Abstract
This quasi-experimental research explores the relationship between participation in two-week summer camps and changes in children’s altruism and self-esteem. Data were collected from 256 children aged 6 to 16 years. A self-reported altruism scale, a self-evaluation questionnaire and a temperament measure (EAS) were administered on two occasions either two weeks apart during the summer holidays or in class before and after the autumn holidays. The responses of 145 children attending summer camps were compared with those of 111 pupils. A significant increase in the altruism score was found between the pre-test and post-test in the camp condition, but no change in the children’s self-esteem was found with the entire sample. Exploratory analyses suggest variables that may be associated with more favourable participation in summer camps; certain dimensions of temperament are among them, as well as factors related to the camps themselves. Differences in the increase of altruism and self-esteem scores in summer camp were observed according to the identified child profiles. The limitations of this work are highlighted before proposing perspectives for future research.
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Reference50 articles.
1. Social-emotional competence as support for school readiness: What is it and how do we assess it?;SA Denham;Early education and development,2006
2. Review of measures of social and emotional development;TG Halle;Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology,2016
3. Yates T, Ostrosky MM, Cheatham GA, Fettig A, Shaffer L, Santos RM. Research synthesis on screening and assessing social-emotional competence. The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning. 2008.
4. Social-emotional competence: an essential factor for promoting positive adjustment and reducing risk in school children;CE Domitrovich;Child Development,2017
5. Social–emotional learning profiles of preschoolers’ early school success: A person-centered approach;SA Denham;Learning and individual differences,2012