Not all Extension professionals enter the workplace with knowledge and experience in program development. Some may possess extensive expertise in their subject matter but need additional training in teaching-related competencies for adult or youth audiences. Even educators with extensive skill and experience benefit from thoughtful and intentional…

Understanding and identifying the professional development needs of 4-H youth development professionals should be the first step in developing the Extension workforce. However, 4-H professionals find it challenging to use the Professional, Research, Knowledge and Competencies (PRKC), which consists of 348 unique competency items, to guide…

Conducting needs assessments serves as a valuable way for Extension educators to ensure that they are designing programs that meet community needs. We developed a needs assessment tool kit that educators across urban, suburban, and rural communities can use to answer the question "What are the youth development needs in my county?"…

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…

University of Idaho Extension 4-H professionals have learned to work with volunteers in new ways to expand capacity and continue to build the quality of the 4-H program in Idaho. This article identifies how defining new position descriptions for volunteer facilitation coaches addressed two program needs, expanded capacity, and provided a higher…

California's 4-H Youth Development Program has adopted an asset-based community development approach to extending programming with Latino youths and families. This approach entails learning and relationship building with local Latino communities and building on untapped existing resources, such as Latino-serving organizations and networks. Here we…

We present the results of a longitudinal evaluation of the Western Region 4-H Institute, a 5-day training program designed to enhance the skill sets of early-career Extension professionals organized around the 4-H professional research, knowledge, and competencies model. Programs such as this often are assessed for their short-term relevance and…

Today's Cooperative Extension organization continues to face challenges of providing relevant, quality programming in urban communities. Challenges include the ability to build capacity in Extension's urban youth educators to assess and interpret the unique, variable needs of urban clients and to communicate effectively the identified…

There are many competencies necessary for success as a 4-H agent. The 4-H Professional Research, Knowledge, and Competencies (PRKC) Model organizes competencies into six domains: (a) Youth Development, (b) Youth Program Development, (c) Volunteerism, (d) Partnerships, (e) Organizational Systems, and (f) Equity, Access and Opportunity (National 4-H…

The study of attitudes of various leaders in Extension toward the particular aspects of change in 4-H programs is reported on. This study grew from the need to identify counties where the various types of new program expansion would be favorably viewed in the early developmental stages. A questionnaire was mailed to 1,045 county leaders, with…

A three-part questionnaire requiring the prioritization of 93 program items under 13 identified program areas was administered to 207 Extension agents in counties from 30 States where 4-H Community Development (CD) programs were conducted through organized groups. The study was designed to (1) describe and analyze the 4-H/CD programs conducted by…

A study was made of the Washington Agricultural Extension Service from 1912 to 1961 to identify and interpret the changing administrative structure, program content, methods and techniques, relationships with other organizations and agencies, fundamental changes in ways of deciding educational content, influences of the Extension Service on…

The national survey results present the perceptions of extension professionals viewing 4-H programs from a State level as they relate to the following survey goals: (1) to determine extent of current State 4-H programs, level of participation, methods or approaches being used, and plans for future programs for children under nine, (2) to collect…

Part of the Trout Unlimited program involves the development of cooperative programs to educate youth and their communities about environmental conservation. This handbook provides guidelines for conducting youth education events and information to facilitate the development and implementation of youth education activities with various community…

WISCONSIN COUNTY EXTENSION PERSONNEL IDENTIFIED THEIR OWN TRAINING NEEDS BY RANKING 55 ITEMS CONSIDERED TO BE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE KNOWLEDGES, UNDERSTANDINGS AND METHODS WHICH COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE PERSONNEL SHOULD POSSESS IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE SCOPE REPORT. RESPONDENTS CONSIDERED TWO QUESTIONS FOR EACH ITEM-- (1) HOW IMPORTANT IS…