For example, participants can learn to become more socially comfortable. They may also learn to be less inhibited and become more open to trying new things and taking some risks. In recreation programs, participants may also be exposed to different types of people, different ways of responding, and alternative ways of thinking. Due to the nature of the goals of recreation programs, outcome studies are generally not done. Improving social behavior was a stated goal of this early camp, and extensive records of participant progress were kept in an attempt to document personal growth.
Camps continue to be a popular outdoor experience, especially for youth.
As with the recreation programs, even camps that are not therapeutic in their intent often work to facilitate personal growth in the participants. Conclusions Despite the wide variety of outdoor education programs, a unifying thread seems to be the facilitation of emotional growth and well-being. Certain program types, like therapy programs, intentionally build emotional growth into their program structure. For others, like recreation programs, this growth is incidental to the original program goals. AEE definition of experiential education .