Measuring Youth Development Outcomes at Camp and a Camp-Themed After-School Program
File(s)
Date
2014-05Author
Stewart, Shaina N.
Publisher
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, College of Natural Resources
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Summer camps and after-school programs host annually nearly 10 million
participants apiece. Since high quality programs in both settings have the potential to
generate beneficial outcomes for attendees, camps and after-school programs are ideal
sites for facilitating – and studying – positive youth development. The purpose of this
research was to investigate whether children perceived growth in outcomes related to the
development of friendships, openness to new experiences, and emotional connections to
nature after participating in a camp-themed after-school program or attending a
residential summer camp.
A total of 157 youth (23 at the after-school program and 134 at camp) completed
a Friendship Skills (FS) survey, an Interest in Exploration (IE) survey, and an Affinity for
Nature (AN) survey from the American Camp Association’s Youth Outcomes Battery.
This instrument asks respondents to assess on a scale of 1-5 how the youth program or
camp has changed them in relation to certain attitudes and behaviors, with 1 = decreased;
2 = did not increase or decrease; 3 = increased a little, bit maybe; 4 = increased some, I
am sure; and 5 = increased a lot, I am sure.
At the conclusion of their after-school program or camp session, participants
perceived growth in all three outcomes measured, with means for each outcome equal to
or exceeding 3.5. Perceived growth as a result of the after-school program (FS M=3.8, IE
M=4.3, AN M=4.6) was significantly higher for Interest in Exploration and Affinity for
Nature compared to the camp program studied (FS M=3.5, IE M=3.8, AN M=4.0) as well
as national norms (FS M=3.8, IE M=3.9, AN M=3.8). Perceived growth in Affinity for
Nature as a result of the camp program studied was also significantly higher than the
national norms, while perceived growth in Friendship Skills was significantly lower.
Results demonstrate that camp activities foster youth development in both afterschool
and residential settings, allowing children to experience the benefits of camp all
year long. Camp-themed after-school programs with youth development outcomes may
be a new way for camps to reach underserved audiences and possibly grow summer
enrollment.