Offering an introduction to both John Dewey's philosophy of education and the 4-H Youth Development Program, this paper draws clear connections between these two topics. Concepts explored include Dewey's principles of continuity and interaction, and contagion with respect to learning. Roles of educational leaders (including teachers) are investigated in the context of a discussion about the structuring of opportunities for students to develop habits of meaningful and life-long learning. Specific examples are described in depth to demonstrate, from a Deweyan perspective, the educational process and value of 4-H participation. Brief comments are made about the place of 4-H in the U.S. system of public education.

This article reports on experiences and methods of adapting a valid adult social capital assessment to youth audiences in order to measure social capital and sense of place. The authors outline the process of adapting, revising, prepiloting, piloting, and administering a youth survey exploring young people's sense of community, involvement in the community, and the development of social capital. They then discuss the trade-offs of defining the often amorphous concepts included in social capital as they select measurement scales. The constructs used in the survey are agency, belonging, engagement, and trust for bonding, bridging, and linking forms of social capital.

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In the last three decades, positive youth development has emerged as the new paradigm for youth-related research and programming. The literature provides strong evidence that high-quality youth programs can have positive and significant effects. Positive youth development is strongly associated with three outcomes of particular public significance: improved school achievement and graduation rates, decreased incidence of risk behaviors and increased sense of personal efficacy and empathy. A strong economic case could be built for increasing public investment in positive youth development programs. What is needed now is more and better data, and measurable goals at the state level.

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