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About the survey

Girls’ Attitudes is a survey of girls from across the United Kingdom aged 7-21 years on their attitudes towards key social, political and economic issues. 
The survey consisted of five categories, which girls within the guiding movement had previously identified as the most interesting areas to question their peers on:

  • family and relationships
  • education, training, skills and careers
  • society, culture and community
  • the environment
  • health and wellbeing.

The cohort was divided into three age groups: 7-11, 11-16 and 16-21 years, with an age-appropriate questionnaire devised for each. Certain common questions were also asked of all groups.
 
The girls surveyed form a representative sample of girls and young women across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and were not chosen specifically from within the membership of Girlguiding UK. Booster interviews and data weighting have been employed where necessary to adjust imbalances during fieldwork.
 
Fieldwork took place between 11 May and 15 July 2009 through 1,109 questionnaires predominantly completed online by the girls.

Girlguiding UK

With over half a million members between the ages of 5 and 25, Girlguiding UK is the largest organisation just for girls in the UK. We also have more than 80,000 trained adult volunteers who give up their time to our organisation and contribute around ten million hours every year.

Celebrating its historic Centenary this year, guiding continues to offer girls and young women fun and challenging programmes that allow each and every individual to pursue their interests and develop their potential. Today’s Guides – as well as Rainbows, Brownies and Senior Section members – are involved in an incredibly diverse range of activities, from community projects to volunteering in developing countries.

We are a girl-led organisation. That means we seek and act upon the views of our members, and they take the lead in deciding what they want to do, and how they want the organisation to develop. By conducting research such as this, we not are not only providing a platform for all girls’ voices to be heard, but we also ensure that as a youth organisation we will continue to meet the needs of girls and young women in the years to come.

ChildWise

ChildWise is an independent market research agency specialising in research with children and young people, and with those who are involved with children, including parents, grandparents, teachers and other professionals.
 
Most of their research is carried out for individual clients. Topics range from internet use, television, sport and leisure, to social issues such as experience of crime, child safety and self perception. ChildWise works primarily through a panel of over 400 schools throughout the UK, but also conducts research outside of school when appropriate.

Find out more about ChildWise at www.childwise.co.uk.