Thesis (MEd (Human Resource Studies))--University of South Australia,1997

Thesis--University of Florida. / Description based on print version record. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-121).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Marshall University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 102 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-87).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed September 08, 2009). PDF text: xii, 307 p. : ill. ; 2 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3352852. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of volunteer experience and motivation by (a) identifying major influences impacting the volunteer with the Christian setting, (b) analyzing the impact of those influences upon volunteer experience and motivation, and (c) inferring volunteer motivation from that impact. Special attention was paid to the influences of the organization's climate, management practices of supervision and evaluation and involvement in a peer support group.The setting for this study was a Christian church with a membership of 726 people, located in a mid-sized town in Indiana. In this study formal interviews were conducted with ten informants chosen for their volunteer teaching activity. Using a recording device, three hours of interview evidence was gathered from each informant. This evidence was transcribed and analyzed.Five major categories of influence within this Christian setting emerged through an analysis of the evidence:Characteristics of the organizationInfluence of peer support group participationBenefits received by the volunteerFrustrations with volunteer teachingInteraction between the volunteer's Christian faith and the teaching experienceThis study's major conclusion was that a comprehensive peer support group system should be developed to address the problems of organizational support, teacher training, supervision and evaluation, and teacher accountability. This support group system should also address the need for greater church-wide communication and improved spiritual growth opportunities. / Department of Educational Leadership

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-105).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1995. / Title from title page screen, viewed May 9, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Lanny Edward Morreau, Ming-Gon John Lian (co-chairs), Gregory F. Aloia, Kenneth Strand, Robert Wazienski. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-108) and abstract. Also available in print.

The problem of this study was to determine if pre-training of volunteers working in special education classes for orthopedically handicapped and multihandicapped students makes a difference in their classroom effectiveness. The purposes of this study were two-fold. The first was to develop a training program for volunteers working in special education classes for orthopedically handicapped and multihandicapped students. The second was to determine the effectiveness of the training program.

This thesis sought to explore how community volunteers could be recruited, supported and sustained to assist a community school operating in difficult socioeconomic conditions in achieving basic school functionality. Through a collaborative process, the participants in the study attempted to address a significant gap in the literature, namely how this could be achieved in a way that would be beneficial both to the community volunteers and to the school itself. Based on existing literature, the vast majority of South African schools are struggling to reach the basic functionality levels required in terms of legislation. My interest in this topic was piqued while serving as principal of one such school; hence the focus in this thesis on whether schools would benefit in terms of achieving functionality if they partnered with the communities in which they are located. However, communities are seldom actively involved in the schools and school activities on an ongoing daily basis. In this thesis, I argue for an opportunity for schools and the community to collaborate in a way that would be mutually beneficial. In this, I was guided by the School-Based Complementary Learning Framework (SBCLF) in gaining a greater understanding of how multiple stakeholders could support a school to obtain basic functionality. A key stakeholder is the community in which a school is located, and the multidimensional framework provided a framework to understand why the community would want to get involved in the school. Following a Participatory Action Learning and Action Research (PALAR) design, I recruited 15 community volunteers from the existing pool at my then school; some of whom had been volunteering for over twelve years. We formed an action learning set where we collaboratively sought to understand the processes and conditions needed to recruit, support and sustain community volunteers and their involvement in the school. From this action learning set emerged a key advisors’ set, comprising five members of the action learning set, who were entrusted with the responsibility of planning, preparing and analysing the action learning set meetings. Transcripts and visual artefacts from the action learning set meetings and a focus group meeting of the school management team were analysed to generate data, complemented by secondary sources, such as documents. This participatory approach to data generation allowed the voice of every participant to be heard; agency was increased through active participation; and the sense of affiliation to the group was deepened. The iterative design of the research process further ensured that the participants also engaged in a critical discourse analysis of the emerging data, of which the trustworthiness was enhanced through the use of dialogic and process, catalytic, rhetoric, democratic and outcome validity. The emergence of the data through this collaborative engagement was underpinned by the ethical values of mutual respect; equality and inclusion; democratic participation; active learning; making a difference; collective action; and personal integrity. The findings revealed that community volunteers did add immense value to the school by supporting teaching and learning processes. However, the community volunteers also harboured expectations of material support and opportunities to develop skills. In addition, the study revealed that the hierarchical culture and structures present in most South African schools need to become more democratic and collaborative, with those working to make the school more functional, including community volunteers, being valued, acknowledged and supported. The participants also constructed their understanding of what a community school should be and do and how it should serve the interests of the children from the community. A process model was constructed from these findings regarding on ways to recruit, sustain and support community volunteers involved in community schools, specially designed so that schools could adapt it to suit individual contexts. This study is unique; I am not aware of any similar study ever having been conducted in a community school in South Africa. Furthermore, the collaborative approach used in the study helped ensure that the methodology used could be of value to principals and other school stakeholders in addressing the various complex challenges that confront schools in these contexts. Also, the findings will add to the theoretical body of knowledge around volunteerism, especially in difficult socioeconomic conditions.