The COVID-19--induced moratorium on campus visits allowed faculty from University of Missouri's Agricultural Education & Leadership (AEL) program and Missouri Extension time to reconsider our campus visit structure and be more purposeful in our recruitment efforts. We organized a showcase to expose high school students to career paths and help…

Rural students graduate from high school at higher rates but go to college at lower rate than their urban and suburban peers. To take on the educational attainment challenge for rural students, we need to know more about postsecondary encouragement programs. This study examined a pilot postsecondary encouragement program in 11 rural high schools…

Mitigating complex problems is increasingly essential to sustaining life on Earth. Empowering current and future generations to address these problems requires rethinking traditional education approaches. This article serves as a primer for land-based learning--defined as a pedagogical approach in which learners collaborate with community members…

The purpose of the Delphi study described in this article was to determine barriers, challenges, and alternatives related to planning and implementing 4-H international visitor exchange programs. The Delphi panel comprised 21 Extension agents selected from two southeastern states on the basis of their experience and/or interest in international…

Sense of belonging is an essential element of a high-quality 4-H program. However, little research exists quantifying sense of belonging among 4-H club members. We measured perceived sense of belonging among Florida 4-H members in middle and high school as well as seven factors that influenced continued participation in 4-H. Parental involvement,…

Purpose: Numerous factors currently challenge food production in the United States, and these are likely to intensify. We sought to understand what challenges US agriculturalists find to be most salient as well as the responses they recommend. Methodology: We gained insights primarily through the analysis of transcripts from the qualitative…

Youths trained in intervention skills can help stop a suicide through effective communication and an empathetic response. Extension professionals and community partners developed a layered approach to teaching suicide intervention skills, involving school staff, other community-based adults, and youths in a consistent community training process.…

Nationwide, agricultural education has experienced a shortage of qualified school-based agriculture teachers for over four decades. Students who seek careers as agriculture teachers are often those who participated in agricultural education and FFA in high school. The Ag Ed FITChoice® Model (Lawver 2009; Lawver & Torres, 2012) was used as the…

This article examines Extension professionals building community capacity in 10 counties across five Appalachian states in response to the talent crisis in the United States information technology (IT) workforce. The goal has been to transfer IT knowledge and create a supportive environment to foster interest in IT careers among underserved girls…

Experiential cooking classes for low-income adults can help improve healthy nutrition behaviors. However, nutrition educators and Extension professionals can face challenges in successful implementation of these programs such as difficulties recruiting and retaining participants. Drawing upon lessons learned from a cooking intervention with…

In 2006, 4-H National Headquarters and National 4-H Council introduced an initiative aimed at increasing the number and quality of science, engineering, and technology programs that 4-H offers around the country, and increasing the number of youth involved in these programs. By engaging youth in informal science educational opportunities through…

For any organization to remain sustainable, a renewable source of faculty and staff needs to be available. The Extension Internship Program for Juniors and Seniors in High School is a new tool for recruiting and developing new Extension agents. Students get "hands on" experience working in an Extension office and earn college credit…

In 2006 4-H National Headquarters at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National 4-H Council introduced a new initiative aimed at increasing the number and quality of science, engineering, and technology programs that 4-H offers around the country, and increasing the number of youth involved in these programs. By engaging youth in informal…

With the support of the Noyce Foundation, National 4-H Council has contracted with Policy Studies Associates (PSA) to evaluate the implementation of the 4-H Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) Initiative. The goals of this initiative are to increase the number and quality of science, engineering, and technology programs that 4-H offers…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the developmental experiences of high-school-aged 4-H youth volunteering as counselors at Louisiana 4-H summer camps. A total of 288 counselors from 10 different camping sessions participated in the study. The Youth Experiences Survey 2.0 and the Developmental Experience Survey measured the personal…