The Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC) is an organization that utilizes outdoor, project-based learning and critical service learning techniques to support young people in completing large-scale conservation and farming projects statewide. This study aimed to examine the perceived mental health effects of participating in the VYCC, the strategies in the organization that may have led to those changes, and feasible ways for educators to bring those methods into the post-pandemic classroom. Now is an important time to study youth organizations that may have already been having a positive effect on youth mental health, especially because of the negative effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on young people’s mental health.
A phenomenological qualitative research study was used to examine the perceived mental health effects of the VYCC, the aspects of the organization that led to those changes, and the feasibility of bringing these strategies into the classroom setting. This researcher interviewed five first-time participants in the VYCC throughout their summer experiences, focusing on their perceived mental health and whether they reported changes throughout the summer, as well as the programming that could have led to those changes. This researcher interviewed five recent alumni of the VYCC who currently or recently worked with young people about the lessons or strategies that they took from their VYCC experience into their current or recent work with young people.
The study revealed the following results in terms of the VYCC’s perceived effects on mental health, what may have led to those changes, and feasible strategies for the post-pandemic classroom:
● Most VYCC participants in this study reported an increase in confidence and self-efficacy, particularly because of the project-based nature of the work.
● Participants reported decreases in perceived anxiety from the project-based, outdoor nature of the work and the supportive relationships with crew members.
● The nature of the work in the VYCC, in terms of its impact on local communities and tangible results led to increased feelings of joy, pride, satisfaction, and accomplishment.
● Working with people of varying abilities led to both increased stress and feelings of connectedness and empathy for others.
● Negative feedback, breakdowns in communication, and pressure to lead those with varying needs and accomplish projects without feeling properly supported led to feelings of frustration, stress, burnout, and increased anxiety.
● Participants in this study examined their own strengths, personalities, and self-image as a result of the reflective nature of the program.
The following results relate to the feasibility of bringing strategies or lessons from the VYCC into the classroom:
● The VYCC inspired participants to teach their own students that the process of learning was just as important as the end product, and that mistakes were opportunities for growth in the learning process.
● The VYCC instilled a strengths-based perspective in alumni participants, and they found that maintaining that perspective in the classroom was beneficial to their students.
● The VYCC crew experience helped participants to view others as holistic beings, and inspired them to get to know their students on a personal level in order to make connections and to build a culture of belonging in their classrooms.
● Alumni participants learned that not every style of communication works well with every student; it is important to try various communication styles with students who learn differently.
● The alumni reported that it was important for teachers to instill in their students a sense of joy of discovery and praise curiosity, encouraging them to celebrate when they learn something new or see something in a different way.
● Alumni participants found that the VYCC experience helped them to learn they should prioritize guiding students in discovering their passions and exploring unique pathways to achieving their own definitions of success.
The findings in this study were consistent with the literature on project-based learning, outdoor education, and critical service learning’s positive effects on intrinsic motivation, student engagement, and deeper learning (Einfeld et al., 2008; Grant, 2002; James & Williams, 2017; Kokatsaki et al., 2016; Krsmanovic, 2021; Mackenzie et al., 2017; Myers-Lipton, 1998; Smith & Walsh, 2019). The findings in this study added to the limited literature on the Youth Conservation Corps experience, shining light on its perceived effects on the participants in this study’s mental health (Creed et al., 1996; Dickerson, 1977; Driver & Johnson, 1984; Hamilton & Stewart, 1978; Sayegh et al., 2019). The study indicated the positive effects that project-based learning (PBL) can have on perceived anxiety and self-efficacy of participants in this study, which adds to the research on the mental health effects of PBL (Erdem, 2012; Miguel & Carney, 2022; Samsudin et al., 2020; Shin, 2018). This research also uncovered multiple strategies and lessons from the VYCC model that have already been successfully used in the classroom setting.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/46202 |
| Date | 16 May 2023 |
| Creators | Rooney, Caroline |
| Contributors | Smith-Mumford, Pipier |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | Attribution 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
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