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A study of the influence of a resident
outdoor education experience on intermediate
level children's perceptions of peers and
perceptions of the out-of-doors
Carlson, M.K.
Doctoral Dissertation, Syracuse University,
Syracuse, NY, 1972.
Purpose:
Determine the effect of a five-day resident
outdoor education experience on the peer
perceptions and outdoor perceptions of intermediate
level children.
Sample:
Subjects: 64 intermediate level (9-11 years
old) boys and girls from intact family classroom
groups.
Camp Affiliation: Cortland University's
Environmental Education Center in Raquette
Lake, NY.
Method/Instruments:
Method: The five-day camp program consisted
of learning experiences in mathematics,
nature study, social studies, communicative
skills, arts and crafts, music, drama, health,
and physical education.
Instruments:
- The Guess Who Inventory, adapted from
a similar peer culture assessment tool.
Subjects were given five sentences and
asked to write the names of the person
or persons from their classroom group
who they thought each sentence fit.
- The Selected Outdoor Pictures: five
pictures selected to depict wild animals,
woods, wild birds, and pollution. Subjects
were shown the pictures and asked to write
as many words or series of words that
described what they saw.
- Concept Factor Scale: Subjects were
given bipolar adjectives used to describe
five outdoor concepts and asked to indicate
their choice for each pair on a scale.
Design: pre-test/post-test non-equivalent
control group design. The experimental group
participated in the five-day residential outdoor
education experience and two control groups
did not. The tests were administered during
the two weeks before and after the camp experience.
Data Analysis: shift and change scores
were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with Scheffe
post hoc tests.
Results:
- No significant differences in the pre-test/post-test
shift scores for the peer nominations
for the experimental or control groups.
- Significant differences on the wild
birds and pollution items on the Selected
Outdoor Pictures test. Significant differences
between the experimental and one of the
control groups and between the two control
groups.
- Significant differences between the
two control groups for the stimulus word
wild animals on the Concept Factor Scale
- The researcher concluded that the outdoor
education experience had no impact on
the peer and outdoor perceptions of the
participants.
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