Abstract
I place the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development into the context of 4-H, both as an instance of a youth development program and as a national system for promoting positive youth development. I discuss the relative absence of strength-based approaches to youth development that characterized the literature on youth development prior to the 4-H Study, and I note the impact of the study on the investigation of youth development and on the 4-H youth development organization. These impacts include the clear articulation of positive youth development, improving the quality of 4-H programming, the articulation of impacts through the power of longitudinal research, and raising more questions about youth programs and the positive youth development process. I conclude that the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development has provided a strong baseline from which positive youth development research can continue to grow as youth development professionals strive to exemplify the 4-H motto: To Make the Best Better.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Barcelona, R. J., & Quinn, W. (2011). Trends in youth development research topics: An integrative review of positive youth development research published in selected journals between 2001–2010. Journal of Youth Development: Bridging Research and Practice, 6(3), 18–36.
Blyth, D. A. (2011). The future of youth development: Multiple wisdoms, alternate pathways and aligned accountability. Journal of Youth Development: Bridging Research and Practice, 6(3), 151–165.
Bowers, E. P., Napolitano, C. M., Arbeit, M. R., Chase, P., Glickman, S. A., Lerner, J. V., et al. (2013). On a pathway towards thriving: Evaluating the effectiveness of tools to promote positive development and intentional self-regulation in youth. Journal of Youth Development: Bridging Research and Practice, 8(3), 4–31.
Bialeschki, M. D., & Conn, M. (2011). Welcome to our world: Bridging youth development research in nonprofit and academic communities. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(1), 300–306.
Hamilton, S. F., & Hamilton, M. A. (2004). What is youth development? In S. F. Hamilton & M. A. Hamilton (Eds.), The youth development handbook: Coming of age in American communities. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Larson, R. W., Kang, H., Perry, S. C., & Walker, K. C. (2011). New horizons: Understanding the processes and practices of youth development. Journal of Youth Development: Bridging Research and Practice, 6(3), 140–150.
Le Menestrel, S. M., & Lauxman, L. A. (2011). Voluntary youth-serving organizations: Responding to the needs of young people and society in the last century. Journal of Youth Development: Bridging Research and Practice, 6(3), 127–139.
Lerner, R. M. (2004). Liberty: Thriving and civic engagement among American youth. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Lerner, R. M., Lerner, J. V., Almerigi, J., Theokas, C., Phelps, E., Gestsdόttir, S., et al. (2005). Positive youth development, participation in community youth development programs, and community contributions of fifth-grade adolescents: Findings from the first wave of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25(1), 17–71.
Lerner, R. M., Lerner, J. V., Bowers, E. P., & Geldhof, G. J. (2015). Positive youth development and relational developmental systems. In W. F. Overton & P. C. Molenaar (Eds.), Theory and method (Handbook of child psychology and developmental science 7th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 607–651). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Editor-in-chief: R. M. Lerner.
Lerner, R. M., Lerner, J. V., et al. (2013). The positive development of youth: Comprehensive findings from the 4-H Study of positive youth development. Medford, MA: Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, Tufts University.
Napolitano, C. M., Bowers, E. P., Arbeit, M. R., Chase, P. A., Geldhof, G. J., Lerner, J. V., et al. (2014). The GPS to Success growth grids: Measurement properties of a tool to promote intentional self-regulation in mentoring programs. Applied Developmental Science, 18(1), 46–58.
Napolitano, C. M., Bowers, E. P., Gestsdόttir, S., & Chase, P. A. (2011). The development of intentional self-regulation in adolescence: Describing, explaining, and optimizing its link to positive youth development. In R. M. Lerner, J. V. Lerner, & J. B. Benson (Eds.), Advances in child development and behavior (Vol. 41, pp. 19–38). London: Elsevier.
National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (2002). Community programs to promote youth development. Committee on community-level programs for youth. In J. Eccles & J. A. Gootman (Eds.), Board on children, youth, and families, division of behavioral and social sciences and education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Scholl, J., & Paster, A. (2011). Locating, analyzing and making available a century of 4-H research studies, 1911–2011. Journal of Youth Development: Bridging Research and Practice, 6(3), 60–75.
Smith-Lever Act, 7 U.S.C. § 341–342 (1914).
Thrive Foundation for Youth (n.d.). Are youth developing skills to thrive? Retrieved from University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources website: http://stream.ucanr.org/4h_FTP/Thrive%20Foundation%20Growth%20Grid/
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Le Menestrel, S. (2015). Afterword: On the Contributions of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development. In: Bowers, E., et al. Promoting Positive Youth Development. Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17166-1_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17166-1_14
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-17165-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-17166-1
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)