After a brief review of the 4-H professional development standards, a new model for determining the value of continuing professional development is introduced and applied to the 4-H standards. The validity of the 4-H standards is affirmed. 4-H Extension professionals are encouraged to celebrate the strength of their standards and to engage the…

The health and well-being of adolescents continue to be in jeopardy due to a lack of proper nutrition combined with a sedentary lifestyle. A collaborative effort between two Maryland entities, Prince Georges County Family and Consumer Sciences Department and the University of Maryland Expanded Food and Nutrition Program, involved a…

Purpose: To describe the results of showing farmer learning videos through different types of volunteers. Design/Methodology/Approach: Semi-structured interviews with volunteers from different occupational groups in Bangladesh, and a phone survey with 227 respondents. Findings: Each occupational group acted differently. Shop keepers, tillage…

Extension volunteers benefit from participation in training activities. Furthermore, Extension personnel are best positioned to provide volunteers with relevant training. However, trainers neglecting relationship building and failing to attend to the communicative process may achieve unsatisfactory results. Social constructionism, a theoretical…

University of Wyoming Extension educators are often hired because of their subject matter expertise; yet, they must still develop education skills as well as learn to use various and ever-changing technologies. This research was conducted to understand what impact guided instruction on informal learning concepts and methods had on UW Extension…

Child welfare professionals (CWPs) who attended the Healthy Relationship and Marriage Education Training delivered by Extension educators in Georgia participated in focus groups 6 months post-training to investigate what elements of the training influenced their implementation of the concepts and their recommendations for future trainings. The…

We describe a participatory co-learning exercise that can help elucidate and navigate the unique perspectives of farmers, researchers, Extension personnel, and other agricultural professionals engaged in managing complex systems. We developed the exercise to help a diverse advisory panel collaboratively identify and prioritize ecosystem services…

The demand for sustainable agriculture has increased, and many institutions, including the University of Florida, have adopted agricultural sustainability as a major goal. Extension has been identified as a critical information source, important in disseminating sustainable agricultural growing techniques. However, research has demonstrated that…

This article explores the effect that planning and conducting an intensive multi-day, tour-based diversity workshop can have on the professional development and Extension work of the county Extension educators involved. Survey data was collected from the county Extension educators who planned workshops throughout Idaho. Educators reported that the…

Experiential learning is incorporated into the National 4-H curriculum. However, the state 4-H staff in Pennsylvania is unsure of the current knowledge and use of experiential learning within the local 4-H clubs. An online survey was distributed to Extension educators and volunteer leaders within Pennsylvania to assess the current knowledge and…

The California 4-H Association hosted two retreats to support its members with goals of balancing professional development with intentional relationship building. Evaluations demonstrated that staff found the intentional balance of time spent in unstructured, semi-structured, and structured time offered opportunities to grow professionally while…

Washington's 4-H program is transitioning from a predominately single-county faculty model to a regional system. This article highlights survey results regarding the level of awareness and buy-in that Extension administration, faculty, and staff have concerning the regional model and how communication about the model took place. While most…

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…

This article describes Marathon Month, a workplace wellness program for Extension employees. The program promoted physical activity by challenging employees to walk or run the length of a marathon (26.2 mi) or half marathon (13.1 mi) over the course of 1 month. Of the 317 participants, 90% achieved a self-set goal of completing a full or half…

Purpose: This paper reports the results of survey research conducted with tribal producers between 2011 and 2012 on 19 of the largest American Indian reservations in Idaho, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington. The purpose of the research was to identify potential barriers to sustainable agriculture on reservation lands. This…