American summer camps employ over one million individuals every summer. However, little research has been conducted evaluating the experiences and outcomes for the camp staff. In particular, research efforts have done little to examine the subset of staff members working in formal leadership positions at summer camps. Often college-aged emerging…

Veteran staff members play a key role in a camp's success. They preserve camp culture, maintain traditions, and serve important roles in the peer-training environment that camps depend on. It is not surprising, then, that camp counselor retention is important to the business of camping. This study focused on five counselors from Jewish camps in…

Problem: Leaders today need a new set of knowledge and skills to be effective in collaborative environments. The focus of this study was to investigate how collaborative environments can contribute to leadership development. The purpose of this study was to describe how the collaborative environment of summer camp helped shape emerging adults as…

Describes one summer camp's leadership groups, special programs for promising 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls, that teach outdoor and leadership skills, provide challenge and adventure, and screen campers for future jobs on the camp services staff. (SV)

Describes the Iowa Girls' Leadership Camp, a program for girls aged 13 to 16. Reviews activities to enhance leadership potential through values clarification, cooperation and teamwork, trust and support among women, respect for others, responsibility, independence, and positive self-concept. (SV)

Describes study profiling camp-counselor supervisors, their training, and directors' definitions of good supervisor training. Shows head counselors' off-season occupations often education-related. Makes recommendations for staff selection to camp directors. Details 11 suggestions for training camp supervisors and encouraging good relationships…

Describes the sixth Annual (1988) National Indian Youth Leadership Camp, an 8-day cooperative leadership experience for 40 Indian seventh and eighth graders. Discusses staff, funding, program philosophy, outdoor activities, seminar content and values, and program evaluation. (SV)

To increase its counselor retention rate, a New York camp developed a course for counselors that focuses on leadership training and earns participants college credit. The class teaches situational leadership and focuses on the camper, not the activity. Course curriculum and objectives, course elements, and lessons learned about program improvement…

Although summer camps can provide opportunities for personal growth, self-worth, and education for living, camp programming changes are necessary because today's youth have had experiences which reduce the novelty of camping. Summer camps can be used to provide the missing rite of passage from youth to adulthood and to create real contexts and…

A month-long summer camp in Maine combines recreation, sports, and arts activities with daily conflict resolution sessions to help adolescents from regions of conflict (primarily the Middle East) learn the art of coexistence and peace. From its center in East Jerusalem, Seeds of Peace provides regular activities to reinforce the lessons that…

The Ohio-West Virginia YMCA operates a one-week residential camp program for high school students that focuses on leadership, civic development, and community service. Students commit to performing community service after they return home. The program culminates in a youth-in-government role-playing exercise at the state capitol, where students…

Describes outdoor leadership training program for disadvantaged children at Holiday Home Camp, Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Describes program objectives, progress levels, training courses, and activities. Describes grade-level training process. Program designed to help inner-city youth find sense of pride and self-esteem while improving life skills.…

A study was conducted to review the summer experiences of industrial arts students who participated in Tennessee's Summer Youth Development Program at Camp Clements State Park and the affective behavior changes that took place as a result of the students' summer experience. The study used an ethnographic research design to examine the culture of…

For camps to be successful, management should empower camp staff to be heroes (leaders). This is based on three rules: campers look for heroes; heroes build successful camps; and successful directors build heroes. Being a hero implies being the best one can be and always attempting to improve the example communicated to others. (LP)

This book is the primary text for the Certified Camp Director Program and the Basic Camp Directors Course sponsored by the American Camping Association (Indiana). It provides an orientation for new and prospective camp directors and a quick reference for experienced camp directors. The book covers the following topics: (1) an historical overview…