Adult volunteering in work with young people: hidden learning, hidden outcomes

Golding, Tyrrell (2019). Adult volunteering in work with young people: hidden learning, hidden outcomes. In: Critical Pedagogy and Professional Practice in Youth and Community Work Education, 3-5 Jul 2019, Bishop Grosseteste University.

URL: http://www.tagpalycw.org/annual-conference-2019

Abstract

This presentation will share aspects of the findings from my EdD thesis: An exploration of adult motivation to volunteer in work with young people in England.
This research critically explores adult volunteering in work with young people in England. The presentation will address the themes of the conference by exploring the extent to which work with young people may make claims of ‘impact’ in terms of providing opportunities to adult volunteers over and above the impact on young peoples’ lives, particularly during a context of austerity and in relation to changes in practice.
An exploratory research methodology was adopted (Sarantakos, 2013), underpinned by a social constructionist perspective (Lave and Wenger, 1991) to investigate adults’ motivation to volunteer and the learning experiences that they have through participating in volunteering activities (Hodkinson and Macleod, 2010). Two research instruments were utilised in the study, the Volunteer Functions Inventory (Clary et al., 1998), which was administered online, and focus groups delivered utilising a metaplanning approach (Matheson and Matheson, 2009).
This presentation will share findings from 125 online survey responses and four focus groups. It will outline adult volunteers initial and ongoing motivations for volunteering together with demotivating factors. Furthermore, it will explore and problematise ways in which the field of work with young people may make claims of impact through the opportunities it provides for adults to volunteer.

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