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Effect Of Self-Determination Theory-Based Strategies For Staging Recreation Encounters On Intrinsic Motivation Of Youth Residential Campers, Mark F. Roark, Gary D. Ellis

Kinesiology and Health Science Faculty Publications

Parents and caregivers generally believe that the camp experiences they purchase for their children will not only yield transient pleasure and lasting memories of fun encounters, but significant developmental outcomes as well. Camp professionals serving over 11 million youths each year embrace such outcomes and commonly advance mission statements that point to the development of friendship skills, self-confidence, competence, self-reliance, independence, citizenship, and many other developmental outcomes. Empirical evidence of how these outcomes might be facilitated through specific recreation leadership strategies (e.g., activity staging) is lacking. The Self-Determination Theory (SDT) would suggest that youth leaders (e.g., camp counselors, recreation activity …