Not your average cookies
March 26, 2001
KALAMAZOO -- Developing girls into leaders takes more than
selling cookies.
It requires that girls be exposed to a variety of positive
people who are healthy and successful in their personal and professional
lives, according to a new study two Western Michigan University
researchers conducted in collaboration with Southwest Michigan's
Girl Scouts of Glowing Embers Council.
The study was conducted by Dr. Wendy Zabava Ford, WMU associate
professor of communication, and WMU graduate student Sarah Dempsey,
in conjunction with Kathy Smyser, membership and adult development
director of GSGEC, and Eileen Stryker of Stryker and Endias Inc.,
a research and evaluation firm in Kalamazoo. It determined what
attributes current and future Girl Scout leaders and other community
members need to be more effective in developing girls' potential
for success.
Smyser says this study is unique because it focuses on the
adults in the organization rather than the girls.
"We need to spend time training adults to develop girls,"
Smyser says, noting that this report will help "working
parents, stay-at-home parents, or people who have never dealt
with kids, easily learn what they need to know to be a Girl Scout
leader or any kind of leader of youth."
Janet Barker, executive director of the Glowing Embers Council,
agrees. "Nothing like this has been done, for or by the
Girl Scouts, nationally or locally," she says. Researchers
Ford and Dempsey interviewed 87 people including parents, troop
leaders, and Girl Scout officials, and found that "girl
developers," or those who foster the growth, learning and
advancement of girls, should strive for two behavior-oriented
goals and possess seven core attributes.
The behavior-oriented goals require girl developers to serve
as positive role models and create a positive environment. Interview
respondents felt girl developers should be able to relate to
the girls, and around the girls, in a respectful, friendly and
trusting manner. In addition, girl developers should create a
positive environment through understanding the changing developmental
stages of girls. Participants felt that it is necessary for girl
developers to grasp and address the differing needs of girls
who vary from elementary school age to high school and come from
rural communities or urban settings. In addition, girl developers
should encourage challenging tasks at age-appropriate levels
and get to know the girls on an individual basis. Respondents
also noted they believe positive role modeling facilitates the
creation of a positive environment for girls.
Respondents indicated that there are seven core attributes
these leaders should have, including commitment to girls, strong
principles, self-confidence, enthusiasm, nurturing behaviors,
communication skills and appreciation for diversity. Barker says
the council intends to use the identified attributes to guide
the organization in creating new training materials and formats.
To that end, GSGEC is forming a girl developer academy and
resource center to promote self-development among adults. Based
on recommendations made by Ford and Dempsey, Barker says the
agency "has put together a concise plan to expand our capacity
to develop adults who want to help girls reach their full potential.
This program will utilize technology to reach out to a diverse
audience."
"When adults are excited about their personal development,
that enthusiasm will spread to the girls," she says.
Ford and Dempsey also recommended that GSGEC modify its current
training efforts from a "training" model to a "development"
model, which is structured around the behavior-oriented goals
and the attributes identified in the study.
The study is the first part of a two-prong research effort
involving the GSGEC, conducted under the auspices of the Building
Bridges Initiative. Funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, this
initiative supports partnerships between university and nonprofit
organizations to foster development of nonprofit management professionals.
Ford is currently conducting the second phase of the project,
which will assess the communication practices of the Girl Scouts
and the Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity as related to volunteer
satisfaction and retention. According to Ford, a team of graduate
students are working with her to help identify communication
practices that would most strongly influence volunteer satisfaction
and retention at those organizations.
For more information about either report, please contact Wendy
S. Zabava Ford at (616) 387-3109 or by e-mail to wendy.ford@wmich.edu
or Sarah E. Dempsey at (616) 387-3151 or by e-mail to 99dempsey@wmich.edu.
Media contact: Erika Molloseau, 616 387-8400
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