The educational role of the cub scout leader : a comparative analysis of practices in Malta and Greece

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the educational role of the Cub Scout Leader and the ways in which s/he educates the younger scouts, cubs, aged 7 to 11 years, in two Mediterranean countries, Malta and Greece. A Charmazian grounded theory approach is adopted to collect and analyse the data. 20 semi-structured interviews with 11 active Scout Leaders from the Scout Association of Malta and 9 from the Soma Hellinon Proskopon of Greece were conducted. Field observations of the Maltese and Greek Cub Scout meetings and the respective summer camps of 2013, along with written materials, personal communication and a wide range of sources from the Scout Movement supplement the study. Through coding, memo-writing, theoretical sampling and the use of ‘constant comparative method’, a number of themes emerged. Ultimately, two core theoretical concepts were constructed comprising five themes each. The first category elaborates on the goals and responsibilities of the Cub Scout Leaders’, while the second presents the good practices and methods used by the Cub Scout Leaders to educate the cubs. The data were presented in parallel with certain ideas of Dewey, Montessori and Vygotsky, revealing the multidimensional role of the CSL who emerges as a non-formal educator within the spirit of the scholars’ educational theories. Finally, limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.