Exploration and Validation of the Camp Orientation and Experiences Scale

University of Mississippi eGrove Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2012 Exploration and Validation of the Camp Orientation and Experiences Scale Mckenzie Lynn Martin Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd Part of the Recreation Business Commons Recommended Citation Martin, Mckenzie Lynn, "Exploration and Validation of the Camp Orientation and Experiences Scale" (2012) Electronic Theses and Dissertations 189 https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/189 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at eGrove It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of eGrove For more information, please contact egrove@olemiss.edu EXPLORATION AND VALIDATION OF THE CAMP ORIENTATION AND EXPERIENCES SCALE THESIS A Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Park and Recreation Management in the Department of Health, Exercise Science, and Recreation Management The University of Mississippi by MCKENZIE LYNN MARTIN May 2012 Copyright McKenzie L Martin 2012 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT American summer camps have provided significant life experiences for camp counselors and staff for over 150 years The purpose of this study was to identify and validate scale measures of philosophy, mission, and vision (PVM) with special regard to any differences in camp affiliation and camp counselor alumni (CCA) PVM manifestation Preliminary assessment of 83 camp PVM revealed five general constructs in the scale and included: relationships formed, community involvement, environmental ethics, participation in healthful recreation, and religiosity For the purpose of this study, camp affiliation was chosen as the main effect This study used purposive sampling to recruit the participants; which consisted of counselors who had worked at a camp for at least summers and had been out of the counselor position for at least one year (n = 213) A survey link to an online survey identified three camp types; Independent, Religious, and multi-camp affiliated The exploratory Camp Orientation and Experiences Scale (COES) instrument developed for this study showed good internal consistency (.95) and the PVM constructs were all highly correlated Based on analyses, the COES developed for this effort appears to be a valid and reliable measure of PVM and predictor of the impact of camp experience on CCA lives The results suggest that PVM differed among camp type Specifically, the constructs focusing on the relationships formed at camp and environmental ethics were identified based on camp type and are the most meaningful measures of PVM within CCA current lives In examining if males and females differed in the values they placed on the specific constructs of camp PVM in their daily lives, statistically significant differences were found in women and men on four of the five constructs, with women placing greater importance ii on relationships, community, environmental ethics, and religiosity Camp administration may use this instrument to gain a better understanding of how CCA manifest the three camp-type PVM in their professional and personal relationships and that camp type instill strong environmental ethics, especially in women Initial results indicate that the COES may be used as a tool to determine the level camp PVM affects lives of camp counselors long after their camp experiences and careers have ended Future testing of the scale using a greater N and using control group comparisons is warranted iii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to everyone who helped me and guided me through my own time of stress and anxiety In particular, I thank my advisor, Dr Kim Beason, who spent countless hours helping me make this research a worthy study iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS ACA American Camp Association CCA Camp Counselor Alumni COES Camp Orientation and Experience Scale LRI Leisure and Recreation Involvement PVM Philosophy, Vision, and Mission PCA Principles Components Analysis v LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE Camp background Categorized by Classification 26 Mean Scores of the PVM Indicators 27 Camp PVM Relationships Formed Scores 29 Camp PVM Community Involvement Scores 31 Camp PVM Environmental Ethics Scores 33 Camp PVM Recreational Pursuits Scores 35 Camp PVM Religiosity Scores 37 Overall Camp PVM Scores 38 Average Male and Female PVM Scores 39 10 Results of Independent Samples t-test 40 11 Correlation Martix Exploring Significant Relationships Between Years Worked as a Camp Counselor and PVM Measures 41 12 Correlation Martix Exploring Significant Relationships Between Years Out of the Camp Counselor Position and PVM Measures 41 13 Overall CCA Demographics 66 14 Demographics Categorized by Camp Classification 68 15 Overall CCA Number of Years as a Camper Prior to Becoming a Camp Counselor 72 16 Overall CCA Number of Years Worked as a Camp Counselor 74 17 Overall CCA Attendance to Camp Reunions 76 18 Overall CCA Current Job Classification 78 19 Overall CCA Race/Ethnicity 80 vi 20 Overall CCA States Represented 82 21 Overall CCA Education 85 22 Factor Analysis (PCA) Total Variance Explained 87 23 Factor Analysis (PCA) Rotated Coments Martix 91 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii DEDICATION iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS v CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Significance of the Study Definition of Terms Research Hypothesis Limitations Delimitations Assumptions CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Philosophy 10 Importance of Counselors 14 Important Studies 14 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY 18 Participants 19 Instrumentation 20 Procedures 23 Analysis of Data 23 CHAPTER IV RESULTS 25 Profile of the Participants 25 viii .. .EXPLORATION AND VALIDATION OF THE CAMP ORIENTATION AND EXPERIENCES SCALE THESIS A Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Park and Recreation... indicate that the COES may be used as a tool to determine the level camp PVM affects lives of camp counselors long after their camp experiences and careers have ended Future testing of the scale using... with camp pioneers who saw the need to keep children engaged and learning throughout the summer months Because of the vision and efforts of early camp pioneers, by the 1900’s there were agency camps