Lifelong and lifewide learning
Every member of our Movement is on a learning journey.
Youth and adult members are on a continuous journey that spans a person’s lifetime (lifelong).
However, our journeys are not just one line on a map. Our growth is impacted by all parts of their life:
- home and family
- education
- faith
- relationships
- work etc (lifewide).
Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting contributes to each member’s learning journey by offering varied and connected learning experiences at each age and stage.
- A learning experience is a personal experience, interaction, session, training or programme in which learning takes place.
- A learning journey is the pathway that individuals take when growing and learning. A learning journey is made from many connected learning experiences, has long-term outcomes and is personal to each learner.
Young people and adults join and leave the Movement at different points in their own lifelong journey. Some join as youth members and stay involved for the rest of their lives – but many more join for a brief time because it fits a certain stage in their lives.
Both our youth programmes and adult learning and development should be designed with this in mind, so each stage is within itself complete and as meaningful as it can be, having the greatest possible positive impact on a learner who may only stay involved for a short time. The majority of youth members who leave the Movement do so at transition points between sections, especially around the ages of 14-16. Some members also leave then rejoin later, as their lives change.
Everyone should be welcome and able to join the Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting learning journey and move in and out of it according to their situation. We can support this by making each stage of the journey, and the roles and learning experiences on offer, clear to everyone. Creating clear pathways and connections between stages of the journey can help members stay engaged, and flexible opportunities that can fit with complex lives help people feel welcome and valued. Recognising that Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting is part of not only a lifelong but lifewide learning journey, we should also construct our learning and development opportunities to value, and build on, the knowledge, skills and behaviours members have gained outside the Movement.