Research Projects Presented to the Camping Community
Following is a preview of the numerous research results that will be presented during the ICC Quebec 2008:
“Policy and Programming Trends in Summer Camps”
Thanks to the financial support from the Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport du Québec (Quebec’s Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sports), the Association des camps du Québec (Quebec’s Camping Association) has given Chaire de tourisme Transat (Transat Tourism Chair), from the School of Administrative Science at the Université du Québec in Montreal, the task of conducting research regarding the “Policy and Programming Trends in Summer Camps”.
This study is designed to:
- Draw up a comparative profile of the trends in programming offers and developments in the field of summer camps in selected countries having representatives in the International Camping Fellowship;
- Offer summer camp administrators and their cluster organisations synthesized comparative information regarding the trends in their field of activity on an international scale;
- Promote a better comprehension from summer camp administrators and their cluster organisations of the issues and trends that should be considered when choosing the right orientation for their organisation.
The Canadian Summer Camp Research Project
The Canadian Camping Association/Association des Camps au Canada is currently funding a five-year research project led by Dr. Troy Glover, Director of the Healthy Communities Research Network at the University of Waterloo, to evaluate outcomes of the summer camp experience. The project is the first of its kind in Canada. Findings from the project are intended to assist the camping industry in communicating its benefits more effectively to new markets, such as newcomers to Canada.
Initial findings from the project will be reported at the International Camping Congress, and resources and recommendations for implementing similar studies in other countries will be offered to conference delegates interested in conducting their own research projects.
This research project is designed to:
- Understand the results intended by camp directors with the continuation of summer camp programming, as well as the results attributed to the actual camping experiences lived by campers and groups of veteran campers and employees;
- Demonstrate the value of the camping experience to those who have participated as campers for short, average and long periods of time;
- Identify a set of achieved results which can be found in different camp programming (i.e. international, provincial, with or without overnight accommodations);
- Evaluate the active experience of a variety of past and present campers, including non-traditional campers (campers arriving from an international destination or members of a cultural community).
This research project will take place over a period of five years, that is, from 2007 to 2012, including short-term results following each prescribed phase. The first results will be presented at ICC Quebec 2008.
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