Leadership and the Family and Consumer Sciences Classroom

Social issues facing society impact adolescents differently than adults, therefore, decisions made guiding society are better informed if adolescents participate in the decision making process. Not only do adolescents need to be involved in these decisions, but also attention needs to be given to the development of adolescents as ethical, skilled, highly committed young leaders willing to take on all levels of local and national responsibility for building our future society. This will require a deliberative effort by adults generally, and family and consumer sciences (FCS) professionals specifically. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the integration of leadership development opportunities using a practical problem framework emphasizing childhood obesity on the self-perceived leadership practices of junior high students.