Scouting as an Experiential Learning Ecosystem: Reconfiguring Youth Development Mechanisms in Nonformal Education
Keywords:
experiential learning ecosystem, positive youth development, nonformal education, learning ecosystems, youth development mechanisms, scouting educationAbstract
The contemporary landscape of youth development is increasingly characterized by disengagement, declining civic participation, and a growing mismatch between formal education systems and the competencies required in complex, real-world contexts. While experiential learning, positive youth development, and learning ecosystem perspectives offer valuable insights, these theoretical streams remain fragmented, limiting their ability to explain how structured youth programs generate developmental outcomes. This article aims to address this gap by proposing a unified conceptual framework that positions scouting as an experiential learning ecosystem. Using a theory synthesis approach, the study integrates experiential learning processes, developmental outcomes, and multi-level contextual dynamics into a mechanism-based model. The framework explicates how key mechanisms such as reflective internalization, identity formation, social interaction, and institutional scaffolding interact across individual, group, and organizational levels to produce sustained youth development. Theoretically, the model advances a multi-level and process-oriented understanding of learning in nonformal education contexts. It also provides a foundation for empirical testing and offers implications for designing more effective youth development programs in increasingly complex and hybrid learning environments.
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