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The 2015 Camp Research Forum in February featured 12 oral presentations and 16 poster presentations that reflected the combined research efforts of over 40 university researchers and camp professionals (see Table 1). Each study presented during the Camp Research Forum undergoes a double-blind peer review process to ensure it addresses the forum’s dual purposes of presenting rigorous research and emphasizing the application of research findings to the work of camp professionals. During each year’s conference, the Camp Research Forum presents the latest developments in camp research through verbal presentations and a poster session. One such opportunity occurs annually at the American Camp Association National Conference. Lucky for us, there are a variety of opportunities for camp professionals and camp researchers to learn from and collaborate with one another. Practical Takeaways from the ACA 2015 Camp Research ForumĮven if you are a steadfast advocate for incorporating camp research into camp practice, staying on top of the latest research can, at first glance, appear a daunting task. In his closing address at the Symposium on Experiential Education Research, Dan Garvey (2006) suggested that one reason research and evaluation are important to an experiential field is that they “…help create new knowledge and they allow us to determine if the actions we take are likely to result in the outcomes we desire.” Whether you put others’ research to use at your camp or conduct research in your own camp context, research findings can help to inform the intentional choices you make each day as a camp professional. Secondly, camp research can help you enhance the camp experience for your campers and staff. Particularly as society increasingly asks for evidence of value, research and evaluation can provide a persuasive way to communicate your camp’s value to campers, parents, board members, alumni, staff, and funders (Ball & Ball, 2009). As Henderson and Scanlin (2004) discussed, information is power in today’s world. So how could research impact what you do as a camp professional? First, camp research can help you tell your camp’s story. Amidst this growing body of research, questions can still emerge about whether such research efforts can be of any use to camp professionals.
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Contemporary camp research efforts range from ACA-driven national research initiatives to individual academic and professional studies in particular camp contexts to, most recently, studies examining the impact and processes of camp in a global context (Fine, 2012). Nearly 15 years after those early conversations about establishing a research environment for ACA, camp research has grown exponentially. But now, as a camp researcher, I understand how evidence, research, and evaluation can provide a platform to collect, demonstrate, and magnify those stories in a powerful way. I have those iconic stories we all tell others of campers or counselors I saw change because of camp. As a former camper, camp counselor, and camp professional, I know that feeling deep down in your gut that summer camp is a special, transformative place for all involved. This contrasting desire for both anecdotes and evidence resonates with me. She said, “We wanted to find a way to create a culture that could not only say, ‘Camp Gives Kids a World of Good,’ but demonstrate science-based evidence of such” (Smith, 2010). In one of her 2010 commentaries in Camping Magazine, former American Camp Association CEO Peg Smith reflected on her conversations with award-winning researcher Marge Scanlin nearly a decade earlier about establishing a strong research tradition in the ACA).