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