Individual perceptions on the participant and societal functionality of non-formal education for youth: Explaining differences across countries based on the human development index

• I analyze participant and societal functionality of non-formal education.
• I examine the relatedness of the HDI with local perceptions on functionality.
• The international scouts and guides movement is focused on.
• Societal functionality is lower in high HDI countries.
• Participant functionality is not relate to the HDI of a country.

The aim of this study is to explore the extent that country-level developmental characteristics can explain perceived functionalities of local non-formal education. A literature-based distinction is made between participant functionality (inward focused) and societal functionality (outward focuses) of non-formal education. An empirical test is conducted for the international scouts and guides movement based on a sample of 2735 respondents from 68 countries. The results of a multi-level regression analysis suggest a crowding-out relationship between developmental capacity, quantified by the human development index (HDI), and societal functionality. In contrast, participant functionality remains constant despite differences between countries for the HDI.