Volunteering And Lifelong Learning: An Exploration Of Adult Motivation To Volunteer In Work With Young People In England.

Golding, Tyrrell (2020). Volunteering And Lifelong Learning: An Exploration Of Adult Motivation To Volunteer In Work With Young People In England. EdD thesis The Open University.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21954/ou.ro.000114f7

Abstract

This research explores what motivates adults to volunteer in work with young people in England. An exploratory research methodology was adopted (Sarantakos, 2013), underpinned by a socio-cultural perspective (Lave and Wenger, 1991) to investigate adults’ motivation to volunteer and the learning experiences that they have through participating in volunteering activities (Duguid, Mundel and Schugurensky, 2013). 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 research builds on the literature regarding volunteering and volunteer motivation to critically challenge the ‘panacea’ theory (Baines and Hardill, 2008) and it identifies the factors which affect the extent to which a volunteering opportunity can meet the needs of volunteers and their client group. Furthermore, this research explores volunteer motivation, identifying that this can change over a volunteer’s life. This ongoing motivation is effected by the personal, cultural and structural (Thompson, 2012) context in which volunteering takes place.

Since the 1990s the promotion of volunteering has been a focus of Governmental policy (Rochester, Howlett and Ellis Paine, 2010; Dean, 2016). This research identifies that a good infrastructure for people to volunteer in is needed, enabling volunteers to participate in communities of practice and learn from professionals (Wenger, 1998). This includes ensuring that not only are there a range of opportunities in any geographical area but also across the spectrum of work with young people.

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