The last quarter of the nineteenth century witnessed a new but rapidly spreading perspective on the link between education and nature: middle-class philanthropists joining together to provide summer vacations in the countryside for poor, sickly, urban children. Drawing on numerous examples of such work in Europe and the United States, this essay…

Make a Difference (MAD) is a sustainability leadership program for high school students in Auckland, New Zealand. It offers a residential camp and follow-up activities. This article documents a participatory, utilization-focused evaluation of MAD, based on a Theory of Change approach. We ran workshops with MAD coordinators and students and…

Seeds of Peace is a nongovernmental organization that annually brings together children from the Middle East and various other regions of conflict for a summer camp experience in the woods of Maine, USA. It also operates coexistence centers throughout the world. Founded in 1993, the organization has gained worldwide acclaim for its peace education…

A number of studies have tested the effectiveness of boot camp prisons in reducing recidivism and results indicate that they have not been as successful as originally anticipated. While no two programs are comparable in terms of programming and treatment, most programs utilize a hypermasculine paramilitary prison structure to deter, punish, and…

The District of Columbia Public Schools Nature Computer Camp (NCC) is an environmental/computer program which has been operating in the Catoctin Mountain Park (Maryland) since 1983. The camp operates for five one-week sessions serving a total of 406 regular sixth-grade students representing 84 elementary schools with an average of 81 students per…

The District of Columbia's Nature Computer Camp program, described and evaluated in this paper, was designed to reduce the geographical isolation of economically disadvantaged urban sixth graders, and to provide them with increased knowledge of the environmental and computer sciences. The paper begins by giving details of the program's management,…

A study conducted a nationwide evaluation of 15 residential camp programs designed for children, youth, and young adults with mild to severe disabilities. The study involved 2,184 campers (ages 7-19) with disabilities and was undertaken to further validate evaluation instrumentation, evaluate residential camp programs for children with…

A three-year study examining the effects of 15 resident camp programs on over 2,000 disabled campers ages 7-21 indicates that campers made notable achievements in both affective and recreational skills, that positive gains in personal development carried over to the home and community settings, and that increased independence was the predominant…

Determined the effects of a highly structured and intensive 10-day camp program incorporating behavior modification techniques on 111 boys and 16 girls, ages 6-12, with severe behavior problems. Results of pre- and posttesting indicate that brief, intensive, and specialized camping programs can significantly increase these children's self-esteem.…

High-risk children aged 8 through 12 completed the Reynolds Child Depression Scale prior to and following participation in a therapeutic camp program. When compared to nonparticipants with similar learning disabilities or emotional disorders, the camp group demonstrated a significant decrease in level of depression following their camping…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of science and technology summer camps on the confidence, values, and future intentions of female and male campers. The week-long camps were administered by Actua, a national organization with a mandate to increase awareness of science and technology among Canadian youth. Campers completed a…

A study examined the impact of specialized, residential camp programs on children and youth with disabilities. Case studies were used to describe the real-life context of program effects and to explore various effects in situations where there may be no clear, single set of outcomes for all participants. Fifteen specialized residential summer camp…

The 4 Eckerd Wilderness camps are designed to rehabilitate the delinquent, emotionally problemed child between 8 and 14 years of age. Through a contract between the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services and the Eckerd Foundation, the camps provide specialized services to 105 youths per year with budgeting for an average length…

Although much of the evaluation research conducted to date on correctional boot camps has produced less-than-favorable results, unimpressive outcomes do not appear to have had a significant impact on their steadfast endurance. To some extent, this may be a reflection of the basic reality that correctional practices have not traditionally been…

This research addresses the question: Does the military atmosphere of a treatment-oriented boot camp lead to greater reductions in antisocial attitudes and cognitions than a standard correctional facility that is also treatment-oriented? A self-report measure of antisocial attitudes and cognitions was collected from 118 inmates randomly assigned…