Volunteering and Adult Learning Essay - 1801 Words

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†¦show more content†¦The establishment of standards--both for the profession of volunteer management and for volunteer service itself--is generating debates similar to those among adult educators over purposes and objectives. Ilsley (1989) suggests that professionalization is making the volunteer field more technical and market oriented, similar to the way business language and methods are being borrowed in adult education. The agenda of volunteer organizations, especially those focused on social change, is in danger of being coopted as government and corporations formalize what may have been more grassroots, nonformal efforts (ibid.). Elsey (1993) identifies a similar debate in both the volunteer field and adult education over focus on individuals or society. He envisions the two fields forming a third way between government and the free market in the formation of civil society. For Elsdon (1995), volu ntary activity is about both individuation and good citizenship, for it is through individual empowerment, achieved by participating and learning from that experience, that service is rendered. Learning through Volunteering Learning is part of the contract between the organization and the volunteer (McCabe 1997, p. 18). Volunteering is a powerful source of learning (Ross-Gordon and Dowling 1995, p. 307). Altruism may be the most obvious reason behind volunteering, but there are many other motivational factors that have an explicit or implicit link to learning. ForShow MoreRelatedBuilding Effective Service Learning Programs in Local Communities1387 Words   |  6 Pagesa bad rap. Adults who don’t regularly interact with high school students may only see the negative side of the adolescents in their community. In fact, â€Å"sixty-one percent of American adults are convinced that today’s youth face a crisis in their values and morals, look at teenagers with misgiving and view them as undisciplined, disrespectful, and unfriendly† (Latham, 2003). 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