Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the change of self-concept in adolescents who participated in a 3-day adventure camp conducted in 1997 & 1998 and a 10-day visiting and recreational camp conducted in 1997. The subjects in the 3-day camp were 133 participants from the 5th to the 11th grade and in the 10-day camp were 48 participants from the 5th to the 10th grade.
The Self-Development Scale and study (1976) by Kajita were utilized to make the Self-Concept Scale. A Self-Concept Scale was designed for each camp for the pre- and post-tests.
The factor analysis method was applied to analyze the data obtained from the post-test Self-Concept Scale. The following results were obtained.
2. The participants in both camps showed a statistically significant positive difference overall the self-concept between the pre-and post-tests. The factors of the self-concept indicated that there were significant positive changes in the self-confidence factor and the interpersonal & social factor in the 3-day camp. There was a significant change in the self-confidence factor in the 10-day camp.
3. The number of significant changes in the 3-day camp were much more than in the 10-day camp. This was attributed to the reason that there were different programs between the 3-day camp and the 10-day camp.
The present study suggests that participants in programs include adventure activities are apt to improve their self-concepts.
