World Scouting and Youth Activism

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Tuesday II)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Peace education around the world

Proposal

Since its founding in 1907, Scouting has often been associated with uniformed boys and girls, camping, earning badges, and zealous nationalism (Farrell, 2012a; Vallory, 2012). This stereotype can be true in some cultures, but the essence of Scouting relates more directly to democratic sustainability. Different from its earliest purpose to develop character and nationalism in adolescent boys throughout the British Empire, Scouting has been a consistent contributor to several social movements which resulted in regime change and democratization. i.e. establishment of Israeli settlements, 2008 Egyptian uprising, etc. (Farrell, 2012b; Parsons, 2004; Shapira and Pelig, 1984; Vallory, 2012). Scouts’ involvement in regime-change movements raises questions about the manifestation of Scouting across cultures and how differences in interpretation and delivery of the program influence youth activism.
Nationally-focused studies of Scouting are prevalent, yet there is a gap in the research with regard to youth-focused international comparative education, non-formal education, and civic and character-building education on the global level (Farrell, 2012a; Vallory, 2012). This study addresses a portion of this gap with an exploration of the role and influence that adult scout volunteers (scouters) have on the nature of scouts’ civic engagement and role in community-based activism. The focus of this study is on how scouters interpret the axiological policies of both the World and National Scouting organizations at the local program level, how their interpretation influences adult-youth partnerships in scouting, and how the nature of youth voice is affected by scouters at the local level.
Questions
o How do scouters understand and interpret the values-laden policies of world and national Scouting and how do these influence the way they engage in adult-youth partnerships? How does this vary across cultures and personal experiences?
o How does adult engagement in adult-youth partnerships influence the nature of scouts’ civic engagement and involvement community activism?
This study relies on a layered theoretical approach using critical sensemaking and communities of practice frameworks to examine the experiences of scouters as they navigate implementation of the scouting program at the local level. Primary emphasis of this study is placed on scouters’ personal experiences and local contextual factors. These include cultural norms and religiosity as they translate to scouter action in their partnerships with youth.
This study’s methods focus on evaluation of data from three countries, Canada, Mexico and the United States, and include phenomenologically-oriented narrative interviews and document analysis of national scouting level curricula and organizational structure. Interview data will be collected from active direct-service volunteer scout leaders in each of the focal countries. Organizational and document analysis will provide environmental and contextual evaluation of Scouting at the national level for each focal country.
This study aims to deepen our understanding of influence of adult youth partnerships on the nature and extent of youth civic engagement; to identify gaps in scouter knowledge and experience across cultures that weaken the implementation of World Scouting’s axiological policies; and to provide a roadmap for youth development practitioners as they develop programming, volunteer training/education, and policies to strengthen fidelity to program/organizational values.

Author

• G. Eric McGinnis, Penn State University