Relations Between 4-H Enrollment and Selected Characteristics of Tennessee's County 4-H Extension Programs

The study was concerned with the problem of decreasing county 4-H enrollment in Tennessee. Twenty-one independent variables concerning the characteristics of Tennessee's county 4-H Extension programs and five independent variables concerning total 4-H enrollment were studied. The independent variables were classified under the headings of 4-H leadership, organization, participation, place of 4-H member residence, potential number of 4-H members, and number of Extension staff members. The purpose was to identify the association between the selected variables concerning county 4-H programs and the total 4-H enrollment in the Tennessee counties. Another purpose was to determine which variable, within each group of 4-H Extension program variables, accounted for the highest percent of variation in the number of 4-H members enrolled per county.

It was found that total 4-H enrollment in the ninety-five Tennessee counties was directly related to each of the following variables: total number of adult 4-H leaders, total number of junior 4-H club leaders, total number of basic four organizations, total number of 4-H all stars, total number of honor club members, total number of 4-H senior clubs, total number of junior 4-H clubs, total number of 4-H clubs, average number of senior 4-H members per senior club, total number of senior 4-H district winners, total number of 4-H members participating in 4-H judging and in 4-H camp, total number of full-time Extension staff equivalents responsible for 4-H work, and total number of Extension staff members per county.

The variables, within each group of county 4-H program variables, which accounted for the largest percents of variation in total county 4-H enrollment were: total number of junior 4-H leaders (50 percent), total number of 4-H clubs per county (60 percent), total number of 4-H members per county participating in 4-H camp (31 percent), total number of 4-H members per county residing on farm (55 percent), total number of full-time Extension staff equivalents per county (54 percent). Variables under potential number of 4-H members were not significantly relates with enrollment.

It was implied that 4-H enrollment in Tennessee counties might tend to increase if either the number of 4-H leaders, number of 4-H clubs, number of members participating in 4-H events and activities, and/or the number of full-time Extension staff equivalents responsible for 4-H work increased. Implications for program emphasis were made.