Educational camps for the 21st century: perceptions regarding establishments and educational institutions in Uruguay

Abstract

More than a century after the first organized camp in Uruguay, it seems necessary to redefine the focus of this pedagogical practice, taking into account the cultural transformations of the recent decades and considering the new campers’ profiles. The growth and diversification of the population who enroll for these proposals, with the legitimacy that they have achieved in educational areas, has not been accompanied by a pedagogical reflection on the components that make up this particular didactic action. This article collects some relevant data that allow a first approach to the reality of some camp establishments and educational institutions conducting camps. The objective of this exploratory research is to observe the profile of the population participating in camps; if it has changed; and in which way this has affected the proposal in recent years. It is considered a starting point for a research whose subject matter will be the camps as educational intervention.