Identifier

etd-07082005-154655

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Human Resource Education and Workforce Development

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

The 4-H advisory process is crucial to program development in the 4-H youth development program in Louisiana. Parish 4-H advisory committees in each of the 64 parishes are involved in the addressing the needs of the clientele. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the 4-H Advisory Process as perceived by 4-H professionals in Louisiana and primary stakeholder groups of the LSU Agricultural Center’s 4-H Program. Data for the study were obtained through surveys completed by 104 4-H youth development professionals and 142 parish 4-H advisory committee members. Additionally, six parish advisory committee members were interviewed for the qualitative portion of the study. The data were analyzed to determine the two groups’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the parish 4-H advisory committee process. Also the two groups’ were compared to determine if their perceptions differed. The majority of the 4-H youth development professionals were white (90.5%). Their average age was 37.4 years of age and they served an average of 10.23 years as a 4-H youth development professional. The majority of the parish advisory committee members in the study were white (76.1%), female (75.4%), were/had been a 4-H member (76.1%), volunteered for 4-H activities in the past (75.9%), and had not received any training to perform their duties as a parish 4-H advisory committee members (79.4%). The findings indicated that both groups perceived that the parish advisory process was effective. The parish 4-H advisory committee members had a higher level of xii agreement on the effectiveness of the advisory process than the 4-H youth development professionals on all measured scales. The interviews conducted with advisory committee members confirmed the findings of the survey data from the parish 4-H advisory committee members. Based on the results of the study it was concluded that the main focus of some parish advisory committees was the planning and evaluating of 4-H events and activities. Additionally it was concluded that the membership on the parish 4-H advisory committee is not diverse in their representation.

Date

2005

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Michael Burnett

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.406

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