Satisfaction in Organized Camping.

Ah, summer camp. Memories of that wonderful time include bright sunshine, smiling faces, new friends, fun activities, and wacky campfire songs. Most children love camp; it is new, fun, exciting, and different. They get to do new things with new people in a new environment. The euphoria of overcoming their fears of newness and getting involved in camp life is almost overwhelming. Meeting new friends and learning to fit in gives them a tremendous sense of belonging. By becoming a part of something larger, they are able to make a difference in the microcosm that is camp.

Children change at camp, and it is an amazing and wonderful transition to witness. Exactly how those changes come about is perhaps debatable, but an examination of the organized camping experience is certainly in order. The American Camping Association, which is "dedicated to enriching the lives of children and adults through the camp experience," offers the following definition of camping:

[Organized camping is] a sustained experience which provides a creative, recreational and educational opportunity in group living in the outdoors. It uses trained leadership and the resources of the natural surroundings to contribute to each camper's mental, physical, social and spiritual growth (ACA, 1990).

Organized camping is a sustained experience. Resident camps can be effective because they last from several days to several weeks. Their 24-hour-a-day connection with the campers and the fullness of each of those days lead to a very intense experience in a short period of time (Chenery, 1994). One important aspect of growing up is being able to stay away from home and learning to do without parents. Resident camps provide excellent experiences in this respect because they offer safe places for the growing process to occur. Trained counselors stand in as parental figures; exciting activities and new friends help take children's minds off the separation. Children typically live together in small groups at camp, and by this simple organizational structure they must learn about living with others and gain some skill in relating to their peers.

Organized camps have the same ultimate goal as other types of recreational programs: provide memorable experiences to please their customers. Recruitment of new participants, and their subsequent satisfaction and return, rates high on camps' wish lists. In the recreation field, we know that customer satisfaction is of paramount importance because we deal in experiences and memories, not in durable goods. Experiences cannot be returned if something does not work out. Memories cannot be substituted if the program is not what the participants expect or desire. The experience has to be right the first time, or participants may not return.

Satisfying demands in organized camping can be a bit tricky, however. Camps have found that while their participants are primarily children and youth, it is the parents who make the final decisions about camp attendance -- and parents may have little contact with the camp itself (Cony, 1995). Parents and children sometimes disagree on the exact nature of their desires, and camp personnel must be aware that they must please both populations.

What They Want from Camp

Parents and children are not always looking for the same thing from a camping experience. Studies show that parents, whether their children have previously been to camp or not, expect a camp to provide some basic elements. They want a safe environment, caring counselors and personal attention for their children, and fun activities that will make the camping experience a quality time (ACA, 1998; Cony, 1995). Some parents saw personal and social growth as among the most important benefits of camp (ACA, 1998).

One camp collected information over a two-year period to find out how to increase their camper return rate and improve the satisfaction of parents (Chenery & Akers, 1987). It found that parents expect a good camp to provide six things: a safe environment, good food, good health, an increase in the camper's skill level, some growth of character, and communication with home. By working to improve these aspects and, thus, camper and parental satisfaction, the camp grew the number of returning campers, from 60 percent to 80 percent, and watched the average number of years campers returned almost double, from two years to three and one-half years.

While safety is important, children are less concerned with this aspect of camp. Campers are looking for fun activities, new friends, and neat counselors who will make the experience at camp a great time (Cony, 1995).

What They Get from Camp

The outcome of any program can be measured by examining the skills, experience, and knowledge that participants take with them. Sometimes an experience can be so intense that it takes awhile to process. Chenery (1991) interviewed 318 campers, staffers, directors, alumni of camps, and parents of campers to determine what children acquired from the camping experience. Their replies were grouped into six categories: learning about specific activity skills, learning about oneself, learning about group living and interpersonal skills, having fun, gaining an appreciation of nature, and no change perceived (p. 43). From campers' responses and the observation of others, children derive the same benefits from camp that parents hope they will: experience in new activities, a little personal growth, some social skills, and a whole lot of fun.

Campers reported that camp helped them gain independence, discover themselves, and improve their self-esteem and self-confidence. Individual growth and self-knowledge is very important to young people. Campers also mentioned that they learned to make friends, get along with others, be responsible, and strengthen values (Chenery, 1991).

Moorman (1997) used statements from the personal and social outcomes of Chenery's study to see if certain characteristics of camp would lead to higher outcomes for campers. Twenty-eight camp directors described their camps, while 270 campers from those camps answered questions about the personal and social aspects of their camping experiences.

One characteristic of camp found to greatly increase social outcomes was American Camping Association accreditation. The ACA's accreditation process goes far beyond governmental food service laws and health codes and addresses issues of programming, personnel, and management (ACA, 1996). Its concern with these issues and how they affect campers shows in the improved social aspects of their camps.

A second characteristic of camp that was associated with increased social outcomes was the type of camp. General camps, where a variety of activities were offered, scored significantly higher than specialty camps, where one particular activity occupied at least 60 percent of the programming time. It appears that the social aspects of camp, such as making friends and getting along with others, are increased when campers are not concentrating so hard on gaining the knowledge and skills emphasized in specialty camps.

Unusual incidents occurred in several of the camps. Some of the incidents were positive (one camp director's wife had a baby), and some were not (a water main broke and there was no water all day, a counselor was injured, there were lice). But positive or negative, it did not matter. Camps with unusual incidents were associated with significantly increased personal outcomes. Hard times have a way of bringing people together. This combination of unusual incidents and positive outcomes -- celebrating the good times and helping each other deal with the difficult ones -- may be an indication of campers' personal growth.

The nurturing environment embraces all campers. Through this small-group organization, children are given access to positive role models. Expectations of acceptable behavior in a good camp "create a psychologically safe environment, where campers feel it is okay to take risks with new behaviors and new feelings" (Chenery, 1994, p. 23).

Having time to think and reflect, to laugh and play and make friends is one of the most nurturing aspects of camp. Time allows campers to grow as individuals, to process what they see and hear, to question and debate and discuss important issues. Today's society pressures children to become adults before they have even experienced the innocence of childhood. Rather than make life easier, oftentimes technological advances have increased the pace of life and the expectation that more can be accomplished in less time. From a very early age, there is pressure for children to grow up, do well in school, and land a scholarship from a big-name university. Elkind (1988) sees the pressure of fast-paced living entering the camping atmosphere as well, evidenced by camps that specialize in science, computer training, or foreign languages. Dustin (1994) worries that children are growing up as "miniature adults" (p. 28) instead of having time to dream and explore, to laugh and celebrate the mystery of life. Camp offers children time away -- away from parents, away from the sensory overload of computers and television and radio and advertising, away from the constant peer pressure of home life. Camp gives children a break from the rush of everyday life.

Parents want a quality camping experience for their children. They want them to be safe and participate in fun activities, have caring counselors and personal attention, and have the opportunity to grow personally and socially. Camps provide this in a variety of ways.

Accreditation through the ACA helps to ensure a safe environment. Low camper-to-counselor ratios and small-group structure gives campers easy access to counselors who act as positive role models. General camps give children the opportunity to participate in activities they enjoy, try other ones that look like fun, and de-emphasize the necessity to perfect any one sport. The nurturing environment gives campers a safe environment to discover who they really are, make new friends, and practice new social and personal skills.

Perhaps best of all, a good camping experience gives campers time -- time to be children. Opportunities are provided to laugh, play, enjoy the outdoors, learn to trust and gain the trust of others, and reflect upon the beauty and preciousness of life. It is as simple as that.

References

American Camping Association. 1996. 1996/97 Guide to accredited camps. Martinsville, Ind.

--. 1998. "1997 Summer camp survey results." Camping (March/April): 38.

--. 1990. Standards for day and resident camps. Martinsville, Ind.

Chenery, M.E 1994. "Explaining the value of camp." Camping (May/June): 20-5.

--. 1991. I am somebody: The messages and methods of organized camping for youth development. Martinsville, Ind.: American Camping Association.

Chenery, M.E, and W. Akers. 1987. "Camp market research: A Tennessee camp ups return rate with its analysis." Camping (Sept./Oct.): 30-1.

Cony, S.R. 1995. "Marketing camp to parents and children." Camping (Nov./Dec.): 23-5.

Dustin, D.L. 1994. "The weight of the world: Why camp is ever more important." Camping (March/April): 26-31.

Elkind, D. 1988. The hurried child. New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company Inc.

Moorman, M.K. 1997. Factors affecting the personal and social outcomes of organized camping (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Arkansas.

RELATED ARTICLE: Research Into Action: The Camping Experience

Introduction

Organized camping is a traditional American experience for youth and, at times, the entire family. Camping provides opportunities for children to grow and change in ways they could not at home. In that sense, organized camping is a sustained experience that affects how participants respond to their world. Resident camps provide a particularly appropriate experience for this change and growth because they provide safe places for such change to occur. Organized camping is like other recreation programs, providing memorable experiences. Satisfying the participant demand for experiences is balanced between the knowledge that students desire the experience and parents typically make the decision about camp for their children. Research about organized camping, as presented in this month's "Research Update," has focused on expectations of campers and their parents.

Impact of this Research

For residential camping organizations, organizations considering residential camping programs, and parents the data presented in this research provide important information regarding the types of experiences that lead to positive experiences by campers. Encouraging campers to return to future camps is based on camper/parent perceptions of the camp. The presence of a safe environment, good food and health, an increase in the camper's skill level, some growth of character, and communication with home are cited as influencing the decision to return in future years. Personal and social outcomes are seen to be key ingredients in a positive camping experience. These include improved self-esteem and self-confidence, individual growth, and self-knowledge. The presence of American Camping Association accreditation has a positive impact upon what campers perceive as being an important factor in increasing social outcomes.

How to Use this Research

1. Existing camping organizations and organizations considering entering into organized camping should carefully consider the design of camping programs and desired experiences to ensure that participants have the opportunity for personal growth experiences, fun, and social development opportunities.

2. Achieving American Camping Association accreditation appears to reflect the presence of a camp that is seen as meeting many of the needs of participants and parents.

3. The social aspects of camp appear to be important considerations in the design and development of any camp setting.

4. Public park and recreation practitioners and nonprofits that operate organized camps, whether they be resident or day camps, would do well to review the camping research literature and make efforts to measure the impact of their programs upon participants.

For More Information

American Camping Association. 1990. Standards for day and resident camps. Martinsville, Ind.

Cheney, M.F. 1991. I am somebody: The messages and method of organized camping for youth development. Martinsville, Ind.

Research Into Action is published monthly by the Society of Park and Recreation Educators, National Recreation and Park Association. As an accompaniment to "Research Update," its goal is to turn research findings into field action by highlighting management strategies. Founding editors are Dr. Ruth Russell and Dr. Daniel D. McLean, Department of Recreation and Park Administration, Indiana University.

Marta K. Moorman, Ed.D. is an assistant professor of recreation at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Research Update is edited by Dr. Irma O'Dell of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.