Age range

Website: www.girlscoutsnwga.org

Mission/Goals: The council is dedicated to helping girls develop to their fullest potential and self value; relate to others; develop values to give meaning and direction to their lives; and to contribute to the betterment of society through individual and troop service.

Notes: Programs include girl scout troops, after-school programs, day and overnight camps, and Spanish-speaking girl scouts. Programming is based on developing character, building leadership and encouraging teamwork. More specifically, it addresses such contemporary issues as handling peer pressure and family crises, teen pregnancy and drug use prevention, leading girls to mathematics, science and technology, valuing cultural differences and others.

Source(s): www.guidestar.org; www.girlscoutsnwga.org

Type of Evaluation: Outcomes Monitoring

Note: The evaluation reported here does not include the Georgia program.

Objective: The study was designed to measure the extent to which the four program goals of Girl Scouting are being achieved. These four program goals are that, through participation in Girl Scouting, girls will: 1) Develop to their full potential; 2) Relate to others with increased understanding, skill, and respect; 3) Develop values that guide actions and provide the foundation for sound decision-making; and 4) Contribute to the improvement of society through the use of their abilities and leadership skills, working in cooperation with others.

Impact/Outcomes: In general, Girl Scouts reported significantly greater opportunities to experience the outcomes of self-reliance, self-competence, social skills, respect for others, feelings of belonging, values/decision-making, helpfulness/concern for the community, teamwork, leadership than in school. The size of the differences between girls' report of opportunities in Girl Scouting versus opportunities in school increased as the age level of the girls increased. On all nine outcomes, parents rated opportunities for their daughters in Girl Scouting to be significantly greater than in other clubs or organizations. Brownie Girl Scouts reported significantly higher scores on self-reliance and feelings of belonging than did non-member girls. Junior Girl Scouts did not report significantly higher scores on outcomes than non-member girls. Cadette Girl Scouts rated themselves significantly higher than non-member girls on self-reliance, self- competence, respect for others, teamwork, and leadership. On all outcomes except social skills, Senior Girl Scouts rated themselves significantly higher than did non-member girls.