by Lauren Colyn, Don DeGraaf, Ph.D., and Diana Certan
We can't really define it, but we know it when we see it. We lament
the loss of it to our friends and neighbors as we continually look for
new ways to build it. What is IT? It is a sense of community! Within
organized camps, professionals have long advocated the link between sending
a kid to camp and learning the skills necessary to be a part of, as well
as give back to, a community.
Parents have also identified the development of social skills (such
as making new friends, getting along with others, becoming more responsible,
and learning group-living skills) as one of the main reasons they send
their children to camp (Halliday 1991). One important means to facilitate
these benefits is the small group experience within a camp setting. Kraus
and Scanlin (1983) identify the small group living experience as one
of the most unique and powerful aspects of camp life.
Within such small
groups, children learn to work together to make group decisions and work
through problems and conflicts. Through this process, children learn
to live by the will of the majority, while at the same time respecting
the needs of others who represent the minority. The small group also
provides the necessary intimacy for individuals to achieve a sense of
belonging, explore a variety of group roles, cooperate and form relationships
with others, and have input into the group's activities. Through group
decisions, group members learn to accept responsibility for both personal
and group actions.
In today's world, camp directors must be able
to articulate the value of the small group experience in contemporary
terms. One such term receiving increasing attention today is social capital,
defined as "features of social life — networks, norms, and
trust — that enable participants to act together more effectively
to pursue shared objectives (Putnam 1995)." In recent years, scholars
in many fields have begun to document that social capital is as important
as economic capital for successful societies.
Despite the belief in the
many benefits of the small group experience in camps (e.g., building
social capital), little empirical research actually exists to document
an increase in campers actually getting involved in their communities
after they return from camp. This article explores the connection between
camps and social capital, provides an example using a case study of a
camp in Romania that is actively measuring the social benefits of their
programs, as well as offers practical applications for camps to maximize
their social impact during and beyond the camp experience.
Social Capital
and Camps: Think of the Possibilities
The definition of social capital
implies that relationships are fundamental to pursue shared objectives.
Just as campers need to work together in small groups in the camp setting,
societies must also look for ways to come together to work for the common
good. Therefore societies must look for ways to teach children the skills
needed to be actively engaged with their communities. This includes such
social elements as trust building, connections with others, diversity
of friendships, participation in politics, giving and volunteering, faith-based
engagement, and civic engagement across the community.
These connections
have become more important in a time when the loss of community has been
increasingly recognized. Putnam (2002) documents the decline of social
capital in America as reflected by decreasing membership in voluntary
organizations such as the Boy Scouts, the League of Women Voters, Parent-Teacher
Associations, and the American Red Cross. Putnam's work has generated
much debate on whether social capital is really declining or just changing
into new ways for people to connect. As this debate plays out, there
is consensus that social capital is an important concept that requires
continued study in all aspects of society, including organized camps.
Case Study: One Camp's Efforts to Develop Caring
Citizens Who Feel Empowered to Act
An example of a camp that is documenting its response
to the need to build social capital in campers is the Viata program in
Lupeni, Romania. This program is unique in its mission to develop caring
citizens who feel empowered to act. Romania offers an interesting backdrop
to this program. Though communism fell in Romania in 1989, it has left
a lingering mark on Romanian culture. Civic apathy, interpersonal suspicion,
and Machiavellian/ predatory ethics all make trust, and therefore sustainable
development, difficult. A World Values survey from 1999 found Romania
at the bottom of all European cultures in terms of interpersonal trust.
A 2004 poll revealed a staggering 50 percent of the Romanian population
believes that one becomes successful by stealing and breaking the law.
In responding to this environment, Viata is working to develop personal
and interpersonal skills among its youth through adventure education
and service learning. They are equipping Romanian youth with the skills,
(inter)personal trust, and confidence to address the issues of poverty,
child abandonment, environmental degradation, and corruption.
In an effort
to document the benefits of this program, the camp initiated a study
of 327 Romanian youth to see if there was a significant difference in
social capital between campers entering and exiting one of their one-week
programs. The survey measured social capital by asking questions on four
dimensions: interpersonal trust, team building, participant perception
of his or her own qualities and abilities, and empowerment.
Results indicated
there was a significant difference in social capital scores between pre-
and post-test scores for those who had participated in the one-week camp.
Upon further examination, this change in social capital could be a result
of the interpersonal trust dimension, which has been identified as one
of the most important components of social capital as it contributes
to the development of other values and abilities (e.g., empowerment and
teambuilding, cooperation). In this specific study, data indicated that
interpersonal trust increased in campers by 23 percent following the
experience. The other three dimensions (team building, self-perception
of his or her own qualities and abilities, and empowerment) also showed
some increase over the course of the experience.
A second finding of
the study indicates that youth who had participated in previous experiences
emphasizing cooperation among group members had a higher level of trust
entering this camp experience than youth who had never participated in
such activities — thus indicating that the more youth are exposed
to camp experiences, the greater the opportunity to develop interpersonal
trust with others.
These findings should be encouraging to camps everywhere
in that this study indicates that camps can impact social capital by
building the trust necessary to encourage civic society. In addition,
the Viata program works hard to create a process for campers to get involved
in their local communities after the camp experience. This process manifests
itself through partnerships with a network of both local and national
youthserving organizations, which sponsor service learning through a
unique service learning model called IMPACT (www.new-horizons. ro). IMPACT
programs are intentionally addressing social capital development through
service projects that are structured to engage and bridge out to others
in the community. At this point, early research is indicating that IMPACT
is fostering longterm civic engagement in participants.
Practical Applications
Trying to understand social capital and its impact on both civic engagement
and developing community is well within the mission of organized camps
within the United States. This includes providing children and adults
with lessons in community, character building, skill development, and
healthy living. As camps intentionally work to provide these growth elements,
they are also empowering youth to increase civic engagement and build
social capital.
In offering specific ways to build social capital through
the camp experience, we will use the framework put forth in a recent
study of the American Camp Association® and
Youth Development Strategies entitled Innovations:
Improving Youth Experience in Summer Programs. Within this study, the four supports and opportunities
to improve the camp experience are: supportive relationships, safety, youth
involvement, and skill building. Within these opportunities we will focus
on strategies to foster social capital and civic engagement in three of
the four opportunities (supportive relationships, youth involvement, and
skill building) as well as in general camp management.
Camp Management
Overall organization of the camp program includes broad policies and
procedures in administrating organized camps.
- Model engagement with staff,
giving them opportunities to have input and to develop skills in engaging
others in working on a common project or program. For example, during
training, develop strategies whereby staff can plan and impact the
upcoming summer program.
- Assist counselors to understand social capital and
how camps can contribute to building social capital through staff training.
(See the sidebar Group
Juggling for an example
of a staff training activity that introduces the concept of social
capital.)
Meaningful Opportunities for Involvement and Membership
Camp can:
- Create
opportunities for input and decision-making for participants. For example,
use camper and counselor feedback to improve programs demonstrating
that their involvement can make a difference.
- Create opportunities
for leadership and involvement. For example, give older campers roles
in the day-to-day running of camp (planning a program for younger campers),
so they learn management skills and begin to take ownership of their
experience and the experiences of others.
- Identify possible partners
to create after-camp opportunities for engagement. For example, the
Viata program has identified other youthserving organizations around
the country to participate in their program as a group and return as
a group to get involved in their communities through IMPACT Clubs (see
the sidebar Civic
Engagement Examples of IMPACT Clubs).
Developing Social
Skills
These skills include cooperation, decisionmaking, listening, encouraging,
taking turns, communicating, resolving conflicts, etc. Camps can foster
the development of a wide range of social skills in the following ways:
- Offer
choices in program time (to be completed by cabin groups) to help campers
develop skills for engaging others in working on a common project or
program.
- Encourage campers to set both individual and group
goals at the beginning of the experiences and set a time to review
those goals at the end of the experience.
Fostering Supportive Relationships
This
study showed the importance of trust in fostering supportive relationships.
Possible ways in which a camp can foster trust include:
- Design
gathering places where campers and staff can hang out in an informal
setting.
- Offer program opportunities where campers can develop
trust in each other by engaging in activities where they must rely
on others for their safety and success.
- Design programs to build
relationships. For example, even during free times, assign staff roles
to interact informally with campers.
The Power of Camp
For camps in the
United States, the lessons learned in Romania reinforce the belief in
the power of camps to promote social capital and develop the skills necessary
in young people to sustain democratic living. In the words of Mahatma
Gandhi, "You must be the change you want to see in the world." Camps
must work intentionally to create what they value. This article focused
on social capital as one important outcome of the camp experience. Trying
to understand social capital and its impact on both civic engagement
and developing community is well within the mission of organized camps
to provide children and adults with lessons in community, character building,
skill development, and healthy living. Through the building of community
and the development of skills and character, youth and adults gain the
skills necessary for change in their community.
References
Halliday, N. (1991). Learning through small group experiences. Camping
Magazine, 63 (8) 16-20.
Kottman, T.; Ashby, J.; DeGraaf, D. (in press).
More Adventure in Guidance: Integrating Fun Into Your guidance program.
Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
Kraus, R. & Scanlin,
M. (1983). Introduction to Camp Counseling. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Putnam, R. (1995, January). Bowling Alone: America's declining
social capital. Journal of Democracy.
Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling Alone:
The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Youth Development Strategies. (2006). Innovations: Improving youth experience
in summer programs. American Camp Association.
Originally published in the 2008 March/April
issue of Camping Magazine. |
