Abstract
Despite its status as the largest youth-serving organization in the United States, there is a dearth of empirical scholarship about LGBTQ+ youth within 4-H; research examining 4-H professionals’ competencies to effectively support LGBTQ+ youth is even more scarce. To address this gap in the literature, this quantitative study explored the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of 4-H professionals in North Carolina as they relate to working with LGBTQ+ youth. Seventy-five professionals responded to an online survey. Professionals displayed higher levels of knowledge than skills or dispositions, were more knowledgeable about how to support LGB youth compared to transgender and gender expansive youth, and expressed the need for and substantial interest in professional development. Rural professionals tended to report lower knowledge, skills, and dispositions compared to professionals working in urban/suburban settings. This article presents the study’s findings and explores implications for future research and practice.
Highlights
Over the span of more than two decades, activists, practitioners, and policy makers have called on schools and youth-serving organizations to adopt inclusive and affirming practices for working with youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or who hold an identity that does not conform to dominant social norms related to sexual orientation and gender identity ([LGBTQ+]; Gonzalez et al, 2020; Kokozos & Gonzalez, 2020; Kosciw et al, 2020)
In order to heed these calls to action and begin addressing these gaps in both scholarship and practice, the purpose of this research is to explore the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of 4-H professionals in North Carolina relative to working effectively with LGBTQ+ young people, with the ultimate aim of better serving LGBTQ+ youth through the development of resources and recommendations for professional development within 4-H
While there are growing calls for research focused on the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth within 4-H and the Extension professionals who work with them (Gonzalez et al, 2020; Soule, 2017), virtually no empirical scholarship exists that is specific to 4-H
Summary
Over the span of more than two decades, activists, practitioners, and policy makers have called on schools and youth-serving organizations to adopt inclusive and affirming practices for working with youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or who hold an identity that does not conform to dominant social norms related to sexual orientation and gender identity ([LGBTQ+]; Gonzalez et al, 2020; Kokozos & Gonzalez, 2020; Kosciw et al, 2020) Despite these efforts and significant social and legislative advancements for the LGBTQ+ community, LGBTQ+ young people continue to experience hostility and isolation at school (Kosciw et al, 2020), at home (Bregman et al, 2013; Morton et al, 2018), and within their communities (Fish et al, 2019; Katz-Wise & Hyde, 2012). A study by Gonzalez (2016) found that rural school counselors who advocate for and with LGBTQ+ students may experience less administrative support and often have to navigate religion-based resistance from colleagues and community members
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