Every movement - or organised body, for that matter - has a number of fundamental beliefs which underlie the purpose of its existence, orient what it seeks to achieve and how it goes  about achieving its goals. As an educational movement, Scouting clearly has a social responsibility: to the young people it serves, to the families who entrust their cherished youngsters to Scouting’s care and to the world at large. The goals of education are clear: to develop as an autonomous, supportive, responsible and committed individual and member of society.

However, there must be clear guidelines which orient the development of the young person towards these goals. It is Scouting’s principles (generally referred to as “Duty to self”, “Duty to others” and “Duty to God”) which provide these guidelines. They are the basis of the value system which governs the Movement as a whole. These principles, therefore, give direction to Scouting’s educational policy as a Movement, to the educational approach used with young people and to the way in which the elements of the Scout Method are used so as to give constructive and coherent direction to the development of the young person.