Uniformed youth work gives young people 'positive start', multi-generational study finds
Fiona Simpson
Friday, January 22, 2021
Uniformed youth work is effective at offering young people a positive start in life, particularly those who struggle to engage in formal education, a report from the Sea Cadets has found.
The charity’s My LegaSea report - a multi-generational impact study following participation of more than 3,000 former cadets dating back as far as the outbreak of the Second World War - was launched in 2019 to mark the 80th anniversary of the conflict.
Carried out by academics at Durham University and Goldsmith’s College London, it explores how the structure and activities provided by the organisation for 10- to 16-year-olds, as well as young people’s relationships with volunteers, has helped shape their future.
The study finds that 95 per cent of participants said Sea Cadets had a positive impact on their life, long after they left while 80 per cent confirmed their role in the charity had developed their independence and skills.
Some 70 per cent said taking part in Sea Cadets has improved their ability to cope with challenges.
“The vital role of Sea Cadets’ empowering educational approaches, particularly with respect to the lives of those who did not always flourish within mainstream schooling,” is among eight key impacts of participation in Sea Cadets highlighted by the report.
Others include:
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The importance of reframing risk and appreciating the value of the challenging and adventurous experiences safely supervised that occur within Sea Cadets.
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The significance of the friendships and sense of belonging nurtured by the Sea Cadets' experience.
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The fostering of courage and confidence through involvement with the Sea Cadets programme that enables former members to navigate later life with greater resilience.
The research also highlights the importance of roles played by volunteers in young people’s lives.
“Respondents frequently spoke of how adult volunteers demonstrated characteristics, outlooks and behaviour that helped them as a young person build a model of what they hoped to become in adulthood,” the report states.
One 29-year-old respondent said: “I think the biggest thing that Sea Cadets did for me growing up... is that it introduced me to the person that I most passionately want to be like now, the member of staff in Sea Cadets who really looked after me and showed me what it meant to try and make the world a better place.”
The report adds: “The ongoing support provided by volunteers that are embedded both within their organisation and the local community offers structure and security to young people’s lives, along with powerful life-changing opportunities for their growth and development. Achieving this without volunteers would be prohibitively expensive.
"This illustrates the importance of providing sufficient support to volunteer-delivered youth organisations, and suggests greater work might usefully be undertaken on how to unlock the potential of the volunteer workforce for the benefit of all.”
Researchers also claim the positive outcome of the study highlights important lessons for the youth sector including that “structured youth work creates changes that benefits not just the individual but the wider community” and “the effectiveness of the aspirational development structure, as a way to maintain effective engagement.”
The report states: “As young people face an increasingly challenging and changing world the findings from My LegaSea clearly show that uniformed youth work is not only relevant but highly effective in giving young people a positive start in life, and that it offers benefits which could be adopted by and incorporated within the wider world of youth services.”
Captain Phil Russell, captain of Sea Cadets, said: “My LegaSea is a remarkable initiative which brings Sea Cadets history to life through fascinating human stories and cherished memories.”
