UVic sociologist Dr. Holly Devor says Scout leaders may have to change their style if they want their previously homogenous group to be co-ed.
Devor's comments come on the heels of a Boy Scouts of Canada announcement that it plans to welcome girls into its 90-year-old organization. "An all-girl environment tends to have a leadership that is more sensitive to emotional issues and interpersonal relationships," says Devor. "An all-boys environment emphasizes competition and desensitization to emotional issues and relationships. To integrate groups of boys and girls, leaders need to have a style that takes into account kids coming from both directions; leaders who can say the same thing in two different languages. For example, if you speak to boys about cooperation they may prefer to compete among themselves, but if you talk to them about teamwork then they get it."
In 1992, the national council of the Boy Scouts of Canada first elected to start admitting girls, but local troops had the right to remain 'boys only' clubs. Starting next year-with the exception of a few church sponsors who can still refuse to mix girls and boys on religious grounds-Scouts organizations will be required to go co-ed.
The advantages of co-ed environments, according to Devor, have to do with the sexes learning how to negotiate with one another from an early age. She says there are also advantages to single sex groups. "Studies show that girls do better academically in a single-sex environment, especially at an early age," says Devor.
Perhaps the Girl Guides of Canada knew this when they announced they wouldn't be allowing boys in the club. "We are a single-sex organization," said Lynn Kaplansky, a public relations coordinator for the Girl Guides, in an interview with Southam Newspapers. "It gives the girls the role models they need."