4-H has long emphasized the importance of civic engagement and community service for positive youth development. One pathway to this ideal is youth action research and evaluation. This article demonstrates how participatory youth research and evaluation can lead to the successful implementation of community action projects. It describes the…

This article describes the journey taken by a group of adolescents into the field and practice of youth-led research. The article gives voice to the growing number of youth participating in research and evaluation. The authors give authentic youth accounts of: (1) the process of becoming researchers and evaluators, (2) the benefits and challenges…

Communities benefit from meaningful involvement by individuals of all ages, but adults don't always perceive youth as legitimate, crucial contributors to community decision-making processes. The purpose of the study reported here was to determine if adults who participated with youth in the Horizons program changed their attitudes, opinions, and…

Public expectations are rising, and budgets are falling for many public services, including the Cooperative Extension System (CES). Economists suggest specialization of CES educators is one means of handling this dilemma. This article examines changes in the opportunities perceived by Minnesota educators of moving from a cluster-county form of…

4-H youth development programs nationwide are responding to the 4-H National Science, Engineering, and Technology (4-H SET) Initiative to involve more youth in Science, Engineering, and Technology activities. The goal is to increase the numbers of youth choosing to pursue SET careers. This article describes a program that is having great success…

4-H Bloco Drum and Dance is an afterschool program that teaches adolescents drumming, dancing, and theater arts in the rich traditions of Brazilian Carnaval. Teens learn to express themselves in a variety of modalities and perform at community events. The program was developed by a community coalition that included 4-H, other youth programs, and…

Bootstraps is a 12-week program designed for rural youth, ages 18-21, who are not working and not in school. The program goal is for participants to develop skills and motivation to find meaningful work, which is accomplished through a combination of classroom learning and practical fieldwork. The environmental fieldwork on public lands, funded by…

An attempt to determine what factors influence Extension professionals in their decision to pursue or not pursue an advanced degree. (AN)

Migrant-farm-worker youth learned about employment and educational opportunities in agriculture through a 4-H-sponsored conference. The conference was developed by a partnership of university extension, community organizations, schools, and private industry. (SK)

Author surveyed youth, boys and girls from the ages of 13 to 22, to determine what they considered important relative to their vocational preferences. (Author/RK)

Includes four articles: "Estimating Economic Impacts of Programming: A Case Study of Forestry" (Marcouiller et al.); "Aquaculture Opportunities" (Snyder); "Starting a County Agricultural Marketing Program" (Vossen); and "A Multidisciplinary Model for Industry Support: Program Redirection Creates Missouri Textile…

The article deals with some of the special adjustment problems for a newly employed black manager, the additional orientation needed, and recommendations for top management to consider different attitudes and values, to establish an equal employment opportunity policy, and to provide appropriate orientation and evaluation systems. (MF)