Eagle Scout, Research Proposal Example

The Scout Award is the highest award in Boy Scouting, and has been given awarded to young and energetic men for over 100 years. Since the early 1912, around 4 percent of men who were Boy Scouts have earned the award (Bigler & Michael, 2000). More than 2 million young men have earned the rank of Eagle Scout since it was first awarded (Bullock & Robert, 2003). Over the years, necessities for the Eagle Scout Award have changed to meet the needs of the era; however, specific elements of the program have remained true from the original Eagle Scout requirements (Bigler & Michael, 2000). A boy should demonstrate citizenship and caring for his community and others, leadership skills and qualities, and outdoor skills that indicates his self-sufficiency and capability of overcoming obstacles. Today, a boy is suppose to earn 21 merit badges, 12 of which are required: First Aid, Camping, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the World, Personal Management, Personal Fitness, Swimming or Hiking or Cycling, Communications, Family Life, Emergency Preparedness or Lifesaving, and Environmental Science (Bullock & Robert, 2003).

Apart from merit badges, a candidate must also plan and carry out a service project to bring value in the society. Moreover, he should posses a troop leadership position during his Scouting tenure (Bullock & Robert, 2003). Also, the Eagle Scout candidate undergoes a rigorous board of review in which his district, council, and troop leaders evaluate his “attitude and practice of the ideals of Scouting.” Achieving the rank of Eagle Scout must happen prior to boy’s 18th birthday (Bigler & Michael, 2000).

Achieving this objective also requires an enormous local and national commitment to provide the structure and support necessary to put in place programs and resources that teach and reinforce the values that will help prepare youth to make ethical decisions and to achieve their full potential as individuals (Bullock & Robert, 2003). The founders of Scouting recognized the need to provide training so youth could live and act according to values that would help them succeed and serve society as a whole (Bigler & Michael, 2000). And, it is for this reason the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was founded in 1910 and chartered by Congress in 1916 (Bullock & Robert, 2003). For more than 100 years the BSA has sought to encourage and instill the values necessary to help young people make and continue making ethical and moral choices over the entire course of their life (Bigler & Michael, 2000).

Beginning in the early 1990s, practitioners and policy makers, as well as scholars of various disciplines, contributed to the emergence of a new approach to youth research and practice, which has been referred to as positive youth development (Bigler & Michael, 2000). The approach emerged out of frustration over a problem focused view on youth development (Carpenter & David, 1998). The underlying assumption of the problem-focused view was that youth were vulnerable and represent potential problems that need to be managed (Bigler & Michael, 2000). On the other hand, the positive youth development perspective suggested that the approach focusing on risk reduction was incomplete and inadequate (Bullock & Robert, 2003). Instead, the positive youth development perspective views young people as resources to be developed, focusing on their potentials for successful and healthy development (Bigler & Michael, 2000).

Positive youth development is based on the premise that when adults support and enable youth to control and motivate themselves, youth are most likely to harness and internalize their potential for prosocial behavior (Bigler & Michael, 2000). Indeed, there is research confirming that, under the right conditions, youth become self-motivated by confronting challenging tasks (Bullock & Robert, 2003). For example, initiative or the ability to be motivated from within has been found to be a core quality of positive youth development (Carpenter & David, 1998). Similarly, researchers have found participation in organized youth activities to be associated with prosocial experiences related to initiative, identity exploration and reflection, emotional learning, developing teamwork skills, and forming ties with community members (Bigler & Michael, 2000). The programs of the BSA are designed to incorporate activities and learning experiences that strengthen young people’s attitudes and actions toward God, family, country, and community. Ultimately, the aim of BSA programs has been and continues to remain the same to have a positive and robust influence on the character, citizenship, and physical fitness of youth who participate (Bigler & Michael, 2000).

The objective of Scouting, therefore, is to promote positive youth development that has a lasting impact on youth into young adulthood and throughout their life (Bullock & Robert, 2003). This lasting influence—enhancing youth’s values, ethics, decision making, relationships, and personal development—is thought to be even more significant for those youth attaining the rank of Eagle Scout (Bigler & Michael, 2000).

This additional benefit, of course, is due to the added dedication and commitment required to reach this important designation (Bigler & Michael, 2000). Consequently, the BSA has always maintained that achieving Scouting’s ultimate rank would result in additional benefits for Eagle Scouts when compared to Scouts that do not achieve this rank, as well as youth who have never participated in Scouting (Bullock & Robert, 2003). Moreover, there is a belief that becoming an Eagle Scout has positive and lasting influences that can be confirmed or documented (Bullock & Robert, 2003).

Previous studies have shown that participation in Scouting produces better citizens. And, there is no shortage of examples or anecdotal accounts that would affirm these findings (Bigler & Michael, 2000). Surprisingly, however, there is very little scientific evidence to confirm the prosocial benefits associated with Scouting or earning the rank of Eagle Scout (Bullock & Robert, 2003). Thus, the central question of this study is to determine if participation in Scouting and ultimately becoming an Eagle Scout is associated with prosocial behavior and positive youth development that carries over into young adulthood and beyond (Bigler & Michael, 2000).

References

Bigler, Michael A. “ Improving Attendance at the Weekly Meeting of Boy Scout Troop 922 in Dalton, Ohio.” B.A thesis, Malone College, 2000.

Bullock, Robert P. “A Study of the Socio-Economic Status of Boys in the Greeley Scout Troops.” M.A. Thesis, Colorado State Teachers College, 2003.

Carpenter, David Bailey. “The Boy Scouts of America: A Social Evaluation of the Organization in Terms of its Measurable influence on its Past and Present Membership.” A.M. thesis, Washington University, 1998.

Davis, James Allan. “The Programs of the American Boy and Girl Scouts: A study of Two Frames of Reference for Describing Social Change.” M.S. thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2002.

Delves, Eugene Lowell. “An Accounting System for a Boy Scout Council.” M.B.A. thesis, Northwestern University, 2000.

Edison, Carroll A. “Application of Objective Types of Examination to the court of Honor Procedure of the Boy Scouts of America.” M.A. thesis, Colombia University, 2001.