| dc.description.abstract | Georgia 4-H residential summer camps serve over 240,000 young people across the state through five distinct 4-H centers, each offering unique educational experiences in diverse environments. Georgia 4-H aims to address the behavioral issues resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through its Living Together Peacefully at Camp (LTP@C) curriculum, which prepares campers, counselors, and parents for the unique social dynamics and shared living spaces of residential summer camps. The curriculum emphasizes social-emotional learning (SEL) to equip participants with skills in conflict resolution, empathy, and respectful communication. The capstone project investigator conducted a comprehensive analysis involving document reviews of 2022 and 2023 UGA Police Department Daily Logs and two staff surveys to evaluate the LTP@C curriculum's impact on camper behavior. The surveys assessed Code of Conduct violations, incident reports, and staff opinions on LTP@C using the 4-H Thriving Model. Open-ended responses were deductively coded to understand staff perceptions of the curriculum's effectiveness. Assessments of LTP@C lessons align with the developmental context, youth thriving factors, and developmental outcomes of the 4-H Thriving Model. County staff cite time constraints (both preparation and summer camp schedule) as barriers to LTP@C implementation. 4-H summer camp counselors have concerns about both cultural awareness and mental health sensitivity in LTP@C. Georgia 4-H recommends LTP@C implementation, customized lesson plans for each 4-H Center, mandated training sessions in SEL and LTP@C for all staff members, and utilization of 4-H resources to promote inclusion by providing cultural, contextual, and situational sensitivity in both training and presentation of LTP@C. | |
