This discussion reports data from a 4-year longitudinal evaluation of a project from the United Kingdom. The project focused on outdoor activities as a vehicle for enhancing the personal and social development of disaffected youth with the researchers specifically examining the role played by volunteer learning mentors. Following a summary of…

Many teachers regularly use their own money during the year to pay for miscellaneous teaching materials or to help individual students in need. In this article, the author explains how to secure funds and resources for anything science teachers want to do educationally for their classroom. It's no fantasy; it's simply a matter of thinking ahead…

The survey analysis of college student volunteers from Hebei participating in the Western China Program in 2003 indicated that the volunteers were primarily motivated by the desire to serve the country and to temper themselves. Ninety-eight percent stated that they were confident regarding the coming year or two of service, and most of them…

In 2004 and 2005 the Beverly Foundation surveyed volunteer drivers in an effort to better understand how and why they support older adults. The sample comprised 714 volunteer drivers from 367 communities, representing 40 states, who responded to the survey. Their responses provided qualitative and quantitative information about who they are, why…

Reported rates of cheating may significantly underestimate the threat to academic integrity in universities due to volunteer sample biases. To vary the incentive states of the participants, we sampled using: 1) a 126 item questionnaire solicited through campus email, 2) a 33 item questionnaire solicited the same way, and 3) a questionnaire that…

Imaging studies show that in normal language correlated activity between anterior and posterior brain regions increases as the linguistic and semantic content (i.e., from false fonts, letter strings, pseudo words, to words) of stimuli increase. In schizophrenia however, disrupted functional connectivity between frontal and posterior brain regions…

In this investigation, the authors examined the effect of attributional processes concerning medication taking on return of fear following exposure-based treatment. Participants (87% undergraduate students and 13% community volunteers) displaying marked claustrophobic fear (N = 95) were randomly allocated to a waitlist condition, a psychological…

Young people from refugee backgrounds face significant academic and social challenges in mainstream secondary education in Australia. Research suggests that mentoring initiatives and tutoring can help students remain engaged in education and achieve positive educational, social and emotional outcomes. The Classroom Connect Project is a joint…

Volunteering is doing what you can to help, with everyone welcome to try. (RC)

A healthy volunteer program can be a great asset to any school library. Volunteers do much of the routine work that then frees the librarian to work with students individually or in groups, providing instruction and reading guidance. In addition to the physical work volunteers provide, they become strong advocates for a school library program…

This qualitative, grounded theory study focused on the perspectives of high school seniors, college freshmen, and working young adults in Orange County, California, to create a useful and practical theory about high school students' civic participation as it relates to students' enrollment in postsecondary education. Data collection consisted of…

Many higher education institutions require student organization advisors to be employees. Such requirements can be interpreted as barriers to students and can limit the number and types of groups found on college campuses. Using quantitative analysis, this study investigates the motivation of student organization advisors at six public…

Moving Forward Towards Independence, a California-based nonprofit organization founded in 1998 by a group of parents, is a unique residential program where young adults with disabilities learn to enjoy productive, fulfilling and healthy lives within a caring, responsive community made up of fellow residents, trained staff members, parents and…

Aiming to elucidate the relationship between social capital and intergenerational practice within mentoring, this article presents data from a case study of the School Volunteer Program in Western Australia. Drawing on situated learning theory and the concept of community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998; Wenger, McDermott, &…

This basic interpretive qualitative study used individual semi-structured interviews to explore and understand the experiences of seven self-identified Latina participants, who reside in Northeast Ohio and belong to a volunteer organization promoting professional Latinas. The study used Latina Critical Race theory and feminist perspectives to…