The Scout Method

1. The Scout Method PROGRAMME DEVELOPERS SUMMIT Houens Odde, Denmark 27-30.04.2006

2. Objectives • By the end of the session • Be more aware of the role of Scouting as a non-formal education movement • Revisited the very particular educational method used in Scouting • Know the different elements of the Scout Metod and excange on their educational value • Identify some concrete iniciatives that can enhance the full use of the Scout Method

3. Scouting • The main aim of Scouting is to help each young person to reach his/her full potential to be an active and happy citizen when being an adult and, with that, contribute to a better world • Scouting is then a non-formal education movement seeking to • assist young people in their “way” from the child state into adulthood • help each young person to reach his/her full potential • develop capacities in all dimensions of one´s identity • “Non-formal education is the organised educational activity outside the established formal system that is intended to serve an identifiable learning clientele with identifiable learning objectives” (UNESCO) Particularly useful to develop Life skills and attitudes based on a value system

4. The Mission of Scouting (1999) The mission of Scouting is to contribute to the education of young people, through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Law, to help build a better world where people are self-fulfilled as individuals and play a constructive role in society.

5. The Mission of Scouting (cont.) This is achieved by • involvingthem throughout their formative years in a non-formal educational process • using a specific method that makes each individual the principal agent in his or her development as a self-reliant, supportive, responsible and committed person • assisting them to establish a value system based upon spiritual, social and personal principles as expressed in the Promise and Law. Youth Involvement The Scout Method Fundamental principles of Scouting

6. WOSM Constitution (1983) • The Scout Method is a system of progressive self-education through: • A promise and law. • Learning by doing. • Membership of small groups (for example the patrol), involving, under adult guidance, progressive discovery and acceptance of responsibility and training towards self-government directed towards the development of character, and the acquisition of competence, self-reliance, dependability and capacities both to cooperate and to lead. • Progressive and stimulating programmes of varied activities based on the interests of the participants, including games, useful skills, and services to the community, taking place largely in an outdoor setting in contact with nature.

7. WOSM Constitution (1983) • The Scout Method is a system of progressive self-education through: • A promise and law. • Learning by doing. • Membership of small groups (for example the patrol), involving, under adult guidance, progressivediscovery and acceptance of responsibility and training towards self-government directed towards the development of character, and the acquisition of competence, self-reliance, dependability and capacities both to cooperate and to lead. • Progressive and stimulating programmes of varied activities based on the interests of the participants, including games, useful skills, and services to the community, taking place largely in an outdoor setting in contact with nature.

8. The Scout Method The Scout Method is a comprehensive educational framework composed of elements which work together as a system to provide young people with a rich and active learning environment. Scouting: an educational system, WOSM

9. The Scout Method (and its 7 “wonders”...) • Promise and Law • Patrol System • Personal progression • Symbolic framework • Nature • Learning by doing (activities) • Adult support

10. Many of these educational tools are used in other forms of education • In Scouting these different tools are referred to as elements of the Scout Method – as each one is only one part of the whole • The effects of a system are greater than the total sum of the effects of its parts • The educational function of each of the elements and the way in which they work together as a system are valid and effective through all age sections

11. …in Rovering may mean

12. The Scout Method provides an educational framework based upon how young people develop naturally. It provides an environment which responds to: • their need for action, challenge and adventure; • their desire to explore, experiment, and discover; • their natural capacity for inventiveness and resourcefulness; • the need to feel acknowledged, respected and appreciated as individuals; • their need for close supportive relationships; • their capacity for idealism and their need to make sense of the world; • …

13. Related reading (www.scout.org): • Scouting: an educational system • Ideas for scout leaders – Scouting in practice • Constitution and by-laws of WOSM • Understanding te Mission statement • Programme handouts: TB10

14. Task 1 What is the educational value of each of the elements of the Scout Method? Example:

15. Task 2 Save the Scout Method! What initiatives could be undertaken to enhance the use of the Scout Method and its elements? Time : 20’