Construction of developmentally appropriate tools for assessing the environmental attitudes and awareness of young learners has proven to be challenging. Art-based assessments that encourage creativity and accommodate different modes of expression may be a particularly useful complement to conventional tools (e.g. surveys), but their efficacy and…

Study explored the perception of parents of campers with mental retardation regarding the benefits of summer camps. Parents rated the relative importance of 22 possible benefits and indicated 6 dimensions of benefits in an ideal program: social skill development, social competence, respite care, cognitive development, expressive development, and…

Compares effect of two different outdoor education programs (Van Matre's Sunship Earth and a traditional nature study program focusing on plants, animals, water, and soil) on attitudes and knowledge of 266 selected Washington County (Oregon) sixth graders attending a five-day residential outdoor school program. (NEC)

More than 50 years ago, the Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study provided services to a randomly selected half of matched pairs of young boys living in congested urban environments. This "model intervention program" is analyzed in this paper. Between 1935 and 1939, information on approximately 1800 boys was gathered. This information was…

Analyzes methods (subjective, objective, or both) used by administrators to evaluate resident outdoor education programs. The 144 surveys returned (41 percent response rate) and 171 evaluation instruments submitted were used to determine what and who are assessed and how the evaluation is conducted. Includes a model of the evaluation development…

A 1979 external evaluation of the Eckerd Wilderness Educational System (a series of 9 residential, therapeutic camps for disturbed youth in 3 eastern states) drew data from 3 sources: records of the first 1,385 youth entered into the camps from 1968 through November 1979, test results from the most recent 157 clients who completed both entry and…

To examine the impact of Camp Limberlost, a two-week residential camp for socially and economically disadvantaged children, various methods were used to obtain evaluation data in the form of parental feedback on the 1982 and 1983 camps. The four research objectives were (1) to identify changes in children resulting from the camp experience, (2) to…

The boot camp model became a correctional panacea for juvenile offenders during the early 1990s, promising the best of both worlds--less recidivism and lower operating costs. Although there have been numerous studies of boot camp programs since that time, most have relied on nonrandomized comparison groups. The California Youth Authority's (CYA's)…

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…

The Atlanta Public Schools operated a pilot project under the Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA) from July 1, 1973 through June 30, 1974. The pilot project was subdivided into two parts. Part One, the Camp Learning Center Project, proposed the establishment of interdisciplinary educational, interracial, and cultural experiences in a camp setting for…

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of the Eckerd Wilderness Camping Program with those of the Florida Training Schools (rehabilitation institutions) on delinquent youths. Effects of these different treatment modes were measured in terms of school adjustment and court contact of each group at 6, 12, and 18 months after release or…

In an effort to assess program effectiveness, demographic data derived from institutional records on 161 emotionally troubled youth having participated in the Eckerd Wilderness Program were analyzed in terms of interview data derived from a sample of 27 males and 22 females enrolled in the Eckerd camps March 1, 1968-December 31, 1971. The static…

In an effort to assess program effectiveness, demographic data derived from institutional records on 335 emotionally troubled youth who had participated in the Eckerd Wilderness Program were analyzed in terms of interview data derived from a random sample (32 males and 32 females) of youth enrolled in the Eckerd camps March 1, 1968- December 31,…