Youth Development and Engagement

Summary

Americans are concerned about preparing youth for the challenges of the 21st century. While this concern has recently focused on standardized tests, academic achievement is only one component of preparation for citizenship and workforce participation. Young people also need to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes for good health, environmental stewardship, creative expression, and community service.

Young people are best able to achieve these outcomes in environments that offer safety, caring adults, and opportunities for authentic experience. Both in-school and out-of-school time programs must do more to provide optimum conditions for youth development. Educators and youth workers need ongoing professional development and curriculum resources for experiential learning and youth development best practices. Interested community adults need well-designed opportunities to share their expertise and passions with youth. Older youth are also a largely untapped resource for their communities and deserve opportunities to contribute in ways that will enable them to grow up to become better citizens, workers, neighbors, and parents.

Situation & Priorities

Positive youth development experiences are connected to decreases in negative behaviors such as alcohol use, tobacco use and violence, and increases in positive attitudes and behaviors. According to a report commissioned by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation (2004), youth who participated in programming during the afterschool hours exhibited a greater interest in learning and achieved higher academic performance. The report also stated that programming did not have to be school-based. It could be of any format, such as 4-H clubs, community groups, Boys & Girls Clubs, etc., as long as programs were well-run, of high quality and actively involved youth participants. Youth development programs can approach enhancing youth experiences in a variety of ways including mentoring, academic achievement-oriented programs and civic engagement.

For any approach to be effective, it must be grounded in positive youth development principles. These principles suggest that all youth must have a combination of the following: access to resources that promote optimal physical and mental health; nurturing relationships with adults and positive relationships with peers; safe places for living, learning and working; educational and economic opportunity; and structured activities and the opportunity for community service and civic participation (MA Department of Public Health, 2003).  Effective youth programs must also ensure inclusive environments for all youth, as well as opportunities for mastery and active participation in determining one's future.

UMass Extension will be addressing the following priorities for Youth Development and Engagement over the next five years:

Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) Education: The United States is falling dangerously behind other nations in developing its future workforce of scientists, engineers and technology experts.  Direct connection to the research and resources of Cooperative Extension at 106 land-grant universities and colleges makes 4-H strategically positioned to strengthen US global competitiveness and leadership in these areas.  Massachusetts 4-H is supporting 4-H projects in animal science, general science, engineering and technology through 4-H curriculum, camps and other educational events.

Preparing Future Citizens: In order for the United States to remain a strong democracy we must prepare the next generation with the knowledge and skills necessary to be effective citizens and productive workers.  Through their active participation in 4-H clubs, youth learn critical skills in leadership, teamwork and decision making.  The development of communications skills is facilitated through the 4-H Visual Presentation and Records programs.  Youth take part in varied community service projects and learn the importance of giving to others in need and how that strengthens the communities that they live in.

Developing Volunteers: The 4-H program is delivered to youth in the Commonwealth through a network of over 1700 volunteers and collaborators.  4-H staff do the important work of supporting this system by recruiting, screening, orienting, and training these volunteers as well as providing the on-going support that they need.  Many volunteers serve in middle management roles by serving on boards, councils and foundations that raise funds and plan and implement educational events and activities.  The value of volunteer time is $20.25 per hour as determined by the Independent Sector.  In Massachusetts, 4-H volunteers contribute well over $600,000 worth of their time annually.

Military Children: There are over 12,000 children in MA who are part of military (National Guard or Reserves) families.  Most of these children have already or will soon, experience the deployment of their family member in support of “Overseas Contingencies Operations”.  The effects of those deployments on children can be wide ranging, both positive and negative.  As part of a national effort called Operation Military Kids, the MA 4-H Program supports those military children by offering a variety of educational, recreational and social activities and by educating adults on the effects of deployment on military children.

Expanding 4-H to Urban Areas: 4-H is expanding into urban areas to provide opportunities for increased access to positive 4-H youth development experiences to diverse youth.  The strength of an urban 4-H program is in the partnerships forged between the University of Massachusetts, UMass Extension and community groups and organizations.  4-H uses a variety of delivery modes to reach out to as many youth as possible, particularly youth who may lack the resources necessary to participate in traditional 4-H programming.  Programs empower youth by creating opportunities that build academic and life skills through experiential learning.

The following Projects addressed Youth Development and Engagement in 2009. Click on each "plan" or "project" for additional details.

• 4-H Sustainable Communities Projects: Plan | Report
  
• Operation Military Kids: Plan | Report
  
• 4-H Program Delivery and Administration: Plan | Report
  
• UMass Envirothon Collaboration: Plan | Report