The attitudes we have towards ourselves, other people, and nature encompass almost all the relationships in our lives. Our attitudes can be positive or negative. Positive attitudes do not just come naturally. They need to be encouraged and developed. The Scout Method is designed to promote the holistic development of young people, i.e. the physical, social, cognitive, moral, emotional-motivational, and spiritual potentials of an individual.
A quantitative study was carried out. In it, questionnaires were used to collect responses from 58 fifth-grade pupils aged between 10 and 11 years. We included 27 pupils who attended Scouts and 31 pupils who did not.
We found that the majority of the surveyed fifth-graders knew themselves well and have a positive self-assessment. We also found that most of the respondents respect diversity and can empathize with others. However, more differences emerged between Scouts and non-Scouts in terms of attitudes towards nature. Scouts showed more respect for nature and are more comfortable in nature compared to non-Scouts. The results showed that fifth graders have mostly positive attitudes towards themselves and others. However, attitudes towards nature differ between Scouts and non-Scouts.
Scouts have a more positive attitude towards nature than non-Scouts. The survey also provides feedback to all Scout leaders, as it demonstrated that using the current Scouting method helps Scouts to improve and deepen their relationship with nature. For their relationship with themselves and with other people, however, it would be good to consider other options.
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