Volunteering and Adult Learning

Volunteering and Adult Learning

"The history of adult education has been a history of voluntary activity and voluntary association" (Ilsley 1989, p. 100).

Today, volunteerism, and the growing field of volunteer management, continue to reflect close associations with adult education. Research and practice in adult education can inform the development of learning opportunities for volunteers. With this in mind, this Digest describes some of the similarities between the fields of volunteer management and adult education and examines some of the types and methods of learning that occur in the context of volunteering.

Volunteer Management and Adult Education

Like adult education, the field of volunteer management shows increasing movement toward professionalization, as practitioners attempt to define a knowledge base, establish philosophical and ethical foundations and standards for entry and practice, form a distinctive subculture, and achieve recognition (Fisher and Cole 1993). The demographic profile of both adult learners and the volunteer pool is changing. No longer do full-time homemakers constitute the majority of volunteers; opportunities for service draw senior citizens, students in service learning projects, full-time professionals, and people with disabilities (Geber 1991). These changing demographics propel changes in the practice of both fields. Volunteer managers are changing the type of tasks assigned to volunteers, the hours and places in which tasks are done (including offsite and online), and the kinds of training and recognition they offer to accommodate the needs of the new breed of volunteers (ibid.). Both fields are concerned with issues of recruitment and participation. People with more education a...

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Portelli, P. "Self-Directed Learning Effects in Voluntary Associations Organizational Framework." In Expanding Horizons in Self-Directed Learning, edited by H. B. Long et al., pp. 255-267. Norman, OK: Classic Book Distributors, 1997.

Ross-Gordon, J. M.; Dowling, W. D. "Adult Learning in the Context of African-American Womens Voluntary Organizations." International Journal of Lifelong Education 14, no. 4 (July-August 1995): 306-319. (EJ 507 794)

Rumsey, D. "Motivational Factors of Older Adult Volunteers." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Idaho, 1996. DAI-A 58/03, p. 1, September 1997. ProQuest Digital Dissertations AAT 9725203 <http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/>

"Seven Steps to Achieve Effective Volunteer Support." Canadian FundRaiser, August 13, 1997. <http://www.charityvillage.com/charityvillage/research/rvol16.html>