Duke of Ed Research

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.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: ........................................................................................................... 3

INTRODUCTION: ......................................................................................................................... 5

PROJECT TITLE: ........................................................................................................................ 5

CLIENT IDENTIFICATION: ..................................................................................................... 5

PROBLEM INVESTIGATED: .................................................................................................... 6

PROJECT BACKGROUND & RATIONALE: ............................................................................. 6

BACKGROUND: ........................................................................................................................ 6

RATIONALE:................................................................................................................................. 7

PROJECT OBJECTIVES: .............................................................................................................. 9

LITERATURE REVIEW: ............................................................................................................ 10

METHODOLOGY: ................................................................................................................... 14

RESULTS/FINDINGS: ................................................................................................................ 17

OBJECTIVE ONE ................................................................................................................... 17

OBJECTIVE TWO .................................................................................................................. 20

OBJECTIVE THREE. ............................................................................................................. 22

OBJECTIVE FOUR ................................................................................................................ 24

TRANSCRIPTS: 5 INTERVIEWS (GOLD AWARDEES) ................................................... 24

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................... 28

DISCUSSION: .............................................................................................................................. 29

RECOMMENDATIONS: ............................................................................................................. 31

CONCLUSION: ............................................................................................................................ 33

REFERENCE ................................................................................................................................ 34

Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 36

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INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS – GOLD ALUMNI ............................................................. 36

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS – CURRENT AWARD LEADERS .................................. 54

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS – PAST AWARD LEADER .............................................. 62

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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.

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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.

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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)

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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

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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

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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).

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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):

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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;

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“... 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”.

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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

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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”.

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”.

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)?

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.


- Meeting new people

- Shared experience

Self Development:

- Explore self interest and

life


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.


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.

26

Recognition:

- Completing tasks =

confidence


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


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.


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.


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.

27

Student 4

Self development:

- giving back to

community


- meeting new people

- Friendship and teamwork

Passion:

- Helping the community

Recognition:

- Utilised skills in group work


It’s about giving back to the community and meeting new people


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.


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


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

28

Recognition:

- Leadership and

organisation skills used

within team

people, I am much more open and I can socialise now due to the

award.


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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

http://www.dukeofed.com.au/Charter-for-Business.html

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

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

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…

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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….

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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?

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.

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?

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

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

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

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?

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

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.

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

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

61

OUTCOMES:

JARRYD: What do you believe are the key benefits of the program? ANDREW: Certainly teamwork aspects, like with expeditions there’s a minimum of 4 for safety reasons, so the team work aspect Leadership, taking charge and allocation, management in activities Individually there’s a personal challenge with the hours of allocation for activities each week, goal setting and achieving Requires persistence and organisation The more the leaders are there to encourage and guidance where possible rather setting it up for them, I have to remind the parents that they are not doing the award it’s the kids. #atar points can be motivational, although can be done for the wrong reasons JARRYD: opinion on online record book ANDREW: very slow sight, just something about it when it is out there online it makes it less personal, makes it difficult to have a connection with the supervisors/accessor for their various areas. I suppose there are advantages too that you have it all there, hopefully not losing it in filing system, but it does take time to log on and keep up with it. No more email alerts due to becoming international, making it a regular affair to constantly check online. JARRYD: at the school you were at did you see a change in number of participants from beginning to end ANDREW: yes definitely, significant increase. some kids stay on the books to continue the program with the school or continue at uni. When good expedition schemes are offered there is definitely more support from the parents and students. JARRYD: Why do you think young adults should participate in the program? How has the award impacted on your career? ANDREW: I suppose it depends, if the school itself ran the program or wanted to run it, it would be a positive, I do think that for my own professional personal development.

Comment [CP38]: Group and

team work

Comment [CP39]: benefit

Comment [CP40]: pushing the

participants

Comment [CP41]: organisation

Comment [CP42]: motivation,

may be negative

Comment [CP43]: poor online

system

Comment [CP44]: parental

support

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INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS – PAST AWARD LEADER

3.8. Interviewee – Jake

MOTIVATIONS:

JARRYD: What made you get in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award program?

What were your motivations for joining program?

JAKE: It was actually a teacher who I worked with in Heathcote that wanted to

start the award. I’ve been involved in bush walking and when I was a teenager I

was involved in the scouting movement and enjoyed the outdoor stuff. I also

have a love for the environment and outdoor education and I just wanted to

pass that onto the students and let them experience that as well. The Duke of

Edinburgh award is a good challenge for young students and recognises what

they do. The good thing about the Duke of Ed is that it isn’t just about going out

bushwalking, but they also give back to the community whilst also developing

themselves as well.

The prior experience that I had was my main motivation for getting into the

award.

JARRYD: Were there any barriers that discouraged you taking on the

program?

JAKE: In a school system there is always going to be barriers. Time is always an

issue. Getting students out of school and running it on weekends is also always

an issue as being a teacher you are working 5 days a week then you have to back

up with the kids (on the weekend). It means you get no time off and then of

course you’ve got to balance that with your family life as well, so time is a major

issue.

JARRYD: Has there been a cost issue (either time or financial) whilst

undertaking the program thus far?

JAKE: Time is the biggest thing. Trying to get the people at school to recognise

how much time it takes to run the program is difficult. (Schools) They are

running on a tight budget so they can’t afford to give you time because time is

money to a school. So for me to say that I need 2 periods per week to run the

program, this means they need to employ somebody else for 2 periods a week

(to cover him).

63

There is also a cost for the parents as well. Sometimes that money becomes a bit

hard to find (for them) and the students that this happens to are the ones that

we actually wanted to take out for the experiences.

JARRYD: do you think some sort of scholarship or funding could be able to

provide that experience for the less benefitting kids?

JAKE: Yeah, if it is dealt with at a state level, not an individual thing. Quite often I

have had students at Heathcote who were challenging at school and they would

go on a level system, if they reached a certain level then they couldn’t go on

excursions, so I had to go in to bat for them (support them) and tell the school

that these are the types of kids that you want for this program. The school said

yeah your right we’ll make an exception for Duke of Ed because the experience

that they have on DOE is such a positive one for them that they actually brought

that (what they learnt) back to school.

EXPERIENCE:

JARRYD: What were some of the highlights of your experience as an award

leader?

JAKE: It’s rewarding to see the kids being challenged and they get through it. It’s

also rewarding to see that when they come back (from the expeditions) and

despite them finding it hard, they loved it. I’ve had kids who have come back

years and years later and they have done more hikes and bushwalks so you can

see what has been introduced to them has been taken along with them as part of

their lives. Being out there with the kids is also up-lifting because you see them

at a very different level. As a school teacher and student, you go out in the bush

and it breaks down all of those barriers.

JARRYD: Were there any negative experiences you encountered?

JAKE: There are different levels of disappointment. When we take kids out for

adventurous journeys and they don't fulfil the other requirements of duke of ed

that’s disappointing. They find it hard to find motivation to do a certain section.

For example if they aren’t sport motivated then they find it difficult to do the

fitness section of it. Quite often the hardest part is getting people involved in the

community section. They find it challenging involving other people to be their

assessors, and a lot of teenagers don't like doing community service so there’s

that sort of thing. More recently, there have been issues with the online record

book. It has been an absolute disaster. The online record book has been a huge

thing cause it makes it difficult for me as an organiser because I don't have the

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control over it (it takes a lot of time to find things) whereas before the student

would come in with their record book, I could sign it and tick it off. Now they

have to wait for assessors to get online and approve things, the online record

book is very time consuming. It’s not intuitive to get through the website. I know

some co-ordinators who aren’t very tech savvy unlike me, and they would

probably just tick it off and say well ‘can’t work it out’ so it’s easier to let them

go through without the required documentation. I can’t prove that, but I know it

would be happening. Now, I have changed it so they put the stuff online, print

out their sheet, take it to the assessor, and then return it and there’s my

documentation. I’m not bothered to then scan that back into PDF format to put

back online as it just takes more time for me and I’m not getting any time

allowance to do that. The Duke of Ed is something I’m doing as a service- I get a

little bit of time (allowance) but nowhere near enough.

JARRYD: That something we’ve discovered, that there are more participants

than the required co-ordinators for the kids including the gold.

JAKE: I don't worry too much about the gold as they generally have their own

self motivation by that stage and know how the program works. There are very

few problems with gold.

JARRYD: Is it more at the bronze level when they are just getting into it?

JAKE: Bronze and silver, yeah. The gold ones, I don't run the expeditions- they

have to go and outsource those ones themselves and they just have to pay. I

couldn’t afford time wise to go on a 5 day expedition.

JARRYD: Something that we’ve discovered is when the kids have to go out and

outsource their own expeditions, they meet a lot of new people, so they actually

take a lot of benefits from that rather than the school doing it themselves.

JAKE: They do. But at a bronze level if you did that then they wouldn’t be

motivated to do that as they are only 14, and secondly the parents wouldn’t pay

the money. We do it (through the school) at a much cheaper level, not for profit,

almost half the price than running it through a company.

JARRYD: How would you altar the program to enhance your experience?

JAKE: The program itself as it runs is very good. I don't think there are any

changes, other than the way that you need to get the documentation. There are

changes in law at this point in time with the assessors and that sort of thing

which is an issue that we are currently working through. I believe that will be a

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temporary glitch because within a few years most people who work around

children will have to have a child protection number anyway.

JARRYD: What are your expectations for the rest of your experience?

JAKE: I just hope that it keeps on running smoothly and gets supported by my

boss at work. If it isn’t supported by the executive at school, then the program

can’t run effectively. Some schools take on DOE as a whole school program so it

runs very nicely. You get a lot more people involved in it and a lot more people

getting to the point where they get the award. En masse, when you start getting

large groups doing it, you have one group saying ‘well vie done it’ and the next

year group of children going through think, ‘well I better do it too’. The bigger it

is at a school, the more chance of it running right through (each level of the

award). It’s a culture sort of thing. So from my point of view, I just hope that I

can keep running the expeditions and running a decent program.

JARRYD: Do you think it will get to a point where it’s so time consuming to

yourself that you end up passing it onto someone else?

JAKE: Yes I have already started doing that. I have a guy at school that helps to

run the bronze program.

JARRYD: Was it hard to get someone else on board as well?

JAKE: It can be challenging, the biggest challenge is getting female staff on board

as they have other issues outside of school in terms of family and that sort of

thing. Many guys like to put up their hands and be keen on helping with the

expeditions but many of the ladies don't, so that’s always an issue. I’m pretty

lucky at the moment though, I have got enough staff on the board to run the

program. I’m currently running 3 walks at bronze level for prelim and 3 for

qualifying- so theres 6 walks and 1 or 2 silvers also. Interestingly, I haven’t

started a silver program this year and I believe it’s because it’s hard for the

students to finish off their bronze award because of the child protection stuff

and (difficulty of) the online program. I have no one up and running at the

moment for silver and I would normally have 20.

JARRYD: How many kids do you look after at Caringbah?

JAKE: About 10 years ago I started with about 15 and it went up to 20/30. Three

to four years ago it went up to 50/60 but last year it cut back to 40 to 45. We

have 150 kids in each year so that’s looking at about 1/3rd of the kids being

involved in DOE.

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OUTCOMES:

JARRYD: What do you believe are the key benefits of the program?

JAKE: For a lot of the kids, they are extending themselves, putting themselves

outside of their comfort zone and they are achieving. They realise that they can

actually do it. They see some self worth in themselves and that’s clearly a

benefit. Many kids at Caringbah have high self esteem already, for them the

benefit Is that they are getting recognition for what they are already doing.

Many kids are already involved in community service already, so this program is

a way for that to be recognised. The kids get lifelong benefits out of it as if they

take what they learnt from the program they can use it for part of their life later

on. But also they get a boost in self esteem as they have challenged themselves

in hardships that they wouldn’t normally do. And they also see the value of

putting back into the community, which is always a hard thing to do. I think that

it is a worthwhile experience for them to do that and to see that it is a valued

thing in our society to give back to the community.

JARRYD: Why do you think young adults should participate in the

program? What impact has leading the Award had on your career?

JAKE: In terms of promotion, nothing there. But I think that it is a rewarding

experience.

JARRYD: If you went to another school, do you think it would help you get a job

there?

JAKE: Absolutely. If i wanted to use it to change schools, yes it most definitely

would be. I’ve had it on my resume when I applied for schools, and it was

certainly something that they were interested in. However the person rewards

that you get out of it is where it’s at. It’s been a very positive and rewarding

experience for me during my teaching career. Career wise; after I retire I might

get involved in it (taking hikes etc). When heather (wife) and I retire, we could

both take gold duke of ed expeditions.

JARRYD: What changes are you currently noticing in the Participants

during your involvement as an Award Leader?

JAKE: If I see any changes, it’s mainly at a bronze level. Kids come in to the

program, quite often they are dragged into the program because their friends

are doing it or something, and they just come back with a different outlook on

life. When I was at Heathcote, we took some kids out there who were struggling

with various issues and weren’t great kids at school, far from just academically

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challenged, by putting them out and making them communicate with other kids

and the teachers at a very different level than they do at school, they come back

with a very different attitude. They had different attitudes toward the teachers

also – including the ones outside the DOE. They understood that teachers are

just normal people so there were quite a few positives in that respect. Once they

get to silver they are already fairly motivated anyway and so I don't see the

changes that I see at bronze. I’m keener to stay with the kids at bronze than the

silver. At silver and gold they are already self-motivated kids. I don't get a lot of

gold students coming through simply because I don't have the time to put into

the gold program. If I was to run a full gold program, it would be a lot of time for

me and I just don't get the time to put into it. I’ve had a couple in the last few

years that keep going through, and carry on after school with it.

JARRYD: do you feel like the gold award recipients get to the end of their gold

are they just thinking I’m ready to finish this now, or are they enjoying the last

part of the reward?

JAKE: I’m not sure in that respect but some do get to that point where they say

‘what do I need to do to finish this’ but that’s also more to the point that they

just can get the award and tick a box. It doesn’t mean they are going to throw

away what they have learnt. At Caringbah many of the students are already

doing a skill, so in many ways it is more just recognition as to what they are

already doing. Once the awards finished they will continue with that (what they

are already doing). The hardest part for them in the community involvement is

getting assessors; people in shops (such as St Vinnie’s) don't have their working

with children numbers. It’s not hard to get one, but it’s just a matter of time and

if the only thing they are doing it for is supervising a student of DOE, then they

(the supervisor) might say they can’t be bothered to do it.

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3.9. Interviewee - Cathy

MOTIVATIONS:

JARRYD: purpose of the research is the key benefits of the program. So, what

made you get in the Duke of Edinburgh’s program?

CATHY: I wanted my son to do it because I did a prac when I was at uni with the

duke of ed association in Adelaide and thought it was a fantastic thing to do but I

was at uni and would have loved to do it but you know when you’re at uni and

you have work, you don’t have enough time to do it. Thought the time to do it

would be at school, so contacted the school where my kids were at and they

were really keen to do it. And I went along to the training with the principal

there was nobody else to take it on and if I wanted it to happen, it had to be me

and I was happy to take it on.

JARRYD: as the program went on, did your motivations change as the program

progressed?

CATHY: I did, because I saw how valuable it was for different types of students.

My kids were fairly sporty and they were involved in lots of different

community activities. So they didn’t really need it for self confidence. But as I

went through the program with a variety of students, I just saw the value for the

students self confidence and self esteem, so that kind of motivated me to

encourage students to who I thought would benefit from it.

JARRYD: yeah that’s really good, because it impacts on different people in

different ways

CATHY: it certainly does, one of the best things that came out for one of my

older son. He did a lot of volunteer work and played a lot of sport. He had no

time for any other hobbies and so it made him think about something he’d like

to learn and that was woodwork. And it was because he didn’t have the tools he

had to go out to his uncle’s place and my husband took him out there on the

weekend. And Alan would have spent more time with James within that 6

months with him his entire life.

JARRYD: did you have any prior experience in the field that led to your decision

to become an award leader?

CATHY: yes, I did a degree in recreation management in a major in outdoor ed

JARRYD: did that lead to any career decisions?

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CATHY: I did go back and I’ve done my graduate in education so now im

teaching

JARRYD: so that just shows.

CATHY: now I’m teaching in a special education unit

JARRYD: were there any barriers that discouraged you?

CATHY: Just time.

JARRYD: was there time, financial, cost issues?

CATHY: Time is a big one because obviously there’s time working with the

students. When youre not on site, and as I’m not a teacher at the school. I had to

do things first in my own time after work or weekend, so impacted on my

recreation and time with my family. But I didn’t mind because it was such a

valuable thing to get involved in. Everybody was appreciative with what I was

doing, so I didn’t mind

EXPERIENCES:

JARRYD: what were some of the highlights your experiences as an Award

Leader?

CATHY: yeah, sure. Probably seeing how the kids grew out of it. Seeing how they

became more confident and also they learn to become accepting of others. We

had fabulous experiences at the end of the hike. Especially the hike was the

highlight for me, because not only did I organise them but I was the adult leader

for them. Seeing the kids in that sort of environment, a lot of the kids didn’t have

the experience in this type of the environment, so to get them out of their

comfort zone and to see them not only survive but strive was fantastic but also

their relationship with eachother. In one particular year group, the entire duke

of ed kids became best friends, so that was really good.

JARRYD: did you notice any negative experiences you encountered or had to

deal with?

CATHY: probably the only negative were, parents pushing their kids to do it

when the kids didn’t want to do it. So it was a bit awkward. There was one hike

when kids snuck out of their tents. But I guess that’s just part of it

JARRYD: is there anything you would alter about the program?

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CATHY: yes there would be. I would make ballroom dancing a skill or a physical

activity.

JARRYD: what was the reason behind you leaving the program?

CATHY: Why I decided to step back is my child is in year 9 and I wanted to be

able to send the 3 years teaching all the bushwalks and hikes. Having a 3 year

handover, because there are six hikes to show someone, so that’s why I wanted

to step back, so somebody else could take over and the program can continue.

OUTCOMES:

JARRYD: what do you believe are the key benefits of the program?

CATHY: well rounded education for a young person. I guess I was brought up

that as a kid you are active and that you gave back to the community and you

never stop learning so you’re a lifelong learner and I guess that’s what the duke

of ed program also promotes that you’re a well rounded individual, that you’re

active and you give back to the community and you don’t stop learning. And also

you can go out there and appreciate the outdoors and get out of your comfort

zone and i just think that it’s a really good well rounded education for young

people to have especially in this day and age they specialise in things to early.

And also with more and more pressure on the kids, there is more risk

assessments so it’s nice that with the duke of ed shows that you can still go on

hikes, there’s danger, just be careful.

JARRYD: do you feel they’re stepping out of their comfort zone should be a

reason why they shoul participate in the program?

CATHY: yeah to get out of their comfort zone and ty something new

JARRYD: how has the award impacted on your career?

CATHY: yes, it has. It’s given me more work and I get paid for it. So it has

enhanced my career

JARRYD: what major changes did you notice in the Participants during your

involvement as an Award Leader?

CATHY: yeah, they became more confident and independent.

Duke of Ed Research

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