Evaluating the evidence for youth outcomes in 4-H: A scoping review

Jennifer P. Agans, Mary Maley, Nicolette Rainone, Marie Cope, Andrew Turner, John Eckenrode and Karl Pillemer

Children and Youth Services Review, 2020, vol. 108, issue C

Abstract: 4-H is an extremely influential youth development program, serving over six million youth across the United States and worldwide. These programs are designed to promote youth development; empirical evidence for youth development outcomes of participation in 4-H programs can help to document the nature of their effects on youth. We conducted a scoping review to describe the quality, type, and focus of research on 4-H program outcomes from both peer-reviewed and grey literature. After abstraction, coders assessed 107 papers across several indices, with results indicating that the body of evidence for youth outcomes from 4-H programming is lacking, with no studies rigorously assessing causal program impact. More rigorous research is needed to evaluate and report the evidence for youth outcomes from participation in 4-H. Improving the quality of 4-H research can strengthen 4-H programming.

Keywords: Research quality; Research synthesis; Program evaluation; Youth development; Youth programs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:108:y:2020:i:c:s0190740919308084

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104617

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