Sergei Drõgin

Participant-reported Impact of the Non-formal Educational Activities: an Example of the Empowerment Program for Teenage Boys Sergei Drõgin

The concept ?survival? is mainly used in the case when a person is in a special situation in a natural environment: a plane crash, lost in the woods, extreme tourism etc. The truth is that these situations happen rarely or not at all while it is true that each child, each individual is constantly connected with society ? his life is bound to social environment. Often the biggest obstacles occur here. Capability to communicate with other people and build relationships is the vital factor for survival in the modern society. Therefore it is important for the young people who enter adult life to acquire these skills necessary for everyday life. Non-formal education gives young people the possibility to develop their values, skills and competencies not in a conceptual but in the real world. However the modern education system is focused more on acquiring knowledge, not skills. Perhaps this is one of the reasons for the dominance of boys in the early drop-out from the school system.