Youth Sparks via 4-H: Relations with Program Quality, Dosage, and Involvement

Using a statewide sample of participants in 4-H programs, we tested associations among youth sparks, program quality, program dosage, and four types of involvement (breadth of participation in out-of-school-time beyond 4-H, scope of learning strategies, degree of specialization, and cumulative program immersion). Participants were 180 Texas 4-H alumni who graduated from high school in 2013 and 2014 and had two or more years of involvement in Texas 4-H programs. Data were collected via an electronic questionnaire based on a database of former Texas 4-H members. Twelve hypotheses were tested, linking program quality to sparks through indirect and direct relations. Eleven of the twelve hypotheses were supported. Program quality had a strong direct relation to sparks (b = .41). Direct relations between sparks and the facets of immersion were also found (b = .31 for the degree of specialization in one of Texas 4-H’s program areas and b = .27 for cumulative program immersion). Indirect associations were also significant. Dosage (years in Texas 4-H) was not significantly related to sparks.