The Scout Movement represents a century-old, globally recognized experiential education model with proven efficacy in developing character, citizenship, and personal fitness. Its curricula are inherently designed to foster Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) such as cooperation, discipline, and leadership. Concurrently, modern higher education faces the imperative to empower educators with pedagogical models that integrate technology, equity, and innovation to cultivate these essential 21st-century skills. Despite this alignment, a significant gap exists in the formal recognition and adaptation of scout pedagogy within higher education. This study investigates the role of scout curricula in enhancing cooperation, discipline, and leadership among college students and leaders. It further explores the potential of integrating these time-tested scouting methods with modern educational technology and inclusive design principles to propose an innovative pedagogical framework for higher education. A qualitative research design with a phenomenological approach was employed. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a purposively selected sample of 45 scout leaders affiliated with Palestine Technical University. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis facilitated by MAXQDA 2022 software. The analysis yielded 51 distinct codes, categorized into the three core themes. The findings demonstrate that the Scout Movement has a profound and lasting impact, instilling deep-seated values of cooperation (16 codes), fostering intrinsic discipline (16 codes), and cultivating influential leadership capabilities (19 codes). Participants consistently reported that the experiences and skills gained through scouting—such as teamwork in patrols, adherence to the Scout Law, and leadership in planning camps—directly and positively influenced their professional conduct and social interactions. The Scout Movement is a powerful, yet underutilized, educational vehicle for achieving critical ILOs. The study concludes that scout curricula offer a robust pedagogical framework that can be modernized and formalized within higher education. By integrating scout methods like the patrol and badge systems with digital tools and inclusive design, educators can be empowered to create more experiential, equitable, and innovative learning environments. The study recommends the development of faculty training programs and accredited courses based on this hybrid model to systematically develop holistic competencies in students. As a primary goal, the abstract should render the general significance and conceptual advance of the work clearly accessible to a broad readership. References should not be cited in the abstract. Leave the Abstract empty if your article does not require one—please see the “Article types” on every Frontiers journal page for full details.
Reema Wajih Daraghma (Thu,) studied this question.