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Positive Value Development of Campers at Girl Scout Camp
The Search Institute identifies 40 developmental assets that promote healthy development in young people. These include such subtopics as Support, Boundaries & Expectations, and Positive Values (Search Institute, 2006). It may seem self evident that promoting growth in these areas would result in children who are more likely to participate in positive behaviors and avoid negative behaviors. However, there is also research that supports this statement. The Search Institute found that individuals with greater numbers of developmental assets were more likely to demonstrate positive behaviors. On the other hand, the fewer assets possessed, the more likely a child was to exhibit negative behaviors, such as illicit drug use or violence. (Search Institute, 2009)
This study underscores the importance of providing programming for young people that can increase the number of developmental assets which they can access. Of particular interest to me is the asset category of Positive Values which includes such assets as integrity, caring, and responsibility. This category is one that can certainly be incorporated into a camp program, yet it is one that may be often overlooked at camp for fear of the camp not being "fun". One place in which I have personally experienced this sort of developmental growth is at Girl Scout camp. The following paper will look at the effectiveness of Girl Scout resident camp at increasing the Positive Values of campers.
Personal Experience
In my experience as a camper and counselor at Girl Scout camp, I have experienced and observed developmental growth in Positive Values. One aspect of camp that contributed to this growth is certainly the promise and law. The Girl Scout Promise is recited at daily flag ceremonies; this sort of daily reminder encourages campers to remember how they have promised to behave. The Girl Scout Law is well known among the staff and campers. Staff regularly say things like, "Remember how in the law it says...Does your current behavior reflect that?" This promise and law reinforce positive behavior and deter campers from negative behavior.
Another aspect of Girl Scout camp that improves the Positive Values of girls is access to role models. During staff training, it is made clear how much the campers admire counselors and therefore want to emulate them. This makes it essential for counselors to be positive role models. A third area that I experienced positive value development was the regular daily chores. I think that being required to do work to clean up the camp instilled a sense of responsibility for the community. Having to clean up other people's messes made me aware that someone always has to clean up my messes even if it isn't always me.
Research Studies
The 1997 Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. National Outcomes Study looked at the overall effect of Girl Scouting on girls (Hwalek & Minnick, 1997). Using nine measureable outcomes derived from the four program goals of Girl Scouting, the study found that Scouting has a generally positive impact on girls. Girls were asked to rate themselves based on the nine measureable outcomes: self-reliance, self-competence, social skills, respect for others, feelings of belonging, values/decision-making, helpfulness/concern for the community, teamwork, and leadership. The ratings of Girl Scouts and non-member girls were then divided into four age groups and compared. In 31 of the 36 categories Girl Scouts rated themselves higher than non-member girls (15 of these were statistically significant). Equally noteworthy are the ratings that teachers and troop leaders assigned to girls. Teachers rated Girl Scouts higher than non-member girls in every category with statistically significant differences half of the time. Troop leaders were asked to rate the girls in their troops on the nine categories. They rated the girls at greater than 70% of all possible points in every category and 80% or greater in six of the nine categories.
As demonstrated by this study, Girl Scouting has a positive impact on the development of girls in the nine categories studied. Since Girl Scout camp is a part of Girl Scouting, this study suggests that Girl Scout camp has a positive effect on the development of girls.
Another study looked at the outcomes of American Camp Association (ACA) accredited camps (Philliber Research Associates, 2005). The overwhelming conclusion from this study is that camp has a positive influence on campers. This study administered surveys to parents, staff, and campers prior to the campers attending camp, at the end of camp, and 6 months after camp had concluded. Significant growth was reported by all groups surveyed in all four areas that were assessed. Some of the more noteworthy categories in which significant growth was reported include: values and decisions, peer relationships, self-esteem, independence, leadership, and friendship skills. Much of the growth that professionals believe occurs at resident camp cannot be easily captured quantitatively (Boffey & Overtree, 2002; Scanlin, 2001; White, 2009). This lends great significance to the respondents' answers to open ended questions within the study surveys. Several of these anecdotal responses are quoted below:
Table 1 Selected responses from ACA surveys
____________________________________________________ __________________________
Response Camper
____________________________________________________ __________________________
I learned a lot about respect and my real values in life, what they really should be.
Louise, Age 14
I learned how to be honest about stuff.
Abigail, Age 9
At camp, you learn new abilities for specific activities but you also learn lessons that will just generally help you sometime or other during camp and life.
Seth, age 13
Most of all, campers mature. They find themselves making good, sound decisions without realizing how wonderful those decisions are, or how difficult they would have been to make at the beginning of the session.
Mark, Age 18
Campers here gain confidence. They become less self-centered and more willing to try new things. They learn empathy; become less afraid of nature (bugs, spiders, raccoons, etc.), of new things in general. They learn that tantrums don't get you anywhere, but that trying does.
Heather Age 20
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(Philliber Research Associates, 2005)
As with the quantitative research, these anecdotes suggest that campers developed in a positive way from their experiences at camp. They speak to a variety of aspects of the development of positive values. For example, Abigail learns about the value of honesty and Heather observes campers valuing patience rather than throwing a tantrum (see table 1). With the use of either form of measurement, growth in areas related to positive value development is noted.
Additional Findings
An analysis of other literature reveals that camp professionals also report positive outcomes in the value development of campers. Professionals are adamant that camp has a positive influence on campers. They see something distinctive in the camp experience, an environment that allows adults to introduce values to children in a unique manner that is unavailable outside camp (Boffey & Overtree, 2002; Gucker, 2001). This development is not stagnant, or limited to a certain group of children. Camp builds values for children of all ages and stages of development (Smith, 2001). Nor is the opportunity for development limited to a certain type of camp. All camps have some sort of value structure, be it explicit or implicit (Connelly, 2005). This structure, consisting of everything from the staff hired, to the daily schedule, to the choice of board games in the cupboard, will inevitably have some sort of influence on the youth attending the camp. The more explicit the value structure the better opportunity the camp has to develop the character of their campers. (Kohn, 2003)
Assessing the quantitative and qualitative data presented above, suggests that Girl Scout camp has a high likelihood of positive value development for the girls who attend a session. Participation in Girl Scouting is observed as having positive outcomes on the development of girls and ACA accredited camps also seem to have positive outcomes. Examination of the positive value development outcomes of Girl Scout camp will do much to affirm the validity of Girl Scouting. The final portion of this paper will consider potential opportunities for investigation of the effectiveness of Girl Scout camp at building the positive values in girls.
Further Development
A study similar to that produced by Sibthorp, Paisley, and Gookin (2007) could prove especially useful to assessing the effect that Girl Scout camp has on building positive values in girls. This study assessed the development of participants in the National Outdoor Leadership School in six outcomes, but also sought to discover what elements or mechanisms of the program fostered such development. Modifying such a study to focus on Girl Scout camps could prove valuable to the assessment of the effectiveness of Girl Scout camp developing positive values in girls. Furthermore, this sort of study would be an invaluable approach in seeking to develop Girl Scout camps that are even more effective at fulfilling the mission of Girl Scouting.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident that camp can do great things to promote positive development in campers. Particularly, Girl Scout camp can promote the development of Positive Values in girls. Studies of Girl Scouting and of ACA camps demonstrate this. My personal experiences as well as the opinions of experts in the field concur with the studies' findings. However, there is always an opportunity for improvement. Research, similar to the Sibthorp, et al. (2007) study would provide valuable information as to what Girl Scout camp currently provides to girls and how to improve it for future campers.
References
Boffey, D. B., & Overtree, C. E. (2002, September/October). Life changers. Retrieved February 4, 2009, from American Camp Association: Education: http://www.acacamps.org/members/knowlege/leadership/ cm/029life.php
Connelly, P. (2005). Character crossroads and beyond. Perspective , 31 (3), 32-33.
Gucker, P. L. (2001, September/October). Camp teaches life lessons. Retrieved February 14, 2009, from American Camp Association: Education: http://www.acacamps.org/members/knowlege/leadership/ cm/019teaches.php
Hwalek, M., & Minnick, M. E. (1997). Girls, Families and Communities Grow Through Girl Scouting: The 1997 Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. National Outcomes Study. First Impression.
Kohn, A. (2003, September/October). Rethinking character education: challenging the conventional wisdom about camp and kids: a substantial number of people believe that camps can do more than provide an opportunity to have fun: they can also promote children's social and moral growth. Camping Magazine , pp. 24-29.
Philliber Research Associates. (2005). Directions: Youth development outcomes of the camp experience. Retrieved February 4, 2009, from American Camp Association: Research: http://www.acacamps.org/research/enhance/directions. pdf
Scanlin, M. (2001, January/February). What Is Camp About?: Campers share their opinions. Retrieved February 4, 2009, from American Camp Association: Education: http://www.acacamps.org/campmag/011what.php
Search Institute. (2009, September 30). The power of assets. Retrieved from http://www.search-institute.org/research/assets/asse tpower
Search Institute. (2006). 40 developmental assets for adolescents (ages 12-18). www.search-institute.org.
Sibthorp, J., Paisley, K., & Gookin, J. (2007). Exploring Participant Development Through Adventure-Based Programming: A Model from the National Outdoor Leadership School. Leisure Sciences , 29, 1-18.
Smith, P. L. (2001, March). A view from the woods (camping as character-building experience for children and youth. Camping Magazine , p. 2.
White, X. (2009). Whether you're eleven or twenty camp is valuable: a place to share. Retrieved February 4, 2009, from American Camp Association: Education: www.acacamps.org/campmag/0709place.php