Teen Staff Perceptions of Their Development in Camp: Insights for Theory and Practice

For 15 years, the California 4-H Camping Advisory Committee has studied the experience of campers and teen staff at 4-H camps across the state. The 4-H Youth Development Program has a strong commitment to youth empowerment and embraces a model of youth-adult partnership across all programs. As such,...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marianne Bird, Aarti Subramaniam
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Clemson University Press 2018-04-01
Series:Journal of Youth Development
Subjects:
Online Access:http://jyd.pitt.edu/ojs/jyd/article/view/568
_version_ 1797334776834686976
author Marianne Bird
Aarti Subramaniam
author_facet Marianne Bird
Aarti Subramaniam
author_sort Marianne Bird
collection DOAJ
description For 15 years, the California 4-H Camping Advisory Committee has studied the experience of campers and teen staff at 4-H camps across the state. The 4-H Youth Development Program has a strong commitment to youth empowerment and embraces a model of youth-adult partnership across all programs. As such, teenagers, with adult support, plan camp programs and serve as staff for younger youth at California 4‑H camps. Although program evaluations point to positive experiences for all youth, the high school students who plan and deliver these programs consistently report stronger relationships, greater engagement, and more robust outcomes than campers. In this paper, we review archived qualitative data from two previous California 4-H camp studies to examine, from the perspective of teen camp staff members, the components of the program that may lead to such positive experiences for young teenagers serving in leadership roles. Our findings align with prior research about the benefits of teen leadership at camp, and reinforce that research-based concepts, such as youth-adult partnership and opportunities for meaningful contribution, create an environment that fosters positive development in adolescents.
first_indexed 2024-03-08T08:27:05Z
format Article
id doaj.art-0a12c815b0b04f008a3de25fde2cd08f
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2325-4017
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-08T08:27:05Z
publishDate 2018-04-01
publisher Clemson University Press
record_format Article
series Journal of Youth Development
spelling doaj.art-0a12c815b0b04f008a3de25fde2cd08f2024-02-02T04:27:54ZengClemson University PressJournal of Youth Development2325-40172018-04-01131-2628210.5195/jyd.2018.568495Teen Staff Perceptions of Their Development in Camp: Insights for Theory and PracticeMarianne Bird0Aarti Subramaniam1University of California Cooperative ExtensionUniversity of California Cooperative ExtensionFor 15 years, the California 4-H Camping Advisory Committee has studied the experience of campers and teen staff at 4-H camps across the state. The 4-H Youth Development Program has a strong commitment to youth empowerment and embraces a model of youth-adult partnership across all programs. As such, teenagers, with adult support, plan camp programs and serve as staff for younger youth at California 4‑H camps. Although program evaluations point to positive experiences for all youth, the high school students who plan and deliver these programs consistently report stronger relationships, greater engagement, and more robust outcomes than campers. In this paper, we review archived qualitative data from two previous California 4-H camp studies to examine, from the perspective of teen camp staff members, the components of the program that may lead to such positive experiences for young teenagers serving in leadership roles. Our findings align with prior research about the benefits of teen leadership at camp, and reinforce that research-based concepts, such as youth-adult partnership and opportunities for meaningful contribution, create an environment that fosters positive development in adolescents.http://jyd.pitt.edu/ojs/jyd/article/view/568camp program impactteen staff developmentyouth-adult partnershipcamp outcomes
spellingShingle Marianne Bird
Aarti Subramaniam
Teen Staff Perceptions of Their Development in Camp: Insights for Theory and Practice
Journal of Youth Development
camp program impact
teen staff development
youth-adult partnership
camp outcomes
title Teen Staff Perceptions of Their Development in Camp: Insights for Theory and Practice
title_full Teen Staff Perceptions of Their Development in Camp: Insights for Theory and Practice
title_fullStr Teen Staff Perceptions of Their Development in Camp: Insights for Theory and Practice
title_full_unstemmed Teen Staff Perceptions of Their Development in Camp: Insights for Theory and Practice
title_short Teen Staff Perceptions of Their Development in Camp: Insights for Theory and Practice
title_sort teen staff perceptions of their development in camp insights for theory and practice
topic camp program impact
teen staff development
youth-adult partnership
camp outcomes
url http://jyd.pitt.edu/ojs/jyd/article/view/568
work_keys_str_mv AT mariannebird teenstaffperceptionsoftheirdevelopmentincampinsightsfortheoryandpractice
AT aartisubramaniam teenstaffperceptionsoftheirdevelopmentincampinsightsfortheoryandpractice