Factors Relating To Influencing 4 H Member Re Enrollment In Four Pennsylvania Counties

Author : Ben Weikert
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (894 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book The Factors that Influence the Involvement of Youth In Pennsylvania 4-H Extension District 16 Livestock Programs written by Ben Weikert and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 4-H is one of Pennsylvania's oldest and largest youth development organizations, having originated in Mercer County Pennsylvania in 1912 (4-hhistorypreservation.com). In the United states, 4-H has a reach of over 6.5 million young people between the ages of 5 and 21 years old (4-h.org). One of the major overlying themes of many 4-H programs is enriching the lives of youth through agriculture, particularly animal agriculture. With animal production and animal agricultural practices at the center of much scientific and social debate, a new generation of animal agriculture leaders will be needed to secure our national and world food supplies (Oxfam.org). The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence youth to become involved in Pennsylvania 4-H District 16 Livestock programs. Using data collected from 4-H members in Adams, Franklin, and York Counties of Pennsylvania (who are involved in livestock; beef sheep and swine programs), this study examined 1.) the demographic profile of the 4-H members in this district, 2.) the factors that influence youth participation in 4-H livestock programs, 3.) learning and leadership experiences and 4.) factors limiting participation in 4-H livestock programs. Data was collected using an electronic survey tool. This tool was sent to 150 unique email addresses of youth participating in Pennsylvania 4-H livestock programs in District 16. Ninety-five responses were collected, for a return rate of 63.3%. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviation were used to analyze the data. The demographic data presented showed that 100% of survey respondents identified themselves as white/Caucasian and 87.8% of indicated that they lived either on a farm or in a rural nonfarm location. This shows that 4-H livestock programs, and the valuable learning and leadership experiences associated with them, are not reaching a diverse audience. Parents were shown to be the greatest influencing factor of youth involvement within the 4-H livestock program and only 3.5 % of youth indicating that their parents were a limitation to their involvement. The study also showed that youth wanted to be involved in the program because they wanted to work with animal's hands on, and that they thought the program looked like fun. The financial cost of purchasing, and raising a project animal was shown to be the most limiting factor. Youth are getting valuable leadership and learning experiences in 4-H livestock programs with 48.2% of respondents indicating that they periodically complete challenging tasks. Even more youth (61.4%) held or currently hold a club officer position. Recommendations for further study include increasing the population frame and evaluating the factor of "time" to assess if 4-H members have the time to engage in more or varied livestock project experiences. With two-thirds of the study participants indicating that their parents were involved in 4-H, further study on parents professions and living situations (e.g.., if they work in livestock production, if they live rurally) could provide additional insight as to how the 4-H livestock tradition passes from generation to generation. Programmatic recommendations include the development of a 4-H project for in school or out of school enrichment similar to the "Meet the Plants" 4-H project. A "Meet the Animals" 4-H project could be used in schools and in urban settings to give youth the opportunity to learn about and appreciate animal agriculture.