How Do We Inhabit Openness?: Rethinking Volunteerism in the Context of Whole Person Education

— In this paper, I aim to advance a reframing of our understanding of “whole persons” in the well-established paradigm of Whole Person Education. At a time characterized by rising social conflicts and schisms, what would be an appropriate humanistic reimagination of a so-called well-rounded person? Drawing on the work of anthropologist Tim Ingold and using youth volunteerism as an exemplar of social practice, I propose the idea that a whole person, if achievable, is someone who inhabits “the open” as an unfolding, interconnecting, vibrant, and enjoyable horizon. Further, it is suggested that this open horizon moves with, and is moved by, strangers. It is hoped that an epistemology of the open that embraces stranger relationality, in the form of volunteerism or any other related social practices, will help us move toward a new whole personhood.

The main problems of functioning and promising areas of youth volunteerism development in modern Russia

The aim of this article is to analyze the factors that hinder the development of youth volunteering and to determine the main directions of this development in modern Russian society. The methodological framework of this research is based on the principles of institutional and activity-based approaches, which allow authors to study the main problems of operation and identify the current directions for the development of voluntary youth activities in modern Russia. The empirical framework of the study is based on sociological research materials conducted by the main domestic sociological centers of all Russian and regional levels, as well as on data obtained by the authors as part of their own research in the Rostov region. This article highlights the socioeconomic and socio-psychological factors that hinder the development of youth volunteering in modern Russian society. (associated both with the low standard of living of a significant proportion of domestic youth, and the high level of mistrust of many citizens about organized forms of charitable and volunteering activities).

Youth Volunteerism, as Non-formal Education, for Professional and Social Integration of Young Labor Force in Pakistan

Young people are an asset to Pakistan, and they can play a vital role in the country's social and economic development. Non-formal education to promote volunteering activity in Pakistan can endorse the professional and social integration of the young labor force by preparing them with the labor's contemporary skills. The current study is an attempt to explore the situation in Pakistan and identify: (a) if non-formal education plays a role in youth's engagement in volunteering activity; (b) why young people volunteer; (c) what they can learn through volunteering; (d) the significant barriers which can prevent them from volunteering even after getting the training and opportunities to volunteer. Data was collected using purposive sampling from 4 different nonprofit organizations (NPOs), with city offices in three major cities of Pakistan. NPOs, on their end, collected the data form the youth volunteers working with them randomly using an online survey. The research findings revealed that non-formal education plays a significant role in ensuring young people's engagement in volunteering activity. The findings and recommendations from the study can guide youth initiatives and policies in Pakistan to include systematic and consistent non-formal education programs to promote youth volunteerism in Pakistan.

Mothers’ and Adolescents’ Conversations About Volunteering

Mothers and fathers are socialization agents who contribute to youth volunteerism in many ways, including the discussions they have with their adolescents about volunteering. This chapter presents a grounded theory analysis of the processes by which mothers and adolescents select, reflect on, and integrate personal meaning from their participation in volunteerism, community service, and civic engagement through discourse. Mothers and adolescents were asked to talk about reasons for and against particular activities. Emergent themes revealed other-oriented and self-oriented benefits as reasons to volunteer, while concerns about the setting, task, and self were expressed as reasons against volunteering. These themes were embedded within conversational patterns that were found to distinguish between adolescents with strong moral convictions versus weak moral convictions.

Physical and Social Perceptions of the Neighbourhood and Youth Volunteerism: Canada’s Capital Region

Youth are embedded within various ecological systems that may impact their philanthropic behaviour. This study employed online data from a sample of undergraduate students and traced the various pathways through which neighbourhood perceptions (e.g., social cohesion, satisfaction with amenities) related to formal and informal volunteering intensities. Path analyses revealed that neighbourhood cohesion directly predicted formal and informal volunteer frequency; as well, it mediated the relationship between satisfaction with neighbourhood amenities and informal volunteerism. Neighbourhood cohesion was strongly associated with informal volunteer intensity, whereas satisfaction with neighbourhood attractiveness did not relate to any volunteer outcomes. Neighbourhood characteristics may be important drivers of youth volunteerism, and thus stakeholders, organizations, and individuals should consider the impact of the social environmental context on shaping youths’ helping behaviour.Les jeunes font partie de divers systèmes écologiques qui peuvent influencer leur comportement philanthropique. Cette étude utilise des données recueillies en ligne à partir d’un échantillon d’étudiants de premier cycle afin de retracer les divers parcours par lesquels leur perception de leur quartier (par exemple, sa cohésion sociale, leur satisfaction par rapport aux services offerts) a une incidence sur leurs activités bénévoles formelles et informelles. L’analyse révèle que la cohésion sociale a comme effet d’augmenter le bénévolat formel et informel. En outre, la cohésion semble augmenter le bénévolat informel là où il y a satisfaction par rapport aux services offerts dans la communauté. En effet, il y a une forte corrélation entre la cohésion d’un quartier et le bénévolat informel. En revanche, la satisfaction à l’égard du pittoresque d’un quartier ne paraît pas avoir d’incidence sur le niveau d’implication philanthropique. Il n’empêche qu’en général un bon quartier peut motiver les jeunes à faire du bénévolat. Ainsi, les parties prenantes, les organisations et les individus devraient tenir compte du contexte socioenvironnemental sur le comportement philanthropique des jeunes.

SOCIAL CAPITAL IN YOUTH VOLUNTEERISM

The theoretical framework of social capital suggests that individuals bound together in dense social networks, and infused with the norms of reciprocity and trust, are better able and more inclined to act collectively for mutual benefits and social purposes as opposed to atomized individuals. The objective of the social capital model is to improve and maintain society well-being and the economic efficiency. ‘Social capital’ is a contemporary idea defined by Robert Putnam (2000) as those connections among individuals, social networks and the norms ofreciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them. This notion is therefore seen as “sociological superglue” that holds society together. The effectiveness depends strongly on a structural and cultural phenomenon. Recently, volunteerism has flourished within youths which have given beneficial effects to local communities. It is worth to scrutinize the elements of social capital within voluntary activities. Thus, youth volunteerism is studied and highlighted based on the social capital model suggested by Putnam (2000). This study is to inspect factors that bind youth in society as with the case study of Teach for the Needs (Malaysia) Berhad (TFTN). A field study is conducted whereby questionnaires were distributed to 100 respondents. Data collected were analysed using SPSS programme. Findings indicate that the norm of reciprocity and trust have a positive relationship with youths’ skills and commitments.

Participatory Governance through Youth Volunteerism in Public Sector of Pakistan

Participatory governance in public sector is of great importance especially for a democratic country like Pakistan. In this paper we discuss Youth Volunteerism as tool to ensure participation of young people in public service delivery as partners of the government. This research is based on primary data collected on convenience sampling basis, through questionnaires distributed among 243 youth studying in colleges of selected areas of Pakistan. The objective of this research was to find out the perception of young people about Volunteerism in public sector and to find factors that may encourage them to engage in participatory governance through volunteering in public sector institutions of Pakistan. Data was analyzed through SPSS-21, using Multiple Regression Analysis and Pearson’s Correlation techniques. The results show that young people in Pakistan are willing to volunteer their services in the public sector because they think it is honor for them, it is need of the time and that it will increase the productivity of the public institutions. This study concludes that promoting culture of volunteerism in the public sector of Pakistan will enable young people to become part of government in service deliver, will reduce public-government gap, will help reduce shortage of workforce in public sector and will increase the productivity of public institutions.