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ERIC Number: ED480120
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 2002-Jan
Pages: 12
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Outcomes of Camping: Perceptions from Camper Focus Groups.
Bialeschki, M. Deborah; Krehbiel, Amy; Henderson, Karla
Morry's Camp specifically serves low-income and at-risk New York City youth by providing a maintenance and prevention program focused on the camp community, youth development, and education. Campers attend for 4 years, and there is a "post-grad" program for those who have completed the 4 years. The camp has a year-round component in which staff travel to campers' schools to hold monthly programs with the campers. These programs include goal setting and life skills trainings. A study examined the match between the camp's objectives and the valued aspects of the camp experience as articulated by campers. Two focus groups were conducted with 24 campers of varied ethnicity in grades 6 and 7, and one focus group was conducted with 3 teenage female "post-grads" of African American and Latina descent. Findings indicate that Morry's Camp seems to be meeting its objectives when viewed from campers' perspective. Campers articulated the values and meaning of camp for themselves, and these values were aligned with the camp's four main objectives focusing on positive core values, increased social skills, enhanced self-esteem, and a sense of personal responsibility. The objectives were a conscious component of the camp program and a source of focused attention with campers. Recommendations are offered for carrying out camp evaluations and relating camp outcomes to youth development theory. (TD)
Coalition for Education in the Outdoors, SUNY at Cortland, P.O. Box 2000, Park Center, Cortland, NY 13045 ($18). Tel: 607-753-4971; e-mail: info@outdooredcoalition.org.
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: In: Research in Outdoor Education, Volume 6. A Peer-Reviewed Publication of Scholarship First Presented at the Biennial Research Symposium of the Coalition for Education in the Outdoors (6th, Bradford Woods, IN, January 11-13, 2002); see RC 023 980.