Youth Camp Research Articles

Museum Educators Perspective of Failure: A Collective Frame Analysis

ABSTRACTMuseums offer a unique role and safe space in shaping how youth view and react to experiences with failure. The purpose of this study was to add to the conversation around failure in out‐of‐school learning, particularly from the perspective of educators within museum settings that implement STEAM‐related making exhibits, workshops, and/or camps for youth. We analyzed approximately 9 h of video data from two sources: video recordings of virtual group meetings with 14 museum educators from six partnering institutions, and video recordings from five of the individual partnering sites discussing failure as a concept within their organization and programming. In this article, we demonstrate how the framings of failure by museum educators are bounded, and transformed, by un/seen external forces that ultimately impact the professional practices of educators in their organizations. We contend that the significance of this study lies in how perspectives around failure are produced and how they influence educators' professional practice, specifically in how failure is framed and communicated within STEAM‐related learning opportunities in museum settings.

Mini Med School: Knowledge and Resources for Underrepresented in Medicine Youth.

Physician demographics in North America do not yet reflect the diversity of the communities they serve, accounted to systemic barriers targeting underrepresented in medicine (URiM) groups. URiM medical graduates are more likely to pursue generalist specialties, including family medicine. Mini Med Schools (MMSs) are pathway programs intended to motivate URiM youth to pursue medicine. A gap in literature exists regarding the potential of MMSs to provide youth with useful information. We examined the extent to which youth reported a change in knowledge about medicine as a career before and after attending an MMS. Asclepius Medical Camp for Youth is a weeklong MMS for high school students, held at one Canadian university. In 2022, 50 youth participants were invited to complete surveys and quizzes measuring their knowledge about pursuing a career in medicine. The mean self-reported knowledge differed significantly precamp (n=34, M=5.87/10, SD=1.9) versus postcamp (n=26, M=8.28/10, SD=1.4; t[35]=7.07, P<.05). Likewise, participants' scores demonstrated a significant difference in mean scores precamp (n=43, M=7.12, SD=2.39) versus postcamp (n=39, M=9.31, SD=1.13; t[42]=5.08, P<.05). These findings highlight MMSs as a promising strategy to provide knowledge about medical careers beyond instilling motivation. By both inspiring and informing URiM youth, the long-term outcome of diversifying medicine may be achieved.

Reconciled futures: An art camp for Indigenous youth

The Museum of Vancouver (MOV) identifies reconciliation as one of the four pillars that guide its work. Reconciliation has become a matter of national significance in Canada since the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Report in 2008, which highlights the harmful legacies of residential schools on the daily lives of Indigenous Canadians. It also demonstrated that social inequalities continue to persist across the nation because of this, and other assimilationist policies previously adopted under Canada’s Indian Act. Recommendations of the report were aimed at improving Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations and removing barriers, both intentional and unconscious, that prevent Indigenous Canadians from accessing the same opportunities and services as other Canadians. It can take many years to implement institutional change, but public programming offers an opportunity to demonstrate intentions for change with more immediacy. This paper provides an overview of an art program created for Indigenous youth in the Greater Vancouver area by Indigenous professionals working in a museum setting. The initiative was funded through a creative partnership between the MOV and the City of Vancouver’s Green Infrastructure team and resulted in the creation of public art that was installed in a Green Infrastructure demonstration project within the city.

Experiences and perspectives of individuals involved in Camp Abilities: A scoping review

Camp Abilities (CA) is an educational camp for children and youth with visual impairment (VI). Since its inauguration in 1996, CA has expanded nationally and internationally with three central objectives: (1) to offer a specific summer camp for youth with VI, exposing them to different sports through adapted teaching and modified equipment; (2) to enable young teachers to gain experience in teaching adapted physical activity; and (3) to conduct research on a geographically dispersed population. A first systematic review was carried out to summarize 24 quantitative studies conducted on CA. This second review aimed to identify and summarize qualitative studies conducted at CA ( n = 16 articles). Using thematic analysis, a qualitative synthesis was conducted to identify themes and main findings. Narrative conclusions were extracted from the studies to present the perspectives and lived experiences through the voice of the participants involved, namely, the athletes with visual impairment (AVI), the stakeholders (directors, coaches), and the parents of the athletes with VI. Findings indicated that AVI have reported meaningful experiences enabling them to connect with peers with VI, have experimented with a wide range of sports, outdoor activities, and self-determination opportunities through adapted teaching. The directors reported that CA had enabled them to develop a community service combining teaching and research on adapted physical activity and VI. Finally, parents reported that CA had helped their child overcome barriers to physical activity.

Resilience of Participatory Communication Adolescent Community Communities in the Prevention of Child Marriage in Sukabumi

This research has an urgency that participatory communication resilience can be formed in communities with young ages, namely adolescents who are members of adolescent communities. This research focuses on how resilience is formed in adolescent communities to prevent child marriage in Sukabumi Regency to improve the ability of adolescents and advocate for vulnerable peers trapped in child marriage. This research uses qualitative research methods with a case study approach to explore the experiences of adolescent members of 5 regional children's forums in Sukabumi as research subjects who actively participate in the prevention of child marriage through the Yes I Do program. The results showed that participatory communication of child communities in preventing child marriage in formal and informal peers showed the collaboration of child communities with diverse cross-communities (heteroglacia). In addition to heteroglacia, Wabinar Activities are open dialogue and sharing experiences and knowledge with peers (dialogue) Movie watching and business class activities are a process to unite some of the differences that exist into an understanding about the impact of child marriage (polypony). Youth Camp and Watch Together activities filled by the children's community are a form of fun participatory communication (carnival). The children's community builds meaning, persistence, self-confidence, patience, independence or what is referred to as peer resilience with peer education activities. Resilience in adolescents who are vulnerable to being trapped in child marriage is an important period and affects the basis of adulthood, individual changes and life development.

The Impact of Leadership Orientations on Decision-Making Styles: A Research on Youth Camp Organizations

Youth organizations are very important for the development of young people. It is thought that the leadership orientations of youth leaders and the decision-making mechanisms which they use are important in terms of being role models for young people who will play an important role in the construction of the future. This study aims to investigate the relationship between leadership orientations and decision-making styles of individuals working as leaders in youth camps affiliated to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, a non-profit public organization. A total of 197 youth camp leaders, consisting of 45 females and 152 males, voluntarily participated in the research. The Multifactor Leadership Orientations Scale and the Decision-Making Styles Scale were used to collect research data. According to the correlation analysis results, a positive and moderate level of relationship was found between rational decision-making and structural leadership (r=.553), human resource leadership (r=.531), political leadership (r=.429), and charismatic leadership (r=.475) dimensions. There was a weak level of relationship between intuitive decision-making style and structural leadership (r=.165), human resource leadership (r=.232), there was a moderate level of relationship political leadership (r=.355), and charismatic leadership (r=.381) dimensions. A positive and weak level of relationship was found between dependent decision-making style and human resource leadership (r=.207) and political leadership (r=.187) dimensions. A negative and weak level of relationship was observed between avoidant decision-making style and structural leadership (r=-.171). According to the regression analysis results, structural leadership (β=.295), human resource leadership (β=.248) and charismatic leadership (β=.198) dimensions have a significant positive influence on the rational decision-making sub-dimension of the decision-making styles scale. Charismatic leadership (β=.315) dimension has a significant positive influence on the intuitive decision-making sub-dimension of the decision-making styles scale. Human resource leadership (β=.225) dimension has a significant positive influence on the dependent decision-making sub-dimension of the decision-making styles scale. In conclusion, leaders who exhibit structural, human-oriented, and charismatic leadership styles are likely to effectively employ a rational decision-making approach. Additionally, leaders with a charismatic leadership orientation may be proficient in utilizing an intuitive decision-making style, while those with a human-oriented leadership approach might excel in dependent decision-making. Future research could explore the expectations of young individuals from their leaders.

“It’s Comfortable at Camp”: Emotional Safety at a Summer Camp for Youth with Visual Impairments

Research has shown that summer camps provide unique opportunities for positive youth development, due in part to the emotionally safe environments they can provide (Garst et al., 2016; Henderson et al., 2005; Sibthorp et al., 2010). Emotionally safe environments consist of “a combination of inclusion, belonging, trust, care, and the absence of bullying and exclusion” (Wong et al., 2022). Summer camp programs can also be emotionally safe places for young people to develop self-determination skills, while school may not provide the same safety, particularly for students with visual impairments (Garst et al., 2011; Opie, 2018; Sibthorp et al., 2010). This research utilizes a theoretical framework of positive youth development to investigate emotional safety for children with visual impairments at summer camp. This research on emotional safety was part of a larger mixed- methods study on self-determination at an educational sports camp for youth with visual impairments. Athletes and coaches at an educational sports camp for youth with visual impairments in the mid-Atlantic United States completed qualitative questionnaires regarding self-determination at camp. Five randomly selected athletes also participated in semi-structured interviews. Both questionnaires and interviews highlighted instances of meaningful adult interaction, emotional support, and inclusion throughout the week of camp. Additionally, the data resulting from questionnaires and interviews revealed that comfort in asking questions and relationships between athletes contributed to an emotionally safe environment. Limitations included low sample size, compounding impact of multiple years of camp attendance, differences between this camp and other similar camps, and familiarity of the researcher. The present study supports the prior research on summer camp, finding that low child-to-staff ratios, emotional support, and inclusion contribute to emotionally safe environments (Garst et. al, 2011; Henderson et al., 2005). Additionally, at a summer camp for youth with visual impairments, relationships between athletes and comfort asking questions supported emotional safety.

Voiding camp: A successful and unique bladder rehabilitation program for children with urinary incontinence

Standard urotherapy is a well-established treatment for children with incontinence, although it is often challenging for both child and parents, and not always successful. As an alternative, several in- and outpatient bladder training programs have shown positive results on achieving continence. However, the disadvantage is the hospital environment, which can be more stressful for the child, and also quite expensive for society. The aim was to evaluate the outcome on achieving continence following a voiding camp, where standard urotherapy was applied during a one-week stay at a regular summer youth camp, outside the hospital. Retrospective analysis of 105 children with urinary incontinence, followed in an expert centre for urinary incontinence for at least one year. Data at 7 different time points, before, during and until 6 months after voiding camp were collected. Even though all children had regular follow-up in an expert centre for urinary incontinence for at least one year before participating voiding camp, only 15% of the children reached the recommended amount of daily fluid intake (1.5L/day). Once minimal daily fluid intake was re-established during the voiding camp, an immediate increase in the maximum voided volume (MVV), and a decrease in the number of wet days and wet nights per week was noted. This effect on a higher MVV remained even 3 months after voiding camp. Although sufficient daily fluid intake is a well-established part of standard urotherapy, up until now there was no data that proved the positive impact of sufficient daily fluid intake on bladder volume training and achieving continence in children. Voiding camp, as an unique bladder rehabilitation program for children with incontinence, is a successful alternative treatment option. Optimizing the daily fluid intake during voiding camp had a major positive impact on bladder volume training and achieving continence in children.

Tasting the Soil and Mobilizing the Future: Pedagogies of Hope in Timor-Leste’s Permaculture Youth Camps

This article localizes the traveling concept of permaculture in Timor-Leste as a pathway into studying the juventude permakultura (permaculture youth) movement, its pedagogies of hope, sensory learning, and emotional mobilization. Focusing on permaculture-based community gardening and water conservation projects in Timor-Leste in relation to projects implemented by the nation’s significant government-NGO nexus opens up anthropological inquiries into various social, political, and ecological phenomena. It contrasts divergent imaginaries of shaping young persons’ selves and futures and taps into issues of food security, environmental awareness, and alternative knowledge construction. Although ongoing research localizes the traveling concept of “permaculture” in Timor-Leste through tracing, exploring, and juxtaposing methodologies, this article focuses on the practice-oriented sensorial pedagogy of permaculture youth camps. It inquires how the eco-social youth movement contests the marginalization of vulnerable communities by acknowledging local knowledge and connecting it with translocal permaculture techniques. More precisely, the article focuses on the sensory and affective dimensions of learning in vulnerable communities and disaster-prone landscapes. It zeroes in on tasting the soil and mobilizing the future as pedagogies of hope and considers these powerful ways of securing (future) livelihood.

732 An Evidenced Based Approach to Capturing Growth and Change Through the Burn Camp Experience

Abstract Introduction The American Camping Association (ACA) explored “in what ways do children change because of camp experiences” (Thurber et al, 2007). Our burn camp approached this same question about the medical specialty camp experience assessing readiness and change in three key areas of growth: Independence / Leadership, Adventure / Exploration, and Social Skills. Methods The ACA supported the development of the Camper Growth Index (Henderson et al, 2006). For our medical specialty camp, a subset of items was selected for each area based on the strength of factor scores in the original study, relevance to our camp setting, and the growth being documented in counselor reports. Campers ages 8 – 18 and caregivers rated items addressing these areas on a 4 point likert scale from disagree to agree. Sample questions are “I am good at doing things on my own”, “I like to talk to kids I don’t know yet”, and “My child likes to try new activities”. Campers and caregivers received the questionnaires across a 3 year period. Results Pre-Camp ratings from campers and caregivers are consistent across the 3 years (Table 1). When campers were queried on the last day of camp, their adventure / exploration scores trended upwards, however that trend did not continue at 3 months, but independence / leadership trended upwards instead. Caregivers rated all three categories higher at the 3 month post camp assessment. Variation in the responses between individual items suggests discriminant validity and that certain items might be more sensitive to capturing the benefits of the burn camp experience. Conclusions Burn camps are a vital part of the burn rehab and aftercare experience for young burn survivors and their families. Documenting change through burn camp remains an important task. Change in these growth areas supports our targeted and intentional programming. The Camper Growth Index utilized by ACA allows us to assess the camper and caregiver experience of change, while linking the burn camp experience to the larger youth camp community of research. Applicability of Research to Practice We are evaluating the sensitivity of this abbreviated measure within a burn camp setting. Along with other measures of growth and change, we are hoping to document the magic of burn camp.

Narratives About Memorable Camp Experiences: Fostering Growth in Youth from Low-Income Backgrounds

Background Summer camp is an experiential learning setting that supports youth development. Due to high fees, youth from low-income backgrounds often have fewer opportunities to attend. Subsequently, there is little literature about these youth’s camp experiences. Purpose This research examined growth and the characteristics supporting growth in memorable camp experiences shared by youth more than one year after attending camps for youth from low-income backgrounds. Methodology We collected written narratives via an online survey distributed May 2022. A total of 352 youth ( Mage=16.06; SDage=0.88) provided narratives. About 56% of youth identified as female and about 23% of youth identified as a youth of color (36% identified as white; race/ethnicity data was not available for about 40% of youth). Considering the entire narrative as the unit of analysis, we inductively coded narratives for growth and characteristics supporting growth. Findings We identified growth in 33% of youth’s narratives (e.g., adopting new perspectives, discovering passions, value clarification, developing resilience). Growth occurred when youth had opportunities to try new activities, overcome challenges, or felt accepted and connected with peers or staff. Implications These findings provide useful information for practitioners and serve as a foundation for research about youth from low-income backgrounds’ camp experiences.

Creating Cohesive Communities: A Youth Camp Experiment in India

Creating Cohesive Communities: A Youth Camp Experiment in India

FINANCING OF THE INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE KOMSOMOL IN THE 1960S-1970S

In the 1960s the Komsomol began to give particular attention to its international activity, which was not only limited to participation, but also involved the organization of many different events for foreign youth and students - international friendship camps, forums, trips of foreign delegations. The creation of the Committee of Youth Organizations of the USSR (KMO USSR) and the Sputnik International Youth Tourism Bureau (BMMT) contributed to the intensification of the tourist exchange between Soviet and foreign youth. Both organizations were subordinate to the Central Committee of the Komsomol and received funding from the Komsomol budget. In 1962, additional funds started being allocated for international activities, as evidenced by a new item of expenditure that appeared in the budget of the Komsomol. Most of this money was spent by the Central Committee, with excessive expenditure on the reception of foreign delegations and gifts, which was repeatedly noted by audit checks. Twelve to thirty committees with international youth camps (out of 86 regional Komsomol committees) received money under the framework of this funding item. During the period under study, the Komsomol actively helped with the payment of organizational fees to the funds of the World Festivals of Youth and Students, and then began to provide direct material assistance to the youth organizations in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa, which regularly applied for it. It is important to note that the annual increase of spending on international activities occurred in the context of the termination of state funding for the Komsomol, which in 1959 became fully financially self-sufficient. Based on a wide range of archival documents introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, the article presents an analysis of the financial activities of the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, its sources of funding and directions for spending the funds allocated for international activities. The relevance of the study is determined by the lack of serious scholarly investigation of this problem and the need to study the financial support of international activities in order to give a comprehensive assessment of its impact and efficiency.

Manajemen Dakwah dan Moderasi Beragama di Kawasan Wisata Mandalika Lombok Tengah

This research basically seeks to explore the management of da'wah and religious moderation in the Mandalika Tourism Area of ??Central Lombok. Apart from that, this research also seeks to provide an overview of the activities of da'wah and religious moderation for local communities and tourists who come to visit to enjoy the beauty of various forms. tourism in Mandalika. The results of research using qualitative descriptive research methodology along with approaches and strategies show that; da'wah management and religious moderation in the Mandalika area of ??Central Lombok. Da'wah management is carried out through programs at the Nurul Bilad Mosque, which is the center for da'wah, including the hiziban program, spiritual recitation or prayer, social service, and greeting tourists who visit the Mandalika area, especially at the Nurul Bilad Mosque. The religious moderation that is carried out is socializing the community, being a mediator in resolving conflicts, undergoing an interfaith youth camp program, developing converts, and not placing restrictions on any tourists.

Every Camp Has a Story: Barrier Free Youth Camp with Teacher Narratives

This study was carried out to investigate the opinions of teachers who participated in the youth camp without disabilities organized for individuals with intellectual disabilities. The research was conducted in twelve teachers who participated in the barrier-free youth camp organized in Mersin province Silifke district and were selected through easily accessible situation sampling. Data were collected by means of personal information forms created by the researchers together with semi-structured interview questions, while the content analysis method was used for data analysis. Five main themes and ten sub-themes, dependent on the former, emerged from the findings. The expectations of the participating teachers before the camp started were determined to contribute to the socialization of the students, and their expectations regarding the camp environment were positive. Relating their experiences during the camp, the teachers stated that the activities prepared for the students were organized according to the latters’ characteristics, with enriched and well-developed content. Although the camp was suitable for students with intellectual disabilities in terms of accessibility, they reported that there was no canteen in the camp to meet their daily needs. They found the camp to be beneficial for students to integrate, socialize and act independently. After the camp had finished, the teachers expressed their satisfaction with the experience, concluding that it had been productive both for their professional development and for the students. However, they suggested increasing the duration and number of the camps and simplifying the arrival and departure procedures.

To Embrace Tension or Recoil Away from It: Navigating Complex Collaborations in Cultural Rhetorics Work

In this article, we share and reflect on our experience working together (as a Native youth and settler scholar) to develop a cultural camp for tribal youth. Through reflection and storytelling, we came to realize the complexities of attempting to support what Scott Lyons terms “rhetorical sovereignty” (particularly of youth) in real institutional contexts, of appealing to different audiences without compromising our vision, and of determining where the line really is between “I” and “we” in our writing and our visions for this work. In short, we have come to realize how complicated justice-driven work really is and how the process has actually changed us both along the way. We use our own stories of collaboration and the program we designed to explore both the possibilities and complexities of allyship and collaboration across difference in our cultural rhetorics practice.

Sustaining the Joy of Teaching Writing: Revitalizing Teachers at a Young Writers’ Camp

Three educators discuss how a summer writing camp for youth served as a nurturing space that helped them find joy in their practice after two difficult years of teaching during the pandemic.

Manufacturing Dreams and Investing in Future Generations: Women Athletes’ Inspirational Labor in the Marketing and Promotion of Their Sport

Women athletes are often asked to participate in unpaid or underpaid community appearances and youth camps to generate fan interest, promote their sport, and inspire the next generation of athletes. The expectation to invest in the future of one’s sport for the benefit of others is a gendered process—requiring athletes to employ different forms of labor in addition to their athletic labor. Drawing from the literature on future-oriented labor and immaterial labor, we show how the sport industry is structured to extract value from what we refer to as women’s “inspirational labor.” Interviews with 29 women athletes and 15 managers in professional softball and soccer in the United States are used to illustrate the ideological and economic structures of inspirational labor.

The Poetics of Borderlands: Reflections on Oral Folk Poetry from Assam’s Barak Valley during Bangladesh Liberation War

In 1971, the civil war in the Pakistani state and consequent genocide in present Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan) led to a great influx of refugees who were desperately crossing the porous borderlands of the eastern states of India. Despite the abject living conditions in the saturated refugee camps and the stringent regimentation of the youth camps and muktijoddhā (Liberation Warrior) training sectors in West Bengal, Tripura and Assam borderlands, the space inhabited by the refugees was charged with powerful national imaginaries laced with an eclectic blend of emotions – resistance, hope, nostalgia, desire, aspiration. Drawing on ethnographic and anthropological research, the essay aims to explore various folk forms of poetry which emerged out of these refugee camps and guerrilla army training sectors during the war, such as kabigān (a form of lyrical oral poetry where the poet spontaneously composes verses to be performed at a public gathering) or hāture kabitā (poems to be read aloud in the middle of a hāt or marketplace) written and performed by refugees from Assam’s Barak Valley in North-East India, and later collected by Bangladeshi historian Shahid Quader Chowdhury. Besides problematising aesthetic practices and their relationship to the idea of border-crossing, refugeehood and national identities, to what extent do these poems – loka kabitā or oral folk poetry, open up a discursive space where shared cultures, histories and memories play a momentous role in political mobilisation and in the creation of a radical alterity within the “national” culture and history? To what extent do these aesthetic registers succeed in combating the irrepresentability of violence, injustice and trauma? These are primarily the questions that this essay aims to ask and resolve.

Camp Abilities – an educational sports camp for children and youth with visual impairment: A systematic review

Camp Abilities (CA) is an educational summer camp for children and youth with visual impairment (VI), developed in 1996 by Dr Lauren Lieberman at The State University of New York at Brockport and implemented internationally. The uniqueness of the program is that it provides opportunities for sports exposure and motor development, teaching physical education (PE) and adapted physical education (APE) for undergraduate and graduate students and research. CA has contributed to numerous publications but, to date, no systematic review has been published. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of quantitative studies conducted in CA, to document the themes investigated, to analyze the characteristics of the studies and the effects of interventions delivered, and to synthesize the results. This process identified 24 articles that examined 11 research themes. It identified several key findings, research gaps to guide future research, as well as practical implications for practitioners.