Suchergebnisse

Caring communities support the healthy growth of young people by fostering caring youth-staff relationships as well as a sense of connectedness to the people and norms within that setting. Out-of-school-time (OST) programs may be uniquely situated to serve as caring communities, particularly if staff are trained to facilitate caring activities and employ an ethic of care when interacting with youth. These processes can also be described as program design and staff implementation. Program design, which refers to the structured aspects of a program, differs from implementation, or the ways staff interacts with youth throughout the program, because design factors are typically robust to differences in individual staff members' style. Implementation, on the other hand, varies with respect to the individual staff member. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a two-part staff training intervention focusing on program design and staff implementation on youths' sense of caring community. Findings from this study and their implications for managers of OST programs are discussed.

This special issue brings attention to a broad range of current research that explored the varied contributions of the camp experience to positive youth development. The camp experience described in these articles included many types of programs (e.g., nature-based, sports, arts), duration (e.g., day/overnight, multi-day/multi-week), settings (e.g., wilderness, public and private natural areas), and audiences (e.g., urban/rural, children with medical needs, low income). The articles addressed topics such as 21st century skill development through camp, developmental outcomes related to career/college readiness and life success for campers and staff, developmental values of camp for specialized audiences such as medically-oriented campers, leadership development in young staff, relationship of quality programming to youth development, and relationships between nature-based experiences and youth development. All of the articles offer practical implications and applications for practice as well as contribute to theory and the body of knowledge. As with all good research, this special issue leaves the reader with new information but also identifies relevant questions for future research and evaluation.

AbstractGrowth in the volume and rigor of camp research over the past decade has led to improved understanding of the value of the camp experience as a setting for positive youth development and the developmental outcomes of camp experiences for youth and adults, suggesting innovations and opportunities in the exploration of the camp experience.