOURCES FOR 
HAND I CAPPED . . . . . . 71 
APPENDIX B: QUEST ION S ON ATDP SCALE ...... . 79 
APPENDIX C: LARRIVEE AND COOK INSTRUMENT .... . 81 
APPEND IX D: QUES TI ONS USED FROM JORDON INSTRUMEN T 811 
APPEND IX E: IN STRUMENT USED IN MARYLAND STUDY .. 86 
iv 
LIST OF TA BLE S 
TAB LE PAGE 
TAB LE COUNT IES AND NUMBER OF LEADERS SURVEYED. 25 
TABLE 2 NUMBER OF VO LUNTEER LEADER RESPONDENTS 
BY COUNTY . . 30 
TABLE 3 DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FOR VOLUNTEER 4-H 
LEADERS IN CEC IL , HARFORD AND KENT 
CO UNTIES IN MARYLAND ...... . 31 
TABLE 4 VOLUNT EER LEADERS 1 1 INVOLVEMEN T IN 4-H 
PROGRAM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 
TAB LE 5 COUNTY 4-H PROGRAMS FOR HAND ICAPPED YOUTH. 33 
TABLE 6 LEADER S WITH HAND ICAPPED YOUTH 
INVOL VED IN 4- H CLUBS . . . 34 
TABLE 7 LEADERS WITHOUT HAND ICAPPED YOUTH IN CLUB 
INTERE STED IN WOR KING WITH HAND ICAP PED 34 
TAB LE 8 INVOLVEMENT OF HAND ICAPPED YOUTH IN 4- H A 
GOOD EXPERIENCE FOR OTHER MEMBERS BY 
EDUCAT ION. . . . . . . . . . . 36 
TAB LE 9 INVOLVEMENT OF HAND ICAPPED YOUTH IN 4- H 
A GOOD EXPERIENCE FOR OTHE R CLUB 
MEMBER S BY AGE . . . . . . . . . 
TABLE 10 HANDICAPPED YOUTH CANNOT ADEQUATELY 
PART ICIPATE IN 4-H PROJECTS OR ACTIVITIE S. 37 
TABLE 11 4-H CANNOT HELP MENTALLY RETARDED YOUTH. 38 
TABLE 12 VOLUN TEERS PERCEPT ION OF THE 4- H PROGRAM AS 
MAK ING A DIF FERENCE FOR HANDICAPPED YOUTH . 39 
TAB LE 13 ATTITUDES OF VOLUNTEER S TOWARD THE ~IAND I CAP PED 41 
TAB LE 14 NEED S OF HAND ICAPPED YOUTH ARE BEING MET BY 
OTHER SPECIAL PROGRAMS - NO NEED FO R 
4-H BY AGE . 42 
TABLE 15 VOLUNTEER S EXPER IENCE WITH HANDIC APP ED 43 
TAB LE 16 TYPE OF VOLUNTEER S MO ST WILL ING TO ACC EPT IN 4- H 43 
TABLE 17 HAND ICA PS VOLUNTEE RS MOS T WILL ING TO ACCEP T IN 4-H 44 
V 
TABLE PAG E 
TABLE 18 VOLUNTEERS AND FEELING COMFORTABLE WITH 
EMOTIONALLY HANDICAPPED , EDUCABLE 
AND TRA IN AB LE MENTALLY RETARDED YOUTH 
BY EDUCATION ..... . .. . . 45 
TP,BLE 19 TRAINING AND VOLUNTEER S ' PERCEPTION S ABOUT 
WORKING WITH HANDICAPPED YOUTH . 47 
TABLE 20 HEARING PER SONS SHOULD LEARN S IGN LANGUAGE 
TO COMMUNICATE WITH HEARING IMPAIRED BY SEX. 
TAB LE 21 HAVE ADEQUATE TRA ltJING TO v/ORK ~vlTH HANDI CA PPED 
YOUTH BY EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 
vi 
LI ST OF FIGURES 
FIGURE PAGE 
FIGURE CENTRAL DISTRICT COUNTIES IN MARYLAND 
AND NE\,/ CAS TLE COUNTY, DELAWARE. . 25 
vii 
CHAPTER l 
INTROD UCTI ON 
4-H, the youth phase of t he Cooperat i ve Extens ion Service 
' 
was estab li s hed by Congre ss in 1914 with the pa ssage of the Smith Le ve r 
Ac t to provide oppo r tu ni t ies for youth to deve lop into se ns i t i ve, capab l e 
a nd productive c iti ze ns. These oppo rtuni t i es were to t ake p l ace in a 
"l ea rn by doing" set ting at the community level. 
The 4-H program i s bas ed on t he needs and interests of yout h and 
adu l ts to help them identify a nd ach i eve goa l s a nd to ass ume l eadersh i p 
ro l es 1n the comm uni ty. 4-H focuse s on t he fam il y 1n the community and 
works to comp l ement ef fort s take n by sc hoo l , home and c hurch in the 
deve l opment of yout h . Parents, youth a nd other adu l ts a r e prov ided 
op portunities for l eade r s hip to influe nce t he deve lopment of youth. 
Programs mu st be ava il ab l e to a ll pe r so ns without r ega rd to race, co l o r , 
sex, religion, national or i gin or hand i cap. (4-H Mi ss io n Statement for 
Mary l and.) 
The handicappe d g roup of yo un g peopl e a r e often the forgotten 
members of soc iety. While it i s tr ue that 4-H ha s served handi ca pped 
youth to some degree 1n the past, i t was n' t until r ecently that lf-H 
an d the Nationa l 4-H Cou nc il mad e spec i fic p l a ns to expand programs to 
in c lu de hand i capped yout h. Thi s was in accordance with the re so lu t ion 
pa ssed in June , 1978 by t he 4-H Sub-committee of the Exten s io n Committ ee 
on Orga ni zat i ona l Pol i cy (ECOP). In li ght of Sect ion 504 of th e 
Rehab ili tat i o n Act of 1973 (wh i ch proh i b i t s de sc rimination aga i ns t 
handica pped per so ns by age nc ies o r organ i zation s wh i ch rece i ve f edera l 
funds), a nd the comm i ttment to program for a ll yo uth , t he r-e i s a need t o 
2 
in ve s tigate how the 4- H vo lun tee r fee l s towa rd in vo l v in g ha nd i capped 
in 4- H pr og r ams. S in ce the vo lun t ee r will be expected to impl eme n t 4-H 
programm i ng for t he handicapped at the l oca l l eve l , the s uccess of suc h 
programm i ng will be dep e nd e nt upon the voluntee r' s a bility to r e late to, 
understand a nd apprec iate ha ndicapped person s . 
The purpos e of t hi s st udy was to determine i f vo luntee r s in Cec il , 
Ke n t a nd Ha rfo rd counti es in Ma ryl a nd we r e r e ceptive t o progra mm in g f or 
t he ha nd icapped, i f attit ud e barrier s ex i s ted , and if the r e was a need 
for t r a inin g pr ior t o implementing programm in g f o r the han di cap ped . 
Nee~ for t he Study 
Hand i capped youth have the sa me bas i c needs as non -ha ndicappe d 
per sons, yet t he y a r e often not in c lu de d in 4-H p r og rams, wh i ch cou ld 
be of be nef i t to them in lea rnin g li fe s k i 1 l s, soc i a l , phy s i ca l and 
me nt a l de ve lop me nt , and e ffect i ve communi cat i ons. I t has bee n brought 
to the attent io n of Mary l a nd 4-H s pec i a li sts through repo r ts, requests 
f r om ot he r in d i v idu a l s, age ncie s and coun c il s work i ng wi t h t he hand i -
ca pped that "ha nd i ca ppe d" yo uth be ne f i t f r?om hav in g mor? e "norma l" 
dev e l opme ntal expe ri e nces wi th in the main st ream of the yo uth cul ture. 
(Bepp l e r, et a l , 1978, p.1) 
To meet the requ ireme nt s of pub li c l aws a nd to adeq uate l y program 
f o r t he hand i capped a udi e nce, 4-H needs to know the att itud e s of 
vo lun teer s towards in vo lveme nt of ha ndicapped youth in 4- H p rog r ams . 
Info rmati o n obta in ed from th i s s tudy wi ll be usefu l rn dec i d i ng 
program d irect ion an d t r a in i ng needs. I t wi 11 a l so he l p determ i ne whe re 
Ma ryl a nd i s i n term s o f programm in g for the handi capped. 
3 
Obj ec tives/Question s of the Study 
Th e purpose of t hi s s tudy wa s to inves tigate t he att i tudes of 
vo luntee r s toward involveme nt of ha ndi capped in 4-H programs. In 
pa r t i cular, th e fol l owing questions we re expl o r e d: 
1. Do vo luntee r s perceive th e 4-H program as making a diffe r e nce for 
ha ndicap pe d you th? 
a. Would non-handicapped youth l ea rn to int eract with ha ndi capped 
youth? 
b. Wi 11 non-h a ndicapped l eader s and me mb e r s deve l op a n accepta nce 
o f the d i ff e r e nces of hand i capped pe r sons ? 
c. Is there a r e lation s hip betwee n sex, age, a nd education and 
volunt eers perce ption s of handicappe d invo lveme nt in the 4-H 
program ? 
2. In genera l , what a r e the attitudes o f vo l unt ee r s toward ha ndi cap pe d 
pe r sons ? 
a . Do vo lun tee r s t hink 4-H ca n he lp handica ppe d yo ut h? 
b. Do volunt ee r s f ee l handi capped persons can be productive members 
of s oci e ty? 
c. Do vo lun tee r s perce ive th e be ha v io r of handicappe d indi v i dua l s as 
be ing di s ruptive to 4-H programs and act i viti es ? 
d. Is there a r e l at i onship be tween age, a nd education of vo lun t ee r s 
an d their att i t udes toward th e handicap ped ? 
3. Ar e l eade r s wi 11 in g to acce pt hand i cappe d yo uth as 4-H membe r s? 
a. Ar e vo lun teer s wi 11 ing to l ea rn some s kill s needed to wo rk wi t h 
handi ca ppe d youth, i. e . , s i gn l a nguage ? 
b. Wh at types of hand i capped pe r sons a re lea de r s most wi 11 in g to 
in c lud e in the i r 4-H c lu b programs ? 
4 
4 . Does th e amount of tr a ining/ expe ri e nc e a pe r so n ha s , make th em f ee l 
mo r e comfo r tab l e in wo rkin g wi t h ha ndi capped yo ut h? 
a . Do vo lun t ee r s pe r ce ive th e y have ade qu a t e t r a i ni ng t o wo r k wi th 
t he ha nd i capped? 
b . Shoul d s pec i a l tra inin g be g i ve n pr i o r to imp l eme nt in g prog r ams 
for t he ha nd i capped? 
S in ce t hi s wa s a n ex pl o r a t o r y s t ud y, no hypot hes es we r e de ve loped . 
Def ini t i on of Te rms 
Fo r t he purpos e of t hi s s t udy, t he fo ll ow in g de f ini t i ons of t e rms 
we r e us ed: 
Att i t ud e : All t he obj ect i ve s we wa nt to mea s u re t hat ha ve to do wi th 
a ff e ct, f ee lings , va lu es , or be ] i e f s . (H e ne r son , e t a l , 1978 p. 13) 
Ha nd i capped Youth : Yo ut h age 9 t hrough ag e 2 1 who ha ve bee n e va l ua t ed as 
be in g me nt a ll y r e t a rd e d, hea rin g im pa ired, v i s ua ll y im pa ir ed, emo t i ona ll y 
d i s t u rbed , ph ys i ca ll y ha nd i ca pped o r l ea rnin g di sa b l ed a nd who, be ca use o f 
the s e d i s ab ili t ie s , need s pec i a l educa t ion and r e l at ed s e rv i ces . (Proj e c t , 
MAY p.3 ) 
4-H Prog r am: De fin ed pr i mar il y a s i nvo l veme nt in th e ongo ing Ma ry l a nd 
4- H c lu b pr og r am at th e communi ty (l oca l) l eve l. 
Expe ri ence wi t h ha ndi cappe d pe r sons : Any type o f work wi th th e ha ndi ca ppe d, 
in c lud in g r ea din g , ba by- s i t tin g , t eac hin g , li v in g wi th a ha nd i ca ppe d pe r son , 
e t c . 
Ma i ns t r eamin g : Prov i d in g t he oppo r t uni ty f o r ha nd i ca ppe d yout h t o be 
i nvo l ved wi th ab l e - bod ie d a nd o th e r di sabl ed pe r son s in ac ti v i t ies t o th e 
ext e nt t hat th e ha nd i ca ppe d pe r son c hoos e s . (Prn j e ct , MAY p.4) 
5 
Mu l t i -C~: Person that has two o r more hand i caps, wi th I .Q. r a nge 
of Oto 50 . 
Pub li c Law 94-142: "The Ed ucat i o n for a ll Handi cap ped Ch il dren Act of 
197 5" - As s ures that a ll c hildr e n have ava il ab l e to t hem . .. a fr ee a nd 
app ropriat e education which emphas i zes educat i on and r e lated se rvi ces 
des i gned t o mee t t he ir needs. (Proj ect, MAY, p.4 . ) 
Rece ptive : Open to with no pr econce ived bi as. 
Sect i o n 504 of th~ Re hab ilitation Act of 1973: Prohibit s descr iminat io n 
aga in st hand i capped pe r sons by a ny agenc ies or organ i zations which a ,-e 
ass i s ted by federal fund s . (Pro j ect , MAY , p.4 . ) 
Tra ining: Hav in g the und e r s tand in g of vario us ha ndi capped indi v i dua l s 
an d the ab ili ty to he l p them deve l op t he ir capab ili t i es a nd r ed uce 
depe nd e ncy to the greates t ex t e nt poss ibl e. Ca n be f o rma l ed ucat i on o r 
e xpe ri e nce ga in e d by wo rkin g with handi ca ppe d pe r sons . 
Vo lun tee r: A 4-H l ea de r who i s in vo l ved in he lpin g yo u t h l ear n in a g roup 
ca ll ed the 4-H c lub. They have inf l ue nce on t he att itudes an d act i o ns of 
yo uth a nd r ece i ve no pay for do i ng so. 
Li mi tat io ns of St udy 
Thi s s tudy was li mit ed in in terpretat ions to t he ad ult vo lun tee r 
l eade r s who ho l d o rg a ni za ti o na l r es pon s i b ili t i es for 4- H c lu bs a t t he 
community l eve l in Cec il , Harfo rd , a nd Kent cou nt ies o f Mary l a nd. 
CHAPTER I I 
LI TE RATURE RE VI EW 
The r ev i ew of se l ected lite ratur e includ es a s tudy of the var ious 
def i nitions of a tti tudes, att i t ud es as r e l ated to behavior, att itu des 
towa rd the handicapped, the involvement (mainstr eaming) of ha ndicapped 
in public programs--forma l and non-formal--vo lu nt ee rs and attitude 
meas ur eme n t . 
Att i tudes 
"The concept of att i tude cont in ue s to play a major role in the 
hi s tory of soc i a l psychology. From i ts s impl e beginning as a s tate of 
prepared ness or a set to make a part i cu l ar overt respon se, t he conce pt ha s 
g rown into i ts present-day format io n as a comp lex, multid emensional 
conc ept co ns i s t in g of affect ive, cogn i tive and conat ive components. ' ' 
Gordon Al l port's words spoken in 1935 are as true today as they were then. 
He pointed out at that t ime . .. 'Attitude i s probab l y the most distinctive 
a nd i nd i s pensab l e concept in Amer i can ps ycho l ogy. No other t e rm appears 
more frequent l y in expe rimenta l and theoret i ca l li terature. ' (Fi s hbe in, 
l 967 :V) 
Socia l sc i e nti sts have explored the concept of att itu de exten s ive ly 
a nd continu e to do so in sea rch for a gen e r a ll y accepted def i n i t i o n . Some 
o f the definitions g ive n to attitude are: "The s um total of a man ' s 
in c linat i ons a nd fee lin gs , prejud i ces o r bia s, precon ce ive d notion s, id ea s , 
fears, threat s and conv i ctions about a ny s pec i f i ed topic (Thur s tone, 1928: 
529). All port ( 1935:8 10) says, "i t i s a me ntal and ne ura l state of 
r ea d i ness, orga ni zed through exper i e nce, exe rting a direct ion or dyn amic 
influence upon the i ndividua l s r es pons e to a ll objec t s a nd s i tuat io ns wi th 
6 
.. 
7 
whi c h i t i s r e l ated. In 1948 Kr ec h a nd Crutchfi e ld (1948 : 152) def in ed 
att i tude as " an e ndurin g o rg a ni zat io n of mo t i vationa l , emot ional , per -
ce ptual and cog niti ve processe s with re spect to some aspect o f the 
indi vidua l' s world." Katz a nd Stot l a nd (1959:428) furth e r deve l oped th i s 
multifa ce ted de sc rip t io n by placing att i tudes in the framewo rk of 
cog nition, affect a nd conat i ve. Cook a nd Se l l t i z (1964:36) t hink o f 
at titud e as "an und er lying di s position whi ch e nte r s a long wi t h other 
influences, into the dete rminat ion of a va ri ety of behavi o r s t owa rd a nd 
ob j ect o r c l ass of ob j e ct s, in c ludin g stateme n ts o f be li e f s a nd f ee lin gs 
about t he ob j e ct a nd a pproa ch - avo id ance act i ons wi t h r es pect to i t. 
He ne r son , Morr i s , Lyons (197 8: 13) pr e f e r to use t he te rm broad l y 
"to desc ribe a ll t he ob j ect ives we wa nt t o measure that have to do wi t h 
af f ec t, f ee lin gs, value s o r be li efs . 
Attitudes and Be hav io r 
Anyo ne condu ct in g a hi sto rical r ev i ew of t he r e lat ions hip between 
att i tude a nd be hav i o r mi ght be li eve t hat t he con troversy s urrounding t hi s 
r e l ations hip has bee n in t he f oref ron t t hroughout the years. Thi s i s not 
t he case, however. Early invest igators wo r r ie d lit t l e a bou t the att i tud e / 
be havi o r r e l at io ns hip . They s impl y wo rke d o n the a s s umpti on t hat att i t ud es 
pred i c t behavior. When s tudi es dea lin g wi th the a ttitud e/ be hav io r 
r e l at i onsh ip be gan to r e port e vid e nce that a tti t ud es could not acc urat e l y 
pred i ct be havio r , the y cou ld not be igno r ed. The va li d i ty o f t he 
att i t ud e concept wa s in qu est io n as r e fl ected in s eve ra l s tud ie s du rin g 
t he l a t e l960' s a nd 1970 ' s. Wi c ke r-, (1969:65) stated "it i s cons id e r-ab l y 
more like l y that at titudes will be unr e l ated o r o nl y s li ghtl y r e late d ov e r t 
be hav i or s than t hat att i tudes will be c l os e l y r e l ated to a c t ion s . " 
Abe l s o n (1972) conc lu ded that att i t ud e can not pred ict be hav ior, howe ve r, 
8 
Sch uman a nd J oh nso n (1976) took a mo r e mode rate position in conclu d in g tha t 
c e r ta in behaviors are so dependent upo n t he s ituati o n that t hey ca nn ot be 
pre dicted by meas uring a ttitudes . (Aj ze n a nd Fi s hbe in , 1980:25) 
Fi s hbe in and Ajze n (1980:25) have conducted exte ns i ve st udi es on 
t he a ttitude /be hav ior r e lat i o ns hip a nd r efe r to i t as a " theory of reasoned 
act i on", mean in g that people us uall y think in a rationa l way and use 
information ava il ab l e to them to make decis ions . They do not believe that 
be havio r i s thought l e s s or contro ll ed . Accord in g to their app r oac h , any 
be hav i o ral act io n can be predicted prov i ded the pe r son' s att i tud e toward 
t he be hav io r i s meas u r e d and not hi s att i tude toward the ob j ect at wh i c h 
the behav ior i s a imed. 
Consistent cor r e lat ion s between attitude an d behav ior are mo s t ofte n 
fo und 1n st udi es us i ng the "knovm -g roup me t hod " ( i. e. g ro ups wh ich are 
known to ex hibi t att itudes that are ext r eme on a part i cul a r s ubj ect). 
Be ca use se l ec tion was from the ex tr eme e nd of a continuum rat he r than from 
a r andom samp le, the stat i st i ca l r e l at i on s hip was higher. Stud i es s upport -
in g th i s concept in c lud e the "Study of Attitude s of J apa nese Towa rd 
Ame ri ca ns ", by Nett l e r a nd Go l d in g (1946) a nd the s tudy by She r i f and 
Hov l a nd ( 1961) wh i c h found t hat individu a l s who j o in e d one type o f 
orga ni zat io n had d if fere n t att itud e s t ha n those who j o in ed a not he r (Ke i s l e r, 
Co l 1 in s , Mi 1 l e r , 1969 :25). 
The assumption that behavior can be p redict ed by at t i tud e s has 
bee n c r edit ed to Thoma s a nd Znaniecki ( 1918) who be li eved tha t a pe r son' s 
me nt a l proces s es (att i tudes) dete r min e how he ,-e s pond s or will r es pond . 
Al t hough i t i s somet imes a ss ume d that att itud e s a nd be ha v io r a r e 
c l o s e l y r e lated, s tudi es are often c i t e d t o demon s t rate the in co ns i s t e ncy 
t hat ex i sts between att itude s and be ha vi o r. For exa mpl e , the La Pi e r e 
(193L1) s tudy of a trav e lin g Chin ese coupl e i s a ,ve ll kn ovm exa mp l e i n 
9 
s uppo r t of thi s t heo r y . A s tud y by Min a rd (1 952) o n " Race Re la t io ns h i ps 
in t he Pocahontas Coa l Fi e ld s " , a l so s uppo rt s t he l ack of co r re lat ion 
be twee n a t t i t ud es a nd be ha vior ( Ke i s l e r , Co llin s , Mill e r , ]969 ). 
Oth e r f acto r s used to e xpl a in t he in cons i s t e nc i e s betwee n att itud e 
a nd be ha vi o r a r e kn own as the "o the r va ri a bl es " a pp roac h. In thi s 
app r oac h , at titude i s vi ewed as o ne o f seve r a l va ri a bl es af f ect in g 
be ha vi o r . (Ehrli c h , 1969; Faz io a nd Za nn a, 1978; Rega n & Faz io, 1977 ; 
In Aj ze n a nd Fi s hbe in , 198 0.) 
The s tud y o f the r e lation s hip be twee n at titud e a nd be hav io r i s a 
compl ex o ne which will continue t o be of in te rest t o soc i a l s c i e n t i sts. I t 
po in ts o u t that whil e mu c h e ff o rt has bee n pu t fo r t h in the deve l opme n t of 
re li a bl e an d va l id att i t ude meas ures, li tt l e at t e nti o n has bee n pa id to t he 
meas ur eme nt o f be ha vi o r. Fur t he r st ud y o f be ha vi o r i s needed to ga in a 
c l ea r e r und e r s t a ndin g o f t he at t itud e/be hav io r r e lat io ns hip. (Aj ze n & 
Fi s h be in , l 98 0) 
Ke i s l e r , Co ll in s, Miller (196 9:2 7) s umma ri ze by sa y i ng t hat wh il e 
the r e a r e s tudi es to s upp o rt bot h s id es of t he att i tude / be hav ior que s t ion, 
"most e vid e nce f a ll s betwee n -- s ugges tin g t hat i t i s pos s i b l e to p r ed ict 
be ha vi o r fr om a tti t ud es but withou t a g r eat dea l o f prec i s ion . '' 
At titudes Towa rd t he Ha nd i cap ped 
The r e vi ew o f lit e rat ure pe rta in i ng to att i tud es towa r d t he 
ha ndi ca pped r e vea led no r esea rch s pec i f i c to t he topi c of t hi s st udy --
t he at titud es o f vo lun tee r l ea de r s toward i nvo l v in g ha nd i cappe d yo uth in 
4- H pr og r ams . 
Ea rly li te rat u re i s limi ted in t he st udy of att i tud es o f t eac he r s , 
pa r e n ts a nd ot he r in d iv i dua l s towa rd the hand i capped, however, s uc h s tudie s 
10 
be gan to come to the forefront in the 60's. 
Severa l studies suppo rt the c l a im prejudice towards the handicapped 
does exi s t (e.g., Si ll er, 1963 ; Roeher, 1961; Wright, 1960). Roeher (1961) 
c l a ime d att i tudes are formed ea rl y in life a nd are patterned afte r those 
he l d by parents. Hebel ieved that when peop l e cannot f ind answers to 
s upport what t hey believe, they wi 11 make up or d i sto rt informat ion to 
s upport t he ir views. He s uggests that attitudes ca n become mo re de s irabl e 
by familiarization with accurate informat i on pertaining to t he handicapped. 
Higg s (1975:497) further suppo rt ed the premise that att itudes chang e a s the 
l e ve l of informat ion or contact a person has with handicapped per son s 
i ncrea ses . He also indicat ed that t he gene r a l public s uffer s from a l ack 
of contact and quality in forma ti on regarding handicapped person s . 
Mc Da ni e l (1969:27) in hi s r ev iew o f stud ies of att itudes toward 
the handicapped found no s ingle s te r eotype to describe the ha ndi capped. 
He s a id the extent to which handi capped pe r sons are accepted depend ed on 
s e ver i ty of hand icap, age, sex a nd l eve l of maturity. 
According to Rapier, et a l , (1972), handicapped person s have some 
majo r barriers to ove r come to gain accepta nce by soc iety . Children wh o are 
hand icapped at birth have an e ve n more diff i cu l t time s in ce th ey are s hut 
o ff a lmost totally from no rma l soc i a li zat io n . Their education i s mo s t apt 
to take place in a c l ass room with ot her handicappe d chi ldre n a nd th ey have 
little opportu nity to s ha re expe ri ences with non-handicapped peer s . 
The impl e me ntat io n of Pu bli c Law 92 -14 2 1n 1975, wh i ch ca ll s fo r 
int e g rat i on of the hand ic apped c hil d wi th in th e c l as s room to the gr eat es t 
e xtent possible, has brought about some ma j o r cha nge s in att i tudes he l d by 
yo ung peop l e toward the handicapped. Rapi e r , e t a l (1972:222) s tudy on the 
e ff ects o f in teg rat i on on ort hoped i ca l l y ha ndi capped chil dre n s howed 
11 
you nge r chi l dren to have mo re ext r eme attitudes than o l der c hi Jdren toward 
t he hand i capped with the o lder children having more real i s tic views. Pri or 
to in tegrat i on, boy s he ld a more negative v iew than g ir l s toward the ha ndi -
capped, but he ld s imil ar vi ews f o l l ow in g integ rat ion. Thi s s tudy gave 
further indicat i on to the fact that the att i tude of non-handicapped youth 
towa rd the handicapped can be c ha nged as a resu l t of contact and in teraction. 
A st udy by Donald son (1980:340) further sup port ed the idea that mal e 
att itudes can c hange from negat ive to more pos i t ive as a resu l t of hav in g 
contact wi t h the handicappe d and l earn i ng more about d i sab ili ties. 
McHa l e and S imeon ss on (1980) st udi ed the in teract i on of non -
handicapped ch ildren ' s att i tudes toward Aut i st i c c hildr e n . The att i tudes 
s hown by t he non-handicapped were ve r y pos iti ve, however, the author po in ts 
out that the ca r efu l p l a nning and st ructure of the in teract ion sess ions 
could hav e had a ma j o r effect on the attitudes displayed. 
Smith a nd Larsen (1 93 0) assessed the att i tudes of ado l esce n t seve nth 
an d e i ght h grade st ud e nt s a nd reported that the attitudes of s tudents in a n 
in tegrated c l ass r oom s ituation were mor e pos i t i ve toward the ha ndi capped 
st ud ents than t hose i n the non in tegrated classrooms. Gir l s were found to 
have more po s i t ive attit ud es towa rd the hand i capped t han the boy s i n both 
of the c lass r oom s ituat io ns . 
Re lat i ve to the s uccess of integrat io n of hand i capped ch il dr e n into 
the non-handicap pe d c lass room are t he att i tudes ex hibit ed by sc hoo l 
pr in c ipa l s and teac he r s . Two stud ies (Payne and Murray, 1974: 124-125 a nd 
Da v i s , 1980) expl o r ed t he att itudes of pr in c i pa l s toward mainstream i ng of 
ha ndi cap pe d c hildre n i nto t he regu lar c l assroom. Payne a nd Murray i ndicat e d 
that s uburban principa l s we r e more willing to i nt eg rat e the hand i capped than 
urban pr in c i pa l s . Both group s per ce ived a need for teacher a nd s tudent 
s upport se rvi ces a nd both group s genera ll y acce pt ed the vi s ua ll y ha nd i capped, 
12 
hea r i ng impa ired, phys i ca ll y ha ndi capped a nd learn in g d i sa bled as 
acceptab l e for integrat i on . The st udy by Step he n & Brown (1980:292) 
pe r ta ining to teacher's att itudes towa rd the ha ndi capped di scove r e d that 
p rimary a nd middl e g r a de teachers a r e more willing to accept the hand i capped 
c hildren than teachers of g rad es 7 a nd 8. Al so, t eac he r s who have had 
t r a ining i n s pec i a l ed ucation were more receptiv e to ha nd i capped c hild ren 
t ha n t hose with no t r a inin g. Teac hers who be li e ve d t hat ha nd i capped 
c hil d r en ca n be productive me mbe r s o f soc iety a nd that the pub] i c sc hoo l 
s ho uld ed ucate them he l d mor e p~ iti ve att i t ud es than tho se who did not 
s upport t hese be l i e f s. De mog r ap hi c data s uch as age, sex, ma ri ta l s tat us, 
yea r s of teac hing a nd r es id e nce had lit t l e e ff ect o n t eac he r att i tude s towards 
int eg ration o f the ha ndicapped in to the regu l a r c l assroom . 
Tuni ck, Pl att, Bowen (1 980 ) in their st udy of t he rur a l commu ni ty 
att itud es towa rd the ha ndicapped found non-fa rm r es id e nt s to ho l d mo r e 
po s itive att itud es toward t he ha ndicapped than t he ir rura l coun terpart s. 
Most of the li te r at ur e di scuss in g att itudes toward t he ha ndi capped 
re lates how person s in soc i e ty outs id e t he home fee l toward the ha nd i capped, 
a nd li tt l e ment io n i s made of parenta l attitud es toward a hand i cap ped c h il d. 
Pa r e n ts p l ay a ma j o r r o l e in how a child i s ab l e to ada pt to h i s di s ab ili ty 
a nd function in soc iety . Babbitt , a r ehab ili tation co un se lo r , (1964: 20-2 1) 
makes ment ion of this in hi s art i c le on "Appra i sa l of Pa r e nt a l Att i t udes " . 
He d i s c usses how the e ff ect of a ha ndi cap c hild ca n ca use pa ,-ents to r e tr ea t 
from norma l socia l pattern s, e.g . , stop go in g to c hur c h , c hange of emp l oy me nt, 
deve l op gui I t f ee lings a nd eve n become emot iona ll y i 11. The pa r e nt s may 
have e i t he r ove r or und e r expectat ions for the c hi l d a nd bot h par e nts may 
not ho l d the sa me ex pecta tion s. The host ili ty pa r e nt s ho l d toward a 
han di capped c hild may remain s uppressed for ma ny yea r s . All the f ac tor s 
me n t io ned have a ma j or e ff ect o n t he funct i ona l de ve lopme nt o f a ha nd i ca pp e d 
13 
c hi 1d . Ba bbi t t fur t he r expresses t he need f o r f ur t he r expl o rat io n of 
pa r e nt a l at titudes a nd t ec hniques f o r meas urin g t he att i t udes. 
Equ a ll y impo rt a nt t o the f ee lin gs o f pa r e nt s towa rd t he i r hand i capped 
c hi Id i s how t he ha ndi ca ppe d pe r son f ee l s towa rd him se lf. We in be r g a nd 
Wi l 1 i ams (1 978 ) conduct ed a s tud y o f 17 0 ha ndi ca pped pe r sons atte ndin g a 
1976 Illino i sa n Whi te House Conf e r e nce o n the Ha ndi ca pped . Res ul ts of t he 
s t ud y indi cate t ha t mos t ha nd i ca pped pe r sons do no t cons ide r t he ir d i sa-
b ilit y as t rag i c . Ge ne r a ll y, t hey acce p t it "as a fact of li fe, a n 
i nco nve ni e nce, a nd/o r a ca use o f f ru st rat i on . " (p .3 2) Thi s v iew , s 
s uppo r ted by Ca me ro n et. a l (1 973). On ce the ha nd i ca pped have ad ju s ted to 
t he ir d i sa bility, t hey t a ke a new v iew o f life beca use t he r e i s s t ill muc h 
to do . We inbe r g a nd Willi ams f ound no ge ne ra l ag reeme n t amo ng t he 
ha nd i cap pe d o n the ir a ttitude t owa rd d i sa bili ty. 
In ge ne r a l , acco rdin g t o Come r a nd Pi ll a nin (1 975:296 ) mos t 
s t udi es indi ca t e a mo r e f avo r a bl e tha n di s f avo r a bl e att itude towa r d t he 
ha ndi ca pped. The a t t i t ud e expressed by t he ge ne ra l pub] i c a r e somewhat 
mo r e pos itive tha n ave r age . The no rm of soc iety i s to be k in d t o t he 
d i sab l e d , howe ve r , the r e i s a de fini te hi e r a r c hy of acce p tab i 1 i ty of ce r t a in 
con di t io ns (Trin go, 1970) . Seve rit y o f condi t i on ha s a n affect on t he 
acce p ta bi 1 ity. 
Prog r ammin g_ fo r the Ha nd i capped 
Resea r c h a nd p rog r amming f o r t he ha ndi cappe d wa s un heard of p ri or to 
t he nin e t ee nth ce n t ur y. The ha ndi ca pped o f t hese t ime s we re fe a r e d a nd 
o fte n hid de n awa y wi t h 1 ittl e compass ion g i ve n to t he i r p li ght. Ev e n i n 
t he ea rl y de ve lo pme n t o f t he Uni ted State s, l eaders, as t he y s tr ugg l e d 
for de moc r acy, had 1 it t l e t ime to t hin k abo u t pe r sons who we re unab l e to 
ca r e f o r t he mse l ves . 
14 
In t he ear l y 19t h centu r y, people began to sp e ak out on be half of 
t he handicapped c hild : Horace Ma nn and Sa mu e l Howe for the r e tard ed 
c hild; Dorthea Di x for the soc i a lly maladjusted c hild and Re v. Thoma s 
Ga l l a ud e t f o r t he deaf . Many new developments bega n to occ ur for t he ha ndi -
c apped in t he East during the pe riod 18 17 - 1850 as r e s id ent i a l s choo l s 
de ve l oped to se rv e the needs of the handicapped. Growth of t hese s choo l s 
cont i nued at a rapid rate from 1850-1920, but t he s choo l s had limi t i ng 
fa c t ors, such a s ; o nce placed there, soc iety often forgot t he handicapp ed 
pe r s on, and fe l t no f urthe r r espons i bi li ty towa rd them and education wa s 
li mi ted in scope s in ce co ll ege or unive r s i t i e s offered no cu rri c ulu m in 
t he f i e l d of spec i a l ed ucat i on . 
The move in to t he 20th century bro ught wi th i t ot he r major de ve lop -
me nt s in the a r ea of prog r amm in g for the handicapped. Day sc hoo l s s t a rt ed, 
ma j or changes occurr e d in peop les att i t ud es toward di sab ili t i es a s a 
r es u l t o f World Wa r I a nd I I , a nd the f ir s t s pec ia l teacher program was 
s tarted by Charles Berry in Michi gan in 19 14 . 
Growth in educat i o n for the handicappe d was s low at f ir s t du e to the 
l ac k o f exper ime ntat io n and r esea r c h and i t continu e d to be s low dur i ng 
1930- 1940, as a re s ul t o f t he depre ss ion and mi xed f ee li ng s towa r d the 
hand i cap pe d. After Wor l d Wa r I I , peop l e be ga n to accept d i sa b ili t i es wi th 
l ess co nce rn. ~rents o r ga ni zed s uppo r t g roup s on beha l f of th e handicapp e d, 
r e ports of r esearc h pertaining to hand i capped began to s ur fa ce a nd co ll eges 
a nd universities added programs for s pecia l education - a ll res u l t i ng in 
ma jor c hanges for the handicapped. (Cr ui ck s ha nk & John son, 1958) 
Resea r c h a nd s pec i a l ed ucat io n progr ams developed a t a r a pid r a t e 
f o r a period of about t hir ty year s (approx ima t e l y 1945 - 1975) a s ge ne ra l 
e ducator s r efer r ed e xce ptiona l chi l dre n to spec ia l edu cato r s in a mos t l y 
se gr egated e nvironme nt. As a ll 50 s t a t es deve loped s pec ia l e du cat ion 
A 
15 
program s , he l ped a lon g by legi s lature s upport, a s peci a l ed ucat io n "emp ir e " 
invo l v i ng 10-25% o f sc hoo l -age childre n evo lved (Thurman , 198 0). 
The l a t e 1970 1 s and mor e s pec i f i ca 11 y the e nactme nt of PL 91r- l 42 
(Educat i on for All Hand i capped Chi l dr e n Act of 1975) saw the deve lopme nt 
o f a na t i ona l moveme nt to ma i ns tream mil d l y ha nd i capped ch il dre n i nto 
reg ular c l assrooms. Some cause for the turn from s peci a l e ducat io n c l asses 
which we r e pursued for so many years toward ma in s treaming came about as a 
resu l t of court dec i s ions mand a ting the ret urn of certa i n ha ndi ca ppe d 
c h il dren to regu l ar c lassrooms ( Larr ivee & Cook (1979) The d i s covery that 
c h i ldr e n accepted in s pecial educat ion c l asses wer e se l dom r e turned to 
r eg ular c l assrooms (Thurma n, 198 1), a nd the fa ct that ha ndi cap pe d youth 
we r e i so lat e d from the i r non - ha nd i capped peer s where they cou l d l ea rn 
acce ptab l e behav ior s (G l i ck and Sc hube rt, 198 1) were a l so cons i de red. 
Accord i ng to John son and John son, (1980:90) the pa ssage of the 
Educat i o n for All Hand i capped Ch il dr e n Act i s one of the mo s t i mp o rt a nt 
p i eces of Ci vi l Right s l eg i s lat ion pa ssed. It s implementation ca n have 
far -reac hing e ff e ct s o n the handicapp ed child. If t he in teg rat io n of 
ha ndicapped ch il dre n wi th their non-ha nd i cap pe d pee r s does not go we l l , 
fu rth e r damag e can be don e to the hand i capped c hild. If the ma in s tr eamin g 
i s s ucce ss fu l , tru e fr i e nd s h ip s and mean i ngf u l r e lat ions h i ps ca n be f o rmed . 
St ud i es ex i s t that g ive e mpir i ca l s upport for the ma i nst r ean1ing of 
hand i capped chi l dren. (Brad f i e l d, et a l , 1973 ; Budoff & Gottli eb, 1976). 
Laws ha ve bee n passed to a ss ure integrat ion of the hand icapped into no n-
ha ndi ca pped e nvironme nt s. Howeve r , t he ma nn e r in whi ch ha nd i ca pp ed c hi l d r e n 
a r e ma i ns tr eame d and the att i tud es o f sc hoo l pr i nc i pa l s a nd t eac he r s wil l 
p l a y a ma j or ro l e 1n dete rm i n i ng the s uccess of th e ma i ns tream in g concept . 
(La rrivee & Cook, 1979) 
St udi es condu cted to de t e rm i ne the att itudes of teache r s towa r d 
16 
ma i nstream in g have exh i bited both posit ive (Sc hme lkin , 198 1) and negative 
r es ult s (A ie ll o, 1978; Bradf i e ld , et al, 1973) . Generally, the s taff 
t hat i s a greater distance from the student have more positive att i tud es 
towar d the ma in st r eaming concept than those who are working directly with 
t he st udent s. Negat ive attitudes toward ma in st r eaming general l y in crea se a s 
the g r ade le ve l increases (Larrivee and Cook, 1979:316-320). 
Glick and Schubert , (1980) while pointing out both the p ros and 
con s of spec i a l ed ucat ion, me ntion that ma in st r eaming will not automat i ca l ly 
s o l ve the probl ems of e du cat ing the spec ia l ch il d, but s ho uld he l p him 
be tter und e r sta nd and cope with the r ea l world a nd no n-ha ndicap ped pe r son s . 
The r e a l cha ll e ng e beyond ma in st reamin g i s the whole integrat i on of mildl y 
hand i capped youth wi t h non -hand i capped so t ha t both g r oup s can learn from 
ea ch ot her . 
Thi s sect i on, so far, ha s di scussed the ro l e that formal ed ucation 
has p l ayed in deve l o ping the handicapp e d per son. Anothe r importa n t a s pe ct 
in programm in g for the handicapped are t he non-fo rmal program s that ar e 
de veloped and offered s ince parti c ipat ion in s uch p rograms can help l e ad to 
t he normal soc i a li za tion of the handi capped. 
Li terature r ev iewed r evea l s l ittle abo u t the work that i s be in g don e 
in a non-formal way f o r the handi capped. The Directo r y of Nat i ona l 
-In- fo- rm-a-t-io-n -S-ou?-rc-e-s -i-n -H-a n-d-ic-ap-pi?-ng- -C-on-d-iti-on-s -a-n-d- -Re--l-a-t?e-d-.-S~ rvices , 1980 
li s ts 285 nati o na l l eve l organization s t hat provide informat ion a nd d irect 
se rvi ces pertain in g to the ha ndicapped. Thi s li s t ing includes s uch 
o rgan izations as the Nat i o na l Arts a nd Hand i capped Info rmat ion Se rvi ce , 
Huma n Resour ces Center, a nd Ma in st r e am, In c. Youth- se r?v in g ag e nc i es 
in c lud e American Na ti o na l Red Cro ss , Boy Scout s , Gi r l Scout s , Juni or 
National Association of Dea f a nd 4-H. 
17 
4-H Invo l vement 1n ~land i capped P_  r-9]~~ 
For the purpose of this st udy, the r eve iw of non - f o rma l pr ograms 
offered for ha nd i ca ppe d youth will be li mited t o tho se of the 4-H 
Or ga n i zat io n in the Un i ted States. 
Prior to conducting t h i s study, the i nve s t i gator met with Or. Charle s 
Freeman, Nat iona l 4-H Counci l , El l a Ma e Be r dah l , USDA, Hop e Dau ghe rt y, SEA, 
and Ed i th Wi ll iams, Un ivers i ty of Mary l a nd in Decembe r 1980 at the 
Nationa l 4-H Center to gain in s i ght as to the National 4-H Prog ram thrust s 
fo r the hand i capped a nd to explore the needs o f s uch prog r ammin g . 
\.Jh il e 4- H at the Nat i onal l eve l i s comm i tted to programm i ng mo re 
adeq ua t e l y to se rv e the needs of the hand i capped, the r e a r e no set 
guid e l ine s fo r do i ng so . Ways are be i ng exp lored to expa nd program ef fort 
to inc l ude handicapp ed youth i n accordance with the r eso l ut ion pas s ed 1n 
June, 1978 by the 4-H Subcommittee of the Exte ns ion Committee on 
Orga nizat i o nal Po l i cy. Nationa l 4-H Counci l i s ass i st i ng Federa l Ext e ns i on 
i n these e ffort s . The one Exte ns ion pub l i cat ion in use nationally for 
gu i da nce in 4-H programm i ng for the hand i capped i s "Let 1 s Look at 4-H 
a nd Hand i capped Youth", by Beppler, Bortz a nd Mi 11 i gan of Pe nn State 
Univers i ty (1978). Ge nera ll y, sta t es a r e conducting a variety of programs 
fo r the hand i capped and dev e lop i ng t he i r own mat e ri a l s f o r imp l eme ntat io n 
of the programs. Some other r esource s s har ed during the meeting with 
Freeman, Berd ah l , Daugherty a nd \.Ji 11 iam s included YMCA 1 s Ma in s t r eam i ng 
Act iviti es for Youth (Proj ect , MAY), r e port on Leader Forum, "Mak in g 4-H 
Mo re Access ib l e to Hand i capped Youth" he l d at the Nat iona l 4-H Ce nt e r in 
lfove mb e r 1979, 11 Hi gh l i ghts of Idea Ex c hang e on 4-H a nd Hand i capped Youth " 
held Se pt ember 1978 and information on t he Internat iona l Year of the 
18 
Di s ab l e d Pe r son (1 98 1). 
At the Na ti ona l 4-H Age nt 1 s Meet in g he l d i n Det ro i t, Mi c hi ga n in 
1980 , it wa s e vid e nt thr ough two semi na r s present e d a t the confe re nce t ha t 
Mi c hi gan ha d bee n programming for the hand i ca ppe d for ove r t e n yea r s . The 
o n- s i t e seminar vi s i t demon s trating 4-H in act i on at two sc hoo l s f o r 
multi - ca p c hildr e n in Macomb County , exemplifi e d Michi ga n 1 s uni que ne ss 
in prog r a mming for t he ha nd i capped. 
The r e i s a g rowin g in t e re s t i n ma in s treamin g a nd prog rammin g f o r 
t he ha ndicappe d in 4-H program s throu ghout the country . A b i bli og r ap hy 
comp il ed by t he NAE 4 - HA Task Force on the Hand i cappe d ~ e ne r a t e d by a 
r e qu es t to States f o r prog ramming e ff o rt s f o r ha nd i ca pped yo uth), l i s t s 
e i ghtee n (18) sta t e s as ha vin g 4-H prog rams f or t he ha ndi ca pped . Ot he r 
4-H programs pr o ba b l y ex i s t wi t hin s t ates tha t d i d not r e s po nd to the 
r e qu es t s . Acco rd i ng t o the repo rt, 11-H in c lud es ha nd i ca ppe d yo uth in 4- H 
g r o up s at the community l eve l in many cases , but s pec ia l prog r ams e x i s t 
to i nclude tho se who a r e ha rd e r t o r ea ch, i. e ., mu l t i- cap a nd tho se In 
in s t i t ut i on s . Pr og r ams li s t e d in bib l iog r a ph y in c lude : access ibl e 
campin g faciliti es for the handica pped , ridin g f or t he ha ndi ca pped, pro-
j e c t book s in Bra ill e , pa rt i c i pa ti on i n pe rfo rmin g a rt s prog rams , s umme r 
da y c a mp prog ram s for handicapped, s ign l a nguag e cour ses a nd pro j ect 
a nd r esource mat e ri a l s s ugges ting met hods fo r prog r ammin g fo r t he 
ha nd i ca pped. (Appe ndi x A) Seve n counti e s in Ma r y l a nd ha ve p rog r ams f o 1-
t he ha ndicapped. (Uni ve r s i ty o f Mary l and Program Tr e nd s & Pr io ri t ies , 80-81 . ) 
An ea rly r e po rt o f pr og r a mm~n g fo r t he ha nd i ca pp ed through 4- H 
wa s that o f Ra pson a nd Ke lly ( 1953) whe r e boys in s pe c i a l e du ca t ion c l asses 
at Krug Sc hoo l in Mi s souri we r e i nvo lved i n a n ima l a nd f ie l d c r ops 4- H 
pro j ec t s . I t wa s dete rmin e d t hat pa rti c i pat ion i n s uc h p ro j ec t s e ncour aged 
r e a din g, s pea kin g a nd ma th a s a r es ul t of do i ng r e po rt s on these proj ec t s. 
19 
The 4-H program effo r t i s on l y poss i b l e through the extens ive 
invo l veme n t of vo l unteer s who wo r k c lo se l y with the 4-- H professional sta ff 
in each state throug hout the Uni ted States toward imp l ementat ion of 4-H 
p r og r ams- Vo lun teer s are t he key to s ucce ss fu l prog rams a nd operat ion s 
(Nat i o na l Repo r t, Idea Exc ha nge o n 4-H, 1978 ) . I t i s thi s same group 
of vo l untee r s t hat make 4- H poss i b le for the hand i capped. Wi thout 
vo l untee r help, Extens ion coul d not r each the many fam ili e s that are 
invo l ved i n i t s p r ograms. 
Sect io n 504 of t he Re hab ili tat ion Act of 1973 mandate s that 
o rga n i zat i o ns rece i v i ng fede r a l mo ni es mu s t ma ke a ll programs ava i ]ab l e 
to hand i capped i nd i v i dua l s who wi s h to part i c i pate. To meet i t s ob li gation 
an d re s pons i b il ity to p r og r am for hand i capped youth as impo sed by the 
Act , Mary l a nd, too, mu s t re l y on vo l untee r s for ass i sta nce . The recruit-
me nt a nd tra i n in g of vo l un teers to ass i s t wi t h 4-H programs has become 
in c r eas in g l y d i f fi cu l t as a res ul t of more dema nds on i nd iv i dua l 1 s t ime, 
mor e wome n i n the work force a nd t he i ncr eas i ng numbe r of other age nc ies 
a nd orga ni zat io ns that a r e see k i ng vo l unt ee r s . (Un iver s i ty of Mary l a nd 
Program Trends and Pr ior i ties, 198 1-82) . As a result of these demand s , 
Ex ten s io n must make i t s needs known in an effec tive way, o ff e r r e l eva nt a nd 
t ime l y t r a inin g programs a nd p rov i de t asks that wi 11 cha ll e ng e a nd sa ti s fy 
it s vo lun tee r s . ( US DA , Vo l u n tee rs , l 97  l ) 
Wh il e one of the pr io ri t i es for s pecia l audience s i n the 198 1-82 
Tre nd s and Pr ior i tie s for Ma ry l and i s the ma in s tream i ng of them int o 4-H 
ac t i v i t i es and events, the quest ion ar i ses , 11 A,-e vo l un tee r s r ea dy for th i s 
ta s k? 11 Pu b ] i c l aws can ma ndate t hat thi s occur s , but the att i tud es , 
wi llingne ss , and r ead i ne ss of t he vo l unt ee r wi 11 p l ay a maj o r ro l e i n how 
s uccess fu ll y the ma i ns tream i ng occur s . Oft e n Exte ns ion expec t s it s 
volunteer s to a ss i st i n i mp l ementat io n o f prog ram pri o riti e s , but ha s n't 
20 
pr ovid e d t he ne cessa r y backg r ound t o do so. Vo l untee r s need t o know wha t 
i s expec ted of t he m, a nd wha t r esource s a nd t r a i n i ng wil l be ava i l ab l e t o 
t hem as t he y mee t t he c ha l l e nge of wo rk in g wi th s pec i a l a ud i e nces . 
Wi tho u t t he s upport of vo lun t e e r s , Ex t e ns ion wi 11 no t be ab l e to s ucce ssf u ll y 
i mp l e me nt t he ma nda te of t he Re hab ili tat i on Act, 1973 - Sec t i o n 50 4 . 
Ma i ns t r e am in g vs. s pec i a l progra mm i ng i s no t an eas y qu est i o n. Youn g 
peop l e have the same emotiona l nee ds bu t d iffe r e nt a pproac he s are neede d 
to r ea ch t hese needs . I t i s not eas y t o i nt e gr a t e you t h i n to ong o i ng 
pr og r ams e ve n t hou g h th i s i s a n i dea l goa l . (Re po r t o f Idea Exc ha nge o n 
4- H a nd Ha nd i c appe d You t h , Sept., 1978:3 ) . Exte ns i o n needs t o be r ea dy t o 
pre pa r e i t s vo lun tee r s for t he ta s k o f prog r ammin g for ha nd i ca ppe d you t h . 
At t i tud e Meas ureme nt 
Agr eeme nt Sca l es 
Whi l e t he p r ob l ems uniqu e to the meas ur eme n t of a tt i t udes we r e 
r ecog n i zed ea rl y i n s t ud i es of a tt i tud e s towa rd soc ia l i ss ues , t he y a r e 
s t i l l wi th us t oday . Th u r s to ne ( 193 1:249) desc r i bed a t t i t ud es a s be in g 
ve r y comp l ex a nd not t o t a ll y descr i bea bl e by a s in g l e nume ri ca l i nde x . He 
d i f f e r e n t i a t es c l ea r l y be twee n the conce p t of a t t i t ude a nd op ini on. He 
us e s 11att i tud e 11 t o de note a ll of a pe r so n ' s f ee li ng s , be l i e f s , i de a s , f e a r s 
about a s pe c i f i c top i c a nd "op i n i on 11 i s the ve rba l express ion of a n 
a tt itud e . He a l so t e l l s us tha t we need to take fo r gra nt ed t hat a t t i t udes 
ca n c hange an d t hat t he be hav ior d i s p l ayed i s n 1 t a lway s cons i s t e n t wi t h 
t he a tt i tud e e xp r essed . He ne r son , et a l ( 1978: 13) a l so s poke o f t he com-
p l ex na tur e o f a tt i tud es sta t in g t ha t s i nce att i t ud e s ca n 1 t be mea s ur ed 
d i r ec t l y, we ca n o nl y i nf e r t hat t hey ex i s t by wha t i s o bse r ved. 
Ma ny met hod s f or mea s ur i ng att i t udes ex i s t . Opp e nhe im ( 1966 ) 
co ns ide r s a ttitude s ca l es to be t he mos t soph i s t i ca t ed meas ur es beca use o f 
21 
the comp l e x ity of att itudes and the effort , care a nd exp lorat ion that mu st 
go into the construction of se lf r eport att itud e sca les. 
Desp i te the recent deve lopment of other sea lin g method s s uch as the 
Guttman sca l ogram (1950) and Combs unfo l ding techn i que s ( 1964), the 
att itude sca l e con s tr uct ion techn i ques of Thur stone (1927) and Li kert (1932) 
remain the most important and extensive l y used. Thur s tone f i rst introd uced 
hi s method of "paired comparisons" in whic h a number of judges are asked 
to r ate a ser ies of op inion statement s a long a continuum in 1927. This 
met hod proved to be cumbersome and diff i culty in obta inin g an a de quat e 
number of judges to rate the items was a prob le m. Thur stone a nd Chav e 
(1929) then deve l oped an easier and s horter techn ique for constr uct io n of 
a ttitude sca les ca ll ed "equal appear in g interval s ." With thi s method, 
sta t ements a r e printed on cards and judges are asked to so rt the s tateme nt s 
into e l even ( 11) piles go in g from most unfavorabl e to mo s t favorabl e. 
Equa l we i g h t i s g ive n to d i fference between eac h pi l e a l ong the continuum. 
Amb i guou s or irr e l eva nt items are de leted. Subject s comp l e ting thi s 
a ttitude sca l e a re a s ked only to check the sta tement s with which they 
ag r ee . They are not concerned with the deg ree of agreement o r di sag ree-
me nt that i s bui l t i nto the continuum. (l<i es l e r , et a l, 1969: ll ) 
Thur stone (1929) s poke of a me thod fo r meas uring a ttitudes whi c h did 
not in vo lve judges to p l ace it ems along an att itud e cont inuum , but it wa s 
Li kert (1932) who i ntroduced a method for sco ring att itudes d ir ec tly , 
t hu s e liminat ing the need for judge s . Thi s method i s known a s the Like rt 
sca le of s ummated rat in gs. The ma i n difference be twee n Thurstone a nd 
Li ke rt sca l es i s that o n a Thur s to ne sca le s ubj ects a r e as ked to c hec k a ll 
it ems with wh i ch they agree and on a Like rt sca l e they check the deg r ee o f 
ag r eement on a five-point sca l e us in g the te rm s st ron g l y ag r ee, agree, 
uncerta in, disagree, a nd strong l y di sagree. In tegra l we i ght s ranging f r om 
22 
1-5 or 5- 1 are assigned to each of the r esponses a nd the score of an 
individual i s the s um of the sco r es for eac h item. (Kei s ler, et a l , 1969: 
1 2- 1 3) 
The Li kert sca l e for mea s urin g att i tudes remain s in common use 
today. Oppe nheim (1966: 140) attr ibu te s i t s popu l ar i ty to it s ease of 
co ns truct i on and the fact that it corre lates wel l with the Thur s tone scal e . 
Oppenheim further po in ts out t hat Likert sca l es tend to have good re l i a-
b i 1 ity wit h a r e l iab i 1 ity coeff i c ient of .85 generally obtaina bl e . 
For pu r poses of this s tudy, 1 iterature was sea rched for ex i s t in g 
sca l e in s trument s that measured att i tudes toward hand i capped per sons . 
S tud ies measuring att i tudes toward disabled persons have bee n of int e rest 
f o r many years (e.g., Strong, 1931), however, prior to 1960 in st rume nt s 
used in these type st udi es genera ll y were de s ign ed for a parti c ular s tudy. 
The Att i tude Toward Disabled Persons Sca l e (ATDP) (Yuke r, Block 
a nd Camp be 11 1960 , Yuke r , Block and Young 1966) wa s t he sca l e mo s t 
f r-eq uent l y referred to in st udie s mea s uring attitudes toward d i sa bl ed 
persons, i. e ., (Hafer and Narcu s, 1979; Jordan, 1968; Higgs, 1975; Sm i th 
an d Larson, 1980). The ATDP-0 i s a 20 -i t em attitude sca l e us in g the 
Likert form wit h a s ix-point sca l e . Attitudes are mea s ur ed us in g a mor e 
gene r a l tha n s pec i f i c format. (S ee Appe ndix? B for ATDP qu e s tion s ) 
Because of the exte ns i ve useage of the ATDP sca l e s i nce it s 
deve lopment in 1960, Antonak (1980) made a s tudy of it s psychometr i c 
prope rti es and factorial structu r e to determ in e if i t could st i 11 be 
cons i dered a use ful in s trument for att i tude measurement in v i ew of the 
ma ny 1 s oc i a l changes 1 that have take n place s in ce it was fir s t deve l ope d. 
Acc ord in g to Antonak, the r es ult s of hi s st udy do not s upp o rt continu ed 
us e of the ATDP-0 in it s present form as a measure of att itud e s toward 
d i sa bled per sons . 
A S tudy by Larrivee and Cook (1979) on the var iab J ff . 
teacher ?tt i t udes toward ma in st r eaming used a 30-item li keesn  a scaecJet 1nogf  
5
I tems on th i s in st rume nt were more 
ri en s Ptrollhrrdieeth't tts)  stud ie d and adaptabJ e to th i s r esearch. spec ifi c to the 
to lor eas ulmizmea:r y, as one begin s any study of att i tudes, it Would do 
a. att i t udes cannot be measured d irect ly , conc l us io ns can be 
ba sed on ly on in ferences, 
b. 
C. there i s no unive rsa l agreement on the natur e of att i tude s 
be havi or exhibited is not alway s cons i s t e nt With t he 
att itud e expressed, , 
d. 
att i tude s a re subject to c hange. 
<:::Cl ri s i deTrha et i olon :! J ow i ng s tatement by Thur s tone ( 1928 , 534) i s Worth 
Al I that we can do Wi t h an att i t ude sca Je i s to meas ur e 
t he att itude actua lly expressed With t he fu ]J r eali eat io n t hat 
the s ubj ect may be consc , ous ly h1d1ng hi s true att i t ude or t hat 
what he expre sses . 
the soc ia l pressu r e of the s ,tua t, o n has made him real l y be li eve 
CHAP TER I I I 
METHODOLOGY 
Thi s c hapter in c l ud es a de sc r i pt ion of the de s i gn o f t he st udy, 
s ubj ec t s se l ected, i ns trume n t deve lopment, dat a co ll ect ion a nd a na l ys i s 
procedures . 
Des i gn of Study 
Th i s r esea rc h was a n exp lo r atory st udy wh i c h had a s i t s ma i n 
emphas i s t he d i scove r y of i dea s a nd i ns i ght s . 
Accord i ng to Se ! l t i z, J ahoda, et a l, ( 1966:50) t he purpo s e of a n 
e xp l o ratory s t udy i s 11 to ga i n fam ili arity with a phenomonem o r to ac hi e ve 
ne w i ns i g ht s i nto it, often in order to formu la t e a mo r e preci se r es ea r c h 
prob l em or to de ve lop a hypot hes i s. Such a st udy may a l so be used to 
c l a r i fy conce pt s , i ncrea se in ve s t igator f amil iar i ty wi t h t he phe nomo nem 
be i ng i nve s t i gated, o r he l p estab li s h pr ior i ti es. " Thr ee me thod s a r e 
l i s ted as be i ng s uccess ful i n und e rtakin g s uch a st udy . They are: l) a 
s tudy o f re l ated soc i a l sc i e nce and ot he r 1 i te r a tu r e , 2) s urve y of peopl e 
wi t h expe r i e nce r e l ated to t he pro b l em a nd , 3) 11a n ana l ys i s of in s ight 
s timu lat in g examp les 11 (p . 53 ) . 
Th i s s t udy used a combinat ion o f me thod s o ne a nd two . Be ca use o f 
i t s exp l o r atory natu r e , the s t udy po sed que s t ions i nstead o f hypot heses . 
Subj ects 
The popu lat i on se l ec ted was t he o r ga n i zat iona l l ea de r s of 4-H 
c l ub s i n Cec il , Ke nt a nd Harford count i es i n Mary l and f o r- a tota l of 132 
s ubject s . The pre -t e s t i nc l ud ed the 4-H 0 1-ga ni zat ion a l l ead e r s in New 
Cas t le County, De l aware for a t ota l of 49 s ubj ec t s . The l eade r s we r e 
24 
25 
rep re sentative of rura l , urban and s uburban areas se rved by t he Cooperat i ve 
Ext e ns ?1 on Serv ice. (Figure 1.) 
Organizational l eade rs were se lected as t he s ubj ects becau se t hey 
are the l eade r s mo s t exte ns ive ly invo lved in 4-H programs in Ma ryl a nd a nd 
most aware of 4-H orga nizational guide li. nes. All organizat iona l l eade r s 
Were used as opposed to a random sampl e t o in s ure havin g a l a r ge e noug h 
samp le on which to ba se some conc lu s ions. (See Tab le lJ 
Fi gu re 1 
Ce ntra l Di str i ct Counti es in Ma ryland 
and New Castl e County, De l awa re 
* In d icates counties s urveyed 
** Indica te s county pre-tested 
TABLE I 
OF LEADERS SURVEYED 
COUNTIES AND NUMBER 
Number Or ga ni zat iona l % of Tota l Subj ect s 
-Cou-nti e-s -Le-ade-r s -in -Each- C-ount- -y - 34. 
Cec i 1 45 55. 
Harford 73 11 . 
Ke nt -14 100. 
Tota l 132 
26 
In s trume nt 
The i ns trument us ed for thi s s tudy wa s a two- pa rt qu es t i o nn a ir e 
c omp i l e d by the inves tigator a fter revi ewi ng qu es tionnaire s used in o the r 
at ti t ud e s tud i es . S in ce a more s pecific rathe r tha n ge ne r a l in s trume nt 
wa s des ir e d, the qu es tion s were worded to dir e ctly r e lat e to the 4-H 
p r ogram. 
Th e que s tionna i r e wa s an adaptation of two used in pr e vi o us 
resea r c h by Jordon , (1968) and La rri vee and Cook, (1979). (App e ndi x C) . 
Pa rt I o f the in s trume nt wa s an agreement s ca l e con s i s ting of twe nty 
a tti t ud e item s r e l at in g to handicappe d pe r s on s in vo l veme nt i n the 4-H 
pr og r a m. Res pond e nt s were a s ked to rat e the i t ems on a Li ke rt - type 
s ca le. Rat in gs on the s ca l e r a ng ed 1n in t e ns ity fr om (l) s tro ngly 
d i sa gree to (5) s trong l y agree . Spa ce wa s a l lotte d be low eac h o f the 
twe nty it ems s o that the r es pondent could make furth e r comme n t a bo ut the 
s ta t e me nt. Th e Larrivee a nd Cook (1979) qu es tionn a ire was used a s a guid e 
i n de ve loping Part I of thi s in s trume nt . Nine qu est ions fr om t h i s 
ques tionnair e wer e r eword ed to r e l a t e s pecifi c a ll y to 4-H. The o the r 
e l e ve n que s t i on s we r e deve loped by the in ves t i ga tor. The ,-e s pons e sca l e 
f r om Larriv e e and Cook (1979) was in co rpo r a ted in the in s trume n t used in 
t h i s s tudy. 
Part I I of the in s trume nt r equ es t ed demogra phi c in f o rmat i o n a nd 
e x pe ri e nce in work in g wi th the handica ppe d. Th e t wo qu e s ti ons pe rt a inin g 
to e xpe ri e nce ,n working with the ha ndi ca ppe d we re ada pte d fr om t he 
Pe r sonal Qu es t i onnair e : HP used in the J o rd o n, (1 968 ) s tudy. The 
r ema inin g qu es tion s we r e formul a t e d by the resea r c he r. (Appe nd i x D) 
A pr e -tes t o f the in s trume nt wa s condu c t e d wi t h 49 4- H o r ga ni za ti on-
a l l e a de r s in New Ca s tl e County, De l awa r e to de t e r min e i f r es pond e nt s 
27 
Would encoun te r any difficulty in responding to any of the i tems on the 
que s tionna?i re. Thirty -one of the 49 s ubj ects s urveyed (63 %) retu rned 
cornp l et e d que s t ionna ires . No f o ll ow-up wa s made in the pre-tes t. (N ew 
Cast l e County bo rder s Cecil County, Ma ry l an d tothe  Ea st and t hough more 
urba n a nd suburba n t ha n Cecil County, it ha s 4-H program characte ri s tic s 
s im?1  l ar to the Maryland Counties s urveyed in this st ud y. ) The respond e nt s 
enco un tered no major diffi cul t ies in respond ing to t he twe nty (20) 
a tt itud e ?t ems. The only change in Part I of the original que s t ionna i r e 1 
Wa s the add iti on of s pace afte r eac h of t he att i tude it ems for re spond ent s 
to make comme nt s. Change s in Pa r t I I were made on l y in the way in forma tion 
Was reported n statemen t s 6, 9, 13 and 15. A genera l comme nt s pace was 1
(See Appendix E for in s trume nt used in 
add e d to the bottom of Pa r t I I. 
t hi s s tudy .) 
-Dat-a -Co 1- 1e -c t-i o-n 
The ba s i c procedure; for data co ll ect ion were a s fo ll ows : 
~t:_~E_J_: Approval for the st udy wa s granted by the Unive r s ity 
of Ma r y ] and Committee fo r Research on Human Sub j ect s on Marc h 23, 19 8 1. 
- H A ? H rford and Ke nt Co unt ies , Maryl a nd we re 
Step 2 : 4 gent s 1n a ~ -
contacted for names a nd addresses of 4-H organizat iona l l eade r s . The i r 
Sup Port to e ncourage t he ir leade r s to comp lete t he que s t1on naire wh en 
( Inve s t igator i s the 4- H 
rece?1 Ved wa s a l so requested at time o f con tact ? 
Agent in C to the lead e r s names and addr esses. ) 
ec il County so had acce ss 
. d wi th cove r le tte r s g ivin g 
1 
Questionnaires we re ma i e the t hree 
d. rect? ? ? lea de r s i n 1 ion s for comp let i ng the form to 132 organ i za t ion 
a nonymi t y} 
. . e wa s uncoded t o ass ur e 
count .1 e s que s t 1onn a 1r on May 5, 198 1 . The c losed coded pos tca rd s tat in g 
howe Ver r e turn an e 
n
' s ubj ect s we re a s ked to 
They we re a l so as ked to ret urn the 
they had returned th~ que s tionna i re . 
28 
q ue s t i on na i re sepa rat e from the pos tcard . The pos tcard wa s us ed fo r t he 
p urpose o f fo l l ow-up o n l y. An " I Love 4- H" butto n was in c luded a s a 
" t ha nk yo u" f o r comp l e tin g the s urvey f o rm. Subj ec t s we r e g i ve n thre e weeks 
to co mp l e t e t he qu es ti o nna ire . 
St e p 4: Fo l l ow-up t o t hose who did not r e turn the q uest i o nn a ire 
wa s ma de by as kin g the 4- H age nt s in Ha rfo rd a nd Ke nt co un t i es to r emind 
t he ir l e a de r s t o r e turn the ir s urve y f o rms . A re mind e r po s tca r d wa s s e nt 
to t ho s e who ha d not r e turne d the pos tca rd se nt wi th th e qu e s t ionn a i r e . 
F in a ll y , pho ne ca l l s a nd pe r sona l conta c t s we re ma de t o i nc rea se th e 
pe rc e nt age o f ret urn e d qu es t i onna ires . 
Ana l ys i s 
Quest ionn a i r es we r e code d with a n ID numbe r as t hey we r e r e ce i ve d , 
a nd l ate r data wa s cod e d onto comput e r s heets a nd key pun c he d o nto co mpu t e r 
ca rd s . The Stati s t i ca l Pac kage of Soc i a l Sc i e nces (SPSS ) was used t o 
a na l yze the dat a . 
Fre q ue ncy d i s tributi ons we r e conduc t e d o n a l l demograp hi c va ri ab l es 
a nd c ha r ac t e ri s tic s o f r es po nd e nt ' s 4-H c lub s . Thi s data i s p r ese n t e d in 
t a bu l a r f o rm in the fir st sec t i o n o f Chap t e r 4. 
Sco rin g of the a tt i tud e va r i a b l e s wa s do ne by as s i gnin g (5) po i n t s 
fo r t he l e a s t pos i t i ve s co r e . St a t eme n t s 2, 7 , 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 a nd 15 
we r e most pos i tive l y a nswe r e d a t th e l ow e nd of t he s ca l e , t hu s i n f ina l 
a na l ys i s a r e ve r s e scorin g procedu re wa s used fo r the s e s t a t eme nt s . 
At titud e s t ateme nt s fr o m o ne to t we nt y we re a na l yze d by f r equ e ncy 
d i s t r i but io ns . The sca l e , l = s trong l y d i s ag r ee , 2= di s ag ree , 3 un dec i de d, 
4 a g r ee a nd 5 = s tro ng l y ag r ee , wa s l at e r co ll ap se d in to 1- 2 (d i sa g ,-ee ), 
3 2 (und e c i ded), 4- 5 = 3 (ag r ee ) . Chi sq ua re ana l ys i s wa s condu c t ed 
29 
between sex, age, a nd ed uca tion a nd att itud e statement s o ne ( 1) throug h 
twe nty ( 2 0) . Chi - s quare was also used to dete rmin e the r e l at i o ns hi p 
betwee n volunteer's experience and how they f e lt a bout ce rta in handicaps. 
CHAPTER IV 
FINDING S 
Thi s c hapte r desc ribes t he charact e ri s tic s of t he s ubj ec t s a nd the i r 
4-H programs. Fo l l ow in g this des cription, the c hapter present s the r es u l t s 
of t he a na ly s i s of the f our major qu est i o ns . The di sc uss io n of these 
r es ult s i s given in Chapter 5. 
Subject s 
In Apri 1 , 198 1 , 132 s ubj ects were id e ntifi ed as vo lu nt ee r organ-
i zat i o na l l e ad e r s of 4-H c lub s in Cec i 1, Harford a nd Ke nt Counti es in 
Ma ryl a nd , a nd as ke d to comp l et e a mai l qu est i onn a ire as to how t hey f e l t 
a bout invo l v in g ha ndica ppe d youth in 4-H c lub program s . Ta b l e 2 s hows 
seve nt y-fo ur (.56) of the 132 l ea de r s r e turn e d comp l e ted ques tionn a ir es . 
TAB LE 2 
NUMBER OF VOLUNTEER 4-H LEADER RE SPONDENTS BY CO UNTY 
.. -- ? 
No . Se nt No . Returne d Pe r. Pe r. or Rcturn e d 
Cou n ty Quest ionnaires Quest i o nn a ires Tota l Ques t io nn a ires 
Respond e nts by County 
-- ...____-~------? 
Cec i 1 45 28 37.8 62 . 2 
Ha r ford 73 36 48.6 49 .3 
Ken t 14 10 13.5 7 1. 4 
To ta l 132 74 100.0 56. 0 
Cha r ac t e ri s tic s of Res ponde nts 
Seventy - seve n pe r cent of t he 4-H vo lu ntee r s we r e f ema l e . The ma j o r i ty 
v;e r e ma rri ed ( .32) a nd 1 i ve d in rur a l set t ings (.88). The ave r age age of 
t he vo lun tee r s was 37 yea r s . App rox imate l y o ne -four t h ( .256 ) we r e o l de r t h3n 
45 yea r s a nd l ess than 18 pe r ce n t we r e yo un ge r tha n 30 years. Ov e r ha l f 
30 
31 
( . 51) had fo rma l edu ca ti on be yond hi gh s c hoo l . (Ta bl e 3) 
TABLE 3 
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FOR VOLUNTEER 4-H LEADER S IN 
CECIL, HARFORD, AND KENT COUNTIE S IN MARYLAND 
Facto r No . Pe r ce nt 
Sex 
Ma l e 17 23. 0 
Fema le 57 n.o 
To t a l 74 100 . 0 
Age 19- 29 year s 13 17. 6 
30- 44 yea r s 41 55. 4 
45-7 2 yea r s 19 25 . 6 
Tota l 73 98.6 
(On e r es pond e nt did no t r e port age. Ave r age ag e 37- 5 yea r s ) 
Ma ri ta 1 
Stat us S in g l e 13 ]7. 6 
Ma rri ed 61 82 . 4 
Tota l 74 100.0 
Res id e nce 
Fa rm 39 52 . 7 
Rur al no n- f a rm 26 35. 1 
Subur ba n 9 12. 2 
Tota l 100.0 
Ed ucat i on 
Compl et ed gr ades 8-1 2 36 48. 6 
Some co ll ege o r ot he r 15 20. 3 
Compl et ed co ll e ge/p lu s 23 31. 1 
Tota l 74 100.0 
32 
Tabl e 4 s hows 43 percent of the volunteer leaders were fair l y new 
o n the job with betwee n l a nd 2 years of experience. One-fourth (.24) of 
t he l eaders had between 3-5 years of exper ience and 34 percent had more 
than s ix years of expe ri e nce. The ave ra ge s ize of their 4-H c lub was 20 
members. It i s interest ing to note 70 percent of the volunteers had 
c hildren participating in the 4-H program. 
TABLE 4 
VOLUNTEER LEADERS INVOLVEMENT IN 4-H PROGRAM 
Facto r No. Pe rce nt 
Years As 4- H Leader 
- 2 yea r s 32 43 . 2 
3 - 5 years 18 24.4 
6 - 9 years 12 16.2 
10 - 25 years 12 16. 2 
(Ave rage No . years as l eader was 5.0) Total 74 100.0 
Me mbe r s in Club 
l - 14 members 22 19. 7 
15 - 20 members 25 33.8 
21 - 29 members 17 23.0 
30 - 65 members 10 13. 5 
(Ave rage No. members per club was 20.) Total 74 100.0 
Children in 4-H 
Yes 52 70.3 
No 2 1 28.4 
No r es ponse l. 3 
Tota l 74 100 . 0 
33 
Ha ndic a pped Children and the 4-H Progr am 
As see n in Tab l e 5, 17 , 6 pe r cent of the vo lun te e r s vvere avJa re of 
4-H programs for the hand icapped in the ir county. These progra ms in c l uded 
s ign l a nguage , c lub s for mentally retarded and hea ring and s peec h impa ired 
programs. Mor e s i gn ifi ca nt, howe ver , i s the number of lea de r s (.70) that 
d idn' t know if 4-H programs for the hand i cap ped were ava il a bl e in 
the ir county. 
TABLE 5 
COUNTY 4-H PROGRAMS FOR HAND I CAPPED YOUTH 
No. Pe rce nt 
Yes l 3 17.6 
No 9 12 .2 
Don't KnavJ 52 70. 2 
Total 74 100 .0 
Tabl e 6 indicates that nea rly 19 pe rce nt o f the lea de r s res pondin g 
had ha ndicapped youth involv e d i n the ir 4-H c lu b prog rams . The type s o f 
hand i ca pped individua l s involved in 4- H in c lud e d mu sc ular di s trophy , 
s l ow l ea rner s, me nta lly reta rded, speec h impa ired , emot i ona ll y imp a i red 
a nd cereb ral pal s i ed. Slow l ear ne r s a nd menta ll y re t a rd e d we re li s t ed 
mo s t f r e qu e ntly. These resu lt s s how tha t involveme nt of ha ndi capped yo u t h 
in 4 - H prog rams in the t hree countie s s urveyed i s l ow s i nce 80 pe r ce nt of 
t he l ea de r s have no hand ica pped youth invo l ved 1n c l ub prog r am s . 
In vo lve me nt of ha ndic a ppe d yo uth 1n c lu b program s i s not t he sa me a s coun ty 
4 - H program s for the ha ndi capped s in ce c lu bs could have ha ndi ca pp ed yo u t h 
invo l ved wit hout county emphas i s in th i s area. 
...... 
34 
TABLE 6 
LEADERS WITH HAND IC APPED YOUTH INVOLVED IN 4-H CLUB S 
No. Pe rce nt 
Yes 14 18.9 
No 59 79.7 
No r es pon se l. 4 
Tot a l 74 100.0 
Of those l ea der s who did not a lrea dy ha ve handi capped youth in vo l ved 
in the ir c lub programs, 54 percent were intere s ted in working with or 
i nc ludin g the ha ndicap pe d in the ir c lu b. Fo rt y-s ix percent indi ca t ed they 
were e i ther not inte re sted in working wi th the ha ndicapped o r und ec i ded 
a bout doing so . In comme ntin g on their dec i s ions , some voluntee r s i ndicated 
t he y fe lt they didn't have s uffici e n t tra ining to dea l with ha ndi capped 
yout h. Othe r s fe l t they a lready had e nough members in t he ir c lub or that 
wo r k ing with the ha ndicapped would take too much of t he ir t ime. Ta b le 7 
s hows these re s ult s . 
TABLE 7 
LEADERS \,JI THOUT HAtJD I CAPPED YOUTH IN CLUB 
INTERE STED IN WORKING WITH HANDICAPPED 
No. Perce nt 
Ye s 32 54.0 
No 27 46.0 
Tota l 59 100.0 
....... 
35 
Voluntee r Pe rception Of 4-H Progr am As 
Making A Difference For Handicappe d Youth 
The majority of l ea der s f e lt mainstream in g of handi capped yo uth 
1n 4- H would contribut e to under sta nding a nd se lf es t eem f o r a ll member s . 
Nea rly 88 perce nt f e l t acce pt a nce of t he ha ndicapped would be promoted 
a nd near l y as many ( .8 4) f e lt non - handicapped youth would lear n to in tera c t 
with ha ndicapped youth. Eighty - nin e percent of the l eade r s f e l t the 
in c lu s ion of handicapped youth in 4-H programs wou ld be a good expe ri e nc e 
for a 11 . (Tabl e 12) 
The ch i- sq uare test s howed an a ssoc iat ion betwee n educat ion and 
t he att itude towards invo lvement of handicapped yo uth in 4-H as being a 
good expe ri e nce for the ot her membe r s . Nine t y-fou r pe r cent of the 
vo lun teers comp let ing g rades 8 through 12 f e l t invo l vement of the ha nd i capp ed 
wo uld be a good expe ri e nce for the other membe r s, whil e 5.6 percent we re 
und ec id ed. One hundred percent of the voluntee r s with some edu cat ion a ft e r 
high sc hool ag reed it would be a good expe ri e nce , but l e ss than 75 pe r ce nt 
of the l ea ders ho ld i ng co ll ege o r adv a nced degree s f e lt t hi s t o be t ru e . 
S ignificance wa s .04 . The re sult s of th i s assoc iat ion a r e prese nt ed i n 
Tabl e 8. (Becau se of seve ral empty ee l l s in thi s a na l ys i s , the r es ul t s 
need to be in terpreted cautious ly.) 
Chi- s qua r e ana l yses between age and att i tudes t owa rd invo lveme nt of 
hand i capped youth 1n 4-H a s be ing a good expe ri e nce fo r ot he r c lub membe r s 
was a l so s i gnifica nt a t the .05 l eve l. Nine ty-five pe r ce nt of t he o ld e r 
age group (45-72) con s ide red the in vo lv eme nt of handi capp ed yout h in 4-H to 
be a good expe rience f o r ot he r me mbe r s whi l e 88 percent of the 30-44 year 
o ld group agreed and 12 pe rce nt we re und ec id ed . Ei ghty-f ive pe rce nt of t he 
19-29 yea r old group a l so ag reed but 15 pe rce nt of thi s group de f ini t e l y 
36 
TABLE 8 
INVOLVEMENT OF HANDICAPPED YOUT H IN 4- H 
A GOOD EXPERIENCE FOR OTHE R MEMBERS BY EDU CAT ION 
Di sag ree Undec ide d Agree Tota l Row 
No . Pe rce nt No. Pe rce nt No. Pe rce nt No. Pe rce nt 
Comp le ted g rades 
8-12 0 0 2 5.6 34 94.4 36 48.6 
Some educati o n 
afte r high 
s choo l 0 0 0 0 15 100.0 15 20 . 3 
Comp leted 
Co ll ege /plu s 3 13.0 3 13.0 17 73.9 23 31. l 
Total Co lumn 3 4. l 5 6.8 66 89.2 74 100.0 
Chi-square 9.99 Sign i f i cance= .04 Deg rees of Freedom - 4 
di s ag reed with 1having t he handicapped invo lved. Result s of t hi s re la t ion-
s hip a re s hown in Ta bl e 9 . (Beca use of t he three empty ee l l s in t hi s 
a na l ys i s , r es ult s need to be in terprete d with caut i on.) 
TABLE 9 
INVOLVEMENT OF HANDICAPPED YOUTH IN 4-H 
A GOOD EXPERIENCE FO R OTHER CLUB MEMBERS BY AGE 
Di sag ree Un decid ed Agree Tota l Row 
Age No . Pe r cent No. Pe r ce nt No. Pe r ce nt Group Pe rce nt 
19- 29 y r s. 2 15 .4 0 o.o 11 84.o 13 l 7 . 8 
30- 44 y r s . 0 0.0 5 12. 2 36 87.8 41 56.2 
45 - 72 yrs. 5.3 0 o.o 18 94.7 19 26 . 0 
Tota l Co lu1nn 3 4. l 5 6.8 65 89.0 73 100.0 
(One person did not g ive age .) 
Ch i- sq uare 9.78 S i gn ifi ca nce = . 04 Degrees of fr ee dom = 4 
37 
In t e rm s of separate programs, one ha lf (.51) o f the vo lun tee r s d id 
not fee l tha t the nee ds of handicapped youth cou ld be se rved better through 
se pa rate clubs ; howe ver, 25 percent of the l eaders did a nd the ot he r 25 
pe r cent were und ec id ed. Comment s mad e by some of the vo lunteers t o this 
q uest ion stated that it would depend on the seve rity of the hand i cap o r 
retardat i on. No signifi ca nt r e l at ionsh ip s were found i n th e chi- squa re 
a na l ys i s of thi s qu es tion. 
In respo nse to attitude question t e n, ''handicap ped youth ca nnot 
ad e quate ly participate in 4-Hprogram", three f ifth s (.66) f e l t that 
handicapped yo ut h co ul d participate adequate ly in the 4-H progr am a t the i r 
ow n pace a nd depe nding on the type of handi cap . On e -fifth (.20) of th e 
vo lun tee r s we r e und ec ide d o n thi s question a nd the ot he r 20 pe r ce nt f e l t 
hand i ca ppe d youth could not adeq uate ly participate in 4-H programs. (Tab l e 
12 .) Chi- s quare an a l ys i s between attitude and age was s i gnifi ca nt at the 
.05 l e vel. Eighty-five pe r cent of the age group 19-29 fe l t that the 
handicapped youth cou ld adeq uate l y pa rticipate in 4-H prog rams . In compa r-
i so n, 56 pe rcent of th e age g ro up 30 -44 fe l t they could pa rti c ipat e but l ess 
t han ha lf (.47) of th e 45-72 f e l t t he same. Si gnifi cance wa s .02. 
(Tab l e 10.) 
TABLE 10 
HANDICAPP ED YOUTH CANNOT ADEQUATELY PARTICIPATE 
IN 4-H PROJECTS OR ACTIVITIE S BY AGE 
Disaoree Und ec id ed Aa ree Tota l Row 
Age No. Pe rce nt No. Perce nt No . Pe rce n t G~8 up Pe 1?ce n t 
19-2 9 y r s. 11 84.6 l 7.7 l 7. 7 13 ]7 .8 
30- 44 y r s . 23 56 . l 12 29.3 6 14 .6 41 56.2 
45-72 y r s . 9 47.4 2 10.5 8 42. l 19 26.0 
Tota l Co lumn 43 58.9 15 20 . 5 15 20 . 5 74 100.0 
Ch i - sq uare 11 .48 S i gnifi cance . 02 Deg r ees of fr eedom 4 
38 
As seen in Table 12, vo l untee r s (.87) felt that mental l y reta rd ed 
yo uth cou ld bene fit from 4-H participation and some l eaders comme nted that 
there are 4-H proj ec ts that can be adapted to their nee ds . A s ignificant 
chi-square r e lation s hip between this att itude question and age s howed that 
whi l e most of the respondents agreed that 4-H cou ld help mental l y re tarded 
youth, 15 percent of the younger age group (19-29 years) did not agree. 
Fifteen perce nt of the 30-44 year age gro up were undec ided but 95 percent 
of the 45-72 year o ld group agreed. Significance in this associat i on was 
.Ol. These result s are presented in Tab l e ll. (Becaus e of the e mpty ce ll s, 
these results need to be inte r preted cautiously.) 
TABLE 11 
4-H CANNOT HELP MENTALLY RETARDED YOUTH 
Di sag ree Und ecided Aqree Tota l Row 
Ag e No. Pe rcent No. Percent No. Perce nt No. 1roe i:ac rnl; rooufp  
19-29 yrs. 11 84.6 0 0.0 2 15.4 13 17. 8 
30-44 yr s . 35 85.4 6 14. 6 0 00.0 41 56 . 2 
45-72 y r s. 18 94.7 l 5,3 0 00.0 19 26 .0 
Tota l Co lunr 64 87.7 7 9.6 2 2.7 73 100.0 
Chi-square 12 .08 Signifi cance= .0 16 Deg rees of fr eedom 4 
(One respondent did not g i ve age.) 
Chi-square s tati st i c= .0 16 
Attitud e question 9 pertained to att itudes concern in g hand i capped 
youth being ignored by the othe r members in the 4-H c l ub. Que s tion 11 dealt 
wi th other membe rs a nd l eade r s f ee lin g un comfort ab l e with ha ndicapped yout h 
as me mbers of the group. As tabl e 12 s hows seve nty-five perce nt o f th e 
l ea de rs f e lt the handicappe d youth wou l d no t be i gno red by non- hand i capped 
members. S i xty-two percent sa id they wo uld not feel un comfortab l e wi th 
hand i capped individua l s as member s of the gro up . A s i zeab l e mi nority, (.284) 
??~ 
39 
however' we re undecided. Some leader5 commented that they might be 
uncomfortable at fir5t, but thi5 would change over time. No ignificant 
5
chi- 5quare relation5hip5 were determined for thi que tion. 
5 5
TABLE 12 
VOLUNTEERS PERCEPTION OF THE 4-H PROGRAM 
AS MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR HANDICAPPED YOUTH 
-- Di5agree ... 
Que5tion Attitude 
Undecided 
No. Percent No. Percent Agree Total No. Percent No. Percent 
1 Main5treaming 
fo5ter5 
understanding 4 5.4 l l 14.9 59 79.7 74 100.0 
2 Handicapped 
best served 
through 
special clubs 38 51. 4 17 23.0 19 25.6 74 100.0 
4 Involvement of 
handicapped 
wi 11 promote 
acceptance 2 2.7 7 9.5 65 87.8 74 100.0 
9 Handicapped 
wi 11 be 
ignored 56 75.6 11 14. 9 7 9.5 7 l1 100.0 
l 0 Handicapped 
cannot 
adequately 
participate 44 59.5 15 20.3 15 20.3 74 100.0 
l l Others will 
feel uncom-
fortable with 
handicapped 46 62.2 21 28.3 7 9.5 74 100.0 
12 4-H cannot 
help mentally 
retarded 65 87.8 7 9.5 2 2.7 7 l1 100.0 
13 Regular member 
wi 11 learn to 
interact 12 2.7 10 13. 5 62 83.8 74 100.0 
16 Including 
handicapped, 
a good exper-
ience for all 3 l1. l 5 6.7 66 89.2 711 100.0 
I I 
VOLUNTEER 4-H LEADERS ATTITUDES TOWARD HANDICAPPED PERSONS 
Most respondents (. 77) strongly supported the statement 11 4-H vii 11 
promote growth of the handicapped child. 11 Nineteen percent were undecided. 
Leaders commented that their support depended on the person and the severity 
of the handicap. Eighty-eight percent felt that handicapped persons could 
become productive members of society. Again, some leaders said this 
depended on the type and severity of the handicap. Others said anyone 
can become productive under the right conditions with patience and under-
standing. (Table 13.) 
The majority of leaders (.838) did not feel the behavior of 
handicapped youth would set a bad example for the other club members. 
However, only 54 percent of the leaders felt that the handicapped did not 
have behavior problems that would be disruptive to the 4-H program. More 
than one-third (.338) were undecided on this question. Comments made by the 
leaders on both questions were simil iar. Some of these comments were, 
"Depends on the handicap, 11 11 Could be true at times, 11 11 No more than normal 
youth, 11 11 Can have behavior problems in 1 normal 1 as v1ell as handicapped 
populations,"and "Everyone alive is a combination of both positive and 
negative behavior traits. 11 (Table 13.) 
As indicated in Table 13, thirty percent of the leaders felt that 
the involvement of handicapped youth would take time away from other club 
members. Twelve percent were undecided and 58 percent did not feel this 
was true. Comments to this question included, 11 Depends on handicap and 
1r1hether non-handicapped youth are involved in helping, 11 11 Probably true, but 
is time well spent, 11 11 lt should foster more togetherness and sharing, 11 
and, "Some, but it is a needed learning experience. 11 
Table 13 shows 75 percent of the volunteers did not feel other groups 
were already meeting the needs of handicapped youth, but 20 percent were 
... 
41 
undecided on this question. In their comments, leaders felt that there 
needed to be interaction between handicapped and non-handicapped youth, 
that al I youth need 4-H, and other groups were not serving the social needs 
of handicapped youth. 
Most leaders (.77) did not feel parents of handicapped youth would 
be any greater problem than non-handicapped parents; however, 14.9 percent 
were undecided and a small number (.08) felt they would be a problem. 
When commenting on this question, most leaders felt the parents would 
probably be a greater help and more willing to get involved. 
TABLE 13 
ATTITUDES OF VOLUNTEERS TOWARD THE HANDICAPPED 
---? -
Disagree Undecided Agree Total 
Question Attitu de No. Percent No. Percent No. Percent No. Percent 
3 11-Hwill promote 
growth o f the 
handicapp ed chi Id 3 4. I 14 18.9 57 77,0 711 100.0 
6 Handicap ped youth 
can becom e 
product iv e 5 6.8 11 5,4 65 87.8 74 100.0 
7 Behavior of handi-
capped w i 11 set a 
bad exam ple 62 83.8 7 9.5 5 6.7 74 100.0 
8 lnvolvem ent of 
handicap ped wi 11 
take t im e from 
others 43 58.0 9 12. 2 22 29.8 71, 100.0 
14 Behavior of handi-
capped w i 11 be 
disrupti veto 4-H 40 54.0 25 33,8 9 12. 2 711 100.0 
15 Other gr oups a re 
meeting needs of 
handicap ped, no 
need for 4-H 55 74,3 15 20.3 4 5,4 711 100.0 
17 Parents of handi-
capped w i 11 be a 
problem 57 77.0 11 14. 9 6 8. I 71f 100.0 
42 
Chi-square analysis of sex, age and education by each of the 
attitude questions pertaining to the attitudes of volunteers toward handi-
capped indicated only a significant association between age and feeling 
the needs of handicapped youth are being met by other groups (so there is 
no need for 4-H). As Table 14 indicates, 23 percent of the 19-29 age 
group felt other groups were already meeting the needs of handicapped youth, 
whereas, only 24 percent of the 30-44 year age group felt this was so and 
none of the 45-72 age group felt this to be true. Twenty-four percent of 
the 30-4L1 year olds and 21 percent of the 45-72 year olds were undecided 
compared to 7.7 percent of the 19-29 year olds. 
TABLE 14 
NEEDS OF HANDICAPPED YOUTH ARE BEING MET BY 
OTHER SPECIAL PROGRAMS - NO NEED FOR 4-H BY AGE 
t----?----------
~ Disagree Undecided Agree Total RovJ 
Age No. Percent No. Percent No. Percent No. Percent 
19-29 years I 9 69.2 7,7 3 23. l 13 17.8 
30-4Lf years 30 73.2 10 24.4 2.4 41 56.2 
115-72 years 15 78.9 4 21. l 0 o.o 19 26.0 
Total Column I 54 74.o 115 20.5 4 .055 73 100.0 
Chi-square= 10.53 Significance .032 Degrees of freedom= 4 
(One person did not give age) 
Volunteers Experience With Handicapped Persons 
Question 14 of Part ll of the survey instrument requested the 
volunteers to indicate if they had experience in working with handicapped 
persons and the type of experience they had. As shown in Table 15, forty-
eight (.649) or nearly two thirds of the volunteers stated they had 
previous experience with handicapped individuals. 
TABLE 15 
VOLUNTEERS EXPERIENCE WITH HANDICAPPED PERSONS 
.. r--
Had Experience No. Percent 
Yes 48 
No 23 3 l. l 
Total 71 96.0 
----------~----------~------
(Three individuals did not respond to this question.) 
The experience held by the volunteers included: training in 
working with the handicapped (.149), having a handicapped family member 
(. 135), having a friend or knowing someone that was handicapped (,432) and 
worked with handicapped (.352). Three volunteers (.041) reported themselves 
as being handicapped. Of particular interest is that only one-third (.338) 
reported having read or heard about handicapped individuals. The breakdown 
of this data is reported in Table 16. 
TABLE 16 
TYPE OF VOLUNTEERS EXPERIENCE WITH HANDICAPPED 
Type of Experience No. Percent 
Have friend or know someone 32 l13. 2 
Have worked with handicapped 26 35,2 
Read or heard about handicppaed 25 33,8 
Training in working with 
handicapped 11 14,9 
Family member handicapped l 0 13. 5 
I am handicapped 3 4. l 
-------? 
Volunteers were asked to indicate the type of handicapped individuals 
they would feed most comfortable working with in 4-H. In most cases, about 
one-third of the volunteers indicated a willingness to work with a given 
handicap. Hearing impaired individuals were reported as being most 
acceptable (.39) with physically handicapped (.365) the next most accepted 
group. Emotionally handicapped persons were the least acceptable (.23). 
Table 17 gives a breakdown of each of the handicaps and their acceptance by 
the volunteers. 
TABLE 17 
HANDICAPS VOLUNTEERS MOST WILLING TO ACCEPT IN 4-H 
------?----_-_-_-_-_ -_ -_?_--_ -_ -_ -_ -_ -_ -_ -_ -__ -_- _:._-:_-_-:::::::_-:-:_-+_-:::..:_-_;::-:_-_-::.::--_ 
Type of Handicap YES NO No. . Percent No. Percent 
Hearing impaired 29 39.2 45 67.6 
Physically handicapped 21 36.5 47 63.5 
Learning disabled 26 35.1 48 64.9 
Trainable mentally retarded 25 33.8 49 66.2 
Visually impaired 24 32.4 50 67.6 
Educable mentally retarded 21 28.4 53 71;6 
Emotionally handicapped 17 23.0 57 77.0 
Chi-square analysis showed no significant association between 
whether the volunteers had experience with the handicapped persons and 
the volunteers age, sex and education. When conducted with sex, education 
and age by the type of handicap volunteers felt most comfortable with, 
chi-square analysis showed significant associations between education and 
emotionally handicapped, educable mentally retarded, and trainable mentally 
retarded. As shown in Table 18, volunteers with just high school training 
(.82) and those who held college degrees or credits beyond college (.80) 
were in all cases least willing to work with the emotionally handicapped, 
45 
educable and trainable mentally retarded. More than half (.579) of the 
volunteers who had some education after high school were willing to work 
with the handicapped groups mentioned. 
TABLE 18 
VOLUNTEERS AND WILLINGNESS TO WORK WITH 
EMOTIONALLY HANDICAPPED, EDUCABLE AND TRAINABLE 
MENTALLY RETARDED YOUTH BY EDUCATION 
Emotionally I Educable Training 
Handicapped Mentally Petarded Mentally Retarded 
---y-~?-_-s~_--_:__-_- _-_-_-~_--_-_N~o~~~~~+1f-------~_-_Y~e~s_ _____N _o_ ___- i--__Y _e_s _____N_o  __  
Education tfo. Per. No,: Per. tJo. Per. No. Per. tfo. Per. No. Per. 
-
Completed 
grades 
8-12 6 16.7 30 83.3 7 19. 4 29 80.6 l 0 27.8 26 72.2 
Some 
College 8 53.8 7 lf6. 7 9 60.0 6 lfO. 0 9 60.0 6 40.0 
Completed 
co 11 ege/ 
plus 3 l 3. O 20 87.6 5 21. 7 18 78.3 6 26. 1 17 73.9 
Chi-square= 9.40 Chi-square= 9.29 Chi-Square= 5.79 
Significance= .007 Significance= .009 Significance= .05 
Degrees of freedom= 2 Degrees of freedom= 2 Degrees of freedom= 2 
Some of the reasons given by volunteers for their willingness to 
work with specific handicaps were: previous experience and training; 
currently working with handicapped; handicapped have determination and 
wil 1 ingness to learn; have a child, friend or relative that is handicapped; 
have patience. The less severely handicapped individuals were considered 
to require less skill and training and be easier to handle. 
The comments made by the volunteers shed some insight on why they 
had these feelings. Some volunteers just preferred not to work with the 
handicapped. Others worried that handicapped children could not keep up 
with the 4-H program. This feeling is exampled by this volunteer's 
comment, 11 the children become frustrated when projects don't turn out and 
when record books must be completed. How would impaired emotionally 
handicapped or retarded manage? Maybe I'm making something seem impossible 
that wouldn't have to be.'' Some of the feelings were related to training. 
One volunteer said, 
Without prior tra1n1ng of the leaders, I feel the 
handicapped could be very disruptive and counter-
productive in a local 4-H club, but if the leader 
is trained to work with handicapped it could be a 
worthwhile experience for all members. 
Other volunteers felt handicapped youth deserved an opportunity. 
One such leader said, 11 They all need a chance and 4-H can give them many 
chances. 4-H is for everyone. I am willing to try anything that vvill help." 
Training and Volunteers' Perceptions About 
Working With Handicapped Youth 
Most of the volunteers (.79) did not feel they had adequate train-
ing to work with handicapped youth. Eighty-six percent felt that special 
training was needed prior to programming for the handicapped. An example 
of this need for training was the response to learning sign language. More 
than 75 percent of the leaders felt hearing persons should learn sign 
language to be able to communicate with the deaf or hearing impaired. It 
was interesting to note, in light of these feelings, that 77 percent of the 
leaders indicated they would be willing to accept handicapped youth as 4-H 
members. (See Table 19.) 
The chi-square test of association between sex, age and education 
by the attitude questions 5, 18, 19 and 20 resulted in only two significant 
findings. They were: (l) sex by the willingness to learn sign language and, 
(2) education by 11 1 have adequate training." 
TABLE 19 
TRAINING AND VOLUNTEERS' PERCEPTIONS ABOUT 
WORKING WITH HANDICAPPED YOUTH 
Disagree Undecided Agree Total Row 
Question Attitude No. Percent No. Percent No. Percent 
-+- No. Percent r? 
:J \1i 11 i ng to I I 
learn sign I I 
language 8 10.9 9 12. 2 57 77.0 71+ 100.0 
I 
18 Have adequate 
training 39 52.9 19 25.7 16 21. 6 74 100.0 
19 Special 
training 
needed before 
programming l l. Li 9 12.2 64 86.5 74 100.0 
20 Wi 11 i ng to 
accept 
handicapped 
as members of 
club 6 8. l 11 14.9 57 77.0 74 100.0 
--- -? 
As shown in Table 20, more females (.84) than males (.579) felt 
that hearing persons should learn sign language to communicate with the 
hearing impaired. Almost one-third (.29) of the males were undecided as 
compared to 7 percent of the females. Table 20 presents the data in support 
of this finding. 
TABLE 20 
HEARING PERSONS SHOULD LEARN SIGN 
LANGUAGE TO COMMUNICATE WITH HEARING IMPAIRED BY SEX 
Disagree Undec i <led I Agree Total RovJ 
Sex No. Percent No. Percent ,_N_o,_. ___P..c ...e.r_c~e-'-_n _t '--t--N-"-o_. Percent 
Male 3 17.7 5 29.4 9 52.9 17 23.0 
Female 8 8. 8 4 7. o I Li8 81+. 2 57 77. o 
TotiJl 
II I Column 11 13.3  9 18.2 I 57 68.5 74 100.0 
____________ __L__ _____ _j__ ______ ,__ ______  
As seen in Table 21, the chi-square results for education by "have 
adequate training'' shows that 8 percent of the leaders with high school or 
less education felt they had adequate training to work with the handicapped 
as compared to one-third (.33) of the leaders with some college credits or 
college degrees (.34). The greatest descrepancy was in the undecided 
category. Forty percent of the group with some college credits was 
undecided while only 13 percent of those who completed college were. 
TABLE 21 
HAVE ADEQUATE TRAINING TO WORK 
WITH HANDICAPPED YOUTH BY EDUCATION 
-- 1---? ?-
Disagree Undecided Agree Total RovJ 
Education No. Percent No. Percent No. Percent No. Percent 
Completed 
grades 
8-12 23 65.9 10 27.8 3 8.3 36 48.6 
Some 
College 4 26.7 6 40.0 5 33.3 15 23.3 
Completed 
College/plus 12 52.2 3 ]3.0 8 34.8 23 31. l 
Total Column 39 47.6 19 26.9 16 25.5 74 100.0 
Chi-square= l 1.21 Significance= .024 Degrees of freedom 
-------------------------------
CHAPTER V 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 
Summary 
Section 504 of the Rehabi 1 itation Act of 1973 prohibits 
descrimination against handicapped persons by agencies which receive 
federal funds. Because of its federal funding and its committment to 
serve all people, 4H needs to make specific plans to program for handi-
capped youth. 4-H Agents have the responsibility for implementation of 
programs at the county level through volunteer leaders. The volunteer 
leader is therefore, a key factor in involving handicapped youth in 4-H 
programs. 
This exploratory study dealt with the attitudes of 4-H volunteers 
leaders in three counties in Maryland toward involvement of handicapped 
youth in 4-H programs. The purpose was to determine: (1) if volunteers 
perceived 4-H as making a difference for handicapped youth,(2) the 
volunteers 1 general attitude toward handicapped persons, (3) if the 
training/experience a person had made them feel more comfortable in working 
with handicapped youth, and~) types of handicapped individuals - leaders 
were willing to include in 4-H programs. All volunteer organizational 
leaders in Cecil, Harford and Kent Counties for a total of 132 subjects 
were surveyed. Seventh-four volunteers (.56) responded to the question-
naire. 
The instrument used for this study was a two-part questionnaire 
compiled by the investigator. Part I was an agreement scale consisting 
of twenty attitude items which the volunteer rated on a Likert-type scale. 
50 
Part I I of the instrument requested demographic information and 
experience in working with the handicapped. (See Appendix C) 
Data were analyzed by frequency distributions and the chi-square 
test of association. The .05 level of significance or lower was set for 
all analysis in this study. 
Seventy-seven percent of the volunteers were females. Most were 
married and lived in rural settings. The average age of the volunteers 
was thirty-seven and most had children in 4-H. Over half had education 
beyond high school. Most of the leaders were new to 4-H having served 
for a period of l-2 years. 
The majority of volunteers felt involvement of handicapped youth 
in 4-H would contribute to an understanding of the differences and be a 
good experience for all. Significant relationships were found between 
age and education and the attitudes toward feeling involvement of handi-
capped in 4-H programs as being a good experience for other members. Leaders 
who had completed college and those in the 19-29 age group were less recep-
tive to the involvement of handicapped in 4-H programs. 
Significant relationships were also found between age and feeling 
handicapped youth were able to participate in 4-H programs and feeling 4-H 
was a help to mentally retarded youth. Most of the 19-29 age group felt 
that handicapped could participate adequately in 4-H while only one half of 
the other two age groups felt they could. Most of the volunteers saw 4-H 
as being a help to mentally retarded youth but one-sixth of the younger 
group definitely disagreed and one-sixth of the middle group was undecided. 
Most volunteers strongly supported 4-H as promoting growth of the 
handicapped child and did not feel the behavior of handicapped youth would 
set a bad example for other members. However, only about half of the 
51 
leaders felt the handicapped did not have behavior problems that would be 
disruptive to the 4-H program. Only one-fourth of the leaders felt other 
groups were already meeting the needs of the handicapped. A significant 
relationship found between age and feeling the needs of the handicapped were 
being met by other groups showed younger leaders feeling that the needs of 
handicapped were being served. 
More than half of the volunteers had some type of experience with 
handicapped persons. One-third of the leaders indicated a willingness to 
work with a specific handicap. Significant relationships were found 
between education and feeling comfortable with emotionally handicapped, 
educable mentally retarded and trainable mentally retarded. Leaders who 
had some college education were the most receptive to working with these 
groups. 
Most of the leaders felt they did not have adequate training to 
work with handicapped youth and training should be given prior to program 
implementation. Most were willing to learn sign language in order to 
communicate with hearing-impaired persons with females more significantly 
willing to learn sign language than males. Three-fourths of the leaders 
said they would accept handicapped youth as club members. 
CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION 
Volunteers Perceptions of 4-H as Making 
A Difference for Handicapped Youth 
Results of this study indicate that volunteers generally support 
involvement of handicapped youth in 4-H programs. Four-fifths or more of 
the respondents agreed that mainstreaming of handicapped youth in 4-H 
programs would foster understanding and self esteem through group inter-
action and would promote acceptance of the differences of the handicapped 
52 
youth. 
Nearly 90 percent of the volunteers felt involvement of handicapped 
youth in 4-H would be a good experience for the other members. A significant 
statistical relationship was found between age and 11 4-H helping mentally 
retarded youth11 and 11 including handicapped in 4-H as being a good experience 
for other members. 11 In both instances about one-sixth of the younger age 
group (19-29 years) felt 4-H could not help mentally retarded youth and 
that involvement of handicapped in 4-H would not be a good experience for 
other members. On the other hand, one-sixth of the middle age group 
(30-44 years) was undecided on both questions and only 5 percent of the 
45-72 year olds were undecided or disagreed. It could be that younger 
people have less concern for handicapped persons because of their lack of 
direct involvement with them. Handicapped persons have generally been 
kept apart from the non-handicapped as a result of a mostly segregated 
education system and other special groups giving attention to the needs of 
the handicapped. Generally, help for the handicapped has been left to 
those who have been specially trained to work with them. As one gets older 
and gains experience in the work world, or possibly a friend or family 
member becomes handicapped, the opportunity to interact with handicapped 
persons increases and individuals become more aware of their needs. This 
could then result in greater acceptance and understanding of the differences 
and the need for the handicapped to be a part of the "norm11 of society. 
A significant association was found between education and 
"involvement of handicapped as being a good experience for other members." 
It appears that volunteers with the most education are less apt to see 4-H 
as being a good experience for handicapped youth. This could mean that 
volunteers with more education have greater insight into the problems of 
53 
involvement of handicapped youth in 4-H such as special equipment needs 
and adaptation of projects and programs to better meet the needs of the 
handicapped. They may have greater expectations as to what handicapped 
persons should learn as a result of participation in the 4-H program and 
realize it takes much time and patience to see just a small amount of 
growth in a handicapped individual. As volunteers, they may not be 
willing to take the extra effort they feel is needed to involve the 
handicapped in 4-H programs. 
Three-fourths of the leaders felt handicapped youth would not be 
ignored by other members of the club. Fifteen percent were undecided. 
The question pertaining to how comfortable volunteers felt with a handi-
capped person was answered slightly differently. Slightly more than one-
fourth of the leaders were undecided on this question. This difference 
could indicate that individuals may be interested in learning about and 
helping those that are handicapped but feel uncomfortable while doing so. 
It is likely as individuals (handicapped and non-handicapped) begin to 
interact with one another, they will become more at ease and accept each 
other for the person they are and overlook the mental or physical 
differences that exist. 
Although the leaders had a generally positive attitude toward 
involvement of handicapped in 4-H, one-fourth thought the needs of 
handicapped youth could be better served through special and separate 
clubs and one-fifth of the leaders were undecided on this issue. This 
could mean that volunteers, while supporting the idea of involvement of 
handicapped in 4-H, prefer not to have them in their own clubs. Perhaps 
it is because they lack experience and are not sure how to adapt projects 
or activities for involvement of the handicapped. 
One-fifth of the volunteers supported the id ea tha t handicappeo 
youth would not be able to participate adequately in most 4-H projects or 
activities and another fifth was undecided on this issue. A significant 
association was found between age and this variable. Yo unger vo 1 unteers 
seem to feel handicapped youth could adequately participate in 4-H. The 
large percentage of undecided volunteers shows a need for more education. 
These findings could also mean older leaders look on full participation 
in 4-H as being more competitive and winning more an indication of success 
than their younger counterparts. The older and more experienced volunteer 
may feel that 4-H is most meaningful to the youth who participate in judging 
contests, fairs, fashion reviews, speech contests and other events. They 
may perceive a handicapped youth as lacking the ability to take part in 
these activities or not being able to keep up if they did take part. 
Volunteer Leaders Attitudes Toward Handicapped Persons 
The general attitudes as to how volunteers feel towards handicapped 
persons were positive. However, volunteers were more positive in their 
feelings about the behavior of handicapped youth setting a bad example for 
others (.84 disagreed) than they were about the behavior of handicapped 
being disruptive to 4-H programs and activities (.54 disagreed). More 
volunteers (.34) were undecided on the disruptive factor than on behavior 
setting a bad example (.095). Why is this? Generally, disruptive behavior 
is related to setting a bad example. Do volunteers look at behavior of 
the handicapped as a part of the handicap, thus something to be expected? 
Do the volunteers consider disruptive as meaning changes that will 
need to be made in program to facilitate handicapped involvement? There is 
a possibility that volunteers related the disruptive behavior question to 
the one preceding it - ''that involvement of handicapped youth in 4-H clubs 
55 
would take time away from other club members. 11 Nearly 30 percent agreed 
that it would take time away from other members. Perhaps this sizeable 
minority of volunteers perceived involvement of the handicapped in the 
L1-H program as taking more time, because some changes may need to be made 
in their regular club programs, such as type of programs planned, projects 
and activities offered, meeting places and parent involvement. Changes 
made in these areas could cause one to feel the 11 normal 11 club program was 
being disrupted. 
A significant association was found between age and the needs of 
handicapped being met through other programs. Nearly one-fourth of the 
19-29 year age group felt the needs of handicapped were being met while 
only one person (.024) in the middle and older age groups felt the same. 
This could be attributed to the fact that younger volunteers may have had 
more exposure to or are more aware of other programs and how individuals 
are being served by such groups. Younger volunteers may feel that the 
needs of handicapped youth are being served by other programs because of 
the passage of recent laws: ( l PL-94-142) which assures all children a free 
and appropriate education with emphasis on mainstreaming children into the 
regular classroom md ~ Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which 
prohibits descrimination against handicapped persons by agencies or 
organizations that receive federal funds). They may not realize that the 
laws apply to 4-H nor think of 4-H as serving some of the social needs of 
handicapped persons. Also, they may see the needs as being served because 
of the emphasis on special education in the school system. The number of 
volunteers currently employed was not part of this study, but considering 
the rural nature of the counties studied, many of the older volunteers 
may not be working and thus, unaware of available programs. 
56 
Volunteers' Experience With Handicapped Persons 
The purpose of this question was to determine the types of 
handicapped persons, leaders were most willing to include in 4-H programs 
and to see if there was a relationship between sex, age, education and 
experience of the leaders toward involvement. 
More than half (.649) of the volunteers had previous experience 
with the handicapped. The greatest amount of leaders' experience (.432) 
was related to having a handicapped friend or family member. Thirty-
five percent of the leaders had worked directly with handicapped persons, 
so it is surprising to learn only one-third (.33) of the volunteers reported 
having read or heard about the handicapped. It is hard to believe in this 
time of mass publicity on the needs of handicapped persons that one out of 
three leaders were not exposed to it. Perhaps the leaders didn't consider 
this type of experience important enough to be reported or didn't report it 
if they checked other types of experience. The statement 11 check all 
that apply 11 might help clarify the question on the questionnaire and obtain 
more valid responses. The fact that less than one-fourth (. 149) of the 
volunteers had training in working with handicapped persons is further 
indication that some type of orientation is needed when implementing 4-H 
programs for the handicapped. 
Leaders indicated they would feel most confident working with 
hearing impaired (.392) and physically handicapped (.365). Howeve~ there 
was only a slight difference in their willingness to accept learning 
disabled (.35), trainable mentally retarded (.338) and visually impaired 
(.324). Educable mentally retarded (.284) were perceived to be more 
acceptable for involvement than emotionally handicapped (.23). Some 
inconsistency exists between this study and other research regarding the 
57 
acceptability of the handicap categories (Payne and Murray, 1974 and the 
pre-test conducted prior to this study). Visually impaired, hearing 
impaired, physically handicapped and learning disabled were reported as 
the most acceptable categories of handfcap condftions. In this study, 
trainable mentally retarded was the fourth most accepted group. Emotion-
ally handicapped were least accepted. In the pre-test with New Castle 
County and Payne and Murray (1974) trainable mental Jy retarded are reported 
as being least acceptable. The volunteer 1 s educational background may be 
a contributing factor to the difference. If volunteers had training in 
working with the trainable mentally retarded, they probably would feel most 
comfortable with this group. There also may be a difference in the leaders 
knowledge about the handicap categories. To those who don't know 
"trainable" may seem more manageable than 11 educable 11 or 11emotionaJ 11 ? A 
more accurate report of acceptability of the various handicap types might 
result if volunteers wereasked to rank all categories in order of accep-
tance rather than having them circle only the ones with which they would 
feel comfortable. 
Training and Volunteers Perception 
About Working With Handicapped Youth 
The comparison of education with "have adequate training" 
resulted in a significant association. More than half of the volunteers 
who completed high school and those who completed college felt they lacked 
the training necessary to work with handicapped youth, while only one-fourth 
of the group with some college credits felt the same. Four-tenths of the 
later group were undecided on this question. A possible reason for this 
could be that those who completed only high school were sure they didn't 
have training to work with handicapped youth while those who completed 
58 
college had become more aware of the complexity of handicap conditions and 
the patience and time needed for learning. Those with some college 
education may have felt they would like to work with the handicapped or 
that involvement of the handicapped in programs was the thing to do, but 
were not sure how to involve them, therefore, were undecided when answering 
the question. 
While most leaders felt some type of training was necessary prior 
to program implementation for the handicapped, their comments when 
responding to the question indicated they did not generally favor lengthy 
training programs. Suggested programs included a general orientation 
program or one-day workshops to make leaders aware of the types of handi-
caps and how to program for them. Leaders were concerned about the 
responsibility of having handicapped youth as club members when indicating 
their willingness to accept them. 
I mp 1 i cat ions 
A generally positive attitude toward handicapped individuals exists 
among the 4-H volunteers in the three counties in Maryland involved in 
this study. The majority of leaders feel involvement of the handicapped 
would promote growth and be a good experience for both handicapped and 
non-handicapped individuals, that handicapped youth can be productive and 
that parents of handicapped youth would be no more of a problem than 
those of non-handicapped parents. Based on these attitudes, Maryland 
could begin to give broader emphasis to programming for the handicapped. 
The fact that 70 percent of the volunteers didn't know whether or 
not programs for the handicapped existed in their county, indicates a need 
to better inform leaders of the 4-H programs available to youth. The 
59 
publicity for training that is currently being given to new leaders 
appear5 to be inadequate when they don't know whether there is a program 
for handicapped in their county or not. This could contribute to the 
high turnover rate among volunteer leaders in the 4-H program. 
The factors of keeping leaders informed and providing adequate 
training will have a major affect on the success of the involvement of 
handicapped youth in 4-H programs. Participation of handicapped in 4-H 
in the three counties surveyed is low at the present time, but with the 
right emphasis and training this participation could be increased. Most 
of the volunteers are willing to accept handicapped youth but do not feel 
they are adequately trained to do so. Maryland 4-H, therefore, has a 
responsibility to help the leaders meet this need. Leaders need to know 
about the various types of handicaps, expected behavior and how to handle 
them. They need to know how to help non-handicapped and handicapped 
individuals feel at ease with one another. Training will need to be 
given in program development so leaders can adapt projects and activities 
with the least effort possible to make them a meaningful experience for 
handicapped youth. Focus in programming will need to be away from 
"competitive" activities tovJards a more "helping and sharing philosophy." 
The factor of legal responsibility and accessible meeting places 
will also have to be considered. Training for the volunteers wi 11 need 
to be concise, relevant and meaningful. There is ?much they need to know 
but time and travel are major concerns of volunteers when they participate 
in training programs. They generally are not committed to long training 
programs. Older leaders may need more training than younger leaders in 
how to make 4-H more meaningful for handicapped youth and they may be 
more reluctant to change. 
60 
Sign language is a skill non-handicapped individuals should learn 
to communicate with hearing impaired individuals. There is much interest 
in learning this skill today. Courses are often offered at local adult 
education classes and more signing is seen on television. This could be 
developed into a project for youth and adults. Signing is not difficult 
to learn, but much practice is needed. If everyone made an effort to 
learn sign language, the life of the deaf person's world would be greatly 
enlarged. 
As 4-H develops handicapped training programs, special attention 
will need to be directed to the more serious handicapped conditions, such 
as emotionally handicapped and mentally retarded, to encourage greater 
acceptance of these youth. 
The recent budget cuts at the Federal level, means a cutback in 
many of the social programs we have come to accept as a part of life. 
Handicapped persons will most likely be affected by this cut, as well. 
The Extension Service, which includes 4-H, will be needed to help persons 
affected by these cuts to help themselves. 
The following statement by Marcia C. Beppler, Ph.D., delivered 
to the American Home Economics Association in June 1977, sums up the 
hoped for results of handicapped youth's participation in 4-H programs, 
Through rehabilitating and habilitating experiences 
in 4-H, handicapped youth will experience personal 
growth. Greater understanding between handicapped 
and non-handicapped individuals will result, and 
greater confidence of non-handicapped adults and 
teens to become involved with handicapped youth 
will be fostered. If it all works, everyone 
gains and nobody loses. 
61 
Recommendations for Further Study 
Studies pertaining to handicapped involvement in 4-H and other 
Extension programs are just beginning to surface. There is much oppor-
tunity for further study in this area. Recommended areas for study are: 
l) Comparison of attitudes by counties that have programs for 
handicapped vs. those who do not have programs. 
2) Evaluation of existing programs for the handicapped. 
3) A study of handicapped conditions and whether training in 
work with a particular handicap contributes to acceptance. 
4) A study of the attitudes of volunteers in other counties in 
Maryland and other parts of the United States. 
5) A study of the attitude of the professional Extension 
Worker toward involvement of the handicapped in 4-H and other programs. 
---
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63 
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66 
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68 
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70 
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--New York: INA Mend. Institute at Human Resources Center, 1970. 
7i 
APPENDIX A 
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF NAE 4-HA TASK FORCE ON 
HANDICAPPED PERSONS AND RESOURCES FOR 4-H IN 
UNITED STATES 
72 
This bib] iography has been compiled by the NAE4-HA Task Force 
on the Handicapped from responses generated by a request sent to state 
4-H leaders in February 1981 by Allan T. Smith of the NAE4-H Leisure 
Education Task Force asking for pub] ications, programs and other efforts 
to involve the handicapped in 4-H. 
We want to express our appreciation to those who responded and 
hope this information will be of value in providing ideas and resources 
that wi 11 make it possible for more handicapped individuals to become 
active participants in the 4--H program. 
Julia Burnham 
Cooperative Extension Project 
for the Handicapped 
Utah State University 
UMC 68 
Logan, Utah 84321 
73 
COLORADO State survey of handicapped involved in 4-H. 
One hundred in special clubs, some are mainstreamed. 
Projects include cooking, clothing, arts & crafts, 
puppetry, health, woodworking, first aid, and horse-
back riding. 
CSU students used as leaders -- for college credit. 
Newsletters sent out each month to leaders working with 
handicapped Handi-helps. 
Pub] ications: "National Summary of Handicapped 4-H 
Participation in County and State 
Fair Activities. 11 
11 Leaders Handbook for \forking vJi th 
the Handicapped 11 , compiled but not 
published. 
Contact: Paula Johnson, Coordinator of 4-H 
programs for the handicapped 
Larimer County Extension Service 
County Courthouse 
Post Office Box 543 
Fort Collins, Colorado 80522 
ILLINOIS State survey of handicapped involvement in 4-H. 1,034 
handicapped mainstreamed in regular clubs and in special 
clubs. 
4-H clubs for blind and hearing impaired. 
Working on campground for handicapped that wi 11 be 
totally accessible. 
Publication on making clothing for the handicapped is 
available. 
Contact: George L. Daigh 
Program Leader 4-H 
Extension Director, Illinois 4-H 
Foundation 
117 Mumford Ha 11 
University of Illinois 
Urbana, Illinois 41801 
I ND IAtJA Doctoral Dissertion: 11An Impact Model for Evaluating 
4-H Programs for the Handicapped Child 11 by Floyd Branson. 
Contact: Floyd Branson 
421 City-County Bui ]ding 
Ind i anapo 1 is, Indiana 1162011 
74 
l<AtJSAS 4-H club for mentally handicapped annually raises and 
sells a hog. Proceeds send club members to summer camp. 
Some counties have special clubs for handicapped. 
Handicapped are included in day camps. 
Contact: Emily B. Kling, Extension 4-H 
Spec i a Ii st 
Outdoor Education - Kansas State 
University 
Umberger Ha 1 I 
Manhattan, Kansas 66506 
UTAH Pub! ications: Series of educational booklets for 
Extension workers currently being 
field tested. Available by October 
1981. These include the following: 
11 1nvolving the Handicapped in 4-H 
Considerations to Keep in Mind 11 
11 4-H for the Handicapped Activities 
Handbook 11 
11An Overview of Handicapping Con-
ditions11 
11A Look at Some Myths Regarding 
Handicapped lndividuals 11 
11 4-H for the Handicapped in lnstitutions 11 
Approximately 250 residents of Utah State Training School 
are involved in 4-H programs. 
200 acre park designated for handicapped. Completely 
accessible camping facilities available for 4-H outings. 
Contact: Julia Burnham 
Cooperative Extension Project for the 
Handicapped 
Utah State University, UMC 68 
Logan, Utah 84322 
VIRGINIA 4-H Horseback Riding Program for Handicapped 
4-H Share-the-Fun Program -- Participation in performing 
arts; dance, vocal, instrumental, drama, and general. 
Local, regional and state activities held annually. 
4-H project books in foods and nutrition have been trans-
lated into Bra ii le. 
75 
Contact: John J. Beasley, Extension Leader -
4-H 
Cooperative Extension Service 
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State 
University 
Blacksburg, Virginia 24601 
WISCONSIN Pub l i cations: 11Adopt-a-Friend" 4-H Project Guide 
A one-on-one project in which a 4-H 
member develops a close relationship 
with someone who has a long-term 
illness, elderly, lonely, physically 
handicapped, mentally handicapped. 
Contact: John Heller Youth Development 
Specialist 
University of Wisconsin 
Cooperative Extension Programs 
336 Lowell Hall 
610 Langdon Street 
Madison, Wisconsin 53706 
OHIO Pub] ications: "4-H Opens the Gate of Life" 
(Activities for Mentally Retarded 
4-Her's). Includes a set of 20 
activity cards: self awareness, 
creative arts, food and nutrition, 
gardening, clothing, woodworking. 
Horse program for the mentally retarded. Group summer 
day camp program for handicapped. 
Contact: Juanita E. Mi Iler, Asst. State 
Leader, 4-H 
Cooperative Extension Service 
Ohio State University 
State 4-H Office 
2120 Fyffe Road 
Columbus, Ohio 43210 
OREGON Pub l i cations: 11 4-H Reaches Out to Youth with 
Special Needs". 1968 
11 4-H Opens the Door for the Mentally 
Retarded" I 967 
Contact: H. Joe Myers, Asst. Director, 4-H 
Youth 
Cooperative Extension Service 
Oregon State University 
Corvallis, Oregon 97331 
76 
PENNSYLVANIA Pub! ications: 11 4-H Recreation Leader 1 s Guide, 
Recreation and Handicapped Youth", 
1978, Suggestions for games, 
special events, arts and crafts, 
dance, drama and music. 
11 4-H Leaders Guide, Let 1 s Look at 
4-H and Handicapped Youth" 
Contact: The Pennsylvania State University 
Cooperative Extension Service 
University Park, Pennsylvania 
TENNESSEE Conducted state survey to determine involvement of 
handicapped in 4-H programs. Handicapped mostly main-
streamed into regular clubs. Some EMR clubs. 2,538 
total handicapped involved. 
Contact: Oliver F. Cook, Asst. Professor 
University of Tennessee 
Agricultural Extension Service 
Post Office Box 1071 
Knoxville, Tennessee 37901 
TEXAS Pub] ications: 11\.Jorking with the Mentally Retarded", 
1976. A leaders guide for working 
with the mentally retarded in 4-H. 
Contains list of possible activities. 
Contact: Lanny Bullard, 4-H & Youth Specialist 
Texas Agricultural Extension Service 
Room 315, System Bui ]ding 
College Station, Texas 77843 
KENTUCKY 4-H Camp for kids with Special Needs--weekend camp using 
university students working in Special Education and 
teachers of EMR as aides. 
4-H in Special Education classrooms--activities include 
carpentry, nutrition and money management, cactus gardens, 
terrariums, kite building and flying, talent show 
providing props, costumes, music, dance, mime, specialty 
acts. 
Contact: Sheila B. Meadows 
Extension Program Specialist for 4-H 
University of Kentucky 
Lexington, Kentuc~y 40546 
77 
MICHIGAN Four-year project to integrate several thousand handi-
capped youth and adults into 4-H. No published mater-
ials available currently. 
Piloted state survey to assess involvement of handi-
capped in 4-H which has been replicated in several 
other states. 
Active and extensive 4-H Horsemanship for the Handi-
capped program. Publications available. 
Contact: Donald R. Jost, Program Leader 
4-H Youth Programs 
Cooperative Extension Service 
175 South Anthony 
East Lansing, Michigan 48824 
MISSOURI 4-H club in EMR Group Home in Potosi--craft activities. 
4-H club in Special Education class, Salem. Organized 
for 2 years, twice monthly meetings. Activities 
include geology, conservation, career exploitation. 
Parents serve as resource people. 
Contact: Jo Turner 4-H Youth Specialist 
Post Office Box 190 
Steelville, Missouri 65565 
NEBRASKA Co-host at least three camps each year for the 
handicapped. 
NEW JERSEY In Newark, two basketball teams of deaf-mute young-
sters organized. These teams played "normal teams 11 ? 
4-H club of mentally retarded adults has been meeting 
in Passaic for about 8 years doing a wide variety of 
projects, showing at fairs, etc. 
Physically handicapped youngsters are being mainstreamed 
into regular 4-H program. 
Contact: Irving H. Blatt, Associate 
Specialist/Program Advisor 
Urban 4-H Youth Development 
Cooperative Extenison Service, 
Cook Co 11 ege 
Post Office Box 231 
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903 
78 
NORTH DAKOTA 4-H club at State Institution for Severely Retarded 
has held monthly meetings with a group of adult females 
for about 6 years. Emphasis on crafts shown at county 
fair each year. 
Contact: Thomas A. Martindale, Asst. 
Director, 4-H 
Cooperative Extension Service 
State 4-H Office, 116 Morrill Hall 
Fargo, North Dakota 58105 
79 
APPENDIX B 
QUESTIONS ON ATTITUDES 
TOWARDS DISABLED PERSONS SCALE 
(ATDP) 
80 
Questions On 
ATTITUDE TOWARD DISABLED PERSONS SCALE 
l. Parents of disabled persons should be less strict than other parents. 
2. Physically disabled persons are just as intelligent as nondisabled 
persons. 
3. Disabled persons are usually easier to get along with than other 
persons. 
4. Most disabled persons feel sorry for themselves. 
5. Disabled persons are the same as anyone else. 
6. There shouldn't be special schools for disabled children. 
7. It is best for disabled persons to live and work in special com-
munities. 
8. It is up to the government to take care of disabled persons. 
9. Most disabled persons worry a great deal. 
10. Disabled persons should not be expected to meet the same standards as 
non-disabled persons. 
l l. Disabled people are as happy as nondisabled ones. 
12. Severely disabled people are no harder to get along with than those 
with minor disabilities. 
13. It is impossible for a disabled person to lead a normal life. 
14. You should not expect too much from a disabled person. 
15. Disabled people tend to keep to themselves much of the time. 
16. Disabled people are more easily upset than nondisabled people. 
17. Disabled persons cannot have a normal social life. 
18. Most disabled people feel that they are not as good as other people. 
19. You have to be careful what you say when you are with disabled people. 
20. Disabled people are often grouchy. 
8 l 
APPENDIX C 
INSTRUMENT USED IN 
LARRIVEE AND COOK ATTITUDE STUDY 
"" 
LARRIVEE AND COOK INSTRUMENT 
Please circle the number under the column that best describes your agreement or disagreement 
with the following statements. There are no correct answers: the best answers are those that honestly 
reflect your feelings. 
Scale: SA= Strongly Agree A= Agree D = Disagree SD= Strongly Disagree U = Undecided 
SA A u D SD 
l. Many of the things teachers do with regular students in a classroom 2 3 4 5 
are appropriate for special-needs students. 
2. The needs of handicapped students can best be served through special, 2 3 4 5 
separate classes. 
3. A special-needs child 1 s classroom behavior generally requires more 2 3 4 5 
patience from the teacher than does the behavior of a normal child. 
4. The challenge of being in a regular classroom will promote the 2 3 4 5 
academic growth of the special-needs child. 
5. The extra attention special-needs students require will be to the 2 3 4 5 
detriment of the other students. 
6. Mainstreaming offers mixed group interaction which will foster 2 3 4 5 
understanding and acceptance of differences. 
7. It is difficult to maintain order in a regular classroom that 2 3 4 5 
contains a special-needs child. 
8. Regular teachers possess a great deal of the expertise necessary 2 3 4 5 
to work with special-needs students. 
9. The behavior of special-needs students will set a bad example for 2 3 4 5 
the other students. 
10. Isolation in a special class has a negative effect on the social 2 3 4 5 
and emotional development of a special-needs student. 
ll. The special-needs child will probably develop academic skills 2 3 4 5 
more rapidly in a special classroom than in a regular classroom. 
12. Most special-needs children do not make an adequate attempt to 2 3 4 5 
complete their assignments. 
13. Integration of special-needs children will require significant 2 3 4 5 
changes in regular classroom procedures. 
14. Most special-needs children are well behaved in the classroom. 2 3 4 5 
15. The contact regular-class students have with mainstreamed 
students may be harmful. 2 3 4 5 
co 
N 
SA A u D SD 
16. Regular classroom teachers have sufficient training to teach 2 3 4 5 
children with special needs. 
17. Special-needs students will monopolize the teacher 1 s time. 2 3 4 5 
18. Mainstreaming the special-needs child will promote his/her 2 3 4 5 
social independence. 
19. It is likely that a special-needs child will exhibit behavior 2 3 4 5 
problems in a regular classroom setting. 
20. Diagnostic-prescriptive teaching is better done by resource- 2 3 4 5 
room or special teachers than by regular-classroom teachers. 
21. The integration of special-needs students can be beneficial for 2 3 4 5 
regular students. 
22. Special-needs children need to be told exactly what to do and 2 3 4 5 
how to do it. 
23. Mainstreaming is likely to have a negative effect on the 2 3 4 5 
emotional development of the special-needs child. 
24. Increased freedom in the classroom creates too much confusion. 2 3 4 5 
25. The special-needs child will be socially isolated by regular- 2 3 4 5 
classroom students. 
26. Parents of a special-needs child present no greater problem for 2 3 4 5 
a classroom teacher than those of a normal child. 
27. Integration of special-needs children will necessitate extensive 2 3 4 5 
re-training of regular teachers. 
28. Special-needs students should be given every opportunity to 2 3 4 5 
function in the regular-classroom setting, where possible. 
29. Special-needs children are likely to create confusion in the 2 3 4 5 
regular classroom. 
30. The presence of special-needs students will promote acceptance of 2 3 4 5 
difference on the part of regular students. 
00 
w 
84 
APPENDIX D 
QUESTIONS FROM JORDON (1958) PERSONAL 
QUEST~ONNAIRE (HP) USED AS GUIDE IN DEVELOPING 
QUESTIONS 14 & 16, PART I I OF MARYLAND 
STUDY OF LEADER ATTITUDES 
85 
Questions from Jordon (1958) Personal Questionnaire (HP) 
Used as Guide In Developing Questions 14 &.15 Part 11 of Maryland Study 
of Leader Attitudes. 
(3) p. 215 (used for question 14) 
The following questions have to do with thekinds of experience you 
have had with physically handicapped persons. Please circle ~he number of 
each experience that applies to you. If more than one experience applles, 
please circle a number for each experience that applies. 
have read or heard a little about physically handicapped persons . 1 
have studied about physically handicapped persons through 
reading, movies, lectures, or observations .2 
A friend is phys i ca 11 y handicapped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 
Some relative is physically handicapped . . . . . . . . . . .4 
I have personally worked with physically handicapped persons, as a 
teacher, counselor, volunteer, child care, etc.. . . . . . .5 
My father, mother, brother, sister, wife (husband) or child is 
physically handicapped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 
I, myself, have a physical handicap. (Briefly, please indicate the 
kind of handicap- ---------------------------
(l) p. 214 (used for question 15) 
Please read each question carefully and do not omit any questions. 
Please answer by ci rel ing the correct answer (or ans~vers) or fi 11 in the 
answer as requested. 
Some physically handicapping conditions are listed below. In respect to 
these various handicaps, which have you had the most actual experience 
with. Please answer by circling the number of the group you select. 
Circle only one. 
l. blind 6. disfigured (such as severe 
2. partially bl ind burns or scars on face) 
3. deaf (and deaf-mute) 7. spastic (or cerebral palsy) 
4. partially deaf 8. speech disorders 
5. crippled or amputated 9. none 
limbs 
86 
APPENDIX E 
INSTRUMENT USED FOR MARYLAND STUDY 
87 
May 5, 1981 
Dear 4-H Leader: 
4-H Programming for the Handicapped is rece1v1ng emphasis in many states 
across the nation and during 1981, 11The Year of the Disabled Person, 11 even 
stronger efforts are being made. 4-H programs for the handicapped are really 
just beginning in Maryland and you are sure to hear more about this program 
effort in the months to come. 
I have a special interest in the handicapped person and hope that we can 
do more to involve them in 4-H programs. However, at this time I am interested 
in how YOU the volunteer leader feels about involving handicapped persons in 
your own 4-H club and county 4-H programs and I 1m currently doing a study in 
this area. This study is being done with organizational leaders in Cecil, Kent, 
and Harford Counties. Your 4-H Agent has given approval for your participation 
in the study. Information obtained will be shared with the State 4-H Office 
and wi 11 be used to help determine program direction and training needs for 
involving handicapped persons in 4-H programs. Results of the study will also 
be shared with you, the volunteeG upon request or through training meetings. 
I hope you will take a few minutes from your busy schedule to respond 
to the enclosed questionnaire which consists of two parts. Directions for 
responding to both sections are given at the beginning of each part. It is 
important that all questions be answered. Return the completed questionnaire 
in the enclosed addressed, stamped envelope. Neither your name or any coding 
is on the questionnaire, so your reply will be anonymous. I would ask that 
after you have completed and mailed the questionnaire, that you return the 
enclosed postcard, separately, indicating the date you mailed your questionnaire. 
Please return your completed questionnaire by May 22. 
I have enc 1o sed an 11 I Love 4-H11 button for you as a sma 11 11 thank you 11 for 
returning the questionnaire. Your response is most important for determining 
4-H program efforts in this area. I wi 11 be looking forward to hearing from you 
within the next week or so. If you have any questions, give me a call at 
398-5647. 
Sincerely, 
~'fl(-~ 
(Mrs.) Bernardine M. Coleman 
Extension Agent, 4-H & Youth 
CECIL COUNTY 
P.S. Where there is more than one leader in a home, I 1ve 
enclosed a questionnaire for each person. Please return 
in one envelope. 
/ . ------------------------------?-?????-
88 
QUESTIONNAIRE: ATTI. TU DES TOWARD INVOLVING HAND I CAPPED IN THE 4-H PROGRAMS 
PART I 
Listed below are 20 statements pertaining to the involvement of handicapped youth in 
4-H programs. In this questionnaire you are to express how you feel about each 
statement. The answers indicate how much you agree or disagree with each statement. 
Select the answer following each statement that best tells how you feel and CIRCLE 
one answer only. Please respond to all statements. 
DEFINITIONS: 
MAINSTREAMING means providing an opportunity for a handicapped person to be 
involved with a non-handicapped person in 4-H activities to the extent the 
handicapped person chooses. 
HANDICAPPED in this questionnaire is used in general terms referring to all 
handicaps: visually impaired, hearing impaired, physically handicapped, 
Jea~ning disabled, emotionally handicapped, educable mentally retarded, 
trainable mentally retarded. 
I SD - Strongly disagree 
2 = 4 = A D - Disagree Agree 
3 ? U - Undecided 5"" SA Strongly Agree 
SD D 
I. Mainstreaming of handicapped youth in 4-H offers 
u A SA 
mixed group interaction which will foster under-
standing and self-esteem for all. 
2 3 4 5 
Comment _____________________  
2. The needs of handicapped youth can best be served 
through special and separate clubs. 2 3 4 5 
Comment 
3. Th challenge of being in a regular 4-H club will 
pr~mote growth of the handicapped child. 2 3 4 5 
Comment 
4. The presence of handicapped youth in 4-H will pro-
mote acceptance of the differences on the part of 
regular 4-H members. 2 3 4 5 
Comment _____________________  
5. Sign language is a skill that hearing persons 
should acquire in order to communicate with the 
hearing impaired. 2 3 4 5 
Comment _____________________  
6. Handicapped persons can become productive members 
of society. 2 3 5 
Comment _____________________  
89 
-2-
SD D u A SA 
7. The behavior of handicapped youth will set an 
undesirable example for the rest of the club 
members. 2 3 4 5 
Comment 
8. Involvement of handicapped youth in 4-H clubs 
will take time away from other club members. 2 3 4 5 
Comment 
9. Handicapped youth will be ignored by the other 
members of the 4-H club. 2 3 4 5 
Comment _____________________  
Handicapped ~outh will not be able to adequately 
l Q. participate 1n most 4-H projects or activities. 2 3 4 5 
Comment _____________________  
Other members and leaders in the 4-H club will 
l l . feel uncomfortable with a handicapped person as 
a member of the group. 2 3 4 5 
Comment 
Mentally retarded persons have difficulties in 
l 2. learning, therefore 4-H cannot help them. 2 3 4 5 
comment _____________________  
Regular 4-H club members would learn to interact 
l 3. with handicapped youth. 2 3 4 5 
Comment 
dicapped youth have behavior problems that 
l 4. Hwa onu ld be disrupti.v e to 4- H programs and 
activities. 2 3 4 5 
Comment 
The needs of handicapped youth are being met 
15. through other special programs, therefore 
they do not need 4-H. 2 3 4 5 
Comment 
16. Including handicapped youth as 4-H members would 
be a good experience for the other members. 2 3 4 5 
Comment _____________________  
/ 
-3- 90 
SD D u A SA 
17, Parents of handicapped youth will be no greater 
problem for the 4-H leader than parents of non-
handicapped members. 2 3 4 5 
Comment ---------------------
18. I have adequate training to work with handicapped 
youth. 
2 3 4 5 
Comments ____________________  
19. Special training should be given for 4-H leaders 
before programs for the handicapped are started. 
2 3 4 5 
Comment ____________________  
20. I would be willing to accept handicapped youth 
as 4-H members. 
2 3 4 5 
Comment ____________________  
PART 11 
PERSONAL AND BACKGROUND DATA QUEST~AIRE 
This part of the questionnaire deals with some general background information 
about you, your experience as a 4-H leader and your contacts with handicapped 
:1e1r sons. Answers to all questions are important to this study, so please complete items. PLEASE FILL IN OR CIRCLE YOUR ANSWER. 
J. County ___________  
2. Area in which you I ive: Farm Rural non-farm Suburban 
3. Sex: Male Female 
4. Mari ta I s ta tu s: Single Married Divorced Separated Widowed 
5. Your age: 
6. Highest level of education completed: 
7. Number of years as a 4-H leader: 
8. Number of members in club: 
9J 
-4-
9. Give number of members in each age range: Under 9 ___  9-1 l ---
12-13 --- 14-16 --- Over 16 
10. Type of club: Pre-4-H Project Community Other(specify) 
l l. Do you have children in 4-H? YES NO 
Does your county have any 4-H programs for the handicapped? YES NO DON'T 
l 2. 
KNO\.J 
If yes, what type of programs? ------------------
13 . Do you have any handicapped youth in your club? YES NO If YES, give 
type of handicap. 
lf NO, would you be interested in becoming involved in a 4-H program for 
the handicapped? YES NO 
Have you had any experience with handicapped persons? YES NO 
14. If YES, circle type of experience you've had: 
a. Have read or heard about handicapped persons. 
b. Have had training in working with the handicapped. 
c. Have a family member that is handicapped. 
d. Have a friend or know someone that is handicapped. 
e. Have worked with handicapped persons. 
f. I am a handicapped person. 
From the handicaps listed below, circle those you would feel most comfortable 
l 5. in working with: 
Handicap 
a. Visually impaired 
b. Hearing impaired 
c. Physically handicapped 
d. Learning disabled 
e. Emotionally handicapped 
f. Educable mentally retarded 
g. Trainable mentally retarded 
l 6 ? Any other comments: