Positive Youth Development Theory in Practice: An Update on the 4-H Thriving Model

Abstract

The 4-H Thriving Model predicts that participation in high-quality 4-H programs helps youth thrive and that thriving youth achieve key developmental outcomes, thus illuminating the process of positive youth development in 4-H. This paper provides an update on the 4-H Thriving Model, with particular attention to model modifications based on additional research. The paper then describes the formation of the Advancing the 4-H Model Task Force, a 3-year project chartered by the national 4-H Program Leaders Working Group (PLWG). The paper describes how the work of the task force will support efforts related to the professional development of 4-H youth development professionals and volunteers, replication of and further research on the 4-H Thriving model, and organizational alignment across the national 4-H system.

Enhancing the International Study of Positive Youth Development: Process, Specificity, and the Sample Case of Character Virtues

“…An important implication of the convergence between an RDS metatheory-based conception of process and the SP is that all facets of all individuals-physical/physiological, cognitive, affective, behavioral, and social-develop in accord with the specificity of the individualcontext relational developmental process (Bornstein, 2019b, Lerner & Bornstein, 2021. However, we note that most research in youth development does not reflect attention to the specificity of the developmental process (e.g., see Bornstein, 2019a;Lerner, 2018b), despite appeals for such a focus by leaders of theory, research, and practice in the youth development field (Arnold & Gagnon, 2020). A lack of adequate attention to the specificity of the developmental process leads to the third focus of this article: the development of positive (i.e., moral and prosocial; Berkowitz, 2012;Nucci, 2017) instantiations of character, an attribute of PYD that we label in this article character virtue development.…”

“…If practitioners can specify and understand the relevant program features that promote PYD for specific youth, they will be better able to make adjustments to programs that will also work in different settings. The use of the SP in youth development programs is burgeoning both in the United States (e.g., Arnold & Gagnon, 2020;Bornstein & Suwalsky, 2021;Cantor et al, 2021;Geldhof et al, 2021) and internationally (e.g., Bornstein, 2017Bornstein, , 2019aCote & Bornstein, 2021;Esposito et al, 2021), including programs pertinent to PYD. For example, Yang and McGinley (2021) found that, among both Taiwanese and U.S. youth, development of the Five Cs of PYD involved in the Lerner and Lerner model of PYD (i.e., the Cs of competence, confidence, connection, caring, and character; Lerner, 2018a;Lerner et al, 2015) was associated with alignment between specific individuals and their specific rearing or cultural contexts.…”

“…Events in the United States and internationally that have unfolded and that continue to unfold constitute existential threats to the positive development of all youth around the world. These threats include the challenges of systemic racism, the COVID-19 pandemic, economic and health inequities and disparities, and the scientific reality of devasting global climate change (e.g., Arnold & Gagnon, 2020;Bornstein, 2021;Ettekal & Agans, 2020;Outley & Blyth, 2020). Accordingly, a case can be made that the most essential focus of youth development practice in the future is to create an inviolate connection between the process of character virtue and positive civic engagement and contributions to democracy, no matter the specificity of the steps needed to be taken in different national settings to actualize this connection.…”

Positive Youth Development in Senegal: A Case Study of 4-H Senegal

“…through funding to the nation's land-grant universities; it has existed for over 100 years and, as the nation's largest youth development organization, serves over 6 million youth (Arnold & Gagnon, 2020;4-H, n.d.). 4-H in the United States emphasizes life skills, the essential elements (of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity), caring adult relationships, and experiential and hands-on learning (Arnold & Silliman, 2017).…”

A Self-Assessment Approach to Understanding 4-H Professional Development Needs in the Northeast

“…Borden et al (2014) called the 4-H program to action, specifically highlighting the need for professional development of 4-H professionals that is focused on outcomes and program quality. The development and adoption of the 4-H Thriving Model has reinvigorated training efforts around foundational positive youth development principles (Arnold & Gagnon, 2020).…”