Seasonal Summer Camp Staff Experiences: A Scoping Review

Every year, nearly one million staff work seasonally at summer camps. Although little research has investigated staff experiences compared to campers’ experiences, literature does exist. Understanding the breadth and depth of this literature is an important way to guide future investigations and employment practices regarding seasonal summer camp staff experiences. The purpose of our scoping review was to synthesize the literature about seasonal summer camp staff experiences. Using two scoping review manuals as guides, we systematically retrieved and reviewed the corpus of literature produced from 1900 to 2020 regarding seasonal summer camp staff experiences. We reviewed 116 documents, including peer-reviewed journal articles, theses and dissertations, and refereed conference abstracts. We extracted and analyzed documents’ topics, methods, sample and setting characteristics, major findings, and future research suggestions. We present our analysis of literature in two sections: staff outcomes and administrator/staff concerns. Findings from our review may inform future research and practice.

Assessing the Impact of Summer Camp Employment on the Development of Workplace Skills

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively assess the impact of working at a camp on summer camp staff while simultaneously seeking to understand what facilitates and inhibits growth in that context. This study examined differences in levels of leadership, teamwork and resilience before and after working at a summer camp as a staff member. It also assessed staff perceptions of staff culture, support, and care. Results indicated that summer camp staff members can and do grow in the areas measured over the course of a summer at camp and that some elements of the staff experience related to staff support, staff care, and staff culture may be important factors in contributing to that growth. This study enhances our understanding of the impact of working at a camp on staff by providing a pre-post assessment while beginning the conversation about best practices to facilitate growth.

Motivations and Barriers for Seasonal Camp Employment

Each year, many summer camps deal with the challenges related to retaining quality seasonal staff. Retaining seasonal staff from year to year requires knowing what motivates staff to return and understanding the factors that drive voluntary turnover. While research on employee retention and turnover is abundant in management literature, few studies have focused on seasonal summer camp staff. This study used a mixed-methods design and involved a national sample of 997 returning camp staff from a variety of camp types. Respondents completed an online survey that included a 40-item questionnaire measuring staff motivations to return to camp and a series of open-ended questions on drivers of retention and turnover. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis revealed 7 latent constructs that drive motivation. Within the whole sample, Job Impact had the highest subscale mean score followed by Camp Embeddedness, Value Alignment, Staff Development, Management, Job Fit, and Compensation. Analysis of open-ended responses confirmed that Job Impact and Camp Embeddedness were the primary motivations for seasonal camp staff to return and that Compensation, Poor Job Fit, and Other Opportunities were likely drivers of turnover. This study helps paint a picture of the key factors that bring back seasonal staff and the factors, both controllable and uncontrollable, that lead camp staff to pursue other opportunities. Findings may be especially useful to professionals in the camping industry interested in seeking out potential camp staff and retaining staff year over year.

Burnout Among Summer Camp Staff Supporting People with Intellectual Disability and Aggression

Studies have shown that there is an association between exposure to people with intellectual disability who are aggressive and burnout in the staff who support them. Little is known, however, about the experience of summer camp staff who work with this population. This study examined the relationship between aggression and burnout in 169 staff members working at summer camps in Ontario, Canada. The questionnaire used included demographic information, exposure to aggression (frequency and severity), and the Maslach Burnout Inventory—Human Services Survey. Results showed that summer camp staff was exposed to frequent and relatively severe aggression. Severe exposure was associated with higher levels of emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment. Given that summer camp staff is likely to be exposed to at least some aggression in their summer job, and that this aggression is associated with burnout, greater attention should be paid to training and supporting staff for when aggression occurs.