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Youth Sparks Via 4-H: Relations With Program Quality, Dosage, And Involvement, Alexandra Skrocki, Gary Ellis, Andrea Ettekal, Darlene Locke

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

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 …