SDS Academy Symposium - Skills Development Scotland · Youth Volunteering Link to employability it is ‘not straightforward’ (IVR, 2009), but it does generate wider employability

SDS Academy Symposium

‘What are you going to get out of it?’

Exploring the perceptions,

experiences and understandings of young people and volunteering

Skills Development Scotland

Personal Introduction and Job Role

• 2009/2010: Studied QCGD at UWS • June 2010 – Present: SDS Careers Adviser in

Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City • January 2011 – August 2012: MSc

• CNP Project: School-Careers Service Collaboration

• APP Project: Young People and Volunteering - Chosen for personal and professional reasons.


Research Aims

• Explore the how volunteering is perceived, experienced understood by the young people I engage with in my work.

• Establish the current position and role of volunteering within the relevant skills and learning policy literature.

• Explore local youth volunteering dynamics with Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City.

• Explore the attitudes, views and experiences of key research participants.

• Use the opportunity to consider implications for practice and make recommendations to potentially inform volunteering and career guidance structures across Scotland.


Methodology • The following methodology was adopted to achieve the aims:

• Literature and policy review

• Structured questionnaire

• Semi-structured interviews

• Focus groups

• The project incorporates quantitative and qualitative research for an overall multi-strategy approach (Bryman, 2008: 602), of methodological triangulation ‘between methods’ (Denscombe, 2007:135), to ensure that the project was not reliant upon one particular method (Cresswell, 2009: 138) given the scope of the research.


Literature & Policy Review: 6 Key Areas

• The development of its academic study

• Position of volunteering within the current economic, skills and learning policy landscape

• Local voluntary sector dynamics

• Perceptions and study of youth volunteering

• Incentivising and modernising of youth volunteering

• Links between volunteering and the current changes to the Scottish educational system.


Academic Study Challenge of availability & academic quality of material. ‘Voluntary action is notoriously difficult to quantify...and the boundaries of the sector cannot be drawn with confidence’ (Davis Smith et al, 1995: 2). Youth volunteering characterised by a ‘great deal of anecdotal and qualitative evidence’ resulting in an ‘underdeveloped’ research area with ‘a distinct lack of quantitative evidence’ (IVR 2010: 9). Dominance of ‘volunteering community’ based efforts and ‘the current lack in the UK of robust qualitative research’ particularly linking volunteering and labour market progression (Lee, 2009: 2, 6).


Policy Context and Landscape

• Policy vacuum - Volunteering Strategy (Scottish Executive, 2004a), had a five year working lifespan that ended in 2009. It focused on inclusive supply and demand, and dismantling barriers. For young people this meant wider awareness and wider participation.

• Role of volunteering within the skills, learning and wider employability agenda: MCMC; Skills for Scotland; 16+ Learning Choices (Scottish Executive, 2006; Scottish Government, 2010b,c).

• SDS closer collaboration with the third sector in skills development and employability projects.

• 2012 Youth Employment Strategy - ‘distinctive contribution’ and ‘key partner’ status of the third sector. Expectation of better facilitation of opportunities and establishing volunteering within skills and employability pipeline supporting young people furthest from the labour market (Scottish Government, 2012b: 13, 21).


Local Dynamics Scotland: Over 45,000 organisations involving 137,000 paid sector staff and approximately 1.2 million volunteers, managing an income of £4.4 billion (SCVO, 2011b). Aberdeen: Over 44,000 volunteers, 3.7 million volunteer hours every year, with an economic impact of volunteering equating to over £57 million per annum (Community Planning in Aberdeen, 2012: 10). Aberdeenshire: 35 percent of adults gave up time to volunteer in the last 12 months with a local economic value of £80 million (ACPP, 2012a: 14-15). The sector is supported by the third sector interfaces and volunteer centres. Rural and Urban Dynamics


Youth Volunteering Link to employability it is ‘not straightforward’ (IVR, 2009), but it does generate wider employability-enhancing benefits such supporting social development (Davis-Smith, 2000), alleviating social isolation (Rochester, 2009) and improving quality of life (Ockenden, 2007). IES found volunteering an important exercise in skills development (Newton et al, 2011). Importance of perception in volunteering cannot be underestimated because of its ‘contested concept’ nature and that variety of opportunities available is often neglected to the point where volunteering is at ‘risk of being marginalise by narrow conceptualisations’ (Lukka and Paine, 2007: 29). Stigmatisation of volunteering and declining youth participation rates saw series of research conducted in England in 1990s, culimtating in Gaskin’s conclusion that ‘the message from young people was that volunteering needs a make-over’ (Gaskin, 1998) and FLEXIVOL acronym.


Modernisation Resultant endeavours to modernise understandings of volunteering among young people seen in development of the Millennium Volunteers initiative at the turn of the twenty-first century. Used to balance altruism and self-interest, develop employability and improve access to opportunities. Scotland adopted a similar approach, supplementing MV with Project Scotland (2004, 2007) to support transitions and focussed on formal accreditation of volunteering within SCQF - a government skills objective to further enhance links to skills development and employability. In April 2012 Saltire Award launched to supersede MV, and further modernise volunteering. Award schemes now seen as a measure of progress in the delivery and accomplishment of national and local policy goals.


Volunteering and Curriculum for Excellence (CfE)

The major changes to learning and teaching encapsulated within CfE have resulted in it being regarded as ‘one of the most ambitious programmes of educational change ever undertaken in Scotland’ (Scottish Government, 2008: 8).

Strong scope for volunteering to make a meaningful contribution to attainment of the four main curriculum capacities – all of which are the ‘hallmarks of the volunteer’ (Youth Scotland, 2008: 2).

Volunteering links to Building the Curriculum 3, 4 and 5, through ethos and participation, skills development and recognising achievement respectively (Scottish Government, 2008; 2009a; 2010c).

Role of youth work can support the innovative and external delivery of CfE. There are also positive examples seen in the college sector, however CfE remains a source of debate.


Primary Research Methods Structured questionnaire

Issued to senior phase pupils across 3 schools in my working area. Guidance staff estimated 890 questionnaires required, 485 competed returns – 58% response rate.

Semi-structured interviews

Interviews carried out with 12 informants across educational, community and voluntary sector staff. 11 of these were face-to-face and 1 by telephone.

Focus groups

3 focus groups across 13 volunteering and non-volunteering senior phase pupils attending the school where I work as the Careers Adviser. Added rich qualitative dynamic beyond quantitative questionnaire.


Research Results Structured questionnaire

Volunteering is mostly undertaken out with school, and at a frequency of one day a week or more. The most common activities were ‘generally helping out’ and ‘providing assistance to others’. Youth/children and sports/exercise provided the most popular settings. Majority were not working towards a learning award, but volunteering was almost entirely seen to enhance employability. Communication, confidence, self-esteem and teamwork seen as major benefits.

For non-volunteers, lack of time and suitable opportunities were the main barriers to participation. Their potential future participation could be enhanced if it helped them ‘gain qualifications’ and it was ‘good fun’.


Focus groups

Volunteers undertook a variety of tasks within and out with school and found it to be a very popular experience that developed skills and enhanced employability. There was little engagement with local volunteer centres, and greater assistance from schools and volunteer centres would improve accessibility. Feeling that perception, economic, motivation and societal factors meant that best advantage is not being taken of volunteering.

Non-volunteers initially reject idea of volunteering and stigmatised it. Volunteering faces competition from work, social life and the perceived lack of gains. Perception, provision, accessibility of opportunities and role of the school were crucial in future participation.


Semi-structured interviews

Overall enthusiasm about the variety and value of opportunities. Partnership working did take place, but was often problematic in practice, due to organisational capacity and flexibility. Ensuring staff enthusiastic in championing volunteering was important.

General feeling there was potential for young people to better maximise the opportunities. Barriers to participation encompassed: confidence; demands of life and school work; geography; and age requirements. Peer perceptions and stigma were not a significant as may be readily assumed.

Volunteering seen to contributing to CfE goals, but at an early stage of doing so. Experience varies across school and community, but there was full support for earlier engagement. Particularly positive response concerning CMS.

While recognition was seen as a positive development, less paperwork, better awareness and consolidation could improve engagement with award schemes.


Key Discussion Points What the young participants looked for in volunteering opportunities strongly relates to existing literature.

Both organisations and young people face barriers and challenges in a volunteering market that is not fully inclusive.

If more young people are to engage with and benefit from volunteering, collaboration between schools and volunteer centres may require further attention.

Recognition of the CfE-volunteering association came more from research participants and volunteering literature, than the policy and guidelines of CfE. Managing wider changes will be important if volunteering is to develop within it.

Volunteering relates to employability and the labour market, but it is important ensure the altruistic and social elements remain significant. It illustrates why the government should be interested in volunteering.


Conclusion

Volunteering will have to become more relevant if greater numbers of young people are to engage and connect with it. For all of this to happen, educational, voluntary and community sector staff will need to work together with young people to ensure volunteering continues to move forward an play an important role in Scottish society.

This presents challenges as does tackling stereotypes and it looks increasingly important to understand that for young people, volunteering involves an exchange – in the form of experiences, employability and skills development, and recognition of achievement – for their efforts.

Continuing to learn about what volunteering means for young people - how it is perceived, experienced and understood - can help us better support young people in engaging with and capitalising on it being a worthwhile activity that can benefit both individual and society.


Recommendations Researcher:

Need for further quantitative and qualitative data concerning youth volunteering and non-volunteering experiences.

SDS explore the value of having local, regional and national voluntary sector champions.

Interviewees:

Volunteering be given specific attention and focus within future CfE policy and guidelines.

Schools and volunteer centres can work better together by having named contacts and developing a role for peer-led promotion of volunteering in school and immediate community.

Volunteering learning awards, certification and accreditation schemes could be better streamlined and simplified.


Challenges and Research Limitations

To better reflect the multi-school involvement, focus groups could have been undertaken with volunteering and non-volunteering pupils across all the participating schools.

There may have been worth in focusing research questions on issues such as social class, gender or a specific examination of volunteering participation or non-participation, as opposed to the broader review of this current research. Future studies may also find worth in focusing on settings exclusively out with school, such as training or further education.

In self-evaluating the semi-structured interviews, the consistency of the research could have been strengthened by including additional not-for-profit organisations and community staff across the whole geographical area.


Benefits

The opportunity to research an area of personal and professional interest.

Strengthen my collaboration and networks with key research participants.

Learn about the skills development requirements of young people from their volunteering.

Improve my understanding of volunteering and young people. The value of this project has been to learn that this topic is far more complex than may be readily assumed.


I am extremely grateful to all who participated in and donated their time, effort and energy to the study. In particular, I would like to thank Elizabeth Petchey, Ruth Berry and Graham Allan for their integral support.

Thank you for listening.

Craig Phillips

[email protected]

01224 285200

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

SDS Academy Symposium - Skills Development Scotland · Youth Volunteering Link to employability it is ‘not straightforward’ (IVR, 2009), but it does generate wider employability