Research notes: exploring what staff gains from work at camp

Camping Magazine, May-June, 2004 by Gwynn M. Powell

An understanding of the changes that take place throughout a summer camp experience can prove extremely beneficial in the recruitment of staff members. The ability to attract large numbers of qualified applicants is often a challenge for summer camp directors (American Camping Association 1995). A working knowledge of the benefits of a summer camp position can assist camp directors in conveying these benefits to potential staff members through employment marketing efforts and during the interview and selection process. In addition, knowledge regarding summer camp's ability to promote changes that will contribute to one's life success can be critical. This knowledge provides camp administrators with the ability to present a summer camp staff experience to potential staff members and influential others, such as parents, peers, and college advisors, as an investment in the future. (Jeff Jacobs, Cal Poly State University)

With the unemployment rate surging to 6.4 percent in June 2003, its highest level in over nine years, employers in the seasonal job market are attempting to highlight skills, competencies, and abilities that can contribute to future employability. Potential seasonal staff are often on a quest for lifetime employability, hoping to acquire new skills that will assist in ensuring a lifetime of employment (Meister 1998). Professionals in the camp field know that many young adults, who have worked at camp, have gained the skills and confidence that have made major impacts in their personal lives, careers, and the leadership roles they hold in their communities.

Attracting, training, and retaining staff at camp has become a challenge due to the number of choices for summer employment and alternative experiences for young adults. If we can more clearly articulate some of the benefits of the camp staff experience to prospective applicants, we would better be able to attract and retain young adults of the highest caliber to work with our campers. More work needs to be done to help substantiate the benefits associated with summer camp employment. The following studies were presented at the 2004 Camp Research Symposium held at the American Camping Association National Conference and provides practical applications for camp directors and staff to consider for the current season and beyond.

The Effects of Summer Camp Employment on Emotional Intelligence

Jeff Jacobs * Cal Poly State University jacobs@calpoly.edu

Background

While an undergraduate student, I treasured my summers working as a summer camp staff member. During my spring semester final exams, the light at the end of the tunnel was knowing that shortly after packing up my books and cleaning out my closet I would be on my way to summer camp. Yet each year, without exception, someone--a parent, advisor, friend, or peer--would say to me, "When are you going to get a real job?" Two decades later, potential staff members are still being asked the same question by people with influence. Staff that are considering returning to camp and new applicants that are pursuing a summer camp staff experience can find it difficult to defend the decision to spend a summer working with children in a summer camp setting. Why is it that many people do not consider summer camp employment a "real job"? What criteria are being used to make decisions regarding the worth of a summer experience? How does the summer camp staff experience influence a person's future success?

The purpose of this study was to identify how the summer camp experience impacts staff members and to better understand if emotional intelligence (EI) is developed through summer camp employment. Emotional intelligence refers to a "type of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one's thinking and actions (Mayer & Salovey 1993, p.433)."

Developing a better understanding of the interface between summer camp employment and emotional intelligence and of the potential long-term benefits associated with the organized camp staff experience could lead to a broader acknowledgment of the positive impact of organized camping on society. Uncovering and understanding these long-term benefits are vital for camp administrators (DeGraaf & Glover 2002).

The concept of noncognitive intelligence, which is measured by EI, brings new depth to the understanding of intelligence and increases our ability to assess general intelligence (BarOn 1997). While cognitive intelligence is more strategic, one's capacity to function, noncognitive intelligence, is more tactical and influences one's ability for immediate functioning. Noncognitive intelligence may help to predict success because it reflects how a person applies knowledge to the immediate situation. "In a way, to measure emotional, personal, and social intelligence is to measure one's ability to cope with daily situations and to get along in the world (BarOn 1997, p.3)."

EI encompasses many of the skills, attributes, and abilities that are often developed and enhanced through summer camp employment, such as: flexibility, problem solving, empathy, emotional self-awareness, stress tolerance, optimism, happiness, and interpersonal relationships. EI has credibility in the "real world," with Fortune 500 corporations and human resources professionals, as an accurate indicator of employment success and leadership ability. EI has been seen to have the ability to predict who is likely to succeed and who is likely to fail. Research on EI has helped to demonstrate which human abilities make up the greater part of the ingredients for excellence at work, most especially for leadership. EI is considered the new yardstick against which essential human talents will be measured and advancement decisions will be made (Goleman 1998).