Bibliographies of Camp-related Research

Bibliographies of Camp-related Research

The educational effectiveness of the traveling school camp.
Shaw, M.J.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, 1959.

Purpose:
Determine the effects of a school traveling camp on the personal, social, and total adjustment of high school students and their attitudes toward other races and nationalities.

Sample:
30 matched pairs of high school students, ages 16-18.

Method/Instruments:
Camp Program: 6,000 mile summer travel camp trip visiting various historical sites from Utah to the Eastern United States. The school group camped at various campsites along the route.

Instruments:

• Observational Records
• Student Journals
• Tape Recordings of Group Meetings
• Motion Pictures
• Sociometric tests of group relations
• Remmer's Attitude Scale (H.H. Grice) - measured attitudes toward races and nationalities.
• California Test of Personality
• Cooperative American History Test
• Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values

Design: pre-test/post-test with control group.

Results:

• Within-Trip-Group Results:
  • Substantial improvement in social adjustment and personal adjustment.
  • Substantial improvement in attitude toward school work and study and in American History Test scores.
  • Losses in the area of social standards.
  • Girls in the camp group changed from ranking highest in social standards at the beginning of the study to lowest at the end of the study.
  • Girls in the camp group showed decreases in feelings of personal worth and sense of belonging.
  • The greatest growth experienced by the camp group was in the areas of feelings of personal freedom and school relations.
  • Boys improved most in social skills and family relations.
  • Girls improved most in school relations and social skills.
  • The camp group displayed a greater tolerance toward the religious beliefs of others after the trip.
  • Every student but one experienced value changes in five of the six value categories as a result of the trip. The girls gained most in economic and political values and the boys gained most in aesthetic and religious values.
  • Social adjustment was the area of greatest improvement.
• Between-Group Results:
  • Camp group experienced significantly greater improvement in social adjustment.
  • No significant differences in family relations and school relations components of social adjustment.
  • No significant differences in personal adjustment.
  • Camp group experienced significantly greater improvement in total adjustment.