Scouting and Guiding in Britain : The Ritual Socialisation of Young People

This book explores the prevailing role of rites of passage, ritual, and ceremony in contemporary childrens 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 Britains 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. Catherine Bannister is a Research Associate within the School of Education at the University of Sheffield, UK. She works on projects related to childrens play, including digital play with technology, bringing to the research her own interests in folklore, as well as ritual and passage practices for and by young people Acknowledgements Contents List of Figures Chapter 1: A Problem of Passage? Perceptions and Misperceptions Around ‘Missing’ Rites of Passage for Young People in the Modern West What Are Rites of Passage (and Why Do They Matter?) Rituals of Adolescence Rites of Passage and the Social Construction of Childhood Contemporary Status Passage: Lost, Legislated or Imagined? Scouting and Guiding as Invented, Passaging Traditions The Structure of This Book References Chapter 2: The Ritual Roots of Scouting and Guiding Why Youth Organisations? Early Youth Organisations Influence One: The English Public School System Influence Two: The Armed Forces Influence Three: Woodcraft and Recapitulation Theory Influence Four: Children’s Literature Changing Practices References Chapter 3: Scouting for Rituals: Fieldwork Research Within Youth Organisations Participant Observation and Ritual Data Collection Tools and Sources The Researcher and Rites of Passage The ‘Familiar’ Field, Positionality and the Past Self Entering the Field: Accessing the Network Different Organisations, Different Approaches The 7th St. George’s Scout Group Researcher Identity and Ritual Identity and the Troop Further Reflections References Chapter 4: Promising Transformation: The Scout and Guide Promise-Making as a Rite of Passage The Promise The Symbolic Promise Preparing for the Promise Tunnels, Ropes, Flags and Neckers: Performing Passage at Investiture Outsiders to Insiders Creating Members, Creating Family Guiding Ritual Members’ Ritual Experiences References Chapter 5: For Scouting, England and St. George? Modelling the ‘Good’ Scout Chivalry and the Boy Scouts Past and Present Performances Parading on St. George’s Day Parading Contested Symbols Children’s Participation and Child-Oriented Celebrations Interpreting St. George Renewing the Promise St. George Today References Chapter 6: Making a Modern May Queen: Guiding and the Gendering of Identity ‘She’s the One’ The Smithyhill May Queen The May Queen Tradition in England The May Queen and ‘Character’ Selecting the May Queen Dressing the Queen The May Queen Evening Performance, 2010 Passage and Emotion References Chapter 7: Burning the Birch Bark: Creating Identity Through Nature The Investiture Burning the Birch Bark The Birch Bark Ritual Revisited A Woodcraft Folk Naming Ceremony Scouting and Woodcraft Traditional Histories References Chapter 8: Camping Culture Camping and Identity: A Short History The ‘Sacred’ Campsite The Camp as a Rite of Passage: Entering the Liminal Landscape Initiatory Practices, Punishing and Pranking Landscape and Learning “Nature Is My X-Box” The Campfire as an Identity-Constructing Performance Boom-Chicka-Boom Further Thoughts References Chapter 9: Brownies’ Stories: Storytelling, Legend and Locality as Markers of Group Membership The Story of ‘The Brownies’ Brownies in Folklore The Modern Brownie Story Boggarts to Brownies The Fairy Pool and Reflecting the Self Ecclesfield Village Walking the Story Learning the Brownie Story Being an Ecclesfield Brownie References Chapter 10: Conclusion Becoming ‘good people’ Through the Promise Rituals as Tools of Transformation and Identity Construction Responsible Adults and Good Children Coda: Looking to the Future of Ritual in Scouting and Guiding? References Index