Does Purpose Grow Here? Exploring 4-H as a Context for Cultivating Youth Purpose
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| Title: | Does Purpose Grow Here? Exploring 4-H as a Context for Cultivating Youth Purpose |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Burrow, Anthony L. (ORCID |
| Source: | Journal of Adolescent Research. Jul 2022 37(4):471-500. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 30 |
| Publication Date: | 2022 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) (USDA) |
| Contract Number: | 1010766 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Youth Programs, Self Concept, Quality of Life, World Views, Goal Orientation, Adolescents, Teachers, Volunteers, Experiential Learning |
| Geographic Terms: | New York |
| DOI: | 10.1177/0743558420942477 |
| ISSN: | 0743-5584 |
| Abstract: | Most youth development programs strive to promote thriving, but scientific inquiry into "how" they achieve this aim is rare and often complicated by nuanced program structures and delivery. Across two studies, we explored how one thriving indicator, having a sense of purpose in life, may be cultivated by a statewide 4-H program. In Study 1, an inductive text mining approach called latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) was used to content analyze 63 4-H practitioners' definitions of purpose and focus group conversations about how the program fosters this sense in youth. In Study 2, 113 4-H participants (aged 12-18 years, M[subscript age] = 14.77; 66% female) reported their purpose exploration and commitment and the extent to which they have engaged with particular program experiences. The LDA suggested educators believe 4-H fosters purpose by offering diverse and transformative activities that equip youth with key resources. Youth reports largely corroborated these beliefs: Correlational analyses revealed youth who felt they acquired life skills in 4-H reported greater purpose commitment, whereas youth who felt they had access to older youth with long-term aspirations reported greater purpose exploration. Implications for how 4-H and other programs might scaffold activities to promote youth purpose are discussed. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2022 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1342872 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Most youth development programs strive to promote thriving, but scientific inquiry into "how" they achieve this aim is rare and often complicated by nuanced program structures and delivery. Across two studies, we explored how one thriving indicator, having a sense of purpose in life, may be cultivated by a statewide 4-H program. In Study 1, an inductive text mining approach called latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) was used to content analyze 63 4-H practitioners' definitions of purpose and focus group conversations about how the program fosters this sense in youth. In Study 2, 113 4-H participants (aged 12-18 years, M[subscript age] = 14.77; 66% female) reported their purpose exploration and commitment and the extent to which they have engaged with particular program experiences. The LDA suggested educators believe 4-H fosters purpose by offering diverse and transformative activities that equip youth with key resources. Youth reports largely corroborated these beliefs: Correlational analyses revealed youth who felt they acquired life skills in 4-H reported greater purpose commitment, whereas youth who felt they had access to older youth with long-term aspirations reported greater purpose exploration. Implications for how 4-H and other programs might scaffold activities to promote youth purpose are discussed. |
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| ISSN: | 0743-5584 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/0743558420942477 |
