SCOUTING: AN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM...Scouting: An Educational System - Page 1 “Scouting: An...

SCOUTING:AN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

World Organizationof the Scout MovementOrganisation Mondialedu Mouvement Scout

STHIS DOCUMENT I S A

S T R A T E G YPART OF THE IMPLEMEN-TATION OF THE STRATEGY

World Scout BureauP.O. Box 241,1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland

[email protected]://www.scout.org

© Copyright 1998, World Scout Bu-reau. Reprinted 1998.Reproduction is authorized to nationalScout associations which are membersof the World Organization of the ScoutMovement. Others should request per-mission from publishers.

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION page 1

WHAT IS SCOUTING? page 3

WHAT DOES SCOUTING SEEK TO ACHIEVE? page 7

WHAT IS SCOUTING’S APPROACH TO EDUCATION? page 11

WHAT IS THE SCOUT METHOD? page 13

THE SCOUT LAW AND PROMISE page 15

LEARNING BY DOING page 21

THE TEAM SYSTEM (OR PATROL SYSTEM) page 25

A SYMBOLIC FRAMEWORK page 33

NATURE page 41

PERSONAL PROGRESSION page 47

ADULT SUPPORT page 57

CONCLUSION page 61

Scouting: An Educational System - Page 1

“Scouting: An educational system” is intendedto help everyone interested in gaining a greaterunderstanding of how Scouting works as aneducational system. It is intended for use bythose responsible for ensuring that the Scout-ing offered to young people is the rich andmulti-faceted learning experience that it ismeant to be. It has been written as a tool forthe Youth Programme and Adult Resourcesteams at national level, but it is hoped that itcan be of use for all those at other levels whodo their best to provide support to Scout lead-ers.

A large proportion of the publication is de-voted to the Scout Method in particular be-cause it is the Scout Method that encapsulatesScouting’s educational system as it is experi-enced by young people. The publication at-tempts to explain each of the elements of theScout Method and to illustrate how they inter-act and complement each other as a system.

The section on the Scout Method provides in-formation on how each element is meant tohelp to stimulate the development of the youngperson. It offers ideas, without any attempt atproviding an exhaustive list, on areas that aYouth Programme development or reviewgroup should look at when examining how tomake the Scout Method as effective as possi-ble. It also provides ideas on tools that can

help Scout leaders in their work, as well asthe kind of support they are likely to need.Finally, this section examines how each of theelements translates from the theoretical levelinto the practical level in the Scout unit1.

For detailed information on a step-by-step ap-proach to Youth Programme development(whether your Scout association is in the proc-ess of developing a Youth Programme for thefirst time, or whether the Youth Programme isbeing reviewed), the World Scout Bureau hasproduced a series of publications entitled “AGuide to Programme Development”. Anotherpublication, “Scouting in practice: Ideas forScout leaders”, is intended to present the ba-sics of what Scout leaders need to know inorder to practise Scouting.

INTRODUCTION

1 Throughout this document, “Scout unit” is used in a generic sense,referring to the youth members of an age section and the adult leaderoperating together in a locality, e.g. a pack, a troop, or a unit. “Team” isalso used in its generic sense, when referring to the local level, to denotethe smaller groups of 6-8 young people within the Scout unit, e.g. patrol.

Scouting: An Educational System


Its principles

Wherever they may be, members are activelycommitted to the principles (i.e. the values)on which Scouting is founded, which form boththe basis of the code of ethics which governsthe Movement as a whole and a personal codeof living to which each member adheres. Theseprinciples are about a person’s active and con-structive commitment to the spiritual values oflife, to society and to oneself.

Its method

All members are equally committed to the wayin which Scouting seeks to help young peo-ple to develop - through Scouting’s uniquemethod of progressive self-education. TheScout Method is a comprehensive educationalframework composed of elements which worktogether as a system to provide young peoplewith a rich and active learning environment. Itis based on how young people naturally de-velop, taking into account their evolving char-acteristics, needs and interests at differentstages of development.

A MOVEMENT OF SELF-EDUCATION FOR YOUNGPEOPLE

Scouting is a movement of self-education foryoung people. The Scout Movement comprisesnational Scout organisations to which the in-dividual members belong. The individual mem-bers are the young people that Scouting servesand adults who join in order to contribute tothe development of Scouting’s youth members.

The unity of the Movement is ensured by theWorld Organization of the Scout Movementwhich serves recognised national Scout organi-sations.

Its purpose

All over the world, members of the World Or-ganization of the Scout Movement are unitedby a common, active commitment to Scout-ing’s purpose which is to help young peopleto develop their full physical, intellectual, emo-tional, social and spiritual capacities as indi-viduals and as members of society, and thuscontribute to the development of a betterworld.

WHAT IS SCOUTING?


Together, Scouting’s purpose, principles andmethod form the essence of Scouting’s educa-tional system, i.e. they are the foundation onwhich Scouting is based all over the world.

In order for the Movement to achieve its edu-cational goals, the Movement as a whole mustprovide the global conditions for this to hap-pen. Thus the Scout Movement is also charac-terised by the fact that it is:

A movement for young people, especially suitedfor adolescents

Scouting exists for the benefit of young peo-ple. While Scouting’s educational system is par-ticularly suited for the adolescent age range,the upper age limit depends on factors whichdefine what “youth” means from an educa-tional perspective within a particular cultureand society.

In general terms, the upper age limit wouldnormally correspond to a general level of ma-turity at which a person no longer needs Scout-ing’s structured educational approach in or-der to continue the process of self-education.

The lower limit corresponds to a minimumlevel of maturity required for Scouting’s edu-cational system to function and thus for youngpeople to benefit from it. Evidently, these lev-

els of maturity can only approximately bemeasured by age, but would normally corre-spond to a few years either side of the seconddecade of life.

A movement of young people, supported by adults

The young people in the Movement are sup-ported by adults, whose role is to facilitateand provide the necessary conditions for thedevelopment of the youth members. As mem-bers of a movement of self-education, and ina spirit of partnership with adults, young peo-ple participate in the decision-making proc-esses of the Movement, in ways which are ap-propriate to their level of maturity, skills andexperience, so as to ensure the relevance ofwhat Scouting offers to them.

Open to all

Membership of the Scout Movement is opento anyone who agrees to adhere to its educa-tional proposal (i.e. its purpose, principles andmethod); in other words it does not discrimi-nate against anyone because of his or her reli-gion, ethnic origin, social background or gen-der.

Voluntary

Scouting is voluntary. All members - youngpeople and supporting adults - join of theirown free will. There is no compulsion to join

the Scout Movement, nor to remain a mem-ber. Scouting is not like school, at which at-tendance is usually compulsory between cer-tain ages.

Every member - young or adult - who doeschoose to join is required to make a personalcommitment to the Scout Movement. First andforemost, this commitment is to respect andact according to the code of ethics inherent inthe fundamental principles of the Movement.

More globally, this voluntary commitment alsoextends to achieving the educational purposeof Scouting, as every member commits him orherself to the educational proposal of the na-tional Scout association to which he or shebelongs. For youth members, this commitmentconcerns their own personal development. Foradults, this commitment is to help provide theconditions necessary for young people to de-velop.

Non-political

Scouting is non-political, in the sense that it isnot involved in the struggle for power of partypolitics. At the same time, Scouting’s educa-tional system aims to help young people tobe, and develop as, responsible and construc-tive individuals and members of society. Youngpeople cannot do so in a vacuum, divorced


from the socio-political realities of the worldin which they live.

Scouting’s educational approach, therefore,encourages young people to develop their ownpowers of judgment, and to take an active andconstructive role in society which is in har-mony with the values for which Scoutingstands.

Independent

While the Movement works in partnership witha number of outside bodies and receives sup-port from benefactors all over the world, Scout-ing, at all levels, is independent in the senseof being free from control by any outside bodyor individual.

Complementary to other forms of education

Scouting is a non-formal educational move-ment. In other words, it is not part of the for-mal educational system (school, etc.), nor is itinformal (friends, media, etc.) as it does offera structured approach to education. Scoutingdoes not seek to reproduce what school, fam-ily, religious institutions, leisure clubs, etc., arealready offering young people. It seeks to com-plement what others are doing by helping tofill gaps that may not be being met by others.

Relevant to young people

Scouting seeks to be relevant to young peoplein the various socio-cultural environments inwhich they grow up, and to continuously ad-just to meet the needs of young people in arapidly changing world.

As a movement, this is one of our greatestchallenges: continuously adjusting so as to beeven more relevant to young people’s aspira-tions and needs while remaining faithful toScouting’s purpose, principles and method.

Being able to determine what is essential andinvariable from what is not essential and vari-able is not easy for newly constituted Scoutassociations who are considering this issue forthe first time. The task is not an easy one ei-ther for Scout associations that have existedfor decades, some for almost a century, steepedin rich memories of “the way things have al-ways been done”.

“Here are some of the things that Scout-ing is not:

• it is not a charity organisation forpeople in society to run for the benefit ofthe poor children;

• it is not a school having a definitecurriculum and standards of achieve-ment;

• it is not a brigade of officers andprivates for drilling manliness into boysand girls;

• it is not a show where surface resultsare gained through payment as meritbadges, medals, etc.;

These all come from without, whereas theScout training all comes from within.”

- “Aids to Scoutmastership”, Baden-Powell, 1919 edition.


WHAT DOES SCOUTINGSEEK TO ACHIEVE?

“Education is at the heart of both per-sonal and community development; itsmission is to enable each of us, withoutexception, to develop all our talents to thefull and to realize our creative potential,including responsibility for our own livesand achievement of our personal aims.”

- “Learning: The Treasure Within”, Report to UNESCO of theInternational Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century,1996.

“EDUCATION? BUT THAT IS SCHOOL!”

Scouting is an educational movement for youngpeople. However, “education” means differ-ent things to different people. In everyday lan-guage in some parts of the world, education isprimarily associated, at its most basic level,with learning to read, write and master basicarithmetic and, on a higher level, with gainingacademic knowledge and vocational skillsthrough school, university, and so on.

In Scouting, however, education is consideredin its broad sense as being the process throughwhich each of us develops our various capa-bilities throughout life, both as an individualand as a member of society.

The aim of education, in this broad sense, isto contribute to the full development of anautonomous2, supportive, responsible andcommitted person.

A DEFINITION OF EDUCATION:

A life-long process which enables the continuous development ofa person’s capacities both as an individual and as a member ofsociety.

THE GOAL OF EDUCATION:

To contribute to the full development of an autonomous, support-ive, responsible and committed individual.

Autonomous:

able to make one’s own decisions and to manage one’slife.

Supportive:

able to actively care about and for others.

Responsible:

able to assume the consequences of one’s decisions,to keep one’s commitments and to complete what oneundertakes.

Committed:

able to live according to one’s values, to support causesor an ideal which one finds important.

2 The term “autonomy”, like education, often means different things todifferent people. In an educational context it means being able to makeup one’s own mind (as opposed to, for example, blindly copying one’speers) and to manage one’s life (for example, being able to manageone’s time). Autonomy here does not mean total independence, nor doesit imply being self-centred.


THE PURPOSE OF SCOUTING

According to Scouting’s educational philoso-phy, each person is born with a unique po-tential which can be developed in a construc-tive direction.

Making this potential a reality involves devel-oping all of one’s capacities - physical, intel-lectual, emotional, social and spiritual - in thedirection of the goals to be achieved.

Evidently, as education is the work of a life-time, Scouting cannot fully develop anyone’spotential in all areas. Scouting can simply ac-company each Scout, for a time, along thatperson’s path of development and help eachperson to develop the inner resources he orshe will need to continue to develop withoutScouting’s help. After all, if Scouting were acrutch on which people relied all their lives, itwould certainly have failed in what it is tryingto achieve.

Scouting, therefore, simply seeks to make acontribution to this process of self-educationduring the years when a person can truly ben-efit from its structured educational supportsystem. The age range for which Scouting canmost benefit young people corresponds ap-proximately to the second decade of life.

By encouraging young people to use and de-velop all of their capacities in a constructiveway today, Scouting seeks to help young peo-ple to realise that they have within themselveswhat it takes to already make a difference - totheir own lives and to the world in which theylive.

As they become ready to expand their hori-zons and seek new challenges, Scouting helpsthem to use their experience and to furtherdevelop their capacities to live and grow asfulfilled individuals and as active and construc-tive members of society.

Whether or not a person will actually developthat potential depends, amongst other factors,on the presence of a supportive, structuredenvironment during the formative years whichstimulates the young person to bring out ofhim or herself - and develop - what is con-structive, to the detriment of what is destruc-tive. Scouting seeks to offer young people suchan environment.

A CONSTRUCTIVE DIRECTION: SCOUTING’SPRINCIPLES

Every movement - or organised body, for thatmatter - has a number of fundamental beliefswhich underlie the purpose of its existence,orient what it seeks to achieve and how it goesabout achieving its goals.

As an educational movement, Scouting clearlyhas a social responsibility: to the young peo-ple it serves, to the families who entrust theircherished youngsters to Scouting’s care andto the world at large.

The goals of education are clear: to developas an autonomous, supportive, responsible andcommitted individual and member of society.

“The aim of development is the com-plete fulfilment of man, in all therichness of his or her personality, thecomplexity of his or her forms ofexpression and his or her variouscommitments - as individual, memberof a family and of a community,citizen and producer, inventor oftechniques and creative dreamer.”

-- ”Learning: The Treasure Within”, Report to UNESCO of theInternational Commission on Education for the Twenty-firstCentury, 1996.


However, there must be clear guidelines whichorient the development of the young persontowards these goals.

It is Scouting’s principles (generally referredto as “Duty to self”, “Duty to others” and “Dutyto God”) which provide these guidelines. Theyare the basis of the value system which gov-erns the Movement as a whole. These princi-ples, therefore, give direction to Scouting’seducational policy as a Movement, to the edu-cational approach used with young people andto the way in which the elements of the ScoutMethod are used so as to give constructiveand coherent direction to the development ofthe young person.

Duty to self

Each person has a duty to develop one’s au-tonomy and assume responsibility for oneself.This includes:

• taking responsibility for one’s own develop-ment (physical, intellectual, emotional, socialand spiritual);

• striving to live life in a way which respectsoneself as a person (e.g. taking care of one’shealth, standing up for one’s rights as a hu-man being, making decisions that one feelsdeep inside are right for oneself as a person,etc.).

Being able to do so presupposes striving toget to know oneself better in all the richnessand complexity that characterizes each per-son with strengths and weaknesses, hopes,needs, and so on.

Duty to others

In broad terms, this is one’s responsibility to-wards everything material that is not oneself.This means:

• recognising and taking into account in theway in which one lives one’s life that one isnot the only important person on this earth,that each person has rights, feelings, hopes,needs, etc.;

• recognising that people are interdependent,i.e. no one can live in isolation from others.Everyone needs relationships with others inorder to fulfil themselves as persons and every-one can benefit from the contribution that eachperson makes to the world.

Each person, therefore, has a responsibilitytowards others. This involves:

• respecting each person’s dignity;

• playing an active and constructive role insociety and making a personal contribution toit;

• helping out in times of need and defendingthe defenceless, whether they are one’s next-door neighbour or whether they live in a verydifferent environment at the other end of theworld.

• recognising and taking into account, in theway in which one lives one’s life, the integrityof the natural world.

Duty to God

Each person has a responsibility to search be-yond what is material for a force higher thanmankind. This involves seeking:

• a Spiritual Reality that gives meaning anddirection to one’s life; and

• to discover meaning in spiritual values andto live one’s daily life in accordance with thesevalues.

When these three simple principles are trulypart of a way of life and are adhered to simul-taneously, any form of fundamentalism or fa-naticism is necessarily excluded.


A DIRECTION OF DEVELOPMENT IN EACH AREAAs Scouting’s principles give direction to thedevelopment of the young person, the princi-ples are also reflected in what Scouting seeksto help young people to achieve in each ofthe areas of development, i.e. physical, intel-lectual, emotional, social and spiritual:

Physical:Developing the ability to:

• coordinate one’s movements and thoughtprocesses (psycho-motor skills);

• take responsibility for the growth, function-ing and health of one’s body;

• come to terms with one’s physical limita-tions.

Intellectual:Developing the ability to:

• pursue interests, solve problems and adaptto situations in a relevant way through effec-tive information management, creative think-ing and intuition;

• perceive patterns, connections and relation-ships between phenomena, events, ideas, etc;

• develop receptivity to other perspectives ofreality (e.g. understanding different ways oflooking at things; understanding cultural, reli-gious, age, gender-related standpoints, etc.);

• extract meaning from one’s experiences;

• judge things for oneself, to think throughthe implications of one’s decisions and actions,and to retain one’s own free will.

Emotional:

Developing the ability to:

• acknowledge, recognise and express feel-ings and emotions and to take responsibilityfor managing these in daily life.

Social:


• listen and to express oneself effectively;

• accept other people as distinct human be-ings with equal rights;

• take into account the interdependence ofmankind, and of mankind and the naturalworld;

• cooperate, to support and to lead;

• take an active and constructive role in soci-ety and contribute towards a better quality oflife for all;

• foster authentic relationships and an inter-cultural awareness, overcoming prejudice anddiscrimination;

• adhere to common rules out of one’s ownfree will.

Spiritual:


• acknowledge and explore a dimension be-yond mankind;

• explore the spiritual heritage of one’s com-munity;

• understand the beliefs, practices and cus-toms of other world religions;

• integrate spiritual values into one’s daily lifeand in the global direction of one’s develop-ment towards a higher and more unified stateof consciousness.

The abilities listed are not exhaustive, but pro-vide the basis on which national Scout asso-ciations can develop concrete educational ob-jectives which take into account the needs ofyoung people at various stages of develop-ment within a specific socio-cultural environ-ment.

As the areas of development reflect dimen-sions of the whole personality, in a real per-son the abilities listed depend upon or involvedevelopment in more than one area. It is thewell-balanced and harmonious developmentof the whole personality towards greater au-tonomy, solidarity, responsibility and commit-ment that would describe what Baden-Powellcalled a person of “character”.


WHAT IS SCOUTING’SAPPROACH TO

EDUCATION?

Scouting’s approach to education has to becoherent with what it seeks to achieve. Hereagain, it is the principles, the fundamentalbeliefs on which Scouting is founded, thatguide its educational approach. Thus, Scout-ing’s approach to education could be describedas being person-centred, community-relatedand spiritually-oriented.

Person-centred

Scouting’s approach is person-centred in thesense that:

• Scouting accepts each young person as heor she is - a unique human being with his orher own personal background and experienceof life thus far, variations in needs, capacities,interests and pace of development.

It recognises the uniqueness of each personthrough:

- respecting each person’s free will to decideto join Scouting or not;

- proposing a framework of self-education (i.e.as Baden-Powell described it: “education fromwithin”, as opposed to “instruction from with-out”);

- inviting each young person to develop tothe best of that person’s ability (“doing one’sbest”). There is therefore no comparison ofachievement between young people;

- the flexibility of Scouting’s educational sys-tem which enables each young person to de-velop in the way which is most relevant tohim or her through:

- translating the general educational ob-jectives proposed for the age section intoa set of personalised objectives, with helpfrom the adult leader;

- progressing through pursuing his or herinterests and exploring his or her con-cerns;

- developing at his or her own pace. Theapproach takes into account that devel-opment does not take place at the samepace in each dimension, nor does it takeplace in a constant surge forward. Thereare no absolute deadlines.

• Scouting’s approach is also person-centredin the sense that it seeks to help each youngperson to develop his or her whole selfthrough:


- educational objectives which cover knowl-edge, skills and attitudes in each of the di-mensions of the human personality;

- a multi-faceted method which emphasisespersonal experience (as opposed to, for ex-ample, just intellectual understanding);

- many, varied opportunities for experiences,spread over time, likely to contribute to ayoung person’s development.

Community-related

Scouting’s approach is community-related inthe sense that:

• the very goals that it pursues, i.e. to helpyoung people to live and develop as ever moreautonomous, supportive, responsible and com-mitted individuals are necessary for the longterm development of society;

• it seeks to help each young person to rec-ognise him or herself as a part of a whole,i.e. the world in which he or she lives. It doesso through:

- emphasising the development of construc-tive relationships with others - young peopleand adults - based on mutual respect;

- offering young people the experience of amicro-society, based on a democratic way oflife, taking into account the needs and inter-ests of all;

- promoting a sense of belonging in youngpeople - to their Scout unit and to their local,national and international community;

- offering varied opportunities for young peo-ple to interact with, and make a meaningfulcontribution to, the world of which they are apart (local, national and international commu-nity, natural, cultural and spiritual environment,etc.);

- helping young people to adapt constructivelyto changes in society and to cope effectivelywith issues that they face or are likely to face.

Spiritually-oriented

Scouting’s approach is spiritually-oriented inthe sense that it seeks, through everything thatit proposes, to help young people to:

• look beyond the material world in search ofa Spiritual Reality;

• to discover for themselves those values whichgive meaning to life;

• continuously strive to put into practice thosevalues in the way in which one lives one’slife.

Of course, however ambitious what Scoutingseeks to achieve may be, and however com-prehensive its educational approach, it cannothelp young people to develop without the righteducational tools, and thus we come to theScout Method.


WHAT IS THE SCOUTMETHOD?

“Scouting is a medicine composed ofvarious ingredients and, unless they aremixed in their proper proportions accord-ing to the prescription, the users must notblame the doctor if the effects on thepatient are unsatisfactory.”

- Baden-Powell, Jamboree, 1922.

Taken individually, many of these educationaltools are used in other forms of education -working in teams on projects, for example. InScouting, however, these different tools are re-ferred to as elements of the Scout Method - aseach one is only one part of the whole. Thefact that all of these elements form a wholeand are used as a system is part of what makesScouting unique.

A SYSTEM OF EDUCATIONAL ELEMENTS

The fact that Scouting’s method is referred toas the Scout Method (capital “M”) is because itis composed of several different educationaltools. These are: a law and promise, learningby doing, a team system, a symbolic frame-work, personal progression, nature and adultsupport.

THE SCOUT METHOD

ADULTSUPPORT

NATURE

PERSONALPROGRESSION

LAW &PROMISE

LEARNINGBY DOING

SYMBOLICFRAMEWORK

TEAMSYSTEM


In the sense used here, a system could be de-scribed as a network of elements in which eachelement:

• has a specific function;

• interacts with the other elements so as toreinforce the effectiveness of each one;

• contributes to the overall purpose to beachieved - and therefore must be present.

An important characteristic of a system is thesynergy that is created - in other words theeffects of a system are greater than the sum-total of the effects of its parts.

The same is true of the Scout Method. Each ofthe elements has an educational function; eachelement complements the impact of the oth-ers. If any of the elements is missing or is notbeing used as intended, then the system as awhole cannot serve its original purpose - theprogressive, holistic development of the youngperson. We cannot, therefore, apply certain el-ements and disregard others, nor can we useany of them in a way which is not consistentwith Scouting’s purpose and principles.

The Scout Method is designed to stimulate thedevelopment of young people throughout theage range that Scouting serves. This means thatthe educational function of each of the ele-ments and the way in which they work to-gether as a system are just as valid and effec-

tive when working with young people in thejunior age section as they are when workingwith young people in the senior age section.

Evidently, however, the way in which the ele-ments are applied (i.e. the way in which theeducational “tools” are intended to be used)needs to reflect the maturity of the young peo-ple in the various age sections.

Finally, it would be unrealistic to imagine thateach element of the Scout Method can be inthe foreground during every activity that theyoung people take part in. Young people can-not physically be in nature, for example, whilethey are performing a puppet show for sickchildren in a hospital in town. However, theelement of nature could still be present, albeitin the background - for example by taking timeto walk through a park on the way back or byusing recycled materials to make the puppets.

A NATURAL SYSTEM OF PROGRESSIVE SELF-EDUCATION

The Scout Method is a system of progressiveself-education. It is intended to help eachyoung person to use and develop his or hercapacities and interests, building on what hasalready been gained; to find constructive waysof meeting needs at different stages of devel-opment; and to open doors to further stages

of personal development at the young per-son’s own pace.

The Scout Method provides an educationalframework based upon how young peopledevelop naturally. It provides an environmentwhich responds to their need for action, chal-lenge and adventure; their desire to explore,experiment, and discover; their natural capac-ity for inventiveness and resourcefulness; theneed to feel acknowledged, respected andappreciated as individuals; their need for closesupportive relationships; their capacity for ide-alism and their need to make sense of theworld; and so on.

At the same time, the Scout Method offers away of life which channels their energy in away which enables them to experience beingautonomous, supportive, responsible and com-mitted straight away, to the extent of their cur-rent capacities, while helping them to progres-sively develop their capacities in these direc-tions in a holistic, balanced and attractive way.


THE SCOUT LAW ANDPROMISE

The Scout law and promise are considered asone element of the Scout Method because theyare closely linked. However, as their specificeducational functions differ, they are treatedas separate items in this chapter.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

A personal code of living

By trying to reflect the code of living moreoften in a young person’s daily life and in thegrowing number of new situations which ayoung person encounters, the young personis in fact developing him or herself.

As this code of living is based on the princi-ples of Scouting (and thus on the values un-derlying Scouting), it guides the direction ofthe young person’s development towards apersonal exploration of these values. This codeof living is therefore personal, related to eachperson’s development.

THE SCOUT LAWWHAT IS IT?

The Scout law is a code of living based onScouting’s principles. It is a personal code ofliving in that it serves as a reference, guidingthe way in which each member of the Move-ment lives his or her life today, and guidingthe direction of development for tomorrow. Itis also a collective code of living in that it isthe basis on which the Scout unit functions.The Scout law is therefore at the heart of theScout Method.

WHAT IS IT INTENDED TO DO?

As a concrete personal and collective code ofliving, the Scout law provides a simple way ofhelping each young person to become famil-iar with what Scouting seeks to help him orher to achieve and to discover the meaning ofthe various aspects of this personal and col-lective code of living through experiencing itin practice. Ultimately, the Scout law can serveas a reference in the subsequent developmentof a young person’s value system.

“Is it possible to devise a form ofeducation which might make itpossible to avoid conflicts or resolvethem peacefully by developing respectfor other people, their cultures andtheir spiritual values?”

- ”Learning: The Treasure Within”, Report to UNESCO of theInternational Commission on Education for the Twenty-firstCentury, 1996.


A collective code of living

In addition to being a personal code of living,the Scout law is also a collective code of liv-ing. It therefore serves as the law of a micro-society of young people in which each per-son has the same rights and duties towardshim or herself and others.

As the Scout law is the basis on which theirsmall community is founded and operates, theyoung people are exposed to a way of livingwith others which is democratic, respectful ofeach person and which promotes a sense ofbelonging, sharing, solidarity and cooperation.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE IMPLICATIONS FORPROGRAMME DELIVERY?

Preparing adults for their work with youngpeople at local level should involve opportu-nities for them to explore the values underly-ing the Scout law and how this code of livingtranslates into their everyday work with theyoung people. This would include examiningthe kinds of relationships to be promoted, theimplications of the Scout law on the way inwhich the group should function, etc. For ex-ample, any practice that could be potentiallyhumiliating would not be consistent with re-specting the dignity of others.

“The boy is not governed by DON’T, butled on by DO.

The Scout Law is devised as a guide tohis actions, rather than as repressive ofhis faults.”

- “Aids to Scoutmastership”, Baden-Powell, World Brotherhoodedition, 1944.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE IMPLICATIONS FORPROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT?

From an educational point of view, the Scoutlaw needs:

• to express the qualities of a person wholives according to Scouting’s principles3;

• to be expressed in everyday language thatis appropriate to the culture in which the na-tional Scout association operates and to thelevel of maturity of the young people con-cerned, i.e. very simple for the younger agegroups, and formulated in a slightly more ma-ture way for the next age group, and so on;

• to be formulated so as to be relevant, inspi-rational and attractive to young people. It there-fore needs to be expressed in positive terms,i.e. “A Scout is” as opposed to “A Scout is not”;

• to be sufficiently short so as to be easilyremembered - it is not intended to be a long,exhaustive list.

3 In order to ensure the unity of the Scout Movement, the Scout law andpromise formulated by each national Scout association is subject toapproval by the World Scout Committee, through its ConstitutionsCommittee.


WHAT ARE SOME OF THE IMPLICATIONS FORPROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION?

While its function as an educational tool mayseem quite complex, it is not difficult to applyin everyday life with a group of young peo-ple.

The Scout law is deliberately phrased in sim-ple, everyday terms, often referring to quali-ties, so that each young person can easily un-derstand what is meant and can do his or herbest to reflect these in everyday life.

As the Scout law is a personal code of livingand a collective one, it needs to be the foun-dation on which the Scout unit is structuredand operates if the young people are to behelped to discover for themselves the valueson which it is based. Concretely, the Scoutlaw translates into the rules of the group: therights and duties of each member, the sharingof responsibilities, decision-making processes,conflict management, and so on.

Young people should be involved as much aspossible, and in ways appropriate to their levelof development, in establishing the rules ofthe group. For one thing, this helps them todeepen their understanding of the Scout lawand, for another, young people have much lessdifficulty in accepting, even enforcing, rules

that they have contributed to establishing. Evi-dently, the adult leader needs to ensure thatrules concerning safety measures, etc., are in-cluded.

The Scout law provides an excellent evalua-tion tool, both in terms of bringing out theconnections between the degree to which thecode of living was adhered to and what wentwell or badly with activities, camps, projects,group life, etc., and what could be improved;and in terms of a personal evaluation of theextent to which each young person feels heor she has made progress in reflecting thequalities.

When a young person breaks a rule, he or sheshould be encouraged to reflect on whateverconsequences it may have caused. The pur-

pose is not to make the young person feelterrible, but to understand and, if possible, toremedy the situation.

The code of living applies to both adults andyoung people. The code of living is not a setof rules which apply only to young peoplebecause “they have got to respect rules”. Thecode of living reflects basic ethical principlesor values which Scouting believes are valid inlife in general. If the adults do not reflect thecode of living, why should the young people?


THE SCOUT PROMISE

WHAT IS IT?

The Scout promise is a pledge that every youngperson makes before a group of peers whenhe or she chooses to join the Movement. Bymaking the Scout promise, the young personacknowledges that he or she is familiar withthe Scout law and makes a personal commit-ment to do his or her best to live according tothis code of living.


Through the promise, the young person ac-cepts Scouting’s invitation to develop by mak-ing a voluntary decision to accept the Scoutlaw and to assume the responsibility of thatdecision through personal effort. Making thepromise is the first symbolic step in the proc-ess of self-education. Making the promise doesnot imply that the young person must haveproved to be a “perfect” Scout. It is a startingpoint, not the finishing line.

The fact of promising to “do one’s best” refersto making a personal effort to the extent ofthe young person’s capacity. From an educa-tional perspective, the effort is as important asthe achievement of the objective. The effort isa personal one, and progress can only be evalu-

ated in terms of how the young person wasbefore.

By making the promise in front of peers, theyoung person makes his or her commitmentpublic. This not only makes the personal com-mitment “official”, it also symbolises a socialcommitment to the others in the group. Bytheir presence, the others in the group showthat they accept him or her as a member.


The young people make the Scout promiseupon entering each new age section. The factof doing so is a symbolic commitment to em-bark on a new phase in the voyage of devel-opment and to share the way of life inherentin the Scout law with a new group of people.The wording of the promise and law there-fore needs to reflect the progression in thematurity of the young people from one agesection to the next.

For the law and promise to fulfil their educa-tional functions, the young people that theScout association addresses need to have de-veloped the capacities to understand and toagree to do their best to adhere to a code ofliving. In other words there is a minimum levelof maturity below which a child is unable to

voluntarily agree with a code of living if thechild is unable to think beyond his or her ownimmediate needs and desires and does not yetdistinguish him or herself from other peoplewith their own needs and desires. By the sametoken, the kind of social interaction requiredfor teamwork cannot take place either - andthus the Scout Method cannot function.

The minimum level of maturity required forthe Scout law and promise (and, indeed, forthe entire Method to function as a whole) isan essential point to bear in mind when a Scoutassociation is considering the minimum age atwhich a young person may join the Movement.


Preparing adult leaders in this respect involvesemphasising the educational function of theScout promise. A key aspect in this respectconcerns the concept, and implications, of“doing one’s best”. As this concept is closelylinked to personal progression, it is discussedin further detail in the chapter on this aspectof the Scout Method.



The way of explaining the promise to theyoung people requires attention. They needto understand the implications of making apromise - that they are giving their word andthat they are giving their word to do their per-sonal best. It should therefore be presented asan important act, but not something that theyneed to feel apprehensive about.

Another factor to be borne in mind concernswhen a young person should make the Scoutpromise. Evidently, he or she will need to havehad time to become familiar with the Scoutlaw and its practical application in the group(i.e. that he or she will be expected to makean effort to develop and to adhere to thegroup’s code of living), and to decide whetheror not he or she wishes to formally join Scout-ing.

From a young person’s perspective, makingthe Scout promise is not simply about whetherthe code of living seems reasonable or not.Doing so is also a decision to continue to takepart in activities with the young people thathe or she has come to know. External factorsapart (schoolwork, other interests, etc.),whether a young person decides to make thepromise or not will therefore also depend on

how interesting the activities seem and, espe-cially, on the extent to which the young per-son feels integrated in the group. On the whole,adolescents are likely to want more time thanpre-adolescents to make up their minds.

At the same time, from an educational per-spective, a balance needs to be struck betweengiving the young person time to make up hisor her mind, and the need for the real educa-tional process to start. Until a young personmakes the Scout promise, he or she is more or

less a visitor to Scouting and cannot experi-ence the richness of what Scouting can offer.In addition, the prolonged presence of “visi-tors” (i.e. those who simply turn up occasion-ally for activities) is disruptive for the youngpeople who are committed to Scouting, to thegroup’s projects and life together.

Making the promise is a personal act of com-mitment. The adult leader’s task, therefore, isto encourage the young person, but not toforce him or her before he or she is ready todo so, nor to withhold the right to make thepromise, nor to ignore the matter altogether.A simple way of encouraging the young peo-ple would be to propose several dates over aperiod of several months.

The adult leader needs to consider how tomake the moment of making the promise asignificant one for the young person - a smallceremony at the end of a camp, for example.


LEARNING BY DOING WHAT IS IT?

Learning by doing means developing as a re-sult of first-hand experience - which, after all,is a very effective teacher!

Learning by doing:

• reflects Scouting’s active approach to edu-cation. In other words, young people arehelped to develop through opportunities forconcrete, “hands-on” experience as opposedto passively listening to a lecture or watchinga demonstration.

• applies to the way in which young peoplegain knowledge, skills and attitudes in eachof the areas of development and thus progresstowards their educational objectives. Learningby doing is thus not limited to “doing” in thesense of learning practical or manual skills.For example, young people learn the mean-ing of responsibility through taking on respon-sibility.

• reflects Scouting’s practical approach toeducation based on learning through the op-portunities for experiences that arise in thecourse of pursuing one’s interests and dealingwith everyday life. In other words, Scouts donot gain knowledge, skills and attitudes in anabstract context, divorced from reality. In Scout-ing, young people would not learn to sew for

“...It is important to provide childrenand young people with every opportu-nity for discovery and experiment -aesthetic, artistic, sporting, scientific,cultural and social.”

- “Learning: The Treasure Within”, Report to UNESCO of theInternational Commission on Education for the Twenty-FirstCentury, 1996.

“Self-education, that is, what a boylearns for himself, is what is going tostick by him and guide him later onin life, far more than anything that isimposed upon him through instruc-tion by a teacher.”

- “Scouting for Boys”, Baden-Powell, 26th edition, 1951.

The S

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the sake of knowing how to sew, but because,for example, they want to put on a play and wantto make their own costumes. Or, for example,


Scouts would not learn to manage conflict sim-ply through a specifically-designed activity, butthrough the natural process of sorting outwhatever disagreements arise in the group (ina manner which is consistent with the Scoutlaw!).


Learning by doing is a way of helping youngpeople to develop in all dimensions throughextracting what is personally significant fromeverything that they experience.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

As young people have a natural desire for ac-tion, challenge and adventure, Scouting chan-nels their energy and provides them with arich learning environment which encouragesthem to explore, experiment, discover and thusto develop. Learning by doing stimulates anactive approach to life, encourages young peo-ple to be actively involved in everything thataffects them, helps them to discover all of theircapacities and make constructive use of them,to take charge of their lives, and be actors, notspectators, in their community.

The motor which drives the educational expe-riences is the activities that the young peopletake part in.

In other words, it is the combination of expe-riencing a code of living, the difficulties andrewards of responsibility, the joys and tribula-tions in the relationships that develop withpeers and supportive adults, setting and striv-ing to reach personal and collective goals, etc.,all woven into progressively challenging ac-tivities that they find stimulating and usefulthat contributes to holistic and balanced de-velopment.

As the young people develop through a vastrange of experiences, opportunities for newand richer experiences come within reach.


In order to help young people to developthrough extracting what is personally signifi-cant from what they experience, Scouting mustprovide young people with opportunities forpotentially meaningful experiences.

A way of checking whether learning by doingis being used to its full potential would be toconsider the educational objectives for the agesection as a whole (knowledge, skills and atti-tudes in each of the development areas) andexamine to what extent young people reallydo have opportunities to progress towards theobjectives through first-hand experience. Forexample:

• If an educational objective concerns, say,the development of a sense of interdepend-ence, one could examine whether:

- the way in which the young people operatetogether during their activities really providesopportunities for them to contribute differenttalents, take on useful responsibilities, experi-ence the benefits of mutual support, etc;

- there is room for improvement in the kind ofcontact that young people have with their lo-


cal community so as to foster this sense ofinterdependence.

• Examining learning by doing from the per-spective of educational objectives can helpwhen seeking to help young people to copewith issues likely to affect them - unemploy-ment, drug abuse, etc. The first, automatic re-sponse by associations is often to provide in-formation and develop interesting activities tohelp young people to learn about the issue.

At the same time, Scouting can do much moreto help young people to cope effectively! Forexample, how are young people being helpedto develop a positive approach to life, to adaptto new situations, to use existing resources ina creative way, to take initiative, to developconstructive contact with others, etc?


Adult leaders need to have a thorough under-standing of how the Scout Method and thegroup’s operating structure aim to contributeto young people’s development, and how theway in which they are used influences the edu-cational experience that the young people de-rive from the activities that they take part in.

With appropriate preparation, this enables theadult leader to take advantage of the varietyof opportunities that may arise in the localcommunity, the young people’s ideas on whatthey want to do, particular needs that are ex-pressed, etc. - which cannot be anticipated atnational level - so as to offer young people arich educational experience that is really rel-evant to those particular young people at agiven time.


One implication of learning by doing is thatyoung people are encouraged to experiencethings first and draw conclusions from whatthey have experienced later. In practical terms,this has several implications for the adultleader:

• The adult leader does not need to explainthe educational objective of an activity. Notonly are the young people likely to be unin-terested, it would limit their spontaneity, lim-iting the experience to the confines of whatthey may imagine is being expected of them.

• On the other hand, verbalising their reac-tions, feelings, etc., afterwards helps them toreflect on the experience and to draw conclu-

sions. A quiet moment at the end of a meetingor camp can be used to evaluate in generalterms how the activity went and to encouragethe young people to express themselves. Theyoung people may perceive the experience indifferent ways, and may actually feel that whatthey have gained from the experience hasnothing to do with what was originally in-tended by the activity.

The purpose for the adult leader here is not toinsist on what they were “supposed” to havelearned, but simply to accompany them as theyreflect for themselves. The atmosphere needsto be constructive so that the young peopledo not feel afraid to speak. If needed, the codeof living can be recalled to help young peopleto reflect on their experience or simply to re-mind the young people that each person hasa right to express him or herself and that ifcomplaints are to be made, to describe theproblem and not to attack anyone personally.

• While the adult leader should gradually feelcomfortable with making use of whatever op-portunities arise to create an educational ex-perience, the activities must always respectScouting’s principles: all activities and the waythey are conducted must be constructive andnot destructive for anyone or anything, etc.


• Difficult decisions that arise for the adultleader include how far to allow a young per-son to experiment or make mistakes beforeintervening. While the adult leader should al-ways strive to make an activity successful, thesuccess or efficiency of the activity cannot beat the expense of learning experiences. Mak-ing mistakes is an inevitable part of the learn-ing process. However, through experiencinga mistake, a young person can better under-stand what, how and why something wentwrong and, perhaps, how to go about thingsdifferently next time!


THE TEAM SYSTEM (OR PATROL SYSTEM)

WHAT IS IT?

Young people have a natural tendency to formgroups of roughly the same age. The team sys-tem is a way of making use of this naturaltendency in order to provide an environmentin which young people enjoy being and inorder to channel the substantial influence thatpeers have on each other in a constructive di-rection.

What young people gain from living and work-ing together according to a code of living andthe relationships that develop as a result of amultitude of shared adventures are as impor-tant in terms of their education as the activi-ties in which they take part.

In Scouting, young people of roughly the sameage operate in small groups of six to eightmembers. Each small group operates as a team.Within each team, the young people organisetheir life as a group and decide upon, organ-ise and carry out their activities. Each youngperson has a specific responsibility which heor she carries out for an agreed length of timewhich contributes to the life and welfare ofthe team and the success of their activities.

In each of the teams, one of the young peo-ple, acknowledged by the others to be the

“Scouting puts the boys into fraternitygangs which is their natural organisa-tion whether for games, mischief orloafing.”


leader, assumes a general coordinating role andconvenes meetings with the other members,giving each member the opportunity to takepart in the decisions and to be fully involvedin the life of the team.

Several of these teams (usually four to six) forma Scout unit, supported by an adult leader andadult assistants. The Scout unit is managed bya council involving the team leaders and theadult leader.

Although the adult leaders are not membersof the teams, they are nonetheless in close con-tact with each of the teams and with eachyoung person.

While the team is the basic grouping in whichthe young people operate, the young peopleare also part of the Scout unit as a whole. Dur-ing the Scout year, there are activities whichinvolve the whole of the Scout unit. These pro-vide opportunities for each team to contributeto the well-being of the Scout unit as a wholeand provide opportunities for the young peo-ple to get to know the others in the other teams.

All these elements combined form an organ-ised social structure and a democratic systemof self-government based on the Scout law that


Coordinating council

Team

Team Team

Team

Adult leader

Team leader

THE TEAM SYSTEM IS NOT:

A PYRAMIDAL STRUCTURE FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF ORDERS

THE TEAM SYSTEM IS:

A DEMOCRATIC PARTNERSHIP


The team system, based on the way in whichyoung people naturally organise themselvesas small groups, provides a framework withinwhich the young people can:

• develop their personal and collective capa-bilities through pooling and building on theirindividual skills, talents and experience andthrough the development of a mutually sup-portive team spirit;

4 The terms “patrol” and “troop” continue to exist in Scouting in manyparts of the world out of tradition, usually in connection with Scouting forthe 11-14 age section, with other terms used in the other age sections.The terms were adopted by Baden-Powell as an inspiration to the youngpeople of his day, probably as a result of his observation of the closecooperation in the achievement of objectives and the mutually supportiveattitude of small groups of men in the army.

Baden-Powell called the “patrol system” 4. Eachperson is involved in the government of thismini-society and has a share of the responsi-bility in ensuring the well-being of its mem-bers.

Despite the name, the “patrol system” was notin any way intended to reflect a military-styleline of command in which the adult leadergave orders to be carried out by the patrols.Indeed, if it were to operate in this way, itwould not be able to fulfil its educational func-tion.

“The patrol system leads each boy to seethat he has some individual responsibil-ity for the good of his Patrol. It leadseach Patrol to see that it has definiteresponsibility for the good of the Troop.”



• develop constructive relationships with otheryoung people and adults, based on mutualtrust, which strengthen over time as a result ofall the adventures shared together;

• learn to live according to a democratic formof self-government in partnership with adults.It allows young people to experience build-ing a consensus and resolving conflicts, ex-pressing themselves and listening to others, toexperience making decisions and accepting theconsequences, cooperating and sharing, tak-ing initiative and leading, taking on responsi-bility and following it through.

Thus, everything that young people experi-ence as a result of operating in teams can havea considerable impact on their development.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Initially, the only certain thing that the youngpeople have in common is their desire to takepart in activities. Through appropriately de-signed activities, each young person comes torealize that many of the experiences are onlypossible through a collective effort and so theyhave to organise themselves as a group (bothwithin the teams and as a Scout unit). Thus,the fact of needing to cooperate stimulates eachperson to play his or her part in making theirexperiences possible and enjoyable throughdeveloping and using his or her talents andskills.

Through taking part in this process with a smallgroup of people on a regular basis, they get toknow each other with their strengths and weak-nesses and a bond is created between them.This bond is important for several reasons:

• It contributes to a young person’s emotionaldevelopment through providing a sense ofbelonging, a feeling of being appreciated andthrough providing the basis for the kind ofclose friendships that young people may havedifficulty in developing elsewhere.

• A close-knit group provides a stimulatingatmosphere in which each young personmakes more of an effort to gain the skills andexperience needed for their activities and lifetogether. The greater the skills, talents and ex-perience the young people are able to pool asa team, the more opportunities are opened upfor challenging and meaningful experiences -for the group and for each person.

• This bond helps the young person to de-velop a deeper understanding of the meaningof responsibility and solidarity. Initially, ayoung person may carry out a task, turn up ata rendezvous or help out another memberbecause it is part of the “rules of the game”.When the young people grow to care about“When people work together on reward-

ing projects which take them out oftheir usual routine, differences andeven conflicts between individuals tendto fade into the background and some-times disappear. People derive a newidentity from such projects, so that it ispossible to go beyond individual rou-tines and highlight what people have incommon rather than the differencesbetween them.”

- “Learning: The Treasure Within”, Report to UNESCO of theInternational Commission on Education for the Twenty-firstCentury, 1996.


each other, the young person will carry out atask because he or she knows that the othersare counting on him or her and does not wantto let them down.

• The young person who seeks the approvalof peers observes the group’s reactions to hisor her attitudes and behaviour, and thus pro-vides a mirror effect. He or she can thus beencouraged to develop a greater self-aware-ness, often resulting in a change of attitudeand behaviour. For example, the timid are en-couraged to develop greater assertiveness; the“bossy” are made to sense the need to leaveroom for others.


The design of the team system needs to takeinto account that it involves:

A partnership between young people and theiradult leaders

The team system is not intended as a way foradult leaders to pass down their orders for theyoung people to execute. It is not intended,either, as a way for young people to simplyexpress their wishes and expect their adultleader to prepare everything for them.

It is intended as a partnership between theyoung people and their adult leader, based ondialogue and cooperation. The adult leader(and his or her adult assistants) are part of theScout unit but they are not members of theteams. The adults are part of the Scout unit inorder to fulfil a specific role, i.e. to help theyoung people to exercise and develop theircapacity for autonomy, solidarity, responsibil-ity and commitment, while guiding each youngperson towards his or her educational objec-tives.

Progressive self-government

The principle of young people’s participationin the government of their mini-society ap-plies throughout the age range that Scoutingserves.

Evidently, the sphere of matters on which theyoung people make decisions and the kindsof responsibilities that they undertake in themanagement of their teams and Scout unit asa whole will be linked to:

• their level of maturity. The level of involve-ment will therefore be different in a group of8-10 year-olds than in a group of 15-18 year-olds.

• their experience of this form of operation. AScout unit of 12-14 year-olds that has been

operating for a year or two may be able tohave a greater degree of involvement in run-ning their group than a newly constitutedgroup of older young people.

This means, therefore, that the design of theYouth Programme needs to reflect a progres-sion in terms of self-government in the oper-ating structure across the age sections. It willalso require some flexibility in terms of theextent of responsibilities for youth membersin newly constituted groups.

Generally, in the youngest age section the na-ture of the decisions to be taken by the youngpeople would be in the choice between sev-eral activities, for example. Responsibilitiesmight be to remember to bring refreshments,or materials needed for an activity. In the sub-sequent age section, decision-making could ex-tend to the theme of the summer camp, forexample, and responsibilities could includelooking after the team budget, being respon-sible for catering arrangements, compiling adiary of the team’s adventures, etc.

A democratic system

The team system is intended to help youngpeople to understand the concept of democ-racy through experiencing it in action.


Democracy in the Scout unit is based on:

• ensuring that the needs and interests of allare taken into account. This implies alwaysstriving to reach a consensus. If every deci-sion were to be subject to a majority vote, theneeds and interests of the minority would beignored;

• adherence to a commonly agreed set of rules,based on the Scout law;

• the fact that the Scout unit supports eachindividual, and each individual has a share ofresponsibility for ensuring that the Scout unitfunctions efficiently, and contributes towardsimproving it for the benefit of all.

Democracy in the Scout unit is thus a trulyparticipatory form of government. It does notinvolve establishing mini political parties, lob-bies, campaigning to win elections for posi-tions of power, or anything else of that nature.

Roles for each person - with real responsibility!

In the Scout unit, democracy starts in the teams- as they learn to dialogue and cooperate. Thedesign of the team system needs to ensurethat each person has an active role to play.These roles need to involve practical respon-sibilities - related to the needs and welfare of

ers and the adult leader to make decisionsconcerning the planning and organisation ofactivities, discuss difficulties, coordinate the af-fairs of the Scout unit, etc.

A Scout unit assembly

Meetings as a Scout unit need to be built intothe design of the operating structure so as toenable all of the young people and the adultleader to discuss and evaluate the success ofthe activities, but also to evaluate the life ofthe group, to build a consensus on what couldbe modified and, of course, to celebrateachievements.

Cohesion between all members of the Scout unit

In addition to the organisation of life withinthe teams, there is also the life of the Scoutunit to take into account! Summer camps, serv-ice projects, etc., involving the whole of theScout unit need to be built into the design,while still providing time and space for theteams to be together.

Opportunities to experience teamwork with othermembers of the Scout unit

In addition to the need to belong to a smallpermanent team, by early to mid-adolescenceyoung people tend to seek opportunities to

the teams. The roles need to be conceived soas to appeal to the young people and offerchallenge. The responsibilities must also beadapted to the level of development and ex-perience of the young people - i.e. less com-plex for the newcomers.

One of the roles is that of team leader. Thisyoung person’s responsibility is to coordinatethe team, help the team members to reach aconsensus on what they want to do and carryout their roles, represent them at the team lead-ers’ council, help coordinate activities involv-ing the whole Scout unit, etc. As it requiresmaturity and experience of how the Scout unitfunctions, this is a role designed for senioryouth members of the Scout unit.

The appointment of the team leaders is alsopart of the democratic process, based on whothe team members and the adult leaders con-sider is most capable of doing the job. It isimportant, however, that the role of team leaderis not the only challenging role for seniormembers.

A coordinating council

The team system involves a council whichneeds to meet on a regular basis. The councilis composed of the team leaders and the adultleader. It is an opportunity for the team lead-


expand their social horizons and to work withother young people on the more complex as-pects of their projects. Concretely, this simplyinvolves incorporating into the design of theprogramme opportunities for the young peo-ple to form temporary task forces.

A limited range of ages

The team system offers the greatest educationalbenefits when it:

• enables the teams to operate with a degreeof autonomy appropriate to the age group; and

• stimulates close relationships between themembers of the teams.

The major consideration in this respect is therange of ages within the teams.

Generally, the team system works best whenthere is approximately three to four years agedifference between the youngest and the old-est in a team.

This is due to the fact that the more maturemembers of the teams will stimulate the lessmature to develop. At the same time, the lessmature members stimulate the sense of respon-sibility in the senior members and give themopportunities to exercise responsibility in help-


The main areas of support to the adult leaderare to help him or her to:

• understand how this association of teams ismeant to function as a democratic system ofself-government. The adult leader needs to beable to help the teams to build a consensuson what they want to achieve (making surethat the needs and interests of all are takenequally into account), and to help them toorganise themselves;

• be able to enrich the young people’s ideasof what they want to do so as to provide op-portunities for the young people to progresstowards their educational objectives;

• observe and understand group dynamics andguide it in a constructive direction;

• be able to better judge what the young peo-ple are really capable of taking on by them-selves. This means ensuring physical and emo-tional security (of the young people and oth-ers); being able to overcome the temptationto make life easier by organising everythingoneself; not pushing the young people beyondwhat they can be reasonably be expected toundertake, etc.;

ing the younger members to progress, to inte-grate the code of living, to gain skills, to learnhow to work as a team, etc. The presence ofyounger members also helps the senior mem-bers to realize the changes in themselves sincethey were that age.

However, when the age range is greater thanthis, the educational impact of the team sys-tem becomes greatly reduced. This is becausethe difference in the level of maturity will beso great that the young people at either endof the age range will feel that they have littlein common with those at the other end - andthus will informally regroup according to theirnatural tendency to be with others of approxi-mately the same age!

For the national association, the fact of limit-ing the age range so as to enable the teamsystem to fulfil its educational function evi-dently has implications on the number of agesections that the association offers and/or onthe overall range of ages that it addresses.


• judge if and when to intervene, for exam-ple, in a conflict, or when to point out majorobstacles, etc.


In a newly constituted Scout unit

Typically, a new Scout unit is made up of rela-tively few young people who have simplycome together to give Scouting a try. The adultleader, in this case, will evidently have to takethe lead in proposing activities that interestthe young people and introduce the rules ofthe game - Scouting’s code of living.

Initially they may all want to operate as a sin-gle team for a while. There is no point in arti-ficially creating teams on their behalf. With timethey will eventually do so of their own accord- as after all, the team system is based on howyoung people operate naturally!

Helping newcomers to become integrated

In a group that has been operating for a while,and has well-established teams, helping new-comers to become integrated requires specialattention. By being invited to join a team, thenewcomer to Scouting is able to become fa-miliar with a small group of people first. Gradu-

ally, of course, the other faces will becomefamiliar, too.

It is within the team that the newcomer canmost easily become acquainted with thegroup’s code of living and to take on a re-sponsibility which contributes to group life,thereby immediately becoming a contributingmember of the team.

Establishing responsibilities within the teams

From the panoply of responsibilities requiredfor the teams to function, the adult leadershould guide each young person towards hisor her area of interest, while bearing in mindthe young person’s capacities. The task shouldnot be so complex as to lead to failure, yetshould be challenging enough to stimulate theyoung person.

The adult leader and the young people shouldagree on the length of time that the responsi-bilities are carried out by the same people inthe group. It should be long enough for theyoung person to have mastered the job and tohave gained something from the experience,but it is not a lifetime commitment! After theagreed length of time, the responsibilities canbe presented to the group again, so that eachperson can experience a new role.

While some responsibilities will be more com-plex than others to cater to the differing levelsof capacities and experience of the youngpeople, all of the responsibilities need to begiven value in the group. If the young peopleregularly try to avoid a particular kind of re-sponsibility or try to relegate it to an innocentnewcomer or, on the contrary always seem tobe vying for the same responsibility, then theremay be a problem underlying the situationwhich needs to be sorted out.

Making a meal together at the end of a day,for example, is not just to learn to cook; it is aconcrete contribution to the group which helpsthe young people to operate autonomously. Itis also an opportunity to have a chat abouthow the day went, to get to know each otherbetter after the heat of the action. The adultleader needs to make an effort to make theseroutine activities fun. They are only “chores”if that is the way they are conceived and pre-sented!

A particular responsibility - team leader

A particular responsibility which can have aneffect on group dynamics (either positively ornegatively) is that of the team leaders. Being ateam leader does not mean imposing one’swill. It is primarily listening to the team mem-


bers, helping them to understand how the teamsystem is meant to function, and coordinatingtheir operations as a team.

The team leaders need to have the maturity tocarry out the role and need to have experi-ence of how Scouting operates in the group.While the adult leader will have an influencein deciding which young people are ready totake on such a responsibility, the young peo-ple in the teams need to be associated in thedecision. This is because the team leader needsto be accepted as such by the other youngpeople. Inviting the young people to considerwho they think best matches a “job descrip-tion” of team leader is one way of associatingthem in the process.


WHAT IS IT?

A symbol could be described as somethingfamiliar which represents something more vastor abstract (e.g. an idea or concept). The de-sign of the Scout emblem, for example, whichis familiar to all of us in Scouting, is symbolicin nature - the reef knot which symbolises theunity of the Movement, and so on.

Symbols are often used to help communicateconcepts which may not be familiar to peoplethrough inviting them to think beyond the mostapparent meaning of things that are alreadyfamiliar to them. Symbols communicatethrough an appeal to the imagination and ex-perience - without the need for advanced pow-ers of reasoning or complex language.

In Scouting, a symbolic framework is a set ofelements which represent concepts whichScouting seeks to promote.

The very name of our Movement - Scouting -refers to a symbolic framework invented byits founder, Baden-Powell, and was intendedto appeal to boys in late childhood-early ado-lescence (the only age section - and gender -catered to at the time).

Originally, the name of Scouts came from sol-diers in the armed forces who went on re-

A SYMBOLICFRAMEWORK

connaissance trips ahead of the rest in orderto determine whether or not it was safe forthe others to follow. They survived throughtheir knowledge of nature and general re-sourcefulness.

However, it is important to remember that,despite his military background, Baden-Pow-ell sought to promote peace, tolerance andgoodwill:

“Our aim is to bring up the next generationas useful citizens with a wider outlook thanbefore and thereby to develop goodwill andpeace in the world through comradeship andcooperation, in place of the prevailing rivalrybetween classes, creeds and countries, whichhas done so much in the past to producewars and unrest.” 5

It is also important to remember that Scoutingbegan in a particular sociopolitical context(Britain, in the early 20th century) in which,as B-P knew, “Scouts” conjured up images ofadventure, courage and chivalry, close-knitgroups, developed powers of observation, re-sourcefulness and a simple healthy life in thegreat outdoors - all qualities which he soughtto promote:

5 Baden-Powell, Jamboree, 1922.

“Had we called it what is was, viz, a‘Society for the Propagation of MoralAttributes’, the boy would not exactlyhave rushed for it. But to call it Scout-ing and give him the chance of becom-ing an embryo Scout, was quite anotherpair of shoes.”

- ”Lessons from the ‘Varsity of Life”, Baden-Powell, 1933.

“The capacity for awareness of sensoryexperiences is critical to the develop-ment of meaning... Meaning derivesfrom a profoundly held relation to therevelatory power of the symbols. Yet thesymbol becomes an objectified ‘other’ ifit is not grounded in the senses.”

- “The Possible Human”, Jean Houston, J.P. Tarcher, 1982.


“By the term of “Scouting” is meant the workand attributes of backwoodsmen, explorers,hunters, seamen, airmen, pioneers andfrontiersmen.” 6

As Scouting began to cater to the needs ofyoung people outside of this original agegroup, the need became apparent to developother symbolic frameworks for them. The sym-bolic framework changes, therefore, from oneage section to the next so as to correspond tothe young people’s level of maturity and tofocus on the specific needs of the various agegroups.

At the same time, however, “Scouting” has re-mained the name of our Movement - and“Scout” is the generic term in English for ayouth member of any age. Whatever the termused in other languages, the symbolism re-mains faithful to the original intention (e.g.“Pathfinder”, or a person who “lights the way”).

In many countries, the symbolic framework ofScouts with their troop and patrols is still usedfor the late childhood-early adolescent agesection. However, whatever the symbolicframeworks used for the various age groups,“Scouting” remains as an overall “umbrella”

symbolic framework, thereby creating a linkbetween all members wherever they may be.

In order to cater to the needs of young peopleat different ages, each age section has a sym-bolic framework which is expressed as a cen-tral theme (inspired by children’s fables, my-thology, legendary heroes, a period in history,etc., or which may be totally invented). It in-volves a way of life which represents the per-sonal qualities and collective way of life whichScouting seeks to promote and focuses on themajor educational need in the educational pro-posal that characterises a given age group. Ex-amples of such needs are: learning to live to-gether for a young age group, adventure andsurvival for the subsequent age group, explor-ing new horizons, involvement in communityor environmental issues, etc.


A symbolic framework builds on young peo-ple’s natural capacity for imagination, adven-ture, creativity and inventiveness in a waywhich:

• stimulates their development in the variousdimensions;

• helps them to identify with the directions ofdevelopment and the values underlying Scout-ing;

• stimulates the development of a sense ofidentity;

• stimulates cohesiveness and solidarity withinthe group.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

As a young person grows up, the way in whichhe or she apprehends the world and situateshim or herself in it changes from being pre-dominantly based on the use of imagination -the “magical thinking” of childhood - to beingbased on the use of reason and personal ex-perience - the “logical thinking” of adulthood.

Young people frequently project themselvesinto an imaginary world in order to expandthe confines of the real world in which theylive and in order to explore and resolve vari-ous difficulties which then enable them topass on to a new stage of development. Thekinds of situations invented and the roles thatthe young people invent for themselves changeas new stages of development are reached andnew difficulties need to be sorted out.

The extent to which young people resort totheir imagination in this sense gradually de-creases as their sense of identity develops andtheir self-confidence in their ability to deal withsituations and to manage emotions increases.

6 “ Aids to Scoutmastership”, Baden-Powell, World Brotherhood edition,1944.


The purpose of a symbolic framework, there-fore, is not to maintain young people in anartificial world of make-believe. It is simply amatter of making use of this natural tool in away which helps them to enrich every daylife, to resolve a number of difficulties that theyface and move on to new stages of develop-ment. The symbolic framework, therefore,needs to gradually evolve, as young peopledo, from a world of make-believe to a morerealistic setting with a pinch of imaginationadded.

A symbolic framework can contribute to thedevelopment of young people in a number ofways. In terms of intellectual development, theuse of symbols and imagery can help youngpeople to grasp abstract concepts. In addition,by school-age onwards, school and family tendto give priority to stimulating the capacitiesnormally associated with the left brain (theability to analyse, reason, present ideas in astructured way, etc.), often at the expense ofthe creative, inventive right brain. Throughstimulating the imagination, a symbolic frame-work can help to keep alive the young per-son’s creative, inventive side. Figuring out howto cross an unexpected river in the middle ofthe woods, for example, has more chances ofsuccess when one can both analyse the situa-tion at hand and try to imagine what real ex-plorers would have done!

From the perspective of emotional develop-ment, a symbolic framework provides youngpeople with constructive opportunities to feelheroic, chivalrous, courageous, etc. Doing sois a way of developing their self-esteem and isa release from some of the emotional difficul-ties of growing up, such as the frustration ofthe dependency of childhood and early ado-lescence or feelings of inadequacy. It is notescaping from reality, rather it is a way of de-veloping the inner resources needed to dealwith it. Even as adults we do not lose thiscapacity, but we tend to deny it as being “child-ish” - and yet there is even a branch of psy-chotherapy that deals with helping adults torecover the capacity to envision overcomingsupposedly insurmountable problems!

Evidently, the fact of identifying with the per-sonal qualities and collective way of life in-herent in the symbolic framework can alsohave an impact on physical, social and spir-itual development.

The desire to be like the characters in the sym-bolic framework, and the fact of having devel-oped self-esteem as a result of it, can stimu-late the young people to overcome apprehen-sion about a physical challenge, or to takebetter care of their health, for example.

The symbolic framework can contribute tosocial development when all of the youngpeople identify with a close-knit way of lifeinherent in the symbolic framework and theunderlying elements of caring for others, re-sponsibility, etc.

Finally, a symbolic framework can open theway to spiritual development through the factthat it is based on the values inherent in Scout-ing’s principles. It can thus stimulate youngpeople to explore and examine themselves,their relationships and life in general in a waywhich goes beyond material, everyday life,transforming, for a time, the ordinary into theextraordinary, the impossible into the possi-ble, the unobservable into what may be sensedintuitively.



Whether a Scout association is in the processof developing symbolic frameworks for the firsttime, or whether a well-established Scout as-sociation is analysing the educational relevanceof one or more of its symbolic frameworkswithin the context of a programme review, thework involved evidently goes beyond pickinga children’s story or a period of history out ofthe blue and giving symbolic names to meet-ing places, teams or activities. It also goes be-yond simply substituting “Star Wars” for the“Jungle Book” in the hope of “modernising”the youth programme.

Some of the major points that need to be takeninto consideration are outlined below.

Focusing on an educational need

While a symbolic framework can contributeto development in all of the areas, a focus ona major educational need of young people ata certain age helps to ensure the relevanceand appeal to the various age groups and thusthe potential educational benefit. While thismajor educational need may vary accordingto society or culture, examples of needs gen-erally considered to be characteristic of par-ticular age groups are:

• Mid to late childhood - the age of socialisation

Mid-childhood is the age when young peoplebecome capable of logical reasoning and thusstart school. As a result, they start to spendmore time with other young people of theirown age outside of the family.

It is at this time that young people experimentwith establishing (and frequently changing!)rules for their games and interaction amongstpeers in general. Through a process of trialand error, the young people eventually de-velop a system of the rights and obligations ofthe members of the group. “That’s not fair, it’smy turn” can be heard all over the world.

It is through this process that the young peo-ple start to overcome the natural self-centredness of childhood and begin to under-stand the usefulness of cooperating, sharingand organising themselves as a group.

The use of make-believe is often a backdropto their games - the imaginary setting givespurpose to the games and a sense of commonpurpose between the “partners”.

Individually, many young people project them-selves into make-believe situations at this timeboth in order to sort out difficulties and emo-tions at home and in order to adjust to thisnew social context of peers.

A symbolic framework for this age group gen-erally concentrates on this process ofsocialisation - facilitating integration and asense of belonging to a group, making the codeof living understandable to all, etc.

• Late childhood-early adolescence - the age ofsurvival

For many young people in this age group, thisis the time of the onset of puberty. While theprospect of no longer being a child may beexciting, the many changes that occur can bedisconcerting. Spurts of growth of limbs or thebody can cause temporary difficulties in coor-dination, and even one’s face can seem unfa-miliar! On the emotional front, both parentsand young people have to adjust to the factthat childhood is ending, but the wings of adult-hood are not yet there. Feelings of inadequacy,frustration and a lack of a sense of identitycome to the fore, although they are often hid-den from peers for fear of ridicule.

Many young people at this time feel the needto prove all kinds of things to themselves. De-veloping survival skills and other practical skillsrelated to dealing with everyday life becomesimportant in order to prove to themselves andothers their growing capacity for autonomy.


• Mid-adolescence - the age of strong emotions

By mid-adolescence, young people often seekout opportunities for strong emotions and sen-sations. Inner questioning, the value of friend-ship, spiritual awakening, universal values,concern for global issues, and so on, tend tobe characteristic of this age group, as well as adesire for strong physical sensations often as-sociated with risk-taking behaviour.

Many young people feel that they are not“taken seriously” by the adult world. Some seekopportunities to prove their capacity to takean active role in society with real responsibili-ties, or feel a strong desire to widen their ho-rizons - meeting new people and seeing newplaces. Others retreat into a phase of apparentapathy. At the same time, their desire for strongphysical sensations, to test their limits or es-cape from problems, draws many towardshigh-risk activities.

Relationships within the group can becomevery important, with strong friendships andequally strong clashes of personality. Situationsand roles invented at this time (romance apart!)include being taken seriously by adults, achiev-ing a mission of some sort, being able to or-ganise themselves as efficiently as adults, as

well as exploring new horizons and anticipat-ing the thrill of adrenaline.

In response to their need to identify with moremature roles, symbolic frameworks for this agegroup often revolve around kinds of people ad-mired in history - high-adventure explorers,people who, despite all the odds, succeededsomething extraordinary, people who havemade a lasting contribution to society, etc.

• Mid to late adolescence - the age of voyages

Much of the social concern felt before still re-mains, except that this is also an age whenmany young people hit earth with a bump! Adesire for full independence from parents iscoupled with apprehension about being ableto actually deal with it all. Worries about stud-ies, choosing a career, finding a job as well asthe fear of solitude in the big wide world andthe joys and tribulations of romance tend tocharacterise this period. Although many youngpeople may leave Scouting at this time, quitea few still appreciate the idea of carrying outprojects together, organising travel expeditions,examining new lifestyles and potential careeropportunities, getting to know new kinds ofpeople, helping out on community projects -preferably as far away from home as possible!

Nonetheless, a sense of responsibility towardsothers starts to develop at this time.

Situations and roles invented at this time areoften to do with physical prowess and attrac-tiveness, heroism and courage.

A symbolic framework for this age groups needsto become a little more realistic, concentratingon personal and collective survival and re-sourcefulness.


If actually travelling abroad is financially im-possible in some cases, every country offersuntold opportunities for voyages of discovery!

Symbolic frameworks for this age group gener-ally concentrate on a voyage of discovery andself-discovery - with stops to give a helping handand get to know others along the way.

Establishing the framework

Before starting to think about potential themes,the question to ask is: what educational con-cepts should be highlighted through the useof symbolism? The answer to this requires ex-amining the educational proposal for the agesection, the values underlying Scouting, theneeds of young people at different ages, andso on, and to see how these concepts couldbe symbolised in the operating structure andthe application of the Scout Method - in otherwords, in what the young people are actuallygoing to experience.

The next question would be to see if the con-cepts short-listed make a coherent whole orwhether some are really peripheral and couldbe cut out. Symbolism is meant to enrich theScouting experience, not weigh it down!

Examining potential or existing themes

In addition to considering symbolic frame-works from the perspective of progressionfrom make-believe to reality and a specificeducational focus, there are several otherconsiderations to be borne in mind. Theseinclude:

• A theme from the young people’s culturalheritage or a non-culture-specific theme?

A theme inspired from one’s cultural herit-age (legendary heroes, history, etc.) canstimulate a sense of affinity with the cultureheritage of the young people. This can bean important consideration in choosingthemes for young people who suffer from alack of cultural identity - which can arise fora variety of sociopolitical reasons; or it maybe an almost automatic choice in societieswith a relatively homogeneous cultural back-ground.

The choice may be a different one, how-ever, for Scout associations which cater toyoung people from a variety of ethnic back-grounds - whose cultural heritage should beconsidered? One option could be to lookfor culturally neutral themes - inspired bynature or mythology, for example. In anycase, due to their ephemeral and commer-

cial nature, themes from “pop culture” shouldbe avoided.

• Is the theme likely to appeal?

“Glorious” periods in sociopolitical history andeven economic expansion have had an influ-ence on the choice of themes representingheroism, courage and chivalry in more thanone country over time. Themes designed tostimulate pride in one’s people and countrymay well be a consideration, particularly incountries that have gone through difficult times.Themes of this nature, however, should beconsidered carefully. In no way must a themeserve to stimulate, nor be likely to result in, anationalistic attitude, racial tension, territorialdisputes, etc.

In fact, the major considerations in findingthemes likely to appeal to young people arelargely the same as the considerations in find-ing themes of educational relevance: a) Doesthe theme offer the right proportions of make-believe and reality for the age group? (Notmany 16-year-olds, for example, are likely tobe inspired by characters from children’s fa-bles) and b) Do the key characteristics of thetheme sound mature to the young people it isintended for? (The theme is more likely toappeal if it corresponds to the needs of thestage of development that they are about toenter.)


• Is the theme coherent with Scouting’seducational proposal?

Whatever the symbolic framework chosen, theway of life must reinforce, and not contradictin any way, Scouting’s aims, principles andmethod. A symbolic framework which involvesany hint of discrimination against other peo-ple, or any form of disregard for nature andthe environment would not, for example, becompatible with promoting peace and humanunderstanding or respect for the integrity ofthe natural world - even in make-believe.

Making the most of a symbolic framework in theYouth Programme

Clearly, a symbolic framework is more thansimply adding “colour” to the Youth Pro-gramme - although it does that too. In a way itis like a coloured thread, woven in the fabricof the Youth Programme. Of course, symbolicnames are used for the meeting places, teams,the themes of camps and so on, although it ismore than that, too. How, for example, is thesymbolic framework - and the educational needthat it aims to respond to - reflected in theoperating structure of the unit? For example,if a symbolic framework concentrates on ac-tive participation in society, does each youngperson have the opportunity to take part indecision-making and take on responsibilities?

If the theme of a camp is all about resource-fulness and personal survival, is there not acontradiction with the theme if the teams as-semble pre-cut planks of wood for picnic ta-bles?

An examination of the themes currently usedfor symbolic frameworks in an association maywell show that the themes in themselves arestill perfectly valid - but are they really beingused to their full potential?


The adult leader needs to understand what asymbolic framework is and what it is meant todo in general and, more specifically, to be-come familiar with the symbolic frameworkfor the age group that they are working withand the specific need that it aims to respondto.

The symbolic framework needs to be reflectedin the booklets and other tools written for theyoung people themselves. The theme wouldnormally be reflected as a leitmotif adding “col-our” to the subject being dealt with (planninga camp, explaining personal progression, orwhatever), and would also be reflected throughstories, anecdotes, illustrations related to thetheme. The predominant use of a certain col-

our (red, blue, etc.) may also be used to sym-bolise the theme of the age section and rein-force their identification with it. It is importantto make sure that the theme comes across inan exciting yet mature way which helps theyoung people to feel that they really are “ex-plorers” or “pioneers”.


There are a thousand and one ways of mak-ing a symbolic framework come alive in thegroup. The adult leader needs to feel comfort-able with the symbolism so that the themecomes across as a natural part of what Scout-ing for that age section is all about. It is alsocrucial that the adult leader makes the themecome across as real and mature. From theyoung people’s point of view, they need tofeel that they really are explorers or Scouts,otherwise it kills the magic of it all - which ishardly the purpose.

The adult leader will, at times, need to takethe initiative and invent connections as he orshe goes along - for example in the way anactivity is proposed or carried out, the themeof a community service camp, etc. Gradually,the young people will come up with their ownideas - the choice of team names, of how tomake their meeting place more like an explor-


er’s base camp, or a Scouts’ den or an actiongroup’s office, for example.

The use of a specific theme for an age sectiondoes not preclude the use of other themesduring the year for a particular project, campor whatever in order to add excitement and anew learning perspective. This will involvethinking about the educational objectives ofthe event, what the young people are actuallygoing to be doing and seeing what can bedone to make the theme come alive - decora-tions, costumes, specific activities, even what,where and how they cook dinner can all addto the experience!

The adult leader also needs to ensure that wayin which the group operates, including his orher relationship with the young people, doesnot contradict the educational need that thetheme is meant to respond to.


NATURE WHAT IS IT?

Nature refers to the natural environment - thewoods, the plains, the sea, the mountains, thedesert - as opposed to artificially created envi-ronments, such as the school yard, concretecampsites and crowded cities. Nature also re-fers to what Baden-Powell called the “harmo-nious whole” of the “infinite, the historic andthe microscopic”, and humankind’s place init.

Nature, as an element of the Scout Method,refers to the immense possibilities that thenatural world offers for the development ofthe young person.


Contact with nature is intended to:

• contribute to the development of the youngperson in all of the areas of development in aholistic way;

• provide an ideal setting in which the ScoutMethod can be applied.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Nature contributes to personal developmentin many ways. The most obvious examplesare those which relate to each area of devel-opment:

• Physical development:

Nature offers fresh, unpolluted air, space inwhich to run and expend energy, opportuni-ties for all kinds of inexpensive physical ac-tivities which provide strong physical sensa-tions, opportunities to test limits of endurance,coordination, the speed of reflexes, and so on.

• Intellectual development:

For the younger Scout (and even for olderones!) nature provides innumerable opportu-nities to explore and develop the senses andto develop skills of observation and other fac-ulties: colours, shapes, sizes, movement, lis-tening to sounds, distinguishing smells, feel-ing different textures, and so on.

Nature can help young people to analyse situ-ations; to use their imagination and powers ofreasoning; to find creative and appropriateways of overcoming difficulties, using a mini-mum of available resources; and much more.

“Every flower of the field, every fiber of aplant, every particle of an insect, carrieswith it the impress of its Maker, and can- if duly considered - read us lectures ofethics or divinity.”

- “A Natural History”, Sir Thomas Pope Blount, 1693.


Being in nature also provides a wealth of op-portunities for young people to understandconcepts of interdependence (e.g. throughhaving to cooperate at camp), perceive net-works of relationships, how systems function(e.g. through observing wildlife), and so on.

• Emotional development:

Nature offers many opportunities to explorefeelings and emotions. The peace and tran-quillity of being in nature helps one to standback from everyday problems and irritations.At night in a tent, the young person has toface his or her irrational fears and overcomethem.

• Social development:

A camp, far away from home and the trap-pings of civilisation, is when young peopleare able to really get to know each other withtheir strengths and weaknesses. The simpleactivities of everyday life, such as makingmeals, organising the living space, etc., bringout the meaning of interdependence. Helpingeach other is a necessity, the problems facedare real. Solutions to conflicts have to be foundbecause one cannot just walk away and gohome. Racing down a river, trekking up amountain, taking an impromptu shower in therain after a hot and dusty day, huddling together

Here I am camped by a rushing river between forest-clad hills.

Heaven is not a vague something somewhere up in the sky, but is right here inthis world in your own heart and surroundings.

By a camp fire the mind can open out and receive great thoughts and higherimpulses.

The study of nature brings into a harmonious whole the question of the infi-nite, the historic and the microscopic as part of the Great Creator’s whole.

Don’t be content with the what but get to know the why and the how.

If you ever feel hopeless about getting on to success in life from a small begin-ning remember that even that great strong tree, the oak, began at first as a

little acorn, lying on the ground.

Patience has more to do with success than almost any other quality.

Boys can see adventure in a dirty old duck-puddle... Without adventure, lifewould be deadly dull.

As we get into our crabbed old age, we are apt to forget that we were onceyoungsters.

God has given us a world to live in that is full of beauties and wonders andHe has given us not only eyes to see them, but minds to understand them, if

we only have the sense to look at them in that light.

- Compilation of Baden-Powell’s texts


for warmth sharing a hot drink are all experi-ences which can help to form close relation-ships and a sense of solidarity which city lifedoes not always offer.

• Spiritual development:

A spiritual awareness can develop from sim-ply taking time to discover and contemplatethe many wonders of the natural world. Tak-ing time, for example, to observe and thinkabout how insects go about their lives, oblivi-ous of the presence of human giants; or tak-ing time while watching for shooting stars inthe night sky to think about how tiny we arecompared to the vast, mysterious universe.Taking time to sense a feeling of awe and time-lessness inspired by landscapes.

Nature offers innumerable opportunities for in-ner questioning. Once the mind has openedup, then the young person can more fully ex-plore and freely adhere to his or her religiousheritage.

Getting back to essentials

From a more holistic perspective of education,contact with nature can help the young per-son to get back to what is essential and real inlife. Today, more than ever, young people aregrowing up in a world in which it is becomingmore and more difficult to distinguish betweenwhat is essential and what is superfluous, be-tween what is urgent and what can wait, be-tween what is authentic and what is superfi-cial - in short, between reality and illusion.

Living in harmony with nature

When young people are able to appreciate asimple life in nature in this way and are ableto leave their consumer lifestyles behind, theycan better understand the need to live in har-mony with nature and to protect it.

“With the color that paints the morningand evening clouds that face the sun, Isaw then the whole heaven suffused.”

- “Divine Comedy”, Dante.

“He who is in harmony with Naturehits the mark without effort andapprehends the truth without think-ing.”

- Confucius

In nature, miles away from the nearest road,let alone telephone, the young person is forcedto face reality. City fashion, social backgrounds,acting “cool” disappear in the wind when astorm is blowing. The simple pleasures of life- feeling the warmth of the morning sunshine,watching the stars at night, swimming in a river- can make even the most sophisticated elec-tronic game fade from memory.

“{Camping in nature} makes me feel freer...You have to get away from the usual com-forts, and deal with things... You reallyrealise it afterwards.”

- “Educational impact of Scouting: Three case studies on adolescence”,WOSM, 1995.


world in which they live. It is simply intendedto help them to discover a world that theymay not otherwise have thought to explore,to look beyond material values, to enrich theirexperience of life in a way that can serve themin every day life to think through what is es-sential and what is really unimportant.


While it is generally not feasible for all activi-ties to take place in nature, contact with na-ture is an essential part of Scouting. As con-tact with nature can help young people todevelop in so many ways, it is just as impor-tant for the young person growing up amidstthe concrete and plastic of the cities as it is forthe young person growing up in a tin-roofedhut in a shanty-town.

Education through nature

Nature can be the setting for many kinds ofactivities - even when the primary educationalobjective of the activity is not directly relatedto nature. In such cases, whatever the primaryeducational objective, an underlying objectiveis simply to help young people to feel com-fortable with being in nature (for some thismay be a big step!).

Gaining a sense of the historic

Rubbing sticks of wood to make a fire, findinga source of water, picking edible berries forlunch, gazing up at an age-old tree can helpto make young people gain a sense of history,to consider how far mankind has come - andwhere mankind is going.

Understanding the value of the code of living

A Scout camp in nature offers both simplicityand intensity of experience. It is often aftersuch a camp that young people feel that rela-tionships have become much stronger and thevalues underlying the code of living can sud-denly make real sense to them.

The use of nature in Scouting is evidently notintended to shut young people off from the

“Human life is embedded in nature,humans are caught up in natural sys-tems; to act as though this is not the caseharms nature and ultimately endangershuman survival.”

- “Global Teacher, Global Learner”, Graham Pike and David Selby,Hodder and Stoughton, 1989.

On another level, use can be made of a natu-ral setting for all kinds of physically challeng-ing activities, personal and collective survivalactivities, such as orienteering, learning thebasics of camping skills, overnight hikes, etc.Nature can thus help to make young peoplemore conscious of their capacities and theirneed to progress - through testing their physi-cal limits, their resourcefulness, their capacityto deal with difficulties and avoid danger, tocooperate as a team, etc. Even a small amountof time to rest by a river or under a tree after atiring activity can help young people to gain afeeling of peacefulness.

Learning about nature

Most young people follow classes in geogra-phy and biology at school. In Scouting, activi-ties which involve learning about nature arenot intended to reproduce what schools arealready doing, nor to concentrate on practicalapplication classes to complement book-basedtheory.

In Scouting, knowledge is not amassed for itsown sake! Activities about nature combineknowledge and skills based on the young peo-ple’s interests and, in the way that they areconceived and carried out, contribute to thedevelopment of attitudes.


be extremely useful when camping near a for-est! Learning to make a bird call, figuring outhow to construct the equipment necessary foran experiment that they are interested in, learn-ing basic agricultural skills and making tools,etc., offer opportunities for young people toprogress towards all sorts of educational ob-jectives.

Action for nature and the environment

Evidently, environmental protection activitiesare a regular part of any Scout programme -and many can even be carried out in the mid-dle of a city. In Scouting, young people’s firstencounter with environmental protection issimply the fact of applying their code of livingto the environment in which they are carryingout their activities - respecting the natural habi-tat of the flora and fauna by not leaving litter,ensuring that their cooking fire is properlyextinguished, not wasting natural resources,refurbishing existing materials and tools for useas opposed to always buying new, and so on.

It would be a mistake, however, to assumethat an environmental protection activity willnecessarily lead to a greater inner concern fornature. The greatest impact is when youngpeople decide to undertake such an activityas a result of having had an opportunity toexplore and discover aspects of nature and to

have developed an emotional link with what-ever it is they are going to try to protect. Whena group of even young Scouts, for example,have enjoyed running along their favouritestretch of sandy beach, and return to find itcovered with litter, woe betide the next per-son they find dumping their rubbish on theshore!


The adult leader needs to have some enthusi-asm for life in nature and to understand howto make use of it in order to strengthen theScouting experience. He or she need not betechnically competent in the skills required forall activities, but needs to find adults who are.


In a new group in which the young peopleare not used to living in contact with nature,the adult leader should take special care toensure that the first experience goes smoothlyand is enjoyable. If the young people showan interest in physically challenging activities,this would be a better starting point in devel-oping contact with nature than an environ-mental protection activity.

“Where do you suppose theRABBIT tracks went?”

“The

little

Sco

uts in

Actio

n”, R

oland

Coe.

N.Y .,

Rob

ert M

. McB

ride,

1944

.

When at camp, observing the social organisa-tion of a colony of ants, for example, can openthe young people’s minds to a fascinatingworld that they may otherwise have missed -or trodden on. Being able to distinguish be-tween the pawprint of a rabbit and a bear can


Camps in nature greatly facilitate the integra-tion of new members in the group. A campshould therefore be planned a few months afterthe start of the new Scout year, with severalothers to follow. The adult leader needs toencourage curiosity, exploration and discov-ery, create a positive atmosphere, and use op-portunities to recall the code of living. If camp-ing in the wild is not allowed or is too danger-ous, then at least the site should be as far awayfrom other campers as possible.

Evidently, developing contact with nature inthe group is not just a question of activities. Itis also a matter of promoting a simple lifestylein general and a basic respect for all thingsliving.


PERSONALPROGRESSION

WHAT IS IT?

Personal progression focuses specifically onhelping each young person to be consciouslyand actively involved in his or her own devel-opment.

The progressive scheme is the main tool usedto support this element of the Scout Method.It is based on a set of educational objectivesprepared by the national association for theage section, established according to theknowledge, skills and attitudes that a youngperson could reasonably be expected to havegained in the various areas of developmentby the end of that age section.

Presented in an attractive and stimulating way,it provides a tool for each young person, withthe help of the adult leader, to:

• work out a set of personal developmentobjectives;

• establish how, in concrete terms, he or sheor she intends to reach those objectives;

• carry out his or her intentions at his or herown pace;

• evaluate, recognise and celebrate theprogress made.


Quite simply, as described above, personalprogression is intended to help the youngperson to develop the inner motivation to takecharge of his or her own development; toprogress in his or her own way at his or herown pace in the general direction of the edu-cational objectives of the age section; and torecognise the progress made.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Many schools around the world face intensepressure to ensure that young people reach orsurpass a common level of knowledge in aca-demic subjects or of vocational skills that areintended to serve as a passport for the jobmarket.

In turn, by adolescence, young people alsoface intense pressure. The subjects tend to beimposed, not freely chosen, individual pacesof learning can rarely be taken into accountdue to the deadline of exams and, while hav-ing passed an exam or done better than oneexpected can procure a sense of achievement,it is also dependent on relative ranking - howmany did better or worse.

“Would you tell me, please, which way Iought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where youwant to get to,” said the Cheshire Cat.

- “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, Lewis Carroll.


Some young people are able to sail through,others struggle along. Many others fall into avicious circle whereby a lack of inner motiva-tion and a fear of failure leads to little effortbeing made, thus increasing the chances ofnot feeling a sense of achievement.

Being able to pursue real interests, discovertalents, and discover what it feels like to havea real sense of achievement in a noncompeti-tive atmosphere is crucially important for theyoung person. Ironically, the reaction of manyparents to low academic achievement at schoolis often to restrict or even ban outside activi-ties so as to devote as much time as possibleto school work.

Scouting, of course, is not specifically aimedat young people who are having difficulty atschool! It simply provides a way for all youngpeople who choose to join to widen their ho-rizons, to develop in ways that schools rarelydeal with, to have an opportunity to shine -each in his or her own way - through the pur-suit of his or her own interests and educa-tional objectives.

The progressive scheme

• Stages of progression

The framework consists of a number of stagesof progression for each age section.

The first stage which young people work to-wards is the one in which the young personmakes a voluntary commitment to Scoutingsymbolised by the Scout promise. It is not atest to pass. Simply, for the young person tobe able to make a truly voluntary commitment,he or she must have experienced Scouting inaction, be willing to share in the tasks of grouplife, become familiar with Scouting’s educa-tional proposal for the age section, have un-derstood the Scout law and how it translatesinto a code of living that are the “rules of thegame”.

While schools, parents, friends, and so on, mayencourage - even push - young people to giveScouting a try, ultimately, it must be up to theyoung person him or herself to decide to joinand make a personal commitment to Scouting- and to decide when to leave. This is basedon the concept that a young person will onlytruly progress if the motivation to do so comesfrom within - no one puts much energy intosomething if they would rather be elsewhere.

The fact that the young person must chooseto join is the foundation on which an innermotivation to develop can grow. In addition,the fact that all of the young people in thegroup are together and are undertaking thingstogether because they want to helps to createa mutually stimulating atmosphere.

The fact that Scouting simply asks each youngperson to “do his or her best” is central topersonal progression. There are no competi-tive tests, no ranking according to who didbetter or worse. The only competition is withoneself. Not only does this help to reduce thefear of comparison and of failure, it is also afactor which stimulates the development ofdeeper and more authentic relationships in thegroup - as there is no undercurrent of tensioncreated by competition.

A close-knit group has a tremendous influenceon stimulating progress in terms of attitudessuch as tolerance, solidarity, responsibility andcommitment towards the group, and providesemotional support. In addition, in generalterms, the closer-knit the group, the more theycan achieve together. The more they canachieve together, the more opportunities thereare for each person to progress.

The number of subsequent stages will gener-ally depend on the age range of the age sec-


tion and each lasts usually no more than oneyear. Each stage proposes a number of gen-eral educational objectives covering knowl-edge, skills and attitudes in all of the areas ofdevelopment and, generally, a number of ac-tivity ideas based on the educational proposalof the age section which offer ways in whichthe young person can progress towards theobjectives. The young person then personal-ises each of the objectives, with help from theadult leader.

An example could be a general educationalobjective related to developing the ability totake on responsibility and making a concretecontribution to group life. From the variety ofroles to be undertaken in order for the groupto function effectively, there could be respon-sibilities to do with growing vegetables for thegroup’s meals, learning to take charge of theteam budget, taking on the responsibility ofbeing a team leader, etc. With the help of theadult leader, the young person identifies hisor her areas of interest, the level of responsi-bility and the time commitment required, andso on.

After an agreed length of time, the young per-son can then take on greater responsibility ina way which involves new skills, for exampleby helping someone else to learn how to growvegetables. The young person can then try out

a different role involving new skills and kindsof responsibility.

In this example, knowledge, skills and atti-tudes form a whole related to both the devel-opment of the young person as an individualand as a active member of his or her commu-nity - in this case, the Scout unit.

The amount and kind of responsibility gradu-ally grows as the young person becomes ca-pable of doing so. Helping someone else inthe group to “learn the ropes” requires leader-ship skills - such as patience, an encouragingattitude and so on. At the same time, it helps a“senior” member to realise the progress madesince he or she first started to “learn the ropes”,and the ability of the “senior” member stimu-lates the “junior” member.

The contact stimulates constructive relation-ships and thus a closer-knit group. The au-tonomy of the group grows as each personbecomes more autonomous, responsible, sup-portive and committed.

What a young person gains through Scoutingis not abstract - it always relates to helping theyoung person to enrich his or her life today.In each stage of progression, the ways in whichthe young people gain the skills, knowledgeand attitudes in the various areas of develop-

ment are thus related to what is needed inorder to live Scouting to the full. For a youngScout, learning to pack a rucksack and remem-bering to bring what he or she is going toneed is useful. Technically, one could say thatbeing able to do so is a sign of intellectualdevelopment (as it requires analysis andmemory, etc.), but it is also a sign of growingautonomy - in this respect at least, the youngperson does not have to rely on anyone else,nor is the person a burden on the others.

• Proficiency in areas of personal interest

In addition to the stages of progression, theprogressive scheme offers a variety of oppor-tunities to pursue personal interests. Usually,it offers a number of options within a varietyof categories related to the educational objec-tives - manual skills, organisational skills, ar-tistic expression, community service, account-ancy, etc. The young person is encouraged tochoose options in each of the categories dur-ing his or her time in the age section so as tohelp the young person to widen his or herhorizons, discover new interests and talentsand develop new skills.

The interest areas are not an “add-on” to thegroup’s activities; they are an integral part ofthem. The interest areas are chosen accordingto the skills and knowledge that need to be


acquired for the group to carry out the projectsagreed upon. Once chosen, the young personworks towards completing a number of re-quirements resulting in a certain degree ofproficiency.

While the young person may gain the knowl-edge and skills in these interest areas duringScout meetings or at other times during theweek, with others or alone, the young personshares what he or she has learned with othersand the skills and knowledge are put to use intheir projects.

The requirements, of course, are formulatedin such a way as to provide the young personwith the latitude necessary so as to be able toprogress towards his or her personal objec-tives.

• Evaluating progress

Personal progression is evaluated in terms ofprogress towards the personal educationalobjectives of the young person, based on theframework of general objectives for the agesection in each of the areas of development. Itis evaluated by:

• the young person him or herself - in termsof the changes perceived since he or she set

his or her personal objectives and the amountof effort made, i.e. “doing one’s best”;

• the feedback of the other young people incontact with him or her and of the adult leaderin terms of observable changes in the youngperson in everyday life and in the observableamount of effort that the young person hasmade.

When the young person’s personal progressmeets the general requirements of the stage ofprogression, he or she formally passes on tothe next stage.

Concerning progress in the specific areas ofinterest, progress is evaluated in terms of theeffort made, the level of proficiency gainedand the use that has been made of it in con-tributing to group life and the success of thegroup’s activities. General attitudes are thusbuilt into the criteria of evaluation even in termsof proficiency in skills or knowledge gained.A young person may have become very profi-cient at repairing bicycles, but if he or she is atthe stage of helping another young person tolearn the same skills and gets angry every timea mistake is made, then there is room for im-provement!

• Publicly recognising progress

Progress needs to be recognised. The youngperson needs to know that he or she reallyhas made progress and to feel a sense ofachievement. The young person also needs tofeel that others have noticed and acknowledgeit.

Simply offering a few words of praise is aninformal way of recognising progress and isimportant to sustain the inner motivation ofthe young person. In addition, a more formalway of recognising progress is equally impor-tant. A small ceremony at the end of a mid-year evaluation, for example, serves as an oc-casion for the whole group to publicly ac-knowledge each other’s progress. A token ofthat achievement, such as a badge, a certifi-cate or even a photograph or drawing of theachievement represents tangible proof to theyoung person that he or she really did achievesomething special. That sense of achievementhelps to build up motivation again to forgeahead.

Of course, the proficiency badges and pro-gression awards are not meant to be stuck onuniforms or hung on walls to show off or fordecoration. The fact that a young person has acertain level of proficiency in a particular skill


means that the others can count on the youngperson to make use of it.

Putting one’s skills and talents to use in thegroup is a way of building on the progressthrough practical use and is also a way ofmaking sure that the progress is not simplyrecognised by the others but actively appreci-ated! For a young person in the senior agesection, passing a driving test can be a greatmoment for someone who has gone to greatlengths to save up and practice, but how moreenriching it is to also be the one to drive theteam to an activity site.

Personal progression as an integral element ofthe Scout Method

As we have seen, personal progression involvesthe development of knowledge, skills and at-titudes in all areas and the development of thewhole person as an individual and as a mem-ber of society. The progressive scheme is auseful tool in this respect. However, a tool byitself can be of limited effectiveness - it is theway in which it is used which makes it effec-tive. In this case, it is the use of the entireScout Method which makes the tool reallywork.

Designing or enriching activities intended tohelp the young person to gain knowledge and

skills is relatively easy. However, whether ornot what the young person learns goes in oneear and out the other depends largely on hisor her interests, the personal challenge in-volved, the perceived usefulness of whateverit is, i.e. the practical applications of the skillor knowledge, and the extent to which theskill or knowledge is actually put to use overtime.

In terms of attitudes, activities on cooperation,empathy (seeing problems from the other per-son’s perspective), peace and human under-standing, and so on, can be useful - but theyare primarily eye-openers. Long-term progressin terms of attitudes comes far less from spe-cific activities than through the way in whichknowledge and skills are pooled and sharedso as to benefit everyone, through experienc-ing life close to nature, the sense made of thecode of living through everyday experience,the joys and tribulations of life as a group, amutually supportive atmosphere, and so on.

Routine activities, therefore, are just as impor-tant in stimulating personal progress as thespecial ones. For example, the connection be-tween making supper or walking together ina small group and emotional development maynot be obvious, but there can be one if a youngperson really needs an opportunity to talkthrough a personal problem.


The progressive scheme needs to:

• be conceived with the application of theScout Method in mind;

• be simple and clearly related to recognis-able “milestones” marking personal progress;

• be attractive to young people;

• serve to motivate young people to makeprogress in their personal development;

• be easy for young people to understand anduse with the help of the adult leader;

• make full use of the symbolic frameworkfor the age section;

• be adapted to the age of the young peoplein the age section concerned;

• offer choice to young people;

• be sufficiently flexible, while covering allthe areas of development, so that the youngpeople can build their own personal objec-tives, based on their interests, capacities andsocio-cultural context.


At the same time, as an integral element of theScout Method, personal progression requireslooking beyond the tool of the progressivescheme. It also means looking at how all theelements of the Scout Method can be used tocreate an environment which stimulates innermotivation, offers encouragement and support,and helps the young person to develop as awhole person.


The progressive scheme will need to be pre-sented clearly to both adult leaders and youthmembers. Special handbooks or other infor-mation should be designed for youth mem-bers in each age section. These should:

• introduce the Scout Movement and the agesection concerned;

• describe the application of the Scout Methodto that section (team system, symbolism, etc.);

• present the progressive scheme (personaldevelopment areas, section educational objec-tives);

• explain how personal educational objectivesare determined through dialogue with the adultleader; how they are attained through activi-

ties and life in the group; how progress is evalu-ated and recognised; and describe the profi-ciency areas and requirements.

Similar tools to help adult leaders fulfil theirrole will also need to be developed.


Helping the newcomer to discover Scouting

In terms of helping a young person to takecharge of his or her development, the first taskof the adult leader is to try to get him or herinterested in Scouting! However exciting thebackground reading materials make Scoutingsound, and however much the activities de-scribed correspond to the young person’s in-terests, reality has to live up to his or her ex-pectations!

For a newcomer, the general group atmos-phere, the leadership style of the adult leader,the perceived relationships between the youngpeople and between the young people andthe adult leader, the extent to which the youngperson feels welcome, etc., are vitally impor-tant factors in whether or not a young personis likely to stay beyond the first meeting.

Building self-confidence

The adult leader needs to try to discover anyparticular talents or skills that the young per-son may have and find a way for the youngperson to put them to use. The point is not toget the young person to “show off”, but sim-ply to feel good about being able to do some-thing.

The situation or activity that enables the youngperson to use a particular talent needs to ben-efit the group in some way - even if the skill ispurely of entertainment value. This is impor-tant in terms of helping the others to acceptthe newcomer and for the newcomer to sensethe appreciation of the others and to feel use-ful. Young people are sensitive, however. Ifthe situation created is obviously artificial, orif the adult leader were to make a big deal ofone person’s talent, then the young personcould be extremely embarrassed.

By the same token, the adult leader also needsto observe whether the newcomer appears tohave any apparent difficulties so as to avoidsituations which could be potentially humili-ating. The difficulties will of course be bornein mind by the adult leader as particular areasto be worked on when helping the youngperson to establish his or her personal objec-tives.


Helping the young person to set personalobjectives

Assuming that the young person has made uphis or her mind to join the Movement, thenthe adult leader needs to help the young per-son to establish a set of personal objectives.This can take place as a one-to-one chat withthe adult leader, or it could even take place ina team setting, depending on how comfort-able the young people feel with each other.

The idea is for the adult leader, on the basis ofthe general educational objectives for the agesection, to:

• help the young person to explore how theobjectives translate into his or her own situa-tion;

• examine his or her current level of capaci-ties as compared to the objectives (as well asany difficulties that need particular attention);

• work out how the young person intends tomake progress towards each of the objectivesin concrete terms, based on his or her inter-ests, within a mutually agreed time frame.

Each young person thus develops his or herown personal development plan. The young

person can be invited to write down the planor record it in some way in his or her ownwords so as to serve as a reminder of the youngperson’s intentions and, later, as a way of look-ing back at the progress made.

In order to help the young person to do so,the adult leader needs to be able to make aneducated guess as to whether the educationalobjectives and the ways chosen to try toprogress are realistic for that person. If theambitions are too low, the adult leader canencourage him or her to go a little further. Ifthe challenge is too great, the young person islikely to become demotivated very fast. At theend of the day, however, the challenge has tobe determined by the young person him orherself - a challenge set by someone else be-comes meaningless.

Facilitating the young people’s progress

Facilitating the way for each young person toprogress towards his or her personal objec-tives can be quite a challenge for the adultleader! Of course, the national Scout associa-tion’s progressive scheme will normally includea number of activity ideas aimed at providingopportunities for the young people to progresstowards their objectives. However, the adultleader will always need to think through ac-tivity ideas to see how they can be enriched

so that each young person in the team has anopportunity to progress towards his or herobjectives through playing a part in makingthe team’s activities a success and contribut-ing to group life in general.

Every so often, the adult leader will need tostand back and think through whether there isanything in the way in which the Scout Methodis applied in the group that could be used togreater advantage.

Sustaining motivation and providing support toovercome difficulties

Just as everyone develops at different rates atdifferent moments in the various dimensions,so too the motivation to progress goes throughups and downs. As the young people discoverthat being in charge of the menus for the sum-mer camp is not quite as easy as it seemed, orthe creation of the set for the play they hadagreed to put on was being held up due to anuninspired scriptwriter, frustration and wan-ing interest can easily set in.

The way in which the adult leader deals withthis will evidently depend on the situation.Sometimes young people simply need time tohave a laugh and relax for a little while. Some-times, the adult leader may need to point out


his or her disappointment with a lack of ef-fort.

When a young person is experiencing diffi-culty, the leader’s role is to help the youngperson to explore ways of overcoming the dif-ficulty in order to succeed in what he or sheset out do. It does not help the young personto progress or to feel a sense of achievementif the adult leader provides all the answers ordeals with the young person’s problems onhis or her behalf. Judging the right amount ofchallenge for a young person needs to beworked out before - not in the heat of the action.

Ensuring that what is gained is put to use toenrich the group

The adult leader needs to make every effort tomake sure that the talents, skills and knowl-edge are put to use to enrich the group. Do-ing so may require some inventiveness so asto enrich an existing activity or project in anatural way. However, just because a youngperson decided to learn to chair a meeting,for example, does not mean that he or she hasto chair every meeting until the end of his orher days in Scouting! The idea would be forhim or her to chair meetings to practise andimprove his or her skills for a certain periodof time, then to help others to learn, and beavailable and willing to stand in if someone issick, etc.

The review includes what they enjoyed or dis-liked, the general level of success of the activ-ity, the difficulties encountered and how theywere overcome, and so on. It is also a time toinvite each young person to explain what theyfeel they have gained (or had hoped to gain)as a result of the experience - and what theywill try to do differently next time.

There are many ways of conducting evalua-tion meetings, but the purpose is not to makethe young person wish he or she could crawlinto a hole and disappear! Stimulating innermotivation requires opportunities to realise theprogress made and to feel a sense of achieve-ment as a result of the effort. The young per-son also has to realise the weak points to beimproved.

A collective approach can be very helpful. Theyoung person expresses him or herself first,and then the adult leader may ask the otherteam members if they have any feedback tooffer the young person.

If this approach is used, the adult leader willneed to remind the young people that any criti-cism should be expressed constructively andto start with positive points first. The adultleader then provides feedback to the youngperson in the same way. The adult leader can,of course, take part in the evaluation too, ex-

Evaluating and publicly recognising progress

Evidently, no one can expect a young personin Scouting to be constantly thinking abouthis or her personal progress. In fact, in theheat of the action, most of the young person’sconscious effort will be directed towards mak-ing the activity a success.

This is why, once an activity, a camp or aproject has been completed, the adult leaderneeds to take time with the young people forevaluation (as a team following a team activ-ity, e.g. an overnight hike, and as a unit after acamp, for example).


plaining what he or she found enjoyable ordifficult, personally enriching, etc.

Where a young person has made a consider-able effort in one respect or another, this shouldalso be recognised in the evaluation, irrespec-tive of the actual level of achievement. This is,after all, what the young person promised todo! On no account should the adult leader oranyone else make comparisons between thelevels of achievement of the young people.

The end of an evaluation meeting is an occa-sion to publicly recognise any of the youngpeople who have completed the requirementsfor some aspect of the progressive scheme. Inaddition to applause, it is important to rewardthe young person with a tangible symbol ofthe achievement which is meaningful to theyoung person. Badges and award certificatestend to be popular up until the mid-teens. Inthe senior age section, other symbolic tokensmay be more meaningful - something madeby the others in the group which shows ap-preciation and friendship may be worth a thou-sand badges!

Celebrating achievements

When the big project or camp is over, the evalu-ation meeting has been held, whatever theindividual progress made, a celebration helpsto close that chapter in style and then get offto a fresh start. This can be a moment of spir-itual meditation followed by a party, a campfire, a parent’s evening with music and illus-trations to show what they have managed todo, etc.


ADULT SUPPORT WHAT IS IT?

In Scouting, adult support involves a volun-tary partnership between the adult leader andthe young people, both individually and as agroup. In this partnership, the role of the adultleader is to facilitate the process of self-educationthrough the way in which he or she appliesScouting’s purpose, principles and method.

The support provided by adult leaders to youngpeople is of an educational nature - the adultplays a particular role aimed at helping eachyoung person to develop.

The nature of the educational support providedin Scouting is different from the other kinds ofadult support which are normally present in ayoung person’s life - for example, parents, aschool teacher, or a sports coach. In each case,the reasons why the adult and the young per-son are in contact with each other are differ-ent, the goals sought are different, the natureof the role played is different, the affectiverelationship is different and the interaction thatoccurs is different. In short, the educationalrelationship is different.

In order to facilitate the process of self-educa-tion, the educational relationship in Scoutingneeds to be of a different nature from that of aparent-child or teacher-student relationship.

While an adult leader may be a parent in pri-vate life or a teacher in professional life, inScouting life, i.e. when he or she is workingwith the young people in the group, the adultleader is not there as a substitute parent, noras a teacher.

The particular kind of educational relationshipbetween adult leaders and young people inScouting could be described as an educationalpartnership.


As an element of the Scout Method, adult sup-port is intended to stimulate the young per-son’s development through:

• bringing adults and young people togetherin a rich learning partnership, based on mu-tual respect, trust and acceptance of each otheras a person;

• the fact that, in the partnership, each personis personally committed, dedicates time andenergy, participates in decision-making and thesharing of responsibilities, and seeks to createa constructive atmosphere that benefits every-one;

• the role played by the adult, which is to bean active member of the group in the sensethat he or she is beside them in their adven-

“You may give them your love but notyour thoughts, for they have their ownthoughts.

You may house their bodies but nottheir souls, for their souls dwell in thehouse of tomorrow, which you cannotvisit, not even in your dreams.

... Seek not to make them like you, forlife goes not backward nor tarries withyesterday.”

- “The Prophet”, Kahlil Gibran.

“He helps us to be what we want to be.”

- “Educational impact of Scouting: Three case studies onadolescence”, WOSM, 1995.


tures and their difficulties, while constantlyseeking to assure all of the conditions neededfor the young people to take charge of theirdevelopment in the direction of Scouting’s edu-cational proposal.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

A partnership

In Scouting, the partnership is a voluntary one- both the adult and each young person are incontact with each other out of choice, and bothhave an interest in what Scouting has to offer.

The young people want to take part in excit-ing activities that, for the time being, they arenot able to organise fully on their own. Theadult identifies with Scouting’s educationalproposal, has an interest in young people’sdevelopment, and feels that it would be per-sonally enriching to be involved in facilitatingthe development process of the young peo-ple. Neither partner is an empty vessel, andneither partner knows everything. In Scout-ing, all of the “partners” can learn from eachother, enrich each other and complement eachother.

“There are leaders the people FEAR.

There are leaders the people HATE.

There are leaders the people LOVE.

But when the best leaders of all havefinished their work, the people say,‘We did it ourselves’.

- Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher.

• helping them to become familiar with all ofthe elements of the Scout Method - and tomake sure that it is used. This includes every-thing from the code of living in the group,personal progression, how the Scout unit func-tions as an association of teams, responsibili-ties to be shared, what the adult leader is pre-pared to assume, and what the young peopleare going to need to deal with themselves,etc., etc.;

• observing and reacting to the group dynam-ics so as to maintain a welcoming, construc-tive and motivating atmosphere;

• developing a leadership style that is a bal-ance between friendship (to encourage them)and authority (to get them back on track). Theadult leader is not an army general or a com-pany president giving orders to be obeyed -

The role of the adult leader

The role of the adult leader is to facilitate thedevelopment of each young person through:

• presenting to them what Scouting can offerthem, how it works and what is expected inreturn;

“The Scoutmaster has to be neither school-master nor commanding officer, norpastor, nor instructor.

He has got to put himself on the level ofthe older brother, that is, to see thingsfrom the boy’s point of view, and to leadand guide and give enthusiasm in theright direction.”


“The principles of Scouting are all inthe right direction. The success in theirapplication depends on the Scoutmas-ter and how he applies them.”



he or she needs to encourage ideas, initiativeand decision-making. At the same time, he orshe is an adult with responsibility for the physi-cal and emotional security of all concernedand for ensuring that each young personprogresses in the direction of Scouting’s edu-cational proposal. He or she cannot, therefore,abdicate from the role of adult leader. Thebalance between friendship and authority willdepend largely on the level of maturity of theyoung people at a given time and in a givensituation. It is up to the adult leader to judgean appropriate balance;

• providing support to each young person andto the group as a whole. The adult leader needsto be able to make use of his or her knowl-edge of each young person to help to findways in which the young person can progress,while bearing in mind how to integrate theyoung person’s interests and educational ob-jectives in what the group as a whole wants,and is able, to achieve. The more the group isable to achieve, the more each young personbenefits.


While the actual preparation of adult leadersfor their role is normally undertaken by theteam responsible for adult resources, there are

nonetheless implications for the programmedevelopment or review group.

For example, do the tools produced for theyoung people and the leaders make it possi-ble for the young people and the adult to worktogether as partners? Do they provide enoughlatitude for the young people to make choicesand assume responsibility? To what extent, andin what ways, does the adult leader’s role -including his or her relationship with the youngpeople - need to evolve so as to correspondto the growing level of maturity of the youngpeople?

There is therefore a need for close collabora-tion between the national team responsible forthe Youth Programme and the team responsi-ble for preparing adult leaders for their role.


The adult leader is the person entrusted bythe Scout association to promote, convey andimplement the association’s educational pro-posal. This involves having a thorough knowl-edge, understanding and personal identifica-tion with the theory underlying Scouting’spurpose, the principles on which it is basedand Scouting’s method. It also requires knowl-

edge of the stages of development of youngpeople and the general educational objectives.

At the same time, the adult leader is workingwith a group of real young people and needsa certain level of personal development ifScouting is to offer more than a series of ac-tivities. Scouting as an educational system re-mains complete theory until it is applied inthe group.

Areas to examine include:

• Do the adult leaders truly understand Scout-ing’s educational proposal?

• Are they able to translate the theory intopractice in a way that really makes it a multi-faceted learning experience for young people?

• What kind of support do leaders need to beable to turn around difficult situations so thatthey become constructive learning situationsfor the young people?

• What kind of support do they need to beable to move from the use of ready-made ac-tivities to enriching activity ideas that the youngpeople propose?

• What kind of support do they need to beable to fine tune the way in which the groupfunctions so as to provide the young people


with the progressively greater room that theyneed to take initiative and assume responsi-bility?

• What kind of support do they need to beable to make sure that the routine activities ofgroup life and the relationships within thegroup provide a rich learning environment?

These are only a few of the points that couldbe examined. There are certainly many more.


Establishing Scouting’s particular kind of adultsupport is a crucially important part of thewhole educational approach. Young peopleneed constructive contact with adults and theyneed opportunities to develop a different kindof relationship than the one they have withadults at home. They are not looking for sub-stitute parents or teachers.

The adult leader must not expect young peo-ple to be miniature adults (because they arenot), but he or she must accept them as peo-ple. Young people of any age need to feelrespected as individuals and to feel that theirworries, fears and hopes are considered legiti-mate. This does not mean that the adult leaderhas to condone all their behaviour, quite the

opposite. However, the adult leader needs tobe able to look beyond what is apparent to tryto understand what is going on and to respondin a constructive way.

The adult leader must never forget that he orshe, too, is a human being with strengths andweaknesses. Young people do not expect per-fection in an adult leader, just authenticity.

Ultimately, however good the tools producedat national level, a coherent learning experi-ence depends on the adult leader’s ability tounderstand the particular young people he orshe is working with and to adjust to their in-terests and needs without ever losing sight ofthe educational objectives. In this respect, thereare certain factors which come into play in thegroup which interact and which have a vitalimportance on whether what the young peo-ple experience will have a coherent educa-tional impact.

These interactive elements are: the educationalobjectives being sought, the activities that theyoung people take part in, group dynamicsand the way in which the Scout unit is struc-tured and functions. Ultimately, making surethat all these elements work together in a co-herent way depends on the capability of theadult leader.

For example, if an educational objective con-cerns developing the capacity to make deci-sions and assume responsibility for the conse-quences, then a simulation activity is not go-ing to achieve the objective. The young peo-ple need real situations in which they can ex-perience expressing their ideas, views andpreferences, negotiate a consensus and perse-vere when they realise that things are not quiteas easy as they thought. The responsibilitiesmust be real ones.

In a new group, the adult leader cannot ex-pect the young people to automatically func-tion according to the full Scout Method all atonce. Forming teams, for example, can taketime. The adult leader needs time and patience- but what a sense of achievement when eve-rything starts fitting into place!


CONCLUSION It is hoped that this publication has providedsome food for thought on the richness of Scout-ing’s educational system. When this system isfully applied at local level through the use ofthe Scout Method in everything that youngpeople do, then Scouting can be extremelyeffective.

Activities as such have not been treated as aspecific chapter in this publication. While ac-tivities are an essential part of Scouting, whatmakes an activity a Scout activity is not thesubject of the activity (e.g. a hike in nature ora community service), nor even just the factof having a clearly educational objective. Fromthe perspective of Scouting’s educational sys-tem, activities (i.e. everything young peopledo in Scouting, including routine activities suchas setting up camp or packing equipment) areprimarily the supporting context in which theScout Method is put into practice. For exam-ple, it is through the activities that young peo-ple progress towards their educational objec-tives, learn to work in teams, etc. Activities,therefore, are a sine qua non condition forthe educational system to function but, inthemselves, activities play a supporting role7.

A holistic educational system as rich as Scout-ing is necessarily complex. Like a diamond, ithas many different facets. Whatever facet welook at, we should be able to see the reflec-tion of all the other facets. Complex, however,does not necessarily mean complicated. Baden-Powell, after all, was not a professional edu-cationalist. He did, however, have a creativemind, an understanding and interest in youngpeople, a lot of common sense and good hu-mour. These qualities, coupled with an under-standing of what Scouting tries to do and ofthe educational tools that it provides, are yourbasic equipment.

7 Contact the World Scout Bureau headquarters or your regional Scoutoffice of the World Scout Bureau for tools to help design Scout activities.

“...Holistic education must acknowledgethe multiple dimensions of the humanpersonality... thus moving towards theperennial dream of an integrated indi-vidual living on a harmonious planet.”

- “Learning: The Treasure Within, Report to UNESCO of theInternational Commission on Education for the Twenty-firstCentury”, article by Karan Singh, 1996.

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