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by Barry Garst, Ph.D. and Jeff Jacobs, Ph.D.
A former staff member called to inform the camp director that he couldn't
return to camp for the coming summer. His parents had finally insisted
the he get "a real job." While research continues to suggest
that there are multiple positive outcomes associated with a summer camp
experience for campers, the amount of research conducted to assess the
impact of the summer camp experience on staff members is quite limited.
The research highlighted below suggests that summer camp counseling is
in fact "a real job," with the ability to help staff members
develop and enhance skills that will contribute to their personal and
professional success.
Alumni Perceptions of the Ohio 4-H Camp Counselor Program
Theresa M. Ferrari, Ph.D.; Janel K. Digby, M.S.; and Niki Nestor McNeely,
Ph.D., Ohio State University
Research Highlights
4-H camp counselor alumni report that camp counseling is the "experience
of a lifetime" because:
- Campers viewed counselors as role models.
- Counselors gained leadership skills.
- Camp influenced counselors' future career choices.
Purpose
Ohio 4-H invests significant resources in its camp program. Most research
has examined camper outcomes rather than those for camp counselors. 4-H
camp counselors are teens who are highly engaged in their camp counseling
roles (McNeely 2004), and it is expected that the skills they learn in
these roles are applied to other contexts of their lives. However, research
studies examining the connection between camp counseling skills and their
application to other contexts have been mixed (Brandt 2005; Forsythe,
Matysik, & Nelson 2004; McNeely 2004). Ecological theory (Bronfenbrenner
1979) and transfer of learning (Haskell 2001) informed this study.
The goals of the research were to examine the following areas from the
alumni perspective: (a) their experiences as a 4-H camp counselor; (b)
the life and workforce skills gained through their experience; (c) the
impact the camp counselor experience had on their career choice; and
(d) the unique aspects of being a 4-H camp counselor as compared to the
rest of the 4-H experience (Digby 2005). Four focus groups were held
in three geographic locations using procedures recommended by Krueger
(1994; Morgan & Krueger 1993). Thirty alumni participated in the
focus groups, with the average age of twenty-two years (ranging from
eighteen to twenty-six). The average number of years the alumni were
counselors at Ohio 4-H camps was four years. The sample was two-thirds
female. Initially, open coding was used to analyze the data (Strauss & Corbin
1990). Then, two frameworks were used to categorize the data: workforce
skills (SCANS 1991) and developmental experiences in organized youth
activities (Dworkin, Hansen, & Larson 2003).
Results and Discussion
Overall, 4-H camp counselor alumni felt their experience was fun and
enjoyable, yet challenging. They believed they developed leadership,
decision making, planning and organizing, communication, interpersonal
skills, and teamwork skills. These skills are
consistent with other studies examining camp counselors' skill
development (Brandt 2005; DeGraff & Edginton 1992; DeGraff & Glover
2003; Dworken 2004; Forsythe et al., 2004; Garst & Johnson 2003,
2005; James 2003; McNeely 2004; Purcell 1996; Toupence & Townsend
2000; Weese 2002) as well as organized youth activities (Dworkin et al.
2003). They are also reflective of those needed in the workforce according
to the SCANS Report (1991).
Not only did alumni learn these skills, but the skills also transferred
from one setting to another, such as student, employee, or community
member. Leadership was reported most often as the skill that had been
applied to other contexts. Other skills included communication, teamwork,
organization, interpersonal, time management, flexibility/adaptability,
and responsibility.
Alumni believed they learned by being actively engaged in their roles.
Being trusted with the responsibility as a teenager for leading and teaching
activities for younger campers was important to them. Several felt that
reflection activities at the conclusion of camp helped them think about
the skills learned as a camp counselor. However, it did not appear reflection
activities were included in all camp experiences.
The experience had both indirect and direct impacts on their choice
of a career. Indirect impacts included considering what type of job or
work environment they would like in their future. Direct impacts were
that alumni decided they enjoyed working with children and looked for
a career that would enable them to do so (e.g., teacher). Unique aspects
of being a camp counselor compared to other experiences in 4-H were that
camp takes place in a different environment where there is little competition.
Teens also have the opportunity to be role models and develop a sense
of identity.
Practical Applications
This study suggests that camp counseling provides a challenging, meaningful
role through which adolescents develop their identity and career potential.
Camp counseling translates into pathways to a positive future, as skills
are transferred to other contexts, such as work and community life. There
are many practical applications for those who work with camp programs:
- To raise awareness of skills needed for the workforce, the
topic of life and workforce skills should be included as part of camp
counselor training. Specific opportunities for reflection on skills
developed or enhanced throughout the summer would enable counselors
to understand that they had developed these skills through their camp
experiences.
- To ensure that transfer of learning is intentional, incorporate
specific strategies when designing counselor training. For transfer
to occur, experiences that are real and meaningful are needed.
- Adults need to give youth ownership over their roles and
responsibilities in order for significant development to occur. In
addition, they need to provide appropriate structure and guidance to
teens.
- To ensure increasing levels of challenge, camp directors
should consider expanding youth leadership roles.
- Many jobs available to teens do not provide opportunities
for developing initiative. Because camp does provide such an opportunity,
camp directors should be aware of the importance of initiative to adolescent
development.
- Communicate to stakeholders that camp counseling prepares
teens with valuable workforce skills.
| References |
Brandt, J. (2005, November). The effect of participation
of youth in camp counselor programs. Presentation at the National
Association of Extension 4-H Agents annual conference, Seattle, WA.
Retrieved from
http://nae4ha.wsu.edu/abstracts/A_yd32.htm. |
| Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature
and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. |
| DeGraaf, D., & Edginton, C. (1992). Work motivation and camp counselors.
Journal of Parks and Administration, 10(4), 37-56. |
| DeGraff, D., & Glover, J. (2003). Long-term
impacts of working at an organized camp for seasonal staff. Journal
of Park and Recreation Administration, 21(1), 1-20. |
| Digby, J. K. (2005). "The experience of
a lifetime": Alumni perceptions of the development and transfer
of life and workforce skills in the Ohio 4-H camp counselor program.
Unpublished master's thesis, The Ohio State University, Columbus. |
| Dworken, B. S. (2004). The unique contributions
and impacts of the camp staff experience. Retrieved May 31, 2005,
from the American Camp Association Web site www.ACAcamps.org/research/CRS_handouts_2004.pdf. |
| Dworkin, J. B., Larson, R., & Hansen, D.
(2003). Adolescents' accounts of growth experiences in youth activities.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32(1), 17-26. |
| Forsythe, K., Matysik, R., & Nelson, K.
(2004, May). Impact of the 4-H camp counseling experience. Retrieved
from the University
of Wisconsin Web site. |
| Garst, B. A., & Johnson, J. (2003). Impacts
of residential camp counseling on adolescent leadership skills development.
Retrieved from the American Camp Association Web site www.ACAcamps.org/research/03symposium.pdf. |
| Haskell, R. E. (2001). Transfer of learning:
Cognition, instruction, and reasoning. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. |
| James, J. J. (2003). The threshold for staff
transformation: An ethnography of Girl Scout camp staff. Retrieved
December 4, 2003, from the American Camp Association Web site www.ACAcamps.org/research/03symposium.pdf. |
| Krueger, R. A. (1994). Focus groups: A practical
guide for applied research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. |
| McNeely, N. N. (2004). The Ohio 4-H camp counseling experience: Relationship
of participation to personal, interpersonal, and negative experiences. Unpublished
doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University, Columbus. |
| Morgan, D. L., & Krueger, R. A. (1993).
When to use focus groups and why. In D. L. Morgan (Ed.), Successful
focus groups (pp. 1-19). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. |
| Purcell, L. E. (1996). Does participation in
the Georgia 4-H counselor program increase leadership life skills
development? Unpublished master's thesis, The University of Georgia,
Athens. |
| Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary
Skills (SCANS). (1991). What work requires of students. Washington,
D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor. |
| Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics
of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques.
Newbury Park, CA: Sage. |
| Toupence, R. H., & Townsend, C. D. (2000,
January). Leadership development and youth camping: Determining a
relationship. In L. A. Stringer, L. H. McAvoy, & A. B. Young
(Eds.), Coalition for Education in the Outdoors Fifth Biennial Research
Symposium Proceedings, Bradford Woods, IN (pp. 82-88). Cortland,NY:
Coalition of Education in the Outdoors. |
| Weese, M. A. (2002). The effects of the Jefferson
County 4-H camp teen leader training and camp experience on the teen
participants' internal assets of positive values, social competencies
and positive identity. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University
of Louisville, Louisville, KY. |
Originally published in the 2006 November/December
issue of Camping Magazine. |
