Narratives About Memorable Camp Experiences: Fostering Growth in Youth from Low-Income Backgrounds

Summer camp can be an experiential learning setting that supports youth development (Browne et al., 2019). Yet, due to rising camp fees, youth from low-income backgrounds often have fewer opportunities to attend (Browne et al., 2019). As a result, there is little literature focused on the camp experiences of youth from low-income backgrounds compared to youth from more affluent backgrounds.

Research about camp-related outcomes for youth from low-income backgrounds is inconclusive. For example, using a pre-post design, Carpio de los Pinos et al. (2020) found that youth from families experiencing financial insecurity reported increases in the cognitive components of empathy (i.e., empathetic concern, perspective taking) after attending camp. In another study, Povilaitis et al. (2023) found that adult alumni of a multi-year camp for youth from low-income backgrounds believed camp was important to the development of their current intra- and interpersonal skills. Although these studies suggest camp's benefits, participants did not always experience growth in measured outcomes. For example, Carpio de los Pinos et al. (2020) did not find increases in all components of empathy (e.g., emotional empathy). Povilaitis et al. (2023) found that adult alumni linked learning about responsibility more with home than camp. Similarly, Smith et al. (2022) found mixed results regarding camp's contributions to social skills, teamwork, academic self-perception for youth from low-income backgrounds.

The research about how youth from low-income backgrounds (and all youth) experience growth through camp has limitations. For example, scholars have primarily used quantitative measures or interviews, relied on adult alumni of camps, or examined the camp experience more holistically. The limited scope of these approaches may fail to capture the important outcomes and characteristics of camp reported by youth as they make meaning of their experiences.

Given these limitations, scholars have used different methodological approaches. For example, Garst and Whittington (2020) asked youth (n = 21) immediately after camp to identify moments at camp that were important to them. The authors found that youth's defining moments were about achievement, challenge, emotional safety, friend-making, novelty, positivity, and traditions. In a similar study using a narrative approach, Lubeznik-Warner et al. (2023) asked youth in the fall after attending camp to share accounts of memorable camp experiences. The authors found evidence of positive peer relationships and opportunities to try new things in youth's accounts. Although these studies examined the specific moments at camp important to youth development, their small and homogenous samples limit their findings’ generalizability. Additionally, the limited time between when youth attended camp and when they shared accounts likely limited the authors’ ability to identify the outcomes and salient characteristics because people need time to meaningfully process their experiences (Habermas & Bluck, 2000).

To address the limitations of the reviewed camp research, we used narrative methods to examine memorable camp experiences shared by youth one year or more years after attending camps for youth from low-income backgrounds. Narrative methods stem from developmental and personality psychology and leverage the notion that people make meaning of their experiences through storytelling (McLean & Fournier, 2008). The ability to make sense of past experiences becomes more sophisticated during adolescence (Habermas & Bluck, 2000). Asking youth to share stories about memorable camp experiences allows growth and developmental characteristics to present unprompted, providing strong evidence of their importance. We aimed to answer two questions: (1) What evidence of growth is present in youth's stories about their most memorable camp experiences? (2) What evidence of developmental characteristics that support growth were present in youth's stories about their most memorable camp experiences?

Methods

We collected written narrative data from through an online survey distributed in May 2022 to youth prior to returning to a camp offered by a non-profit multisite camp organization that provides a free 10-day overnight camp experience for youth from low-income backgrounds. To elicit accounts of memorable camp experiences, we used the following prompt: “Think back to your most memorable moment at [camp name]. Tell us a story about that moment. When you do so, please include details about who was there, where you were, what you were doing, what you or others were thinking or feeling at that time, and what it means to you today.” A total of 352 youth (M_age = 16.06; SD_age = .88) provided written narrative data. About 56% of participants identified as female (n = 198). About 23% of participants identified as a youth of color, 36% of participants identified as white (n = 128), and race/ethnicity data was not available for about 40% (n = 141) of youth. We considered the entire narrative as the unit of analysis and inductively coded narratives for evidence of growth and characteristics of the experiences supporting growth. For this study, we defined growth as evidence of participants reporting learning or positive change in intra- (e.g., identity) or inter-personal (e.g., social awareness) domains (adapted from McLean & Fournier, 2008). After collaborative codebook creation, two coders rated the remaining narratives. A third coder rated a random sample of 50 narratives to establish acceptable inter-rater reliability for each code (k > 0.70; r > 0.60; Syed & Nelson, 2015).

Findings

We identified evidence of intra- and inter-personal growth in 33% of youth's stories (n = 116). For some youth, camp helped them, “have a new perspective on life” and for others the experience helped them discover new passions (e.g., “a new love for performing and have since joined many acting groups, been in many plays and musicals and am applying to university for acting. I found a passion at camp”). Other youth developed a deeper understanding of their values (e.g., “I realize now that even though I'm usually reserved, I'm willing to step in to protect the opportunity for others to learn and improve, which I consider a fundamental right”). Some youth shared stories about challenging events that taught them, “how to just go with the flow and be zen even when everything is in flames” and others learned to “work through [struggles] and keep going—it will all be worth it in the end.” Other youth found camp to be an accepting place that bolstered their self-worth (e.g., “I think that moment showed me that people do have the ability to care about me and that I am important”). Similarly, another youth shared,

I was struggling a lot with my mental health and was introverted and kept to myself because I was afraid that people would judge me. It was during this time when everyone else started to explore, I stayed by the tent and bench. I was afraid that my cabin mates would make me come with them but they left without me because I wasn't really close with any of them. That's when the counsellors tried talking to me and I don't really think I said much back. At that moment though, I felt accepted and comfortable because they were encouraging me to come out of my shell, without pushing me past my boundaries. I felt safe, even while being out in the wilderness after canoeing for a while. This was one of my favourite moments at [camp name] and I will never forget the feeling of acceptance and friendliness that I experienced through that small, miniscule interaction. It probably meant nothing to everyone else, but in that moment, I knew that [camp name] was one of the best things to happen to me.

Discussion

This study addresses calls to understand how youth from marginalized backgrounds experience camp (Browne et al., 2019) and contributes to the experiential education literature in three key areas. First, these findings suggest that characteristics of memorable camp experiences seem to support growth for youth from low-income backgrounds. Second, camp administrators and experiential educators can use these findings to create growth opportunities more intentionally for youth from low-income backgrounds that support their growth. Lastly, narrative methods can be an effective strategy for capturing the most self-relevant and salient aspects of experiential education programs. By eliciting stories from participants, youth had the freedom to identify experiences that were most important to them, something that is more difficult to do with traditional scale measures. The characteristics present in narratives were likely the most salient characteristics of those experiences from the participants’ viewpoints (Habermas & Bluck, 2000), compared to general evaluations of camp based on characteristics selected by researchers. This study has several limitations. For example, our prompts may have led youth to share experiences about fun or emotionally intense moments rather than growth. Researchers may consider using different prompts in future research (e.g., meaningful experiences). The characteristics of the sample may limit the generalizability of the results. The findings of this study provide useful information for practitioners and serve as a foundation for continued research examining camp experiences of youth from low-income backgrounds.