The Boy Scouts of America has a long history of aligning with schools and educators through its character-based programs that help prepare today’s youth to be tomorrow’s leaders. Through hands-on activities and learning experiences, Scouting helps guide young people to a lifelong appreciation for self-improvement, community involvement, and the outdoors. Sharing the same goals makes Scouting, schools, and educators the ideal team.
Specific educational positive effects of Scouting documented by researchers include:
- The time that children spent in structured activities such as Scouting has been correlated with higher academic and conduct grades, constructive peer relations, and positive emotional adjustment. (Posner and Lowe, 2008)
- Involvement in activities such as Scouting is correlated with a decrease in delinquency rates. (Agnew and Peterson, 1989)
- Youth involved in Scouting are identified as demonstrating higher affective and cognitive regard for learning science content. (Jarman, 2005)
- The results of study at Tufts University showed strong evidence that participation in Scouting supports the development of pro-social behaviors, career goals, tolerant beliefs, and positive character attributes. Scouts who attend meetings regularly report better grades. (Lerner, et al., 2015)
- Specifically, in Texas, Cub Scout advancement supports more than 120 elementary TEKS
