As an educational movement for young people, Scouting's purpose is to contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual potentials as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities.

• It includes all four pillars of education: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be, the last two requiring a particular emphasis.
• It belongs to the category of non-formal education since, while it takes place outside the formal educational system, it is an organized institution with an educational aim and is addressed to a specific clientele.

In addition, Scouting’s educational approach is characterized by the following:

1. it adopts a holistic approach to a young person’s education;
2. it seeks to achieve its educational purpose on the basis of an educational proposal;
3. as a non-formal educational agent, it plays a complementary role to that of other educational agents;
4. it recognizes that it can only make a contribution to the education of young people.

More information on Scouting's approach to education is available in The Essential Characteristics of Scouting