Increasingly, employers are seeking candidates with transferable skills in addition to technical and educational requirements. Thus, university students seek opportunities to develop transferrable skills, often through extra and co-curricular programs. With this in mind, our research explores student assessments of their own development of…

The study involved 14 volunteer facilitators, four UBC staff members, and the researcher as participant; the data collected were observation notes, questionnaires, results from focus groups, and interviews. The study revealed that the key strengths of the training workshop lay in its approach to training, its focus on confidence and capacity…

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…

Workplace volunteer councils (WVC) are associations of representatives from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors working together to enhance grass-roots volunteerism. Volunteer administrators can play an integral role in supporting partnerships formulated through a WVC by providing opportunities and expertise to ensure that the experience is…

It is very difficult for new Canadians to find work that draws on and recognizes their experience and qualifications. About three years ago the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) established a policy to try to help new Canadians achieve hands-on experience in their field of expertise through a special volunteer program. Since then,…

Includes three papers: "Trends in Volunteerism: A Canadian Perspective" (Paddy Bowen); "Shrinking Government--A New Zealand Story: The Effects on Volunteers, Volunteer Agencies, and Their Clients" (Mary Woods); and "Public Issues Facing Non-Profits and Volunteerism in the United States" (Jeanne H. Bradner). (SK)

Describes the Teen Hot Line, developed in response to the large apparent need for teens to talk with their peers about emergent needs and issues. A comprehensive and meaningful training program, combined with a high level of acceptance among the general youth population, has resulted in a valuable service for both the client callers and the…

Describes the Learning Assistance program, which uses student volunteers to staff a study area for college students with physical handicaps. A training program for volunteers was conducted. Both handicapped students and volunteers thought the program was helpful. (JAC)

A survey of 1,017 principals in Ontario (Canada) indicates that Ontario elementary schools and secondary schools rely heavily on volunteers, especially in younger grades. Volunteers are mainly co-op students, community college students, and parents. Principals are key players in initiating volunteer programs because they believe volunteers improve…

The comparative validity of observations recorded by volunteer telephone crisis workers was examined. To assess workers' listening and response skills, an instrument was devised to rate callers' expressed stress level, confidence in self, confidence in using other community resources, and duration of stress. Groups of 10 workers were invited to…

Questionnaires on tutor training workshops were distributed to volunteers working within 46 Canadian community-based (CB) or voluntary programs; 56 percent of the programs responded. The study explored the distinguishing features of CB and volunteer literacy programs, terms used interchangeably. Questionnaires were mailed to all provinces and…

This guide is intended to help people improve their reading, writing, and numeracy skills within existing organizations, services, or community activities. It is divided into two sections. The first gives some background information on literacy in Canada, adult learners, and the rationale for integrating learning into existing opportunities. The…

This document is a two-part workshop resource manual intended to help trainers of literacy tutors and others to raise awareness of the particular needs of older adult literacy learners. Part 1 contains basic information on the topic of older adult literacy obtained from a review of the most current literature available and has a Canadian and,…

The papers written for this report deal with an analysis of volunteer and professional adult educators and with their training and continuing education. Papers include the following: "Adult Educators and Volunteers: A Partnership Strategy" (Russ Pacey, Susan Witter, and Barbara Bate); "The Professional Adult Educator: A Profile…

A study examined what adult literacy tutors believe about literacy and how their beliefs affect the learner-tutor matches. It began with the assumptions that tutors are important actors in the tutor-learner relationship and that their beliefs and behavior will affect the tutoring relationship. The research site was a literacy program organized and…