Evaluating Adolescent Satisfaction of a 4-H Leadership Development Conference

Youth leadership development is strengthened by activities that promote a sense of belonging, development of competence, and increased agency. The study reported here used 7 years of evaluation data from the California 4-H State Leadership Conference to analyze the relationship among satisfaction and sense of belonging, feeling respected, and perceived competence. Results revealed that perceived competence and feeling respected were always significant and belonging was significant in two years. An ANCOVA demonstrated that youth participants who felt respected by youth in leadership roles predicted satisfaction more often than feeling respected by adults or peer participants

Bers’s Theory of Positive Technological Development

This resource review provides an introduction to Mariana Bers’ new book, Designing Digital Experiences for Positive Youth Development (2012). Bers applies the Six C model of Positive Youth Development (PYD) to the digital domain with her theoretical model, Positive Technological Development. The model may be particularly valuable for practitioners seeking to design digital experiences for youth, as well as for evaluators who assess the PYD outcomes associated with youth participation in these spaces

Examination of Attitude and Interest Measures for 4-H Science Evaluation

Science education research has demonstrated the influence of affect on learning. The National 4-H Science Logic Model outlines outcomes from youth participation in 4-H science programs, which includes attitude and interest outcomes. The associated measure, the National 4-H Science Common Measure, assesses these attitude constructs and not other affective factors. Tie study reported here sought to determine whether additional affective constructs were separate from the general constructs assessed on the Common Measure. We found the additional measures have good reliability and moderate correlations among the outcomes, suggesting the new measures assess different constructs than currently assessed by the Common Measure

Bers’s Theory of Positive Technological Development

This resource review provides an introduction to Mariana Bers’ new book, Designing Digital Experiences for Positive Youth Development (2012). Bers applies the Six C model of Positive Youth Development (PYD) to the digital domain with her theoretical model, Positive Technological Development. The model may be particularly valuable for practitioners seeking to design digital experiences for youth, as well as for evaluators who assess the PYD outcomes associated with youth participation in these spaces

Exploring Public Speaking Self-Efficacy in the 4-H Presentation Program

Strong communication skills are important in an individual’s personal and professional life; however, research regarding what influences youth’s public speaking self-efficacy is limited. To address this gap, we surveyed youth who participated in a statewide presentation event about their self-efficacy and sources of that self-efficacy. Results show mastery experiences have the greatest relationship to youth’s public speaking confidence. Extension can strengthen youth’s public speaking self-efficacy by increasing the number of presentation opportunities and by removing barriers from participating in existing presentation opportunities

Redefining the Concept of Learning in Cooperative Extension

For Extension educational programs to meet the educational needs of today\u27s youths, families, and communities, Extension needs to expand what counts as learning. The purpose of this article is to define learning in the context of Extension. We summarize key aspects of the educational research literature by comparing two prevailing metaphors for learning: acquisition and participation. On the basis of the two metaphors, we developed a definition of learning, and we discuss the related implications for program and curriculum development, pedagogy, professional development, and assessment of learning

Exploring the Relationship Between Program Experience and Youth Developmental Outcomes

Program quality is an important topic for improving out-of-school time youth development programs. High levels of program quality may contribute to enhanced positive youth development outcomes. This paper explores aspects of program quality in the California 4-H Youth Development Program and its relationship to positive youth development outcomes. Results indicated few demographic differences in program quality as experienced and reported by youth. Youths who reported higher levels of program quality also reported higher levels of positive youth development outcomes. Emotional safety and relationship building, two aspects of program quality, were the most consistent predictors of positive youth development outcomes. Youth development programs should assess their current program quality practices to look for needs, especially related to emotional safety and relationship building. Further, program administration and staff should model critical aspects of program quality for direct service provider

Latino Volunteerism in the 4-H Youth Development Program

Nationally, the 4-H Youth Development Program utilizes more than 350,000 adult volunteers annually, and 25% of the nation’s K-12 students identify as Hispanic or Latino; however, there is a dearth of published literature on Latino volunteerism in the 4-H Youth Development Program. Developmental relationships, a critical component of realizing youth development outcomes, are enhanced when adults and young people share cultural values and identity markers. The Cooperative Extension System has an obligation to reach a diverse audience and ensure program participation reflects the demographics of the communities in which youth live. We review the literature on Latino volunteerism in 4-H, share what we learned implementing the 2016-2019 University of California 4-H Latino Initiative, and provide our reflections and recommendations

Long-Term Outcomes of Early Adult 4-H Alumni

Very little has been published reporting on long-term outcomes experienced by young adults (aged 19 to 34 years old) who participated in 4-H youth development programs. We adopted Gambone et al.’s (2002) framework advancing three long-term outcomes for early adulthood: economic stability, health and well-being, and community involvement. With cross-sectional survey methods, we compared long-term impacts between 693 California 4-H young adult alumni and 373 young adults in a U.S. general population sample who had not participated in 4-H. The results demonstrated that 4-H alumni report more positive long-term outcomes than the U.S. general population sample. The study contributes to the dearth of research around long-term outcomes, may be useful for marketing and funding, and will help better understanding the public value of Extension

Youth and Adult Perceptions of a New Technology in California 4-H: The Online Record Book

Youth development research suggests that adult volunteers have the potential to influence the how and when youth engage with technology as a legitimate form of program participation. The adults’ comfort levels with technology, coupled with the historical structure of the youth development organization itself, shapes which technologies are made available to, adopted by, or perceived as relevant or useful to youth. This study explores how adults and youth members of California 4-H perceived the 4-H Online Record Book (ORB), an electronic version of the traditional  4-H record book. Survey data from 236 self-identified users and non-users of ORB provided feedback about their use of and feelings towards ORB, with youth expressing more positive feelings towards ORB and adults feeling more negative about the system. Youth however, felt supported by adults to use ORB