Questions raised in exploring spiritual growth and camp experiences

Abstract

Camp experiences seem to have the potential to provide a significant backdrop for spiritual growth in young people. The purposes of this paper are to measure changes in spirituality for 8-14 year olds who participated in organized camp experiences and to articulate issues to consider in examining spiritual growth. Data were collected from a U.S. sample of over 5,000 families representing 92 camps. The study design included pre, post, and follow-up questionnaires given to campers and their parents as well as questionnaires to camp directors regarding outcome goals of their camps. Mixed results were found from the campers' and parents' perspectives. Camps that indicated that spiritual growth was one of their two most important goals (i.e., intentional programming for spirituality) had the greatest change occurring for campers from pre to post camp with a regression at the time of follow-up back to the pre-camp levels. Further questions to be considered in conducting this type of research relate to measuring spiritual development and conducting camp programming that focuses on spirituality.

Nature-Based Recreation and Spirituality: A Complex Relationship

“…Sweatman and Heintzman (2004) used in-depth interviews to investigate the perceived impact of residential camp experience on the spirituality of 11 youth participating in month-long leadership programs at two Ontario YMCA camps. Henderson, Oakleaf, and Bialeschki (2009) examined spirituality as a youth development outcome in camp experiences at American Camping Association accredited camps. This study with a national sample of more than 5,000 families involved pre-, post-, and follow-up questionnaires completed by 8-14 year old campers and their parents.…”

Embedded spirituality: gardening in daily life and stressful life experiences

“…Leisure may have a calming and restorative function in daily life especially if leisure generates enjoyment (6, 7). Spiritual meaning in leisure frequently occurs through participation with nature‐based leisure such as camping and adventure travel (8–10), dragon boat racing (11, 12), sailing, and canoeing (4, 13) when individuals comment on feeling close to nature, more at peace, and connected with others.…”

The Fundamental Characteristics and Unique Outcomes of Christian Summer Camp Experiences

“…Henderson and Bialeschki (2008) noted that secular camp experiences often provide the potential for spiritual development "in an implicit and tangential way," and they argued that this dimension of growth is often overlooked. Existing research demonstrates that religiouslyaffiliated camps have stronger outcomes than secular camps on generic measurements of spirituality (Henderson, Oakleaf, & Bialeschki, 2009), but this research has not attended adequately to camps that give specific theological truth-claims center stage. As Ferguson (2007) argues, "The interconnection between religion and spirituality must be untangled" in order to more fully understand camp's role in nurturing spirituality.…”