Youth Development Outcomes of the Camp Experience: Evidence for Multidimensional Growth (original) (raw)
Camp Research: What? So What? What’s Next?
Journal of Youth Development
This special issue of the Journal of Youth Development provides a means to highlight where camp research is today based on the articles presented. Several common areas are identified: role of theory, addressing social issues, methodological imagination, emerging audiences, samples, linking operations and outcomes research, staff and youth development, moving outcomes from what to how, and thoughtful and intentional implications for practice. Areas that need additional consideration in future camp research and issues that can be addressed by camp professionals include further examining how positive change occurs in camp, noting the value of the transfer of camp experiences to later life, using critical analyses of what camp experiences mean, and examining areas that have been under-researched such as day camps.
The Developmental Importance of Success and Failure Experiences at Summer Camp
Journal of Youth Development, 2017
Young people can learn from success and failure. Such experiences are useful in developing skills (e.g., perseverance and coping), and remain essential facets of youth programming. However, success and failure can also impede development. Appraisal theory has been used widely to examine youths’ experiences with success and failure in school and sport, yet summer camps represent an important setting where success and failure may look and feel different. In camp settings success or failure are often more subjective and less dependent on objective performance indicators such as grades, wins, or losses. Because of these contextual differences, little is known about youth experiences with success and failure at summer camp. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to use summer camp as a context to describe youths’ appraisals of success and failure experiences and the associated development. Findings explain how success and failure at camp can contribute to the positive development o...
A Multi-Method Impact Evaluation of a Therapeutic Summer Camp Program
Child and Adolescent …, 2003
This article reports on a multi-method impact evaluation of a therapeutic summer camp program for children and youth with learning disabilities and related psychosocial problems. The study examines the degree to which program objectives were achieved through a pre-camp, post-camp, follow-up design using a series of standardized instruments, camp evaluations, and interviews with parents. The results indicate that the campers reported less social isolation, experienced modest improvements in self-esteem, and expressed high levels of satisfaction with the camp. The measures for social skills generally failed to register significant changes, although parents reported improvements in the areas of cooperation, responsibility, and self-control.
Examining the Role of Summer Camps in Developing Academic and Workplace Readiness
Journal of Youth Development
Summer camps are an effective setting for youth to develop skills essential for academics and the workplace yet are often not recognized as such. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to investigate learning outcomes from camp most applicable to academics and workplace readiness. As a secondary aim, the researchers sought to identify the mechanisms at camp that support this learning. Youths’ primary learning outcomes include relationship skills, teamwork, how to live with peers, self-confidence, organization, responsibility, independence, perseverance, career orientation, and emotion regulation. In general, mechanisms that supported participants’ learning of outcomes included experiential learning, camp as separate time and space, camp schedules, the role of counselors, communal living, safe and supportive environments, and diversity of people. The implications for camp staff include furthering their programming efforts by placing an emphasis on the mechanisms that elicit aca...
Physical activity and health in camps
2016
Camp experiences enrich children’s lives. Camp is a significant context for youth development. Many people who have gone to camp or served as camp staff know these statements are true. Although many positive anecdotes exist, efforts to systematically document the outcomes and benefits of camp are needed. Behavior changes regarding many of the intangible benefits of camp experience are complex and not always easy to measure. Nevertheless, researchers are showing the growing relationships between camp experiences and positive youth development.
Family Camp Impacts on Family Functioning
The Camping Magazine, 2012
Families are a foundational structure of society that play a critical role in the health and well-being of communities. Every aspect of the American family is experiencing change, including the number of adults who marry, the number of households that are formed by married people, the number of children that are conceived, and the number of non-family households (Nock, 2005). Considering these trends, programming to strengthen family relationships is particularly relevant and urgent. Research suggests that family campstypically a residential multi-day camp experience designed for children and family members-can play a role in enhancing family functioning (Agate & Covey, 2007).
Children and Youth Services Review, 2019
Differences in social skills for youth with special needs were examined following participation in a residential summer camp. The data were collected between 2007 and 2013 from participants ages 3 to 22 (N = 1,678) at a summer camp in the Northeastern region of the United States. Mixed effect linear regression models were used to evaluate differences in social skills during a camper's first year as well as across multiple years of camp, and investigated age as a moderator as the camp served a wide age range. After one year of camp, participants of all ages showed significant increases in relationship building, self-control, self-help, communication, and positive attitude. Further, sustained improvement from year-to-year for those who attended multiple years was demonstrated. Finally, children who attended multiple summers had greater overall improvements than those who attended one year. The findings provide positive evidence that
Developing a Common Evaluation Tool for Camps
Journal of Youth Development, 2018
Evaluation has become a standard for youth programming, to provide both evidence for improvement recommendations and an assessment of program outcomes. Having a common evaluation tool across programs (in this case, camps) is beneficial in aggregating measurements and understanding similarities and differences between programs. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of working with the California 4-H Camping Advisory Committee to develop a common evaluation tool for all California 4-H camps, and to share initial findings from the instrument. We present results from two years of data collection, and the multiple uses of the findings.