Arising in the first decades of the twentieth century, the Boy Scout and Girl Guide movements came into existence in Britain in an era of social and political unrest and were initially the center of intense controversy. Through the years, Guiding and Scouting broke down class, race, and gender distinctions and helped youth cope with an emerging mass culture and allowed boys and girls to stretch gender and generational boundaries. Using official documents, logbooks, diaries, and oral histories, Tammy Proctor explores the formation of the Scouts and Guides and their transformation during and after World War I. The interwar period marked a departure for the two organizations as they emerged as large multinational organizations that targeted not only adolesents, but also smaller children and young adults.

This book explores the prevailing role of rites of passage, ritual, and ceremony in contemporary children’s lives through the lens of modern-day incarnations of uniformed youth movements. It focuses on the socialising ritual and customary practices of present-day grass-roots Scout and Guide groups, asking how Britain’s largest and best-known uniformed youth organisations employ ritualised activities to express their values to their young members through language and gesture, story and song, dress, and physical artifacts. The author shows that these practices exist against a backdrop of culturally-constructed beliefs about what constitutes the ‘good child’ and ‘good childhood’ in twenty-first century Britain, with in-movement practices intended to help children develop positively and prepare for social life. The book draws on case study accounts of group performances, incorporating the voices of children and adults reflecting on their practices and experiences.

When "Scouting for Boys" was first published in 1908, it changed the course of history by launching the worldwide Scouting movement. This unabridged republishing of the classic work is produced by ScoutingRediscovered.com - a project dedicated to rediscovering the timeless framework of traditional Scouting.

Despite the fact that Scouting has touched the lives of a quarter of a billion boys and girls and their leaders around the world in the past century, its history has been largely ignored. Scouting Frontiers: Youth and the Scout Movement’s First Century is the first book to discuss the history and principal themes of the Boy Scout and Girl Guide movements on an international scale. Inspired by presentations at the ground-breaking 2008 Johns Hopkins University symposium, "Scouting: A Centennial History," the authors examine the world's greatest youth movement through the diverse experiences of its members and their organizations. From Muslim Scouts in Wales to French Scouts in Syria to Girl Guides in colonial Kenya, Scouting has responded to the challenges of international expansion and transformed itself to address cultural, political and social diversity. Scouting Frontiers focuses particularly on the intersections between Scouting’s origins and its transformations over the last century as it faced frontiers of nation, empire, religion, race, class, and gender.

This volume examines scouting—the largest voluntary movement for girls—in its first century of existence, seeking to understand how the organization has lasted and how it has changed. Scouting for Girls: A Century of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is the first global history of Girl Scouting and Guiding that addresses the successes and pitfalls of the 100-year-old organization from its beginning in Great Britain through its international expansion. Since 1910, millions of girls worldwide have been exposed to Scouting. While much has changed since 1910, the core values of Scouting/Guiding are still recognizable in today's programs, namely the empowerment of girls through adventure, character-building, home skills, outdoor pursuits, and active learning. But has Scouting's very willingness to change with the times undermined its original ideologies and fundamentally changed the movement? As Girl Scouts and Guides move into their second century, their challenge will be to remain true to their founding values while remaking themselves on a regular basis. Given the changing nature of today's societies and the serious problems girls face on a daily basis, Girl Guides and Girl Scouts will need to be true to their motto, "Be Prepared," in order to march forward successfully into the future.

It’s time to “Be Prepared.” The 100th anniversary of Scouting is approaching in 2007, and this authorized history, written by Paul Moynihan, the official Archivist at Scouting’s world headquarters, will be in demand throughout the celebrations. An irresistible souvenir for anyone who’s ever been a member of the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cubs, or Brownies, this lavishly illustrated volume is packed with memorabilia—including badges, uniforms, publications, and letters—along with previously unpublished photos of Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the military hero who started Scouting; Brownsea Island, the very first Scout c& and every World Scout Jamboree since 1920.