The End Is Near! Grab Social Emotional Learning Data While You Can

Social emotional learning. It’s the good stuff we know kids get out of camp: responsibility, interest in exploration, teamwork skills, independence. We also know that 93 percent of camps today intentionally target skills related to social-emotional learning in their staff training and program planning.

Mid-Summer Evaluation Shake-Up: Put the Campers in Charge!

Hello Camp Evaluators! I’m so excited you took a minute of your busy, busy summer to read the Research 360 blog.  I used to be a day camp director, so I know first-hand what is at the tops of the summertime to-do list:  Get. Through. The. Day.  With every camper and staff member safe. And happy! And, on a really good day, their parents are happy, too.   

Profile of the 2017 Recipients of the Eleanor P. Eells Award for Excellence in Research in Practice

In 2015, ACA, with the help of the Committee for the Advancement of Research and Evaluation (CARE), created the Eleanor P. Eells Award for Excellence in Research in Practice. This award is designed to honor camp programs that:

Parents: An Evaluation Holy Grail

Greetings Camp Evaluators, and a thousand thanks for taking a minute to read about evaluation during this busy, busy precamp season. I have a topic for you that is likely very real for you right now, and will remain real throughout the summer. The topic: parents, care-givers, and other adults who are responsible for the children you serve. You know, the ones that call, email, text, show up…anything they can do to talk to you about their children. Except when it comes to surveys — then it is radio silence.

New Camp Industry Research Series, Part 3: Programming with a Purpose

This blog is part of a series that gives a snapshot of the results of the Sites, Facilities, and Programs survey completed by 2,426 ACA-accredited camps. Check out Part 1 and Part 2.

New Camp Industry Research Series, Part 2: What Do We Know about Camps and Environmental Stewardship?

This blog is part of a series that gives a snapshot about the results of ACA’s Sites, Facilities, and Programs survey. About 2,426 ACA-accredited camps responded to the survey, and this post features what camps are doing toward environmental stewardship.   

If you haven't yet, check out the first part of this research series here: New Camp Industry Research Series, Part 1: Promoting Diversity & Inclusion at Camp

New Camp Industry Research Series, Part 1: Promoting Diversity & Inclusion at Camp

Each year, the American Camp Association conducts rigorous industry research to help better understand the camp industry and to support camps in their work. The Site, Facilities, and Programs Survey is one of three surveys administered on a rotating basis every three years (the others are the Business Operations Survey and the Staff Compensation and Benefits Survey). 

Camp Research: Your Link between the Work You Love and the Real World

Yes, I said it. “Research” — that nasty stuff your teachers make you do in school, typically involving math, Excel, APA citations, etc. When I was in school, writing research papers always felt so stiff, so stifling. As a college professor, I see my students break out in hives at the sheer thought of research, and then I feel their angst when I read what they come up with. I get it, research has a bad rap, but like it or not, it is one of the most valued skills in the job market.

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