Cultivating leadership and life skills: The impact of youth livestock exhibition on youth development

The purpose of this study was to determine the leadership and life skills gained by youth livestock exhibitors as perceived by adults present at the 2024 Arkansas Youth Exposition (AYE). The study sought to compare the perceptions of adults in attendance at the 2024 AYE based on key demographic characteristics. Grounded in Kolb’s experiential learning theory, the study highlighted the benefits associated with participation in youth livestock shows as experiential learning opportunities. The sample audience was adults in attendance at the 2024 AYE (n = 379); based on the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) scale, the sample size allows the results to be generalized to the population. The study collected quantitative data using survey methodology. Respondents answered eight demographic questions and 13 Likert-type items about positive leadership and life skills associated with youth livestock exposition as well as two Likert-type questions asked about negative life skills commonly associated with youth livestock exhibition. The questionnaire was hosted on Qualtrics, and responses were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics, a grand mean, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to analyze the data. Respondents perceived youth livestock exhibitors develop positive leadership and life skills through the exhibition of their livestock projects: become knowledgeable about the livestock industry, gain self-confidence, develop problem-solving skills, gain a sense of self-discipline, learn time management skills, learn about healthy competition and sportsmanship, gain a sense of self-motivation, develop meaningful relationships, learn to be responsible for another living creature, gain a deeper understanding of fairness, gain an understanding of ethical agricultural practices, gain a better understanding of finances, and learn to accept constructive criticism. Respondents did not perceive youth livestock exhibitors learn to cheat or to value winning over everything else. Groups based on the individuals’ relationships to youth livestock exhibitors perceived development of the leadership and life skills differently for four skills; the ways in which the groups differed is not identifiable. Prior involvement in 4-H or FFA and previous experience showing livestock affected respondents’ perceptions of youth livestock exhibitors’ development of three leadership and life skills. Based on the results, 4-H and FFA should continue to use livestock shows to promote positive leadership and life skill development of youth. Additional research should be done to determine why the demographic groups perceive youth livestock exhibitors’ leadership and life skill development differently.