The major-purpose of the stu& was to examine perceptions of 4-H parents in Districts II and IV in the Texas 4-Hprogram relative to the educational value of competition in the 4-Hprogram. Two-hundred-!iy parents whose children were currently or formerly enrolled in the 4-H program were sampkedfiom the population. The parents in the study had a very positive attitude toward competition in 4-H, regardless of demographic background 7he major reasons the parents had their children participate in 4-H competitive events were because they perceived it enhanced their child's personal skill development and self esteem. The major concerns the parents had about 4-H competitive activities centered on excessive parental involvement and unethical practices. 4-H parents in the districts varied in their attitude toward competition, primarily because of three factors: (I) senior volunteer leaders tended to be more positive toward competition than junior leaders, (2) individuals who participated in 4-H camp tended to be more positive toward competition, and (3) those former 4-H members who enrolled in 4-H at a later age tended to be more positive toward competition.

The major purpose of this study was to identify competencies that should be achieved by high school students who complete courses in agricultural communications. Identification of the competencies came from industry leaders, high school agricultural education teachers, and university faculty in agricultural communications. A three-round Delphi technique was the principal procedure used to conduct the study with a total of 75 individuals being asked to participate in round one. In the first round, the panel identified 11 topic areas that should be included in a high school agricultural communications course: (1) Writing; (2) Computer/Information Technology; (3) Agricultural Industry; (4) Communications History; (5) Professional Development; (6) Research/ Information Gathering; (7) Ethics; (8) Public Relations/Advertising/ Marketing; (9) Leadership Development; (10) Legislative Issues; and (11) Communication Skills. Resulting rounds produced 93 competencies within the 11 topic areas that were identified for potential inclusion in the high school curriculum. Of the 93 competencies, two were eliminated due to lack of agreement by the panel. Scholastic level ratings by the panel further reduced the number of competencies appropriate for high school students to 76 and categorized the remaining competencies according to appropriateness for introduction at the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior level.

This study determined perceptions of agricultural education teachers nationwide as to what values should be taught to students enrolled in high school agriscience courses. The population was secondary agricultural teachers who taught in public secondary schools in the United States during I99 7-98. Most of the teachers were middle-aged, white males who taught agriculture for an average of 14 years. The average school size where these agriculture teachers taught was 750 students, andenrollment in agriculture represented nearly 20% of the total school population. Agriculture teachers agreed that the 21 values identified in this study were important characteristics that should be taught to youngpeople studying high school agriculture. They perceived the most important values were responsibility, honesty, courtesy, and respect. Although agriculture teachers perceived the FFA as the best component for teaching values, a number of values can be taught in the classroom, laboratory, and Supervised Agricultural Experience program. Teachers tended to agree on the importance of the 21 values regardless of teacher

I am delighted to say that I did it! I finished the Dublin marathon in 4hours and 28 minutes, and boy was it hard going!