The document provides background information on a research project conducted for the NSW Division of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award. The research aimed to investigate the life effectiveness outcomes achieved through participation in the Award program and support its value as a personal growth program for youth. Interviews were conducted with past and current award leaders as well as gold award recipients to understand their motivations, experiences, and outcomes. The results identified themes around social relationships, self-development, passion, and recognition. Overall, the research found the Award program had positive impacts and was an effective personal growth program for youth participants.
1. DUKE OF EDINBURGH
– AUSTRALIA (NSW)
To support the value of the award as a personal growth
program for today’s youth
ABSTRACT
The chosen organisation for this
industry project is with the NSW
Division of The Duke of Edinburgh’
Award.
3. 2
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS – GOLD ALUMNI ............................................................. 36
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS – CURRENT AWARD LEADERS .................................. 54
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS – PAST AWARD LEADER .............................................. 62
4. 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This study was conducted by researchers from the Industry Project subject at the UTS Bachelor
of Events and Leisure Management and Bachelor of Tourism Management thus, Business School.
The study focuses upon the life effectiveness of The Duke of Edinburgh Program resulting from
Past Award Leaders, Current Award Leaders and Gold Participants. This information does not
prove. However, it does provide information about The Duke of Edinburgh Program.
The study was in-depth interviews of seven interviewees consisted of one Past Award Leader,
Two Current Award Leaders and four Gold Participants. Through primary research for
methodologies, the findings represented have been transcribed in this case only the main
outcomes were then used to determine the positive impacts from The Duke of Edinburgh
Program Australia (NSW).
The in-depth interviews included three main topics (1) Motivations, (2) Experiences and (3)
Outcomes. Each topic had a main question and sub questions to follow. In-depth interviews are
conducted with a relatively small number of subjects. The interviews were recorded and notes as
well as transcripts were prepared. Each interview lasted approximately 10 – 20 minutes. The
results to determine the positive impacts come from the response under the Outcomes. This
comes from three main sources: the key benefits of the program, key changes of oneself after
completing the program and the enhancement of life effectiveness from the Award. In assessing
these interviews, responses have been different dependent from the Past or Current Award
Leader and the Gold Participants and therefore, would be different and would have a ‘story’ in
its own right.
The outcomes in this report have been engaged through a two way conversation between
interviewer and interviewee, relatively free flowing. Therefore, the research report’s information
is gained by means of full two way conversation and exchange of views with an outgoing
interviewee is arguably different in nature from information gained from interviews where the
interviewee is more reserved. Thus, this report is on the positive outcomes and the experience
and perspectives of Participants which arise from completing The Duke of Edinburgh Program.
5. 4
In this context the results of the positive impacts arising from the Program are set below. These
results are significant and reflect the important aspects that The Duke of Edinburgh Program
provide to Participants aged from 14 – 24 years of age in Australia (NSW).
HEADLINE RESULTS
Motivations
Taking into consideration the type of research and agreed limitations of the study, Motivations
was the first topic to start the interview. The interviewees all started with the Bronze Level,
continuing onto their Gold level. Research shows that the Participants were well aware of the
opportunities to be gained after completing their Awards. Hence their motivations were already
Experiences
Participants responded with positive experiences in relation to social relationships, one of the key
themes that is represented further. Participants responded in a way they have matured and
developed and nurtured themselves within the community and outdoor recreation.
Outcomes
Outcomes was the main result that the research was focused on. It drew all four themes; Social
relationship, Self-development, Passion and Recognition. Researchers have integrated the
interview into transcripts and have represented the following themes as positive impacts from the
Program that each interviewee experienced as well as gained.
In relation to the three topics, outcomes has been the main focus of the overall research.
Respondents’ degree of motivation and experience also impacted on the outcomes respondents
received at the end. This is an impressive result and reflects the satisfactions of Participants,
being able to enjoy outdoor recreation as well as rediscover oneself and gain positive views on
life as a whole.
The data clearly indicates that Young Adults gain their motivations from motivated Award
Leaders and it begins from the Bronze Level and becomes a higher stepping stone whilst
completing the Gold level of the Program.
6. 5
INTRODUCTION:
In order to undertake any given research project it is important to understand the background and
root of the organisation as well as the motivation behind the research project. This will give a
better understanding for the researchers to achieve the goals and objectives set by the
organisation. The chosen organisation for this industry project is with the NSW division of the
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. This report aims to prove the Duke of Edinburgh program as a tool
to improve the life effectiveness of young adults in today’s society. The following report
highlights a number of main themes which correlate to the desired outcomes of the undertaken
research. It displays the underlying motivations, experiences and benefits that the program has
provided for people that are involved with the program and utilizes these key notions to address
the undiscovered truths behind the life effectiveness outcomes that are achieved through
participation in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to support its value as a personal growth
program for young people.
PROJECT TITLE:
To support the value of the award as a personal growth program for today’s youth.
CLIENT IDENTIFICATION:
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (NSW Division)
Address: Level 3, Building B, 6 Figtree Drive, Sydney Olympic Park
Point of contact: Glen Byrne (Project Officer)
7. 6
PROBLEM INVESTIGATED:
To undertake research into the life effectiveness outcomes that is achieved through participation
in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, as there is a current lack in Australian research about the
benefits of the Award to support its value as a personal growth program for young people.
PROJECT BACKGROUND &
RATIONALE:
BACKGROUND:
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a recognition program that was first introduced in the United
Kingdom in 1956 with the aim to motivate young boys between the ages of 15-18 to participate
in an award to adapt to and survive the difficult period between adolescence and adulthood. The
program is now run internationally and right across Australia easily made available to young
females and males aged 14-24. The Australian Duke of Ed Program falls into the Asia Pacific
region and began in NSW in 1962. Along with Queensland, it is funded and run by the
government of Australia whilst independent bodies run the award in the remaining states. With
over 12000 participants from NSW running for their bronze, silver or gold award in the year of
2012/13, this is the largest Duke of Edinburgh division within Australia. Of these 12000
participants, the majority conduct the program through one of the 450 schools, community
groups and youth organisations that run the program across the state.
The vision of the Duke of Edinburgh’s award in Australia ‘is that all young people in Australia
are empowered to explore their potential and achieve success through access and participation in
The Duke of Ed” (The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award – Australia, Charter 2014).
Their purpose and mission is “to provide, promote and preserve a framework of award
participation that engages and empowers all young people in Australia to explore their potential”
(The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award – Australia, Charter 2014). The organisation also
acknowledges a commitment that “young people, regardless of location or circumstance, are the
8. 7
central focus of all of our endeavours” (The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award –
Australia, Charter 2014).
The award is a voluntary, non-competitive balanced program. Participants of the award aged 14-
25 design their own personalised program centred around their interests and then set their goals
according to the minimum requirements. The Duke of Ed has three levels: Bronze, Silver and
Gold. Each level includes 4 sections that are to be completed in order to receive the award. These
include: physical recreation, skill, service volunteering and adventurous journey. To complete
the Gold award, an additional residential project is exercised.
RATIONALE:
As the outcomes achieved through participating in the Award are mostly linked with those
benefits of a psychological or social means rather than physical, it creates a barrier for the
organisation to find or provide scientific evidence that proves the life effectiveness outcomes of
the program. Most of the evidence that the Division currently relies on in promoting the Award
is purely anecdotal and comprises of stories and reflections by Young Adults and their
participation in the program rather than having actual facts and figures and scientific evidence
that would have more of an impact in influencing individuals to participate in the program-
whether as participants or as volunteers. The Division does not have the resources or the staff to
utilise the resources that they do have to develop such hard evidence to support the stories that
they’ve heard and the improvements that they have seen in these children. They are hamstrung
based on the fact that it is a volunteer based program and for this reason are seeking for this
research project to take place.
As the outcomes achieved through participating in the Award are mostly linked with those
benefits of a psychological or social means rather than physical, it creates a barrier for the
organisation to find or provide scientific evidence that proves the life effectiveness outcomes of
the program. Most of the evidence that the NSW Division currently relies on in promoting the
Award is purely anecdotal and comprises of stories and reflections by Participants and their
involvement within the program. Opposed to this, factual evidence is lacking and having this will
9. 8
result in a greater influence on individuals to participate in the program, whether as Participants
or as an Award Leader.
The key issue concerning the Award is the lack of research and material that provides hard
evidence on the life effectiveness outcomes of the award. For this particular project, the approach
that will be taken to conduct the research is to utilise the qualitative research method. This
research method utilises written text rather than quantifying the collection and analysis of data
(Bryman 2012). For this reason, the qualitative method was found most relevant to suit the
nature of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award project.
This method of a qualitative research explores the epistemology that can help with the
understanding of the social world through examining the interpretation of that world by its
participants. It also explores the ontological position that helps describe that the social properties
are outcomes of the interactions between individuals (Bryman 2012).Thus with this research
method, it will be taken to imply an approach to social research in relation to individuals’
reactions and active participation; Gold Alumni and Coordinators. The main research method
that is associated with this qualitative research will be qualitative interviewing, also known as a
semi-structured interview (Wengraf 2001).
10. 9
PROJECT OBJECTIVES:
1. To utilise the findings and assess whether the Duke of Edinburgh
Program is of value and positively impacts on the life
effectiveness outcomes of youth participants.
2. To understand the motivations, experiences and outcomes of
past coordinators that were once part of the Duke of
Edinburgh Program to understand why they no longer
participate in the Award.
3. To understand the motivations, experiences and outcomes of
current co-coordinators that are presently involved in the Duke
of Edinburgh Program through the use of in-depth interviews.
4. To develop an understanding of the long-term benefits that the
Duke of Edinburgh program provides for participants once the
program has been completed through the use of in-depth
interviews of the programs gold alumni.
11. 10
LITERATURE REVIEW:
This report aims to highlight the value of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in terms of its impact
and influences on the personal growth and achievements of young people. The current lack of
Australian research on the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and the benefits it provides to young
people creates a gap in the existing literature; however, the problem being addressed can be
supported by other literature in similar fields of study that help develop a better understanding of
the benefits associated with self-development and discovery. This particular literature review
aims to explore existing research on youth achievement initiatives and demonstrate its relevance
to the concepts of this project. The key concepts associated with the problem of the Award are
discussed below along with relevant areas of literature. The review of existing literature will
attempt to provide an insight as to how youth achievement strategies similar to that of the Duke
of Edinburgh’s Award can enhance the life effectiveness and life outcomes of young people that
participate in these programs.
CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTS:
In each of the four sections of the Award (Skill, Physical Recreation, Service, Adventurous
Journey), participants are to choose activities that challenge their skills, abilities and their way of
thinking. Within areas of the different sections, participants are faced with new and unfamiliar
environments, the Award therefore allowing them to expand or step out of their comfort zones
and broaden their horizons. Tackling challenges or being involved with challenging activities is
proven beneficial to a child, or even an adult, as it contributes to the development of new skills
and capabilities. This particular theory is supported with the application of the challenge model,
a model based on the idea that a stressor (such as a challenge) can be treated as a possible
12. 11
enhancer of competence as long as the level of stress is constant and not too high conversely
resulting in the child feeling helpless and incapable (Garmezy, Masten & Tellegen 1984). The
model serves to capture the relationship between personal attributes and stressful situations and
the irony in how the very adaptation of these stressful circumstances is instigated by stress itself.
These stressful circumstances are likely to be encountered by participants of the Duke of
Edinburgh’s Award when they are in new environments with unfamiliar people. Being in these
unfamiliar and challenging environments can act as a stressor for the participant thus helping
enhance their level of competence, providing them with experiences in resisting and adapting to
stress levels and learning the skill of resilience – all self-development skills that can be
considered very helpful in future aspects of their life.
YOUTH GUIDANCE:
There has been a focus in previous literature on the importance of youth development through
youth guidance, yet there is a lack of research in Australia on the concept being fully integrated
into the practice of youth achievement award programs such as The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
A large number of youth programs have been adopting a Positive Youth Development approach
as opposed to earlier approaches that incorporated conceptualisations of youth as being flawed
and thus attempted to redress these ‘flaws’ (Liang, Spencer, West & Rappaport 2013). Liang et
al. (2003) place great emphasis on the Positive Youth Development approach as it recognises
that even the most disadvantaged youth have the capacity to change their behaviour, develop
new skills, establish new relationships and broaden their horizons through a youth guidance
program. The Duke of Edinburgh’s is a youth program that adopts the positive approach and
through the guidance offered by the Award Leaders and Assessors, the participants are able to
identify and build on their strengths rather than focus on their flaws to achieve their full potential
promoting individual, community and social change.
13. 12
OUTDOOR RECREATION:
Other areas of literature relevant to life effectiveness outcomes of youth programs centre their
focus on the influences of outdoor recreation. Outdoor recreation is incorporated into the Duke
of Edinburgh’s Award through both the ‘Physical Recreation’ and ‘Adventurous Journey’
sections of the Award. The Physical recreation section of the Award offers participants
opportunities to participate in physical activity in a variety of ways that not only helps develop
healthy fitness habits but can influence on the participant’s overall behaviour and outlook on life.
The Adventurous Journey section offers young people the opportunity to get out there and go out
on an expedition or exploration in challenging environments. A study was conducted in Arizona
to examine the level of influence of outdoor recreation in improving communication between
parent and adolescent. The study delivered results that proved that a correlation exists between
outdoor recreation and parent-adolescent communication. The report argues that improvements
in communication stem from the idea that children had to engage in unfamiliar environments that
required them to interact in order to complete the challenges and achieve their goals (Huff,
Widmer, McCoy & Hill 2003). The results of another study on outdoor recreation and its
influence on children indicated further improvements in communication along with skills of
leadership, outdoor skills and judgement and awareness of the environment (Sibthorp, Paisley &
Gookin 2007). The studies help support the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award as a successful youth
program that incorporates outdoor recreation elements in its program to help with the
development and overall well-being of young people.
14. 13
SERVICE LEARNING:
A substantial amount of literature aims to demonstrate the correlation between community
service projects and the enhancement of a young person’s personal and educational development.
Byers, Griffin-Wiesner & Nelson (Nelson & Eckstein 2008) argue that service learning can help
teens develop the assets needed for a productive future as it extends learning beyond the
classroom and into the community. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award incorporates service
learning into its program through the service section of the Award, which is perhaps the most
personal of all the Duke of Ed sections as it involves giving back to the community and gaining
an understanding of a participant’s role within both their immediate and global community.
Studies have shown that service learning programs prove to have positive social impacts on
young people in all areas including academic, personal, social and career areas of their life
(Nelson et al. 2008). Providing service to others in the community has the potential to build
positive social behaviours, enhance self-esteem as well as enhance success in school and career
aspects. Service learning has become increasingly popular amongst youth achievement programs
due to its results in promoting development of the knowledge, skills and cognitive capacities that
are necessary for youth in order to deal with the complex social issues that challenge
communities and citizens (Eyler 2003).
The service-learning literature supports the benefits of incorporating community service into
academic learning and thus further supports the benefits that the Duke of Ed program is able to
provide to its youth through its service projects.
15. 14
METHODOLOGY:
The key issue concerning the Award is the lack of research and material that show hard evidence
on the life effectiveness outcomes of the award. For this particular project, the approach that will
be taken to conduct the research is to utilise the qualitative research method. This research
method helps emphasise words rather than quantifying within the collection and analysis of data
(Bryman 2012) and for this reason, the qualitative method was found most relevant to suit the
nature of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award project.
This method of a qualitative research explores the epistemology that can help with the
understanding of the social world through examining the interpretation of that world by its
participants. It also explores the ontological position that helps describe that the social properties
are outcomes of the interactions between individuals (Bryman 2012).Thus with this research
method, it will be taken to imply an approach to social research in relation to individuals’
reactions and active participation; Gold Alumni and Coordinators. The main research method
that is associated with this qualitative research will be qualitative interviewing, also known as a
semi-structured interview (Wengraf 2001).
Semi structured interviews have been designed to have a number of interviewer questions
prepared in advance but such prepared questions are designed to be sufficiently opened that the
subsequent questions of the interviewer cannot be planned in advance but must be improvised in
a careful and theorised way. Within regards, this type of interview is ones where research and
planning produce a session in which most of the informant’s responses can’t be predicted in
advance (Wengraf 2001). In this case, an important skill in interviewing is to avoid becoming
taken up in the conversational style of the interview that the interviewee is ‘led’ by the
interviewer. Within this situation, the interviewer is torn between the need to maintain a friendly
conversational atmosphere and the desire not to influence the interviewee’s responses.
The main steps in qualitative research have been published and studied by Foster (1995) and will
be presented in the following in relation to the figure: main steps of qualitative research (Bryman
2012):
16. 15
Step 1: General research questions. This is the starting point and this is drawn from three key
areas; (1) Motivations – what made you get in the Duke of Edinburgh’s program?
(2) Experience – What was the highlight of your experience as a coordinator?
(3) Outcomes – What do you believe are the key benefits of the program?
These are the three main topics with an initial question and carried through to a series of sub
questions for further discussions, depending on the interviewing progress.
Step 2: Selection of relevant sites and subjects. The research will be conducted in school
grounds within government and non government high schools, as well as the NSW Division
office. This will be directed at current coordinators who are undertaking The Duke of Ed as part
of their school program and previous coordinators in the NSW Division Office who have
associated with The Duke of Edinburgh and have left. Also, the research will be conducted at
the Gold Alumni, directly associated with Gold Awardees.
Step 3: Collection of relevant data. This research will be a ‘semi structured interview’. This
research will be conducted in the duration of three months contacting and conducting a semi
structured interview from past and current participants in The Duke of Edinburgh Australia.
There will be twelve interviewees; from a total of coordinators and Gold Awardees. With this
type of research method, it will suggest there will be three generated data: motivation from the
program; experience created and the outcomes for their future endeavours or current endeavours
of their life all undertaken by semi structured interviews.
Step 4: Interpretation of data. The key findings to emerge from the data are the fact that, in spite
of not having current evidence from the past about life effectiveness, it will no longer be an issue
from this data collection. This will help understand what is needed to be done and the advantages
of taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh as a Coordinator or a participant aged between 14 – 25
years of age completing the program. Although not yet collected, there will be clearer evidence
for the life effectiveness qualities to be supported as a valued program for students and
coordinators.
17. 16
Step 5: Conceptual and theoretical work. Depending on the data collected there will be concepts
emerging from the research. This may be from their response for their motivation into
coordinating or participating in the program due to influences such as their job or parents. Thus,
it is this step, coupled with the interpretation of data that forms the study’s findings.
Step 5(a): Tighter specification of the research questions and 5b, Collection of further data.
There is no specific evidence currently, although once specific data have been collected from the
early interpretations there might have to be further collected data for the three topics if they
aren’t covered sporadically. When this occurs, as it sometimes does in research within a
grounded theory framework, there can be interplay between interpretation and theorising, on the
one hand, and data collection, on the other hand. This is referred to as an iterative one, where
interviewees might be interviewed twice. Therefore, this possibility of re-interviewing might be
drawn from certain individuals in the light of emerging ideas about the data.
Step 6: Writing up findings/conclusions. This will be made clear to The Duke of Edinburgh
Australia and future participants and coordinators that these have been conducted with semi
structured interviews and this links to the motivation, experience and outcome. A key point that
may emerge from this research is that at several points in the conclusion it will broaden the
insight of The Duke of Edinburgh and allows to see how coordinators and Gold awardees have
felt during their time and how that can influence on the overall result of the research of life
effectiveness qualities supported as a valued program for students and coordinators.
These six steps in qualitative research are highly related issues of the links between the theory
and concepts with research data (Bryman 2012).
Overall, it is certain there is no reason why qualitative research cannot be used in order to test the
theories that are specified in advance of data collection.
18. 17
RESULTS/FINDINGS:
In this section, the findings are presented and contextualised into the relevant themes and issues
presented through data collection. Findings are reported in terms of the study’s objectives.
OBJECTIVE ONE: To utilise the findings and assess whether The Duke
of Edinburgh Program is of value and positively impacts on the life
effectiveness outcomes of Youth Participants.
Through the data collected via in-depth interviews, the following values and positive impacts
were drawn on about the Participants who had completed and received their Gold Award for The
Duke of Edinburgh Program. In relation, this is from the ‘Transcript’ below.
Social Relationship
From the five Gold Awardees, ‘social relationships’ in terms of the value that each Participant
gained was a reoccurring theme throughout. Particularly, the Participants experienced the
socialising and facilitation of social relationship. For the vast majority of Former Award
Participants, the act of socialising was not only a motivation to join the program, but was also
considered a highlight throughout their experience. One Gold Participant stated;
“I would have never dreamed of experiences and the people aspect. I met a great bunch of
people that we all got along really well. People from different walks of life, mutually bonding
through the award.”
This participant reverberates the same beliefs that were shared by other Gold Alumni and it is
apparent how effective the program is in fostering the idea of new relationships and how it
19. 18
teaches the participants to maintain these relationships. Likewise, this has also proven that the
social aspect of The Duke of Edinburgh Program is a large contributing factor to the enjoyment
that the program provides and in turn impacts positively on the experiences for participants.
Self Development
Self Development was another recurring notion which was addressed through the questions
based on the key themes of motivations and experiences which the interviewer asked.
Participant’s stated that through The Duke of Edinburgh Program they were able to understand
what it takes to be someone who can contribute to the community and develop their own
personal attributes. Most specific of these was the programs ability to allow for people to become
better well-rounded individuals with greater moral values. Quoted by a Gold Participant;
“... It really makes a person better rounded. With the understanding of what it takes to be
someone who can contribute to the community as well as their own school and develop their own
personal attributes and that’s really important”.
This is supported by another Gold Respondent who stated;
“...I think the program creates well rounded individuals. Especially in the culture now many
people are becoming less involved in the communtiy, people are becoming insular.”
Cross analysis of the two responses with the majority of other Gold Alumni provides evidence to
show that not only have behaviours been altered over the course of the program, but likewise an
outlook on life. Thus, this supports the notio of self development being a key element to suggest
the increased life effectiveness of the Duke of Edinburgh Program.
20. 19
Passion
Passion is term that whilst broad, has significant meaning to people across all societies. Within
the Duke of Edinburgh Program, it is no different. By having motivated and passionate Award
Leaders, this will impact on all levels of the award. More specific to this, it is the Bronze level of
the experience that is impacted mostly by this. From what has been analysed, by the time a
Participant has reached the gold level, their determination is already in existence and their
passion is resulted from what had been achieved during the completion of the Bronze and Silver
levels of the award. Juxtaposed to this, passion is questionable within the Bronze Level
Participant’s as their motivations are varied on their reasons for participating in the program.
Quote from a Gold Participant;
“My Mum had done it, she completed the gold. She said, give it a go, you like the outdoors. She
was very encouraging. Getting committed, giving everything a go. I just want to give everything
a try and give it a shot”.
Furthermore, these particular interviewees’ have made it clear that once going through to Gold,
motivations have been altered over the years, and the focus shifted to ‘completing it in a positive
sense’ (quote from Gold Participant). Therefore, passion in the program is more recognisable to a
higher degree by the end of the program as their motivations change.
Recognition
Recognition is another key notion that the research has discovered. Amongst these are not only
the Participants but also the Award Leaders and the Schools which conduct the program. These
are analysed in further detail later in the report. For the Young Adults, whilst being in the
program they are required to volunteer their time in the community. To a large degree,
volunteerism will be overlooked and not taken notice of, so recognition is a massive advantage
that the program provides and as a result, their reputation is enhanced. Quote from a Gold
Participant;
21. 20
“... It was like a sense of receiving recognition for what I was already doing and also the
possibility to go do all the camps and stuff in addition to what’s already done at school”.
Thus, The Duke of Edinburgh Program is able to provide reputation for these individuals and
continue to provide value and positive impacts on their life endeavours.
OBJECTIVE TWO: To understand the motivations, experiences and
outcomes of Past Award Leaders that were once part of the Duke of
Edinburgh Program to understand why they no longer participate in
the Award.
Through the data collected via in-depth interviews, the following motivations, experiences and
outcomes have been categorised under two main themes represented in the following;
Passion
Mentioned above with the Gold Participants, by having motivated and passionate Award Leaders,
it will impact on the award as a development tool. For most Past Award Leaders, Passion for this
program was drawn from the interest and the love for outdoor activities. By having passion for
this, it is possible to promote the growth and development of Participants through The Duke of
Edinburgh Program. Quote from a Past Award Leader;
“... I have been a big supporter and seen the benefits. I think very much in the outside world that
businesses see the benefits to who has gone through The Duke of Edinburgh Program,
particularly completing their gold level”.
22. 21
This makes clear that motivations are not just developed through the Award Leader – Participant
relationship but also through a ‘peer-peer sense’. As leaders, they make sure the candidates are
well aware of the standards of behaviour and the care for the environment, helping them pursue
the program to the end.
Recognition
Recognition is a key notion which the majority of Past Award Leaders stated. The program
allows for the development of a positive reputation for an individual whilst also providing
recognition of the efforts made to run the Program at the respective schools. Quote from a Past
Award Leader;
“The good thing about the program is the Gold Award, Duke of Edinburgh recognise the work of
the Award Leaders. They realise you volunteer your time and effort”.
This Past Award Leader in particular took on the gratitude of what can be offered to benefit not
only themselves but the Participants who took on board the Program. Paralleled to this;
“... On the other side when you hear the kids speak about the award, usually what they find more
valuable is the time and effort they put into the volunteer section of the program... It’s a great
thing to be able to give and have it thankfully and gratefully received”.
Through this it has developed the understanding of what The Duke of Edinburgh Program
provides in terms of motivation, experience and outcome for Past Award Leaders. The positive
impacts are noticeable and relate heavily to the desired objective. It is vital to note also that there
were no specific negative reasoning’s as to why each of the Award Leaders stepped down from
their position. The majority was down to retirement or movements to differing schools
23. 22
OBJECTIVE THREE: To understand the motivations, experiences and
outcomes of Current Award Leaders that is presently involved in The
Duke of Edinburgh Program through the use of in-depth interviews.
Through the data collected via in-depth interviews, the following motivations, experiences and
outcomes have been categorised under two main themes represented in the following;
Passion
Similar to the Past Award Leaders, Current Award Leaders that were interviewed had a
reoccurring passion for the environment and enjoyment for the outdoor. For this maintained
passion, Current Award Leaders have understood the impacts of outdoor recreation that The
Duke of Edinburgh Program provides. Quote by one Current Award Leader;
“... I enjoy being outdoors and I like the philosophy of Duke of Edinburgh, I love the service
component, I love that students have to learn a skill, I love they have to do some sport combined
with the adventurous journey, so that’s why I have a forte for it...”.
The Current Award Leaders being interviewed had high motivations on the outcomes of their
students thus creating great passion for them to do well and broaden their well being. This quote
represents this;
“I love the scouting movement; it’s a great movement in the right context. It’s absolutely
brilliant because they learn a lot of skills from it and it’s the same with Duke of Edinburgh, the
kids have to go out there and learn for example a new skill or keep participating in their skill,
even if its learning how to play a musical instrument or continuing with it. It’s all about the kids
extending themselves, Duke of Edinburgh allows that”.
24. 23
Therefore, the theme of passion has been drawn out to represent the motivations, experiences and
outcomes due to the personalities of Current Award Leaders and their personal interest for the
love of outdoor and being able to help and encourage Participants to do something new;
“It’s not necessary the brightest kids, not the kids that do academically well. Usually it’s the kids
that have a lot of passion and commitment, some of these kids never been camping before so it
gives them new experiences”.
Hence, the experience drawn by these interviews show that it’s not only for themselves to feel
rewarded, but also seeing Participants grow that has kept them within The Duke of Edinburgh
Program;
“It’s rewarding to see the kids being challenged and they get through it... Being out there with
the kids is also up-lifting because you see them at a very different level”.
Overall, the outcome draws from the compassion they have to make a difference;
“For a lot of the kids, they are extending themselves, putting themselves outside of their comfort
zone and they are achieving. They realise they can actually do it. They see some self worth in
themselves and that’s clearly a benefit”.
25. 24
OBJECTIVE FOUR: To develop an understanding of the long term
benefits that The Duke of Edinburgh program provides for
Participants once the program has been completed through the use
of in-depth interviews of the programs Gold Alumni.
Through the cross examination of the data collected via in-depth interviews, the following
impacts have been categorised in the following extracted transcripts and a conceptual framework
has been developed in relation to the themes drawn out from the transcripts.
These results represent that for the four interviews, they have all related in response to the main
themes of; Social Relationship, Social Development, Recognition and Passion. Therefore, the
long term benefits of The Duke of Edinburgh are evident.
TRANSCRIPTS: 5 INTERVIEWS (GOLD AWARDEES)
Student 1
Social relationship:
- Maintain relationships
- Further relationship;
group or team work sense
Q. What do you believe are the key benefits of the program?
I think Duke of Edinburgh creates well rounded individuals especially
in the culture now many people are becoming less involved in the
community, people are insular... The Program fosters the idea of long
term relationships; it also teaches us the skill of maintaining those
relationships to develop further relationship in the workplace for
group or team work sense
Q. What key changes did you notice in yourself in completing your
award(s)?
26. 25
Self Development:
- Self sufficient
- Trusting others
Passion:
- Outdoor recreation; Hikes
Recognition
- Confidence
- Plan, prepare, thinking
ahead and street smart
I just learnt I’m quite self sufficient person, being able to trust other
people in their abilities.
Q. How has the award enhanced your life experiences?
For sure, I went after the end of the school and spent most of my
holiday time with a bunch of The Duke of Edinburgh kids on a road
trip along the South Coast and did hikes, similar to The Duke of
Edinburgh, packing heavier.
Next holidays I am going to South East Asia, it has increased my
confidence, Duke of Edinburgh has made me realise you need to
plan and prepare, help me deal and prepare with headspace,
thinking ahead and street smart.
Student 2
Self development:
- Well rounded
- Develop personal
attributes
- Understanding the
contribution to the
community.
Social relationship:
- Meeting new people
- Shared experience
Self Development:
- Explore self interest and
life
Q. What do you believe are the key benefits of the program?
I think that it really makes the person more well rounded. With the
understanding of what it takes to be someone who can contribute
to the community as well as their own school and develop personal
attributes and that’s really important. And also, I walked that far and
that I met those people when I had that experience is really
beneficial.
Q. What key changes did you notice in yourself in completing your
award(s)?
So I think, well I know that it has really allowed me to explore what I
can do, like I contribute to my area and my life.
27. 26
Recognition:
- Completing tasks =
confidence
Q. How has the award enhanced your life experiences?
Completing those tasks like the 3 months of bronze, silver, and gold
the different time periods makes it easier to understand the
processes of school in a sense well because you got time allocations
for different projects and if you can complete it within that time
shows you that you can do it and it makes you more confident.
Student 3
Self Development:
- Commitment – future
aspects
Passion:
- Determination = Just
keep going
Self Development
- Getting through university
– furthered commitment
Q. What do you believe are the key benefits of the program?
Definitely the commitment. To go a full year being committed to
different aspects that you do. Just the benefits for the future such as
going for job interviews and stuff.
Q. What key changes did you notice in yourself in completing your
award(s)?
I definitely think sticking out for long periods of time doing tricky
things like I worked at a boarding school with pretty rough kids and
I’ve been thinking there almost 3 years. It’s tricky to stay but I think
you just keep going sort of thing.
Q. How has the award enhanced your life experiences?
Probably, because I did it for about two and half years, like the
whole program. I definitely think it helped. And University too, getting
through the first year and stuff. So it’s definitely helped with the
commitment aspect.
28. 27
Student 4
Self development:
- giving back to
community
Social relationship:
- meeting new people
- Friendship and teamwork
Passion:
- Helping the community
Recognition:
- Utilised skills in group work
Q. What do you believe are the key benefits of the program?
It’s about giving back to the community and meeting new people
Q. What key changes did you notice in yourself in completing your
award(s)?
Mostly towards the community, helping stuff like that. Especially
keeping on with the friendship and teamwork so yeah, the main one
is teamwork like in the expedition especially.
Q. How has the award enhanced your life experiences?
Utilised the skills in university, definitely organising group work
assignments and making sure everyone is involved and put in some
input.
Student 5
Self development:
- Skills
- Leadership
- Friendships
- Socialising skills – dealing
with different people
Q. What do you believe are the key benefits of the program?
The skills that you learn, leadership organisation the friendships that
you gain, adventurous skills
Q. What key changes did you notice in yourself?
Socially, definitely, dealing with different experiences with different
29. 28
Recognition:
- Leadership and
organisation skills used
within team
people, I am much more open and I can socialise now due to the
award.
Q. How has the award enhanced your life experiences?
Leadership and organisation skills are most used in my daily work
now as a I work for myself and now working as part of a team in my
new internship
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
A developed conceptual framework shows how some of the themes/concepts/factors and
relationships emerge from the interviews. Whilst transcribing the interviews, a conceptual
framework has been fully developed.
30. 29
DISCUSSION:
From the research which has been gathered, it is notable that the results obtained have
successfully supported the key learning objectives as stated above. Through the studies
undertaken, the main themes discovered of social relationships, self-discovery, reputation and
passion all provided support to the belief that the motivations, experiences and benefits were the
key integral elements within the research process. The use of qualitative research provided the
insight required to develop these key notions and support the outcomes of the programs value.
At the forefront of the findings was the key notion of self development. Self development is a
term that had significant meaning to the gold alumni respondents. All of them stated that by
undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh Program, the challenging nature allowed for skill
development in a variation of aspects. These ranged from personal attributes such as self
confidence and self determination to the changed viewpoint on the importance of community
participation and involvement.
Through the research undertaken, indirect secondary findings became evident. Despite the fact
that these do not address the key objectives the research seeks to discover, it is clear that they are
of great significance and cannot be rejected. A significant key issue within the program itself that
developed a clear barrier for Participants and Award Leaders alike was the online record book.
The majority of interviewees stated that the online record book was the hardest element of the
program to deal with. From the award leaders’ perspective, the online record book adds a
considerable amount of time to an already time consuming extra-curricular activity. One award
leader even stated his belief that other award leaders would unethically tick off the completion
by participants of certain sections even without the required documentation of proof due to the
fact that it is such a time consuming task. Limited time allocation from schools is also a factor
which impacts upon this also.
31. 30
The following cross-tabulation analysis of the online record book makes clear the impact which
this barrier had on 7 of the interviewed respondents as the skew of results leans more toward the
constraining nature of the record book and time cost that it applies.
A major limitation which created much difficulty across the course of the research stage was the
element of Child Protection Policies. Whilst being necessary and a legal requirement to abide by,
it resulted in a much limited field of Gold Award Recipients that we could interview. After
attending a ceremony where newly awarded Gold Recipients were in attendance, many were
unable to be contacted due to being under the age of 18 years. Despite being overcome, this was
a definite barrier which was faced whilst undertaking the research process.
32. 31
RECOMMENDATIONS:
The purpose of the industry project is to undertake research into the life effectiveness outcomes
that are achieved through participation in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to support its value as
a personal growth program. As outlined in the findings and discussion, the results of the research
findings and discussion satisfy the three key objectives of the research program.
These recommendations have emerged and have been identified from the results and findings in
which will further support the award as a valued personal growth program.
Increase in awareness or program:
The participants of the program age between 14- 25 year old young people. Due to the
nature of the target audience, e marketing will produce the best results, focus on online
media platforms and social media as new marketing platforms
The acknowledgement of career benefits for the teachers as a result from running the
award program can be utilized as an incentive to attract potential award leaders
Increase the number of participants by targeting personal
motivations:
By recognizing and concentrating on the motivations as a pull factor for participants to
join the program and utilizing the key themes identified in results as a motivator in the
marketing process will generate a better attraction of the target market
33. 32
Eliminate award program issues:
By acknowledging and recognizing the deterrents and barriers for both participants and
award leaders it may eliminate deterring potential participants
Allow for the option between the online record book system or the traditional hard copy
record book
Ensure award leaders are given ample time during school hours to work on the program
The consideration of placing limitations on the number of participants per award leader
ensures an even workload are distributed amongst award leaders
34. 33
CONCLUSION:
This study sought to provide an assessment on the life effectiveness outcomes that are achieved
through participation of young people in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and through this
assessment, to thus support the value of the Award as a personal growth program for today’s
youth.
The extensive secondary research included in this report provided an insight of the existing
research on youth achievement initiatives similar to that of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and
how the different areas of these initiatives could positively impact on the development and well
being of young people. However, although the study of secondary data did provide some
information on the benefits of youth programs towards the development of the youth, there was
an evident gap in the research on the benefits of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award itself in the life
effectiveness and life outcomes of these people.
The primary data conducted allowed to bridge this gap in the research regarding the outcomes of
participation in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Taking into consideration the type of research
and the limitations of the study, the following conclusions were made. Participants that were
interviewed expressed how effective the program was in fostering social relationships, in
changing their outlooks on life, in enhancing their self-esteem and self worth as well as their
reputation. The interviews of current and past Award Leaders also presented similar findings
regarding the benefits of the program as the interviews expressed their passions for working with
the Duke of Edinburgh’s as they could evidently see the positive outcomes it provides for their
participants.
The findings, both primary and secondary, directly support the value of the Duke of Edinburgh’s
Award as a personal growth program. The study confirms the importance of such youth
achievement initiatives in the development and wellbeing of young people and, thus, will support
the program to continue to contribute positively to today’s youth.
35. 34
REFERENCE
Bryman, A. 2012, Social Research Methods (4th ed.), Oxford University Press, Oxford
Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award (Australia) 2014, Charter, viewed 27 March 2014,
http://www.dukeofed.com.au/Charter-for-Business.html
Eyler, J. 2002, ‘Reflection: Linking Service and Learning – Linking students and communities’,
Journal of Social Issues, vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 517-534
Garmezy, N., Masten, A.S. & Tellegen, A. 1984, ‘The Study of Stress and Competence in
Children: A Building Block for Developmental Psychopathology’, Child Development, vol. 55,
pp. 97-111
Huff, C., Widmer, M., McCoy, K. & Hill, B. 2003, ‘The Influence of Challenging Outdoor
Recreation on Parent-Adolescent Communication’, Therapeutic Recreation Journal, vol. 37.
no.1, pp. 18-37
Liang, B., Spencer, R., West, J. & Rappaport, N. 2013, ‘Expanding the reach of youth
mentoring: Partnering with youth for personal growth and social change’, Journal of
Adolescence, vol. 36, pp. 257-267
Nelson, J.A. & Eckstein, D. 2008, ‘A Service-Learning Model for At-Risk Adolescents’,
Education and Treatment of Children, vol. 31, no.2, pp. 223-237
36. 35
Sibthorp, J., Paisley, K. & Gookin, J. 2007, ‘Exploring Participant Development Through
Adventure-Based Programming: A Model from the National Outdoor Leadership School,
Leisure Sciences: An Interdisciplinary Journal, vol. 29, no.1, pp. 1-18
Wengraf, T. 2001, Qualitative Research Interviewing (1st
ed), Sage Publications, London
37. 36
Appendix
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS – GOLD ALUMNI
1.1. Interviewee: Lucy
MOTIVATIONS
JARRYD: What made you undertake the gold level of the Duke of
Edinburgh’s program?
LUCY: I think for me I had done it at high school, in year 9 the bronze and
continued to silver, it was absolutely fantastic so I decided to go for gold. To gain
experiences and opportunities that I would have never dreamed of experiences
and the people aspect, I met a great bunch of people that we all got along really
well, people from all different walks of life, mutually bonding through the
award.
People and experiences in the key reasons
JARRYD: Did you find the people you bonded with were all doing gold?
LUCY: Yes pretty much, we all started doing our silver together so the same
group continued on to gold, (bond and respect between coordinators)
JARRYD: What were your motivations for joining program?
LUCY: My mum had done it, she had completed the gold, she said give it a go,
you like the outdoors, she was very encouraging. Getting commited, giving
everything a go, I just wanted to give everything a try and give it a shot
JARRYD: Did you have any prior experience in recreational activity before
undertaking the program?
LUCY: Not really this was a first opportunity
JARRYD: Were there any barriers that discouraged you taking on the
program?
LUCY: When I got to the silver award, they moved the record book to online, for
example participating in community or sport, for the accessors navigating
online was difficult. Although it was only a minor issue of administration in
comparison to the overall benefits of the program
38. 37
JARRYD: What are the cost issues (either time or financial) whilst
undertaking the program?
LUCY: In terms of time, I always just made time, because it was organised
through school it was a good way to integrate the time. Financially it was fine, I
was lucky to have a family that was willing to fund that but there was always
ways for other students to get qualified.
JARRYD: Did your motivations alter after completing further levels of the
award?
LUCY: When I changed school to do silver, I was not as motivated but after the
first training camp I was definitely going to stick it through. It was one of the
highlights of my high school.
EXPERIENCE:
JARRYD: What were some of highlights of your award experience?
LUCY: Going on our final treck to central Australia, I would have never gone
before that, I didn’t actually end up going with my year group of doe I went with
the year bellow just because of timing, even with a different group, it was still
amazing I bonded with them due to being out there for several days, got to know
them well.
Massive highlight. Going back to the people and the rare opportunity
JARRYD: Were there any negative experiences you encountered?
LUCY: Not really to be honest, personally I block out negative experiences,
besides the online record book
JARRYD: How would you alter the program to enhance your experience?
LUCY: Pretty much maybe just the record book
JARRY: What were the different experiences you encountered between
award levels?
OUTCOMES:
JARRYD: What do you believe are the key benefits of the program?
LUCY: I think doe creates well rounded individuals especially in the culture now
many people are becoming less involved in the community, people are
becoming insular…
39. 38
The program fosters the idea of long term relationships; it also teaches us the
skill of maintaining those relationships to develop further relationships in the
workplace
Group or team work sense
JARRYD: Why do you think young people should participate in the
program? What key changes did you notice in yourself in completing your
award(s)?
LUCY: I just learnt, I’m quite self sufficient person, being able to trust other
people in their abilities,
JARRYD: How has the award enhanced your life experiences?
LUCY: For sure, I went after the end of school I spent most of my holiday time, a
bunch of the doe kids went on a road trip along the south coast and did hikes,
similar to the doe, packing heavier. (still connected with doe peers).
Next holidays going to south East Asia, increased in confidence, doe has made
me realise you need to plan and prepare, help me to deal and prepare with
headspace, thinking ahead and street smart.
JARRYD: How has the award impacted on your career aspirations?
LUCY: Not particularly. Not in terms of career, the program has opened a new
perspective due to the outdoor aspect.
40. 39
1.2. Interviewee: John
JARRYD: How long ago did you complete the award?
JOHN: I think it was 2011 or start of 2012.
JARRYD: Awesome. What school was that at?
JOHN: Southern Highlands Christian School
MOTIVATIONS
JARRYD: What made you undertake the Gold level of the Duke of
Edinburgh Award Program?
JOHN: I got introduced to it when I was in year 9. I just completed Silver and
Bronze. And gold was just a continuation of what I was already doing.
JARRYD: So when you first did the Bronze, what motivated you to get into
the program?
JOHN: It was suggested to me by my mum, who’s been talking to a friend. She
just said, “try this” and told me about it. So I decided I’d give it a go.
JARRYD: Sounds good. And you’re happy that you did it?
JOHN: Yeah, yeah I am. It was really fun. Especially when a lot of my friends
started doing it too.
JARRYD: Yeah that makes it even more enjoyable so that’s good. Did you have
any prior experience to structured personal programs like the Duke of Ed
before you undertook it?
JOHN: No I did a ‘ ‘ camp with the rotary at the start of year 9. But that’s about it.
JARRYD: Ok I guess that kind of relates. Did that impact on your decision to do
the Duke of Ed program?
JOHN: No I didn’t know about it.
JARRYD: So when you first take part in the gold level, did you have any
barriers that discouraged you from going to it?
JOHN: No, not really.
41. 40
JARRYD: What about when you started bronze? Was there any cost or time
issue?
JOHN: No there wasn’t. Because I used like for my bronze I started out with just
4 ‘’ to it and ……. Things I was already doing.
JARRYD: Yeah that’s a good way to integrate it.
JOHN: Yeah and so then I just, it did vary throughout the program but it was
stuff that I was interested in and I could manage with.
JARRYD: Yeah, that’s cool. So when you first went into the program, did you
have any motivations?
JOHN: I didn’t really, like when I started, it was first I heard about it. It was
driven by my mum who was the coordinator at the school. She had heard about
the program and really wanted, because my school was pretty small in the
highlands, she heard about the program and thought it would be a good thing
for the school so she started organising things for it. And then coordinating it.
JARRYD: So you obviously just picked it up and decided to do it. So when you
went through the award, did you find your motivations changed at your
silver and gold levels? Did you actually have some sort of like I guess “I want
to do this because” of a sort of reason or?
JOHN: Yeah. Through the silver and gold it was like it’d be really good for uni
and jobs that I was aiming for. So I thought it’d be a really good thing to show
future employees and things like that and the institutions I wanted to get into.
JARRYD: Yeah we’re doing a bit of research on that stuff and you find out like it
is actually so beneficial. It’s ranked up there as one of the big things that
employers look at.
JOHN: Yeah and that’s one of the things that from bronze I was like I’ll give this
thing a go to then being aware of it in the rest of the world and being like oh
yeah this thing is pretty big. And yeah people look at it. I got into university. I
put it down on my university application, that I completed silver and that I was
getting into gold at the moment. And it really has helped.
JARRYD: What University are you at?
JOHN: Charles Sturt University in Bathurst
JARRYD: What are you studying?
JOHN: Nursing and Paramedics
42. 41
JARRYD: Oh nice. You got long to go?
JOHN: Next year is my last year.
JARRYD: Oh great. You looking forward to getting out?
JOHN: Yeah I am
EXPERIENCE
JARRYD: Yeah, same here. I’m in third year so I finish at the end of this year so
I’m just ready to get out already. So tell me some of the highlights that you’ve
had during your award experience.
JOHN: The highlights would have been like definitely the exploration one. Like
all the hikes we did.
JARRYD: The adventurous journeys?
JOHN: Yeah. And it started out in bronze there was heaps of us and then as we
went through it, it got harder for some to keep going and they just lost interest.
And then it was like small groups that we did it and went through with. Yeah
nah it was really good. It was definitely the highlight.
JARRYD: So whereabouts did you go?
JOHN: We went to the Burrawang for our qualifying gold mark. And then a
longer one at the Shell Haven
JARRYD: Nice. How long was that?
JOHN: Oh by longer I meant like we did a longer section cause we did it in the
silver one too.
JARRYD: Oh right. So how many kilometres did you walk?
JOHN: I can’t remember but the Gold was, I think it could have been 35. I
remember the first day was 17 km.
JARRYD: That’s an experience. Not many people can say that they’ve done that.
JOHN: Yeah and like at all our qualifying hikes, it rained. It was just bizarre. It
was ok the first day but then it started raining at night and it didn’t stop
43. 42
JARRYD: Oh well it just adds another element to it. So did you have any
negative experience other than the rain that you encountered?
JOHN: No just the rain, which wasn’t even that much of a negative but it was
definitely something that was pulling you down. Like looking back at it, it was
good but I can honestly say there were no negative experiences.
JARRYD: Is there anything you would do to altar the experience? Something
you’d add to, take out or change? Was there anytime you thought ‘I wish I got
this out of it’ but you didn’t?
JOHN: No I don’t think so. I’m just looking back at it and no, it was all pretty
positive.
OUTCOMES
JARRYD: Oh great. We’ve had pretty similar responses. So this is I guess the
most important question because essentially the outcomes is what we are
researching on. So what do you believe are the key benefits of the program?
JOHN: Definitely the commitment. To go a full year being committed to different
aspects that you do. Just the benefits for the future such as going for job
interviews and stuff.
JARRYD: So I guess that leads us into the next question. How has the award
impacted on your career aspirations which can also include university and
stuff like that?
JOHN: Yeah well it got me a job in Year 10 at McDonalds when I had put it into
my CV. And then I had it on my early entry from for my course so it definitely
helped there.
JARRYD: Did you get in early entry?
JOHN: Yeah I got straight in.
JARRYD: Oh that’s good. So what key changes do you notice in yourself after
completing the award? I guess look at how you were as a person having just
started your bronze and what personality or attributes about yourself you think
have improved because of your involvement in the program?
JOHN: I definitely think sticking out for long periods of time doing tricky things
like I worked at a boarding school with pretty rough kids and I’ve been there
almost 3 years. It’s tricky to stay but I think you just keep going sort of thing.
44. 43
JARRYD: So if you didn’t do the Duke of Ed, do you think you wouldn’t have had
that element of being able to stick out so you might not have even been working
where you are at the moment?
JOHN: Probably. Because I did it for about 2 and a half years, like, the whole
program. I definitely think it helped. And university too, getting through the first
year and stuff. So it’s definitely helped with the commitment aspect.
JARRYD: So I guess that kind of leads into my next question about how the
award has enhanced your life experiences? So have you done any more treks
or anything since you completed the award? Or picked up any activities which
might have been impacted because of the award?
JOHN; I’ve done some hikes with a couple of friends that were on it (the
program). I’ve also lead on….
45. 44
1.3. Interviewee: Joe
JARRYD: Did you just complete the gold award the other day, was it?
JOE: Yeah so I completed it about a year ago and then I went to get the
certificate at the last session, which was in August.
JARRYD: Awesome. I think I was at it actually. I probably would have seen you.
JOE: Sure thing
MOTIVATIONS
JARRYD: So… first thing, the motivations. What made you undertake the Gold
level of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Program?
JOE: Sure. So when I was in year 8 I really kind of made the decision to come
here. I’ve heard a lot about it from students in higher years finishing their award
and I wanted to know a bit more about it. Then I was looking into it and I
decided I would, you know, try it out in a sense. And I found it really interesting
when I started that like it was just counting all the things I already did at school.
The school sport was just compulsory and then the skill which was… musical
instrument. And then the service, which was, I really just helped out at school
doing different things within the school community.
JARRYD: That’s good.
JOE: Yeah so, it was really efficient in a sense that I could count all the things
that I was already doing and that that could be rewarded in a sense.
JARRYD: Yeah, exactly. Cause later on it’s all going to help you in life and you
know, when you’re looking for a job and stuff.
JOE: Yeah. And then, it was really cool, I found that the, uh….
*INTERFERENCE* *AWKWARD SILENCE*
JARRYD: Ok. So yeah, the motivations for joining the program… Was it the
experience that could be had for the future or… What were the motivations that
you had?
Comment [MD1]: Recognition
Awareness
Role model
Comment [MD2]: Convenience
46. 45
JOE: Yeah, like I said, it was like the sense of receiving recognition for what I was
already doing and also the possibility to go do all the camps and stuff in addition
to what’s already done at school.
JARRYD: Yeah, cool. So did you have prior experience in like a structural
personal development activity like the Duke of Ed before you undertook the
program?
JOE: Not really, not in the same way that the Duke of Ed offered.
JARRYD: Yeah, ok. Cool. Were there any barriers that discouraged you to
join the program?
JOE: To join the program… Not at all. It was really interesting and I loved all of it.
Um, I know that some schools around my area offer their own camps within the
school, like the school organises it. So all the students are from the same year
group. For my practice journeys, I counted the school camp. It was more like
Duke of Ed camps, so it was all multiple camps. For qualifying, I went out
through a company, Duke of Ed camp so I was meeting new people so in that
sense, it was really beneficial because all of these people that I was meeting go
to surrounding schools anyway. I didn’t know them prior to the camp and now,
you know, we’re all friends and stuff.
JARRYD: Yeah that’s good. You get some contacts; you get some new friends and
stuff.
JOE: Yeah, definitely.
JARRYD: Uh, what company was that they used?
JOE: Um, Somerset Camp at Colo River.
JARRYD: Oh, that nice. That’s heaps good.
JOE: Yeah, it’s really cool.
JARRYD: So, what did you do for your Adventurous Journey?
JOE: Um, for Gold… I did, it was just a hike down there. Yeah, it was really nice. I
did the same trek twice for gold.
JARRYD: Oh, that’s heaps good. You must have liked it.
JOE: But with different people so it was really good, yeah.
Comment [MD3]: Recognition
Acknowledgement
Feelings
Comment [MD4]: Social
People
47. 46
JARRYD: Oh awesome man. Um… so yeah, when you undertook the program…
Did you come across a cost issue at all, say time or financial, cost issue?
JOE: Um… no. So time-wise, it was already like into my schedule and like as I
progressed to Gold, I counted the skill as driving.
JARRYD: Oh, nice. Smart man.
JOE: Yeah, that was pretty easy. And then financial, I think it was like the $100
per level or something so that was fine.
JARRYD: Did you find at first when you were doing your Bronze, did you find it
difficult to fit the time in and then you got used to it or?
JOE: Yeah, I was on the books the whole way. So it was easy in that sense to log it
rather than being on the computer. I know people have had some issues with
that. Um, but with the Bronze… getting into the habit of you know, um I guess
the service was the part that was most outlying for my schedule that already
existed. So, yeah, realising that I had to do that every 2 weeks a week (?) was the
only difference really.
JARRYD: Yeah, cool. So as you progressed through the award, from bronze to
silver, silver to gold, and now that you’ve completed your gold… Did you find
your motivations altering between each stage? Because it’s over quite a time
period, did you find you had different motivations as you went?
JOE: Um yeah towards the beginning it was more about finding more about it
and understanding the program and I think that by the time I finished my
bronze I still didn’t completely understand what process was lying ahead and
what that different awards had, like, what they entailed? They’re all the same
but like different time periods of each one made it slightly different than the one
before. Yeah, so at the beginning it was more about understanding it and as it
went on, Silver, I found really beneficial because it was like the time when I
didn’t have much school work on compared with Gold but um, so like the people
I was meeting, it was a really good time for all that kind of stuff. Gold it was
about getting it done but getting it done in a positive sense not just getting it out
of the way but having experiences, getting it done and saying yeah I finished
Gold.
EXPERIENCE
JARRYD: Yeah, of course. Because you’ve got the HSC on and stuff like that so it
starts getting a bit hectic. For the experience, just tell me a few of the
highlights you had during your experience?
Comment [MD5]: Convenient
No issues
Comment [MD6]: Convenience
Traditional over modern
Comment [MD7]: Transition
Knowledge
Experiences
48. 47
JOE: Um, I found that the volunteering was very beneficial at school. I was
helping out in the Duke of Ed meeting, answering questions, so helping other
people complete their own Duke of Ed program. And on the camp, my Bronze
track, I did at the Colaroy centre. It was really hard, like, we walked 30 km in
one day and then the next day it was like 12 km so it was pretty intense because
I was like, 14 years old. But as it went on, the experience, yeah it was really good
to just meet everyone and see what everyone was up to and get to know
everyone in the area.
JARRYD: Oh yeah, that’s great. Did you have any negative experiences
throughout the completion of the awards at all?
JOE: No. It was all… it all went perfectly fine.
JARRYD: That’s good. Like anything on like that treks you did, was there
anything, which went wrong at all?
JOE: No major issues apart from that first track being really, really long.
JARRYD: So if you didn’t have any issues, I’m not sure if you could answer this
but was there anything that you would do to altar the program to enhance
your experience?
JOE: Um. I think maybe making it almost, highly recommended in a sense for
schools not to run the qualifying camps themselves so that the people could
meet new people outside of school so that they can get that experience which is
one of the large benefits I found from the Duke of Ed program.
JARRYD: Yeah you get to meet heaps more people. That’s good.
JOE: Like the practice maybe, a lot of people do that within school and that’s
really, you should have that one out of the way and then the qualifying is to go
down to uh, you know, mix with different groups and make it a bit more fun as
well.
OUTCOMES
JARRYD: Yeah, definitely. It expands your horizons. So just lastly, is the
outcomes. So just tell me, like, give me a few notions as to what you believe
are the key benefits of the program?
JOE: I think that it really makes the person more well rounded. With the
understanding of what it takes to be someone who can contribute to the
community as well as their own school and develop their own personal
attributes and that’s really important. And also, the ability to go on the camps.
Comment [MD8]: Service
Helping people
Outdoors
Social
Comment [MD9]: Development
Contribution
Pride
Memories
49. 48
Accomplish those camps and say that “I walked that far and that I met those
people when I had that experience” is really beneficial.
JARRYD: Ah, definitely. It’s a rewarding experience.
JOE: Yeah, definitely.
JARRYD: How has the uh, I mean it’s hard for you to answer this because, you’re
just completing school… You’re about to do the HSC? Um yeah so has it
impacted on your career aspirations at all? That can include what you’re
going to study at university or something?
JOE: Um, not really on my career aspirations. Like I haven’t decided to become
an outdoor leader or whatever you call them. But I think that it’s developed me
more than developed who I, like, what career I want to lead into.
JARRYD: Which can I guess, impact your career eventually but that’s something
I guess you’ll find out as, you know, get older.
JOE: Exactly.
JARRYD: So yeah. From before you started your bronze to when you completed
your gold… what was the main things that you noticed that had changed in
yourself now that you kind of look back in hindsight? What are the main
things which you feel has changed about yourself?
JOE: So I think, well, I know, that it has really allowed me to explore what I can
do, like, I contribute to my area and my life. And completing those tasks, like the
3 months of bronze, silver and gold, the different time periods… I think having
completed that makes it easier to understand the processes of school in a sense
as well because you got time allocations for different projects and if you can
complete it within that time that shows you that you can do it and it makes you
more confident. Camps as well. It’s really good to be able to complete the camps
and you know that you’ve done that and you’re more able outdoors and have
that
JARRYD: Oh fantastic. That’s pretty much all the questions. We’ve got a couple
of extra ones but I feel like you’ve answered them pretty well that, you know, it
kind of makes sense for the other questions as well. So yeah, appreciate it so
much. Thank you for helping us out. If we need anything else, I’ll just be able to
email you but that should be fine.
JOE: Yeah no problem, thank you.
JARRYD: Thanks for all your help. And yeah, I’ll talk to you in a bit.
Comment [MD10]: Contribution
Knowledge
Ability
Development (self discovery)
50. 49
1.4. Interviewee: Leo
JARRYD: Basically just a background, we’re from UTS doing research as to the
benefits for the program – benefits for gold award participants. Going to
interview you about three different elements about the program
MOTIVATIONS
JARRYD: What made you undertake the Gold Level of the Duke of
Edinburgh’s Award program?
LEO: Just talked about it with a few friends
JARRYD: Did you have any motivations when you first started the program
for personal growth or anything like that?
LEO: to be honest, not really
JARRYD: as you went through the program, did you feel that it was part of a
motivation when you did your gold?
LEO: I think so, especially for the gold one just trying for the program
JARRYD: Did you have any barriers that discouraged you from taking on
the program?
LEO: not at first but at short while after logging and stuff
JARRYD: was that like a step up from silver to gold?
LEO: nah, gold was a goal
JARRYD: was there a cost issue, time or financial?
LEO: no, not at all, not in the time. I had to do what I had to do
EXPERIENCES
JARRYD: just the experience, tell us some of the highlights
LEO: probably meeting new people. Ah, definitely meeting new people in the
expedition part
JARRYD: did you do any adventurous journey at all?
LEO: yeah, did the expedition like the hiking and all that
51. 50
JARRYD: what’d you do for that?
LEO: went camp, I had one that was organised by SouthBound? They provided it
JARRYD: when you did the one from the external camp, did you meet different
people from people at your school?
LEO: yeah, I went to an all boy school, so definitely
JARRYD: any negative experience you encountered?
LEO: No, nothing
JARRYD: is there anything you would like to alter to enhance your
experience?
LEO: Wouldn’t think so, I think it’s done really well
JARRYD: were there anything different experience you encountered between
the levels?
LEO: I think. All three of them had a really big step up. It was like a collateral
change like by the time you get to gold you’re doing these things for a year, and
you know that’s cool just have to log it into the logbook, getting everything done.
I think starting it from bronze at 6 months is really good idea.
OUTCOMES
JARRYD: lastly is the outcome. Basically here what we’re doing is researching
about the benefits of the program. First question, what do you think are the
key benefits of the program?
LEO: it’s about giving back to the community and meeting new people.
JARRYD: when did you complete the award?
LEO: 2010
JARRYD: you at uni now?
LEO: yeah, at UTS doing Bachelor of Business
JARRYD: How has the award impacted on the career aspirations?
LEO: not so much aspirations
JARRYD: how about your life experiences, have you gone on treks?
52. 51
LEO: went down to Perth for 10 days and helped out. Starting fires without
ashes
JARRYD: what changes, what was the main change you saw in yourself when
you reached gold?
LEO: mostly, towards the community, helping stuff like that
JARRYD: what values have you developed?
LEO: keeping on with the friendship and teamwork so, yeah the main one is
teamwork like in the expedition especially.
JARRYD: have you utilised those skills in uni or anything?
LEO: yeah, definitely, organising group work and assignments and making sure
everything is involved and put in some inputs.
53. 52
1.5. Interviewee: Josh
MOTIVATIONS:
JARRYD: What made you undertake the gold level of the Duke of Edinburgh’s
program?
JOSH: I think it was the combined experience of the bronze and silver and the
opportunity to further challenge myself and further greaten the friendships with
the people I had done the doe with
JARRYD: What were your motivations for joining program? Did you have any
prior experience in recreational activity before undertaking the program?
JOSH: Yes I have, I had done extensive hiking and a bunch of community work
during junior high school, so I wanted to do more of it
JARRYD: Were there any barriers that discouraged you taking on the program?
JOSH: No I was pretty much in that mind set of lets do as much as I can, the
award is a fantastic opportunity and is highly recognised by employers
JARRYD: What are the cost issues (either time or financial) whilst undertaking
the program?
JOSH: Time issue definitely were prevalent, I did a couple subjects accelerated
so I did year 12 subjects while I was doing doe, it was slightly challenging to
balance those subjects with doing the award, in terms of financial I didn’t have
many problems but it did come a bit expensive towards the end because the doe
scheme increased the cost of doing the award although it was still reasonable
and manageable
EXPERIENCE:
JARRYD: What were some of highlights of your award experience?
JOSH: Definitely the hiking, the adventurous journey, they were great
experiences during gold, being able to do that with a tight group of friends made
it even better, pushing each other and learning new skills and more about each
other and challenging ourselves to do more was the absolute highlight. I also
enjoyed the residential project where we did track clearing that was a fantastic
opportunity and really great fun.
JARRYD: Were there any negative experiences you encountered?
54. 53
JOSH: No not really, in gold it was always fantastic, there were some slight
conflicts with leadership due to working with another school which can be
considered a negative
JARRYD: How would you alter the program to enhance your experience?
JOSH: No I would not change anything I think its well set out and designed
JARRYD: What were the different experiences you encountered between award
levels?
JOSH: I definitely found the skills set, the skills I learned from each level were
really benefiting with my life in terms of leadership to organisation I found I was
advancing in them throughout the levels
OUTCOMES:
JARRYD: What do you believe are the key benefits of the program?
JOSH: The skills that you learn, leadership organisation the friendships that you
gain, adventurous skills.
JARRYD: Why do you think young people should participate in the program?
What key changes did you notice in yourself in completing your award(s)?
JOSH: Socially definitely, dealing with different experiences with different
people, I am much more open and I can socialize now due to the award
JARRYD: How has the award enhanced your life experiences?
JOSH: Leadership and organization skills are most used in my daily work now as
I work for myself and now working as part of a team in my new internship
55. 54
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS – CURRENT AWARD LEADERS
2.6. Interviewee - Mario
MOTIVATIONS:
JARRYD - What made you join the Duke of Edinburgh’s program?
MARIO - One thing I enjoy is the great outdoors, when I was young I did cadets,
went to a private school that had cadets, also all three of my children did scouting so
I became a scout leader, I enjoy being outdoors and I like the philosophy of duke of
ed, I love the service component, I love that the students have to learn a skill, I love
that they have to do some sport combined with the adventurous journey, so that’s
why, I have a forte for it, I enjoy that type of work. It’s also meant for students (at
our school) that don’t always excel at sport and not necessary the brightest kids, not
the kids that do academically well, usually kids that have a lot of passion and
commitment, some of these kids have never been camping before so it gives them
new experiences when they do their bronze award and we allow them if they do well
in bronze, we allow them to do silver and gold.
JARRYD: do you try and push that?
MARIO: The program is so popular at the school, roughly 170 who are doing the doe
program, 91 kids alone are doing the bronze
JARRYD: do you have multiple award leaders (other than yourself)
MARIO: I look after the whole program on my own, I have staff that help me do
adventurous journeys and that’s all but I look after 191 students, 70 doing silver, rest
are doing gold (19).
JARRYD: Do you enjoy running the program?
MARIO: I enjoy doing it, absolutely
JARRYD: What were your motivations for joining program? Your motivations were
not only the fact that you love how all the components come together but also that
your kids involvement through scouts.
MARIO: I love the scouting movement, it’s a great movement, in the right context,
its absolutely brilliant because they learn a lot of skills from it and it’s the same with
doe, the kids have got to go out there and learn for example a new skill or keep
participating in their skill, even if its learning how to play a musical instrument or
continuing with it, its all about the kids extending themselves, doe program allows
that
56. 55
JARRYD: Did you have any prior experience in the field that led to your decision to
become an award leader?
MARIO: Not really, the program came here about 12 years ago, there was an
English man who was here for a while and he knew about the program coming
from England, then introduced it to the school, I came on board with him
straight away because as I said im quite passionate about that stuff
(components) and then I eventually took over, we used to only run the bronze at
the school for the first 6 years, and then I took the extra step to silver and then
gold.
JARRYD: what happened after they completed the bronze
MARIO: They just finished up, that was the program, I took it one step further
and asked permission from the school if I could run it further and now the
situation is for example ive got 19 kids in year 12 that have finished their gold.
At the award ceremonies some of these kids are now a bit older, be in year 12
and complete their gold shows their commitment in completing doe
Its regimented, I teach the kids to be very regimented about it, we start it at the
beginning of year 11 in term 1 and then I say to them it is preferred that you
finish by the end of term 1 of year 12 because after that they have their hsc,
their trials, the real business end of their senior schooling and virtually the
majority of them do finish up, they get it all done, all their ours done, they do
their adventurous journeys, they do their residential and they are keen. Its also
brushing off on the junior kids, they see what the older kids are doing and they
are all coming up more, so right now I’m selecting the students who want to do
it next year
JARRYD: so you notice an increase over the years
MARIO: Yes but I have to cut it down, 90 kids in bronze this year is too much for
me, so im bringing it back down to 70. Ive got kids screaming to get in
JARRYD: have you thought about getting someone else on board
MARIO: not really, funny you should say that there is going to be a person,
another staff member who is going to come on board with me next year and he
will be helping me out in some capacity, so like an assistant coordinator which
will help me out a lot, take a bit of pressure off me, its pretty strenuous
JARRYD: Were there any barriers that discouraged you taking on the program?
MARIO: They’re only barriers is with the numbers, it is so popular now at the
school, that so that is the barrier, the program getting too big, the school wont
57. 56
give the human resource to run it, they give you 1 assistant now, that’s about it,
other than that there’s no other barriers
JARRYD: What are the cost issues (either time or financial) whilst undertaking the
program?
MARIO: It is very time consuming, I spend a lot of time on international and
online record book, checking out what the kids are doing and what they are up
to and then getting back to them trying to encourage them to keep going with it.
JARRYD: so the time element do you think that’s a cost issue, do you see that as
a negative or something that you are just more happy to do yourself
MARIO: I’m happy to do it but yes it is long, I do spend a lot of time and I get
questioned by people, why am I doing it and its only because I’m keen , I believe
in the program, it’s a great program, it’s a great growth program for students
JARRYD: we are studying how it is a personal growth program for the students
MARIO: absolutely, I’ve seen some kids come through bronze, silver and then
onto gold who have really blossomed and id say the program does a lot with it.
They are excelling in the program, otherwise lost in the academic system sports
wise, giving them opportunity and potential
EXPERIENCE:
JARRYD: What were some the highlights of your experience as an award
leader?
MARIO: I really enjoy the adventurous journeys, love them, I’ve got to go to all of
them, and of course other staff join because it is so regimented, because we have so
many students
JARRYD: where have some of them been to
MARIO: we keep it simple, because we are in Sutherland shire we’ve got the royal
national park as a good resource, so we run our bronzes and silvers in the national
park, there is so much area in the national park that makes it easy to do so, and then
for our golds we run it at the kosiosko national park in the alpine regions and that’s
because I know the alpine regions exceptionally well because I’m not only downhill
skiing but I do a lot of cross country skiing in the back country so I know it well I
know the geography, I know the geology.
JARRYD: Were there any negative experiences you encountered?
58. 57
MARIO: No not really, there was one last year were a brown snake nearly struck
at one of the kids, lucky the student ran and then did freeze. That’s the only
negative experience I really had
JARRYD: How would you alter the program to enhance your experience? is
there anything you would change
MARIO: I hate the international online record book, I really do not like it at all,
the books(hard copy) were a lot easier, I’m forever downloading and it depends
on what systems you are operating, it takes time to wait, you can be dialing on a
kid and you can wait 15-20 seconds and then you press the next thing you want
to view, add an extra 10 sec, that is per child, so the time factor adds up, where
as when they had a book, I just flick the page and make ticks and marks, the
books were a lot easier, it is the only thing I would change
OUTCOMES:
JARRYD: What do you believe are the key benefits of the program?
MARIO: Kids are gaining great experiences
In some cases, some have never been camping before… great thing, im big on
outdoors
The kids learn how to be self sufficient, self reliant, they have to organize their own
gear, they have to plan their adventurous journey, they have to go out and organize
their assessors, they have to go out and organize their residential, giving them
responsibility and self discipline, and it teaches these kids to basically go out of their
comfort zones and extend themselves and start doing things for themselves
JARRYD: Why do you think young people should participate in the program? What
impact has leading the award had on your career?
MARIO: Definitely, at the school we have quite a large number of students who
do the award, the school becomes quite respected, I do get phone calls from
other staff from other schools to ask how to run the program or how I am
running the program, it’s a great thing, I’ve had the catholic office ring me about
it to extend the information to other schools
JARRYD: What changes have you noticed and are you currently noticing in the
participants during your involvement as an award leader?
MARIO: More commitment
JARRYD: what stages do you notice the changes
MARIO: some kids are just happy to complete the bronze and that’s it, I am happy
with that, the other students that go on know they have to do more work than what
59. 58
they do in the bronze, the commitment increases and some kids love the regiment
they like to be in that particular box, I definitely see their self discipline growing by
the time they get to gold, they end up doing it really well they are quite disciplined,
the log and do survey books.
60. 59
2.7. INTERVIEWEE - ANDREW
MOTIVATIONS:
JARRYD: What made you join the Duke of Edinburgh’s program?
ANDREW: Some candidates started out and I would like to see them through to
completion of their gold particularly the ones I travelled overseas with on the
expeditions.
I started teaching at Chatswood High School, my son came along from a previous
place that we were at and the program was strong down there, he had done his
bronze award, he told me to get involved it was such a great program,
JARRYD: Did they just run the bronze at the previous school?
ANDREW: No there was a woman who was the overall coordinator, there was a
teacher allocated for each award). I had a work colleague who was wanting to
get out of it, so he asked me and I said yes. He was going on long service leave
and asked me to take over the gold, ever since then I have been a big supporter
and seen the benefits. I think very much in the outside world that businesses see
the benefits see the benefits to who has gone through it (doe) particularly gold
level, with the world challenge organisation (run expeditions to 3rd world
countries) in the UK having participated in one of the expeditions is considered
one of the top 10 keys to have on your cv.
JARRYD: How long have you been running doe
ANDREW: since about 1998
JARRYD: over that period did your motivations change
ANDREW: no, I went to work over in London for a fews years and they were
aware of the program but the school I was at, there was not much motivational
desire amongst the students so we tried to get it running there, I don’t think
there was the same level of support from the school, as there wasn’t much
motivation by the students, plus it is a cost from the exploration phase, you need
gear and you would like to get to some fairly inspiring places.
The principle recognised (norman hurst) the value and he would say to the boys
if you get the gold of doe award it is as good as getting a 99 uai, became a driving
force for the boys up there. I certainly got a lot of pleasure from the kids at
chatswood from the support group who may have had learning disabilities, or
behaviour problems that got involved and seen them make it through, that was
fabulous.
Comment [CP11]: Witness
journey
Comment [CP12]: Specific
highlight
Comment [CP13]: Awareness of
program
Comment [CP14]: Proof of
benefits, support
Comment [CP15]: Long therm
impacts/benefits
Comment [CP16]: Career
benefits
Comment [CP17]:
Comment [CP18]: Cost issue
Comment [CP19]: New
experiences, ability to access
Comment [CP20]: School support
Comment [CP21]: Value of
award, benefit
Comment [CP22]: Push
factor,attraction, incentive,
motive
Comment [CP23]: Witness results,
enjoyment
Comment [CP24]: Target other
students, accessible to all, self
discovery
Comment [CP25]: Commitment,
perseverance
61. 60
JARRYD: Did your motivations change as the program progressed? Were there
any barriers that discouraged you taking on the program?
What are the cost issues (either time or financial) whilst undertaking the
program?
ANDREW: I suppose any working life, you weigh up your paid time and
voluntary time, most of the time you are doing charity work. The good thing
about the program is the gold award, they recognise the work of the award
leaders, they realize you volunteer your time and effort. On the other side when
you here the kids speak about the award, usually what they find most valuable is
the time and effort they put into the volunteer section of the award, it’s a great
thing to be able to give and have it thankfully and gratefully received. (Received
a little token). Missing out on personal events.
EXPERIENCE:
JARRYD: What were some the highlights of your experience as an award
leader?
ANDREW: going to the places or seeing the development in the kids
definitively both when I moved over to London there was a student at the school
in the support unit same year as my daughter, and he said don’t you worry Mr.
Steve I will go through and get that gold, he was in the process of getting his
silver, and seeing his determination, he did struggle with the academic side of
school, then I received the news that he did get his gold. He suffers from autism,
to see those characters(determination) and I suppose seeing all levels of kids,
seeing the development that comes about, 7/9 are now on the prefect body, one
of them is captain this year, you can see the benefits. I said to the parents I left
with boys and came home with young men (expedition). When you are out there
particularly on the expeditions, when the kids are meeting the challenges and
having success and sorting the problems on the way, working in teams, making
good decisions.
JARRYD: Were there any negative experiences you encountered when you’re on
an expedition has gone wrong..
ANDREW: Certainly it is required to have first aid training, to overcome that
side of ‘hat ifs’ I suppose there has been some disappointment from behaviour
of some of the kids, not taking care of the environment of the camp sights.
JARRYD: do you think doe can help or change that
ANDREW: not at all, as a leader we make sure the candidates are well aware of
the standards of behaviour and the care for the environment and that is what is
expected, although there is no notion of a fail for the award but we can say you
have not met the standards and may have to repeat it
Comment [CP26]: voluntary
Comment [CP27]: Recognition
from award
Comment [CP28]: Personal time
Comment [CP29]: Determination,
commitment, perseverance
Comment [CP30]: Witnesses
changes and growth:
development
Comment [CP31]: Academic(be
nefits)
Comment [CP32]: Maturity
Comment [CP33]: Conquering
obsticles
Comment [CP34]: Team work
Comment [CP35]: Mind frame
Comment [CP36]: Discipline,
behavior
Comment [CP37]: No help
possible
