Submitted by: Joy Jordan, Ed.D., Associate Professor, Youth Development
During the last three years, several states have been investigating the benefits and impacts of the 4-H camp experience on youth (Forsythe et al. 2004, Garst and Bruce, 2005; McNeeley, 2004) and most recently a dissertation study of counselors with the LSU 4-H program by Carter (2006). This dissertation uses a well-developed 70 item Youth Experiences Survey (Y.E.S.) created by Hanson and Larson in 2002 and modified in 2005 with stronger psychometric properties and scale reliability and validity. During 2005 and again in 2006, Florida 4-H has conducted surveys gathering youth-reported outcomes from their 4-H experiences. This article provides a few implications for practice, as county faculty prepare youth, volunteers and counselors for the upcoming summer camping season based on these studies’ results.
Does Camping Make a Difference?
In a closer look at the Florida data collected from over 800 4-H club members in 2005 and 2006, on average, about 45% of club members participated in residential camping. Youth assessments of life skills did reveal slightly higher mean scores for those camping compared to those not. Club members going to camp are also very active in other 4-H opportunities as well, with approximately 85% participating in county events, 65% in district and 47% in other state/national events. Therefore consistent with previous research, the “layering” of these multiple opportunities for youth tends to produce a higher level of reported skill development among youth.
Who is going to camp?
Again from the results of the 2005 and 2006 Florida 4-H club member survey, camp participation is similar to our overall participation in 4-H. Approximately 63% of the campers attended public schools, 10% private and 27% were home-schooled youth in 2005. Ethnically, three out of every four camper are Caucasian with the fourth of other ethnic origins, usually African American or Hispanic.
Who participates as 4-H Camp Counselors?
Consistently, 4-H camp counselors are long-term members of 4-H. Based on the sited research studies, youth participants’ average about 7 years of 4-H members. Camp Counselors, from Florida data in 2005, reveal staff may be primarily marketing this experience to youth who have four or more years of experience in 4-H.
What do they gain from being a Counselor?
Carter’s (2006) study reports the following findings for youth development resulting from the camp counselor experience. Carter measured findings, using the YES instrument on seven scales that breaks down into 20 subscales. The outcomes that youth reported the highest level of experiences at camp were:
- Team work and Social Skills
- Positive Relationships
Two subscales that reported significant outcomes were in areas of:
- Diverse Peer Relationships
- Leadership and Responsibility
One scale and one subscale reported low means reflecting youth had limited experiences in these areas:
- Negative Experiences (i.e. stress, conflicts as counselor)
- Social Exclusion
Carter’s study supported similar findings of previous studies, when outcomes are analyzed by ethnicity and gender. Gender does explain variance in scores in the Teamwork and Social skills outcomes and Positive Relationships, meaning girls tend to rate their acquisition of these skills higher than boys. Ethnicity was an explanatory variable in all of seven outcomes scales measured by Carter’s study. Thus, minority youth do show a slightly higher gain in skills as a result of their 4-H Camp Counselor experience.
What does this mean as you plan, market and implement summer camp programs for youth?
- Camp does benefit youth and provide increased levels of skill development –what percentage of your county 4-H youth membership attend camp?
- Camp Counselor experiences provide youth increased social development, relationships and leadership/responsibility.
- Are you targeting the minority 4-H member population to participate in camp or young leaders to become counselors? Florida has very limited participation yet the benefits seem to be most beneficial to this audience.
For a more complete study of the scales and subscales that you might use to evaluate your camp counselors this summer, review the instrument used by Carter listed below.
Sources
Jordan, et al, (2005) A 2005 Evaluation of Florida 4-H Youth Development Program, University of Florida: Gainesville.
Carter, David N. (2006) Factors Relating to Developmental Experiences of Youth Serving as Louisiana Camp Counselors, Louisiana State University.
