In 2015, the United States Department of Agriculture reported that agriculture baccalaureate graduates were only expected to fill two-thirds of the available job openings. To address this need, it has become critical for colleges of agriculture to retain high-quality students. In response, universities have attempted to determine the practices to foster student success. Therefore, in this study we aimed to investigate how goal orientation factors (i.e., mastery goal orientation and academic efficacy) may influence the academic success (i.e., first semester GPA, second semester GPA) of College of Agriculture (COA) freshmen. The current investigation was grounded in goal orientation and social self-efficacy theory, which allowed us to understand self-efficacy’s influence on students’ academic performance. The findings from this study suggested that social and academic efficacy influenced the student academic achievement of COA freshmen. Therefore, it is recommended that university leaders foster self-efficacy for university agricultural students and that future research be conducted to determine the variables that describe the variance in first semester GPA and retention best.
Perhaps one of the most formalized ways that 4-H has fostered agricultural innovation and practical education has been through their outdoor youth education program, more commonly known as 4-H Camp. Although 4-H Camps were first created for local clubs, camping events soon expanded to the state and national levels. In fact, three years after establishing the first 4-H Camp, more than 1,700 had emerged across the U.S., with attendance surpassing 100,000 youth. Because of its positive outcomes, the 4-H Camping movement has become celebrated as a novel technique to motivate youth to engage in agrarian concepts. Despite this, little work has been done to document the historical origins and evolution of the camping movement. Therefore, a need emerged to describe the actors, forces, and events that led to the prevalence of 4-H Camping in Louisiana. Through our analysis of the data, four themes emerged: (1) early foundations, (2) facility infrastructure development, (3) impact and organizational changes, and (4) the evolution of programmatic delivery. When considered together, the themes knit together the story of the Louisiana 4-H Camp. A key implication from this investigation was the need for greater advocacy efforts among 4-H leaders and agents. For example, the Louisiana 4-H Camp had to navigate multiple barriers throughout history, such as a lack of funding and staff. However, through individual and collective advocacy efforts, the 4-H camp secured vital resources to support 4-H members’ needs. Going forward, researchers should explore how fundraising and donors for 4-H camps could be better leveraged and sustained over time. This should include exploring strategies to inform legislators, policymakers, and citizens about the impacts that 4-H camps can have on youth and the state of Louisiana.
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