Positive Youth Development in Scouting Brian Burkhard Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development Tufts University

What is Positive Youth Development? (As told by Scouting founder, Lord Baden-Powell) “The boy is not governed by don’t, but is led by do.”

The PYD Perspective: Core Concepts Because of the potential to change, all youth have strengths. “The sport in Scouting is to find the good in every boy and develop it.”

The PYD Perspective: Core Concepts All contexts have strengths as well, these are resources that may be used to promote PYD. “It is only when you know a boy’s environment that you can know what influences to bring to bear.”

The PYD Perspective: Core Concepts These assets are found in families, schools, faith institutions, youth serving organizations, and the community more generally. “A week of camp life is worth six months of theoretical teaching in the meeting room.”

The PYD Perspective: Core Concepts If the strengths of youth are combined with ecological developmental assets, then positive, healthy development may occur. “Vigorous Scout games are the best form of physical education because most of them bring in moral education.”

The PYD Perspective: Core Concepts We should be optimistic that it is in our power to promote positive development among ALL youth and to create more asset-rich settings supporting such development among ALL youth. “The spirit is there in every boy; it has to be discovered and brought to light.”

The “Big Three” of Youth Development Programs Positive and sustained adult-youth relations; Life-skill building curricula; and Opportunities for youth participation in and leadership of valued family, school, and community activities “When a boy finds someone who takes an interest in him, he responds and follows.” “Teach Scouts not how to get a living, but how to live.” “The more responsibility the Scoutmaster gives his patrol leaders, the more they will respond.”

Acknowledgements

Kids who are only in Scouts (73%) are 20% more likely than kids who are just in Sports (53%) to choose Prosocial Behaviors as the most important thing, but even when you’re in both Scouting AND Sports, you choose it (65%) of the time. N = 1265

“A Scout smiles and whistles under all circumstances.”

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