January 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 16
Research Update
Evaluating Day Camps Using the
ACA Youth Outcomes Battery
By Eddie Hill, Ph.D., CPRP, Jean Holt, Ed.D., Ron Ramsing, Ph.D., and Jennifer Goff, MSEd., CPRP
T
he goal of the American Camp Association (ACA) is to enrich the
lives of children and youth. With more than 11 million campers in
the United States, the potential benefits of camp can significantly
contribute to Positive Youth Development (PYD). The ACA has
been instrumental in addressing key aspects of PYD through the camp experience. Evidence is needed to demonstrate the value of camp experiences to
decisionmakers and utilizing aspects of the Youth Outcomes Battery (YOB)
can help camps position themselves as an important resource and experience
for PYD. This is especially important given the variety of issues facing youth
today, such as sedentary lifestyles, access to safe outdoor places for physical activity and outdoor recreation, and school mandates to address socio-emotional
learning outcomes among youth.
Camp program evaluations are essential to help with funding, inform
stakeholders and provide evidence
of what youth gain from camp.
Moreover, the context for youth de-
14 Parks & Recreation
velopment has changed dramatically
during the past 20 years. While the
roots of PYD originate from several fields like positive psychology,
developmental psychology and pre-
| J A N UA R Y 2 0 1 6 | W W W. N R PA . O R G
vention sciences, this strength-based
approach to adolescent program development has intuitively been used
by youth workers in the recreation
and leisure field for some time.
Evidence of PYD Outcomes of Camp
Experiences
The ACA has been integral in supporting PYD by identifying and documenting outcomes derived from
participation in organized camping,
such as residential and day camps.
In an influential study of camp outcomes, four domains were determined: positive identity, social skills,
positive values and spiritual growth,
and thinking and physical skills. The
ACA research provides evidence that
organized camping can contribute to
PYD and is a context for developmental change, which helps justify
programs and provides accountability to stakeholders.
Camp directors, staff, parents and
other stakeholders know the impact
camp can have on youth, but this evidence must be augmented to help
camps compete for funding and provide evidence for long-term sustainability. The authors of this piece undertook an extensive camp program
evaluation to document outcomes of
a university-based day camp using
the ACA-YOB. The ACA-YOB provides camps and other youth-serving programs with 12 questionnaires
that focus on seven to 11 common
youth outcomes, including friendship
and others. Each of the 12 question-
January 2016 - Parks & Recreation
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