Transcript The Scout Method

The Scout Method
PROGRAMME DEVELOPERS SUMMIT
Houens Odde, Denmark
27-30.04.2006
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
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
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.
The Mission of Scouting (cont.)
This is achieved by
Youth Involvement
• involving them throughout their formative years in a nonformal educational process
The Scout Method
• 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.
Fundamental principles of Scouting
WOSM Constitution (1983)
• The Scout Method is a system of progressive selfeducation 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 selfgovernment 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.
WOSM Constitution (1983)
• The Scout Method is a system of progressive selfeducation 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 selfgovernment 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.
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
The Scout Method
(and its 7 “wonders”...)
 Promise and Law
 Patrol System
 Personal progression
 Symbolic framework
 Nature
 Learning by doing
(activities)
 Adult support
• 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
…in Rovering may mean
Promise and Law
A “charter”
Team System
Councils, Rover Assemblies…
Symbolic
Framework
The road, the Journey…
Nature
In hikes, expeditions, outdoor life…
Learning by doing Linked to social reality and allowing to play adult
roles
Progression
A system to recognise the progression in the
skills, attitudes and knowledge
Adult
Facilitator and advisor
• 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;
 …
• 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
• Task 1
What is the educational value of each of the
elements of the Scout Method?
Example:
Element
Competences that can be developed
Patrol system
Know how to work in a group
• Task 2
Save the Scout Method!
What initiatives could be undertaken to enhance the
use of the Scout Method and its elements?
Time : 20’