Volunteering as a Community Mother—a pathway to lifelong learning

Community Practitioner, May, 2007 by Mary Molloy

Abstract

This paper describes a study that was undertaken to investigate the effects of participating in a community volunteering programme (the Community Mothers Programme) on volunteers (Community Mothers). The aim of the study was to investigate if volunteering in this programme acted as a pathway to lifelong learning; did the volunteers recognise the learning of new knowledge and/or skills, and did their participation in the programme trigger them to progress to further education in other settings?

A self-administered questionnaire method was used for data collection: 115 questionnaires being distributed to volunteers, with a response rate of eighty-two (71 per cent).

Findings show that the majority of the respondents cited the learning of new knowledge and/or skills as a result of their participation in the Community Mothers Programme. Learning appeared to stem from the various training and activities, suggesting an educational process within the volunteer setting. Findings also show that the majority of respondents had progressed to further education. In this instance, therefore, volunteering did appear to act as a pathway to lifelong learning.

Key words

Volunteers, lifelong learning, Community Mothers Programme, training, community

Introduction

In 2000, the Department of Education and Science (DES) highlighted the importance of adult learning through the White Paper on Adult Education. (1) Adult education has been defined as systematic learning undertaken by adults who return to learning, having concluded initial education or training. (1) Lifelong learning facilitates learning from the cradle to the grave in a variety of settings; the volunteer setting is one such place. Volunteering may provide a learning experience for adults, however volunteers are often unaware of the learning taking place. (2) A study published in 2002 by the National Committee on Volunteering (NCV) indicates volunteers cite altruism more than learning as a benefit of volunteering. (3) This is particularly true for those from the lowest socio-economic group, with only 10.2% citing learning as a benefit compared to 17.9% in the highest socio-economic group. (3) There was little corresponding literature on the learning that took place in the volunteer setting and for this reason it was decided to carry out a study into the learning of volunteers in a particular group. The Community Mothers Programme (CMP) was chosen.

The Community Mothers Programme

The CMP is an evaluated parent support programme involving experienced volunteer mothers (community mothers) in low socio-economic areas who give support and encouragement to first and second-time parents, including, lone parents, teenage parents, travellers, and asylum seekers. (4,5) The community mothers are recruited, trained, monitored and supported by specially-trained public health nurses known as family development nurses. This support allows the nurse to recognise each volunteer's experience as a base for learning, encompassing a key dimension of community education. (6) The CMP evolved from a UK-based child development programme. (7) Following pilot phases, the programme was formally launched in the greater Dublin area, in Ireland in 1988. It is now managed by the Health Services Executive. The CMP is 'still going strong', (4) with 140 volunteers supporting two thousand families in 2004. (8)

Within the CMP, the volunteer is expected to gain, learn, progress and achieve. (4,9) Away from the formal educational setting, adult educators have recognised the potential of volunteer settings and experiences in providing learning opportunities for adults. (2,10) Within voluntary activity there is a reciprocal transfer of skills. Volunteers bring with them skills from previous experience and, through volunteering, they receive skills. (3) While literature points out that volunteers are expected to learn within the CMP, (4,9) the question this research aimed to answer was do these women realise that they are learning from their voluntary activity; is it an element of lifelong learning? Also, does participation within the volunteer experience trigger them to engage in further learning outside their voluntary activity to allow for the mobility and progression stated above?

Methods

The study was undertaken over a six-month period between October 2004 and April 2005. The research protocol was submitted for ethics and research governance approval from the Health Services Executive and from St. Catherine's College of Education, Dublin, all of which was granted. The project method and aims were developed with a small reference group of volunteers. The quantitative method of a self-administered questionnaire was chosen over a qualitative method, as it allowed a larger sample of the population to be included in the research within resource constraints. Considerable thought was given to the choice between open and closed questions. While the coding and statistical analysis of closed pre-coded questions would be much simpler, open-ended questions would permit a free response, therefore a combination of open and closed questions were used. Attitudinal questions were facilitated through the use of a Likert scale.