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Head, heart, hands, and health developed at summer camp: research.

Article Excerpt
With 10 million youth attending summer camps annually, which accounts for close to 10 percent of the American youth population, it is important to know how these youths are developing as a result of the summer camp experience. Dickerson mentioned thirty-four years ago that the "consensus that camping is good for the individual appears to have contributed to the scarcity of research in this area (Dickerson 1973)." At a time when accountability seems to be paramount, it is no longer acceptable to just "know" or "feel" that camps do a world of good. The camp community needs a world of data that can move this conversation forward and to a level of accountability.

The body of knowledge regarding positive youth development that occurs as the result of a summer camp experience has been gaining momentum and growing since Dickerson's comment in 1973. The Missouri 4-H research highlighted below makes a significant contribution to this body of knowledge and provides valuable insights for both researchers and practitioners.

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Life Skill Development in Missouri's 4-H Youth Resident Summer Camps

Research Highlights

4-H campers ages ten to thirteen and their parents were surveyed to determine the effectiveness of Missouri 4-H Camps in developing...

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