Happy National 4-H Week
Growing
Together…Professionally
4-H is
a program that exemplifies positive youth development. Serving as a
professional in 4-H is an important honor and a big responsibility. As a
program, we strive to bring positive experiences to youth in order to help them
reach their full potential. We do that through the essential elements of 4-H
(belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity), positive relationships,
research informed educational programs, and exceptional staff and volunteers.
Growing together within the 4-H profession is key to meeting the ambitious outcomes
of our program.
Why Competencies?
Professional
development is a term widely used in educational fields to refer to
experiences that promote the growth of an individual in their given profession.
The primary outcomes of professional development are to build skills, improve
competencies, and strengthen effectiveness. One way to strengthen the 4-H
profession is to have a competency model that we can each use to guide our own
professional development.
Competencies allow us to demonstrate that we can effectively
utilize and perform a particular skill. Possessing a skill or knowledge base is
not enough. We need to have the competency to use that skill to meet the
outcomes of a given task. For example, I may know the steps to the experiential
learning model but not be effective in implementing those steps when delivering
educational programs to 4-H youth. This is an example where having a competency
expectation can help to improve program effectiveness.
4-H PRKC
Growing Together
is the title of the 2017
4-H Professional Research, Knowledge, and Competencies (PRKC) framework
which provides a roadmap for us as 4-H youth development professionals. The
PRKC framework uses a four-level taxonomy including domains, topics,
components, and competencies to help us in every aspect of our work – from
program planning and evaluation to volunteer development, and from diversity
training to organizational effectiveness. The framework also offers guidance on
the essential subject matter and competencies that identify the skills and
behaviors we need to be effective youth development professionals. The 4-H PRKC
is designed around the following six domains:
-
Youth Development
– utilizing the knowledge of the human growth and development process to create
environments that help youth reach their full potential
-
Youth Program Development
– planning, implementing, and evaluating programs that achieve youth
development outcomes
-
Volunteerism –
building and maintaining a volunteer program management system for the delivery
of youth development programs
-
Access, Equity, and
Opportunity – interacting effectively and equitably with individuals and
building long-term relationships with diverse communities
-
Partnerships –
engaging youth in community development and engaging the broader community in
youth development
-
Organizational Systems
– using systems effectively to build capacity of the organization and its
people to work with and on behalf of young people
Matrix of Topics under each Domain
(not shown in this chart are the components and competencies for each topic)
 Using the PRKC
It is important for us to take charge of our own career
development. The PRKC can support us in getting better at our current jobs and
help prepare us for future career opportunities. Having a goal in mind makes
selecting professional development experiences and competencies more useful. It
is not expected that every one of us will be highly effective in implementing
every competency. Rather the framework is part of a professional development
process that is accompanied by a self-assessment
tool. By periodically completing the self-assessment we can identify areas
we would like to further develop and/or strengths where we would like to become
experts.
The assessment tool is an effective resource to use with our
supervisors when developing our annual professional development plans.
Remember, intentionally choosing professional development resources to help
improve competencies is the intended outcome of our development plans. There is
a wealth of knowledge and information available to us. It is important to use
the PRKC as a guide while sifting through all the potential resources. Once
useful resources are identified, it is important to actively engage in the
experience. Setting goals is only part of development; we also have to give our
very best effort to reach those goals.
 |
It is important for 4-H program leadership to help in the
implementation of relevant professional development, to create a culture of
focused growth experiences, and to provide a variety of resources. Resources
may include, but not be limited to, financial considerations. In fact, having
all of the 4-H professionals within a state or who are part of a specific team complete
the self-assessment, is a great way to identify the collective training needs
of a group. While it is not recommended to use the assessment tool as part of a
performance review, it can be helpful in planning intentional professional
development strategies on a statewide or regional level. Be creative in what is
provided for professionals to learn.
The hiring process is another option for using the PRKC. The
six domains are the basic areas relevant to most 4-H professionals. Job
descriptions and interview questions that reflect the PRKC can be instrumental
in identifying people who will be effective right from the start.
Next Steps
We cannot thank the National 4-H Professional
Development Committee enough for their work in the review and revision of the 2017
PRKC. These committee members feel strongly that the framework provides a
relevant path forward for intentional professional development - here at 4-H
National Headquarters, we couldn’t agree with them more. This committee is now
working toward identifying and/or developing additional tools beyond the
framework and self-assessment. Once available, these tools will help identify
specific professional development resources related to each of the PRKC
domains. Professional development planning templates are also being considered.
In the meantime, the committee and Headquarters challenge you to grow together
and provide the best positive youth development program experiences for all of
our nation’s youth.
|
