While her background leading a variety of public, private and voluntary sector organisations was not an obvious preparation for her new role as General Secretary of the Workers' Educational Association, the WEA is, nevertheless, in Ruth Spellman's blood. Her grandfather, who left school at 12, became fully numerate and literate through WEA courses…

Open Stages is Britain's biggest amateur theatre project, a hugely ambitious scheme to bring the professional and amateur theatre worlds together. It is a learning project but, as the Royal Shakespeare Company's Ian Wainwright tells this author, it is not only the amateurs who are learning. Wainwright states that the amateur and professional…

A representative spectrum of voluntary organizations in the field of adult education is contained in this directory. Criteria for an organization's listing were (1) attendance at the adult education Galaxy Conference in 1969, (2) membership in the Coalition of Adult Education Organizations, (3) the existence of adult and continuing education as a…

Describes the history and activities of the Japanese Nomura Center for Lifelong Education. With a membership consisting mainly of homemakers, the Center is a nationwide organization which carries out various voluntary activities. The importance of lifelong integrated education in solving global problems is discussed. (AM)

In 1953, a Project for the Integration of New Immigrants from Eastern Europe was organized at the request of the Ford Foundation within the framework of the Welfare and Health Council of New York City. The purpose was to make available to highly educated refugees from Soviet-dominated countries and their families community services which would…

An interagency collaborative project trains those who supervise and advise volunteers in community organizations to assist volunteers in career development and life planning. (SK)

This book provides information on workplace volunteering and how employee volunteering programs operate in specific corporate cultures. Chapter 1 focuses on the rationale upon which corporate volunteer programs are constructed. The rationale's four basic components are discussed in detail: quality of life, worker participation, responding to…

Explores the Mechanics' Institutes of nineteenth-century Britain as a voluntary movement beset by problems of social class, conflicts over the perception of educational needs, and failure to meet those needs. Draws implications for professionalism and volunteerism as part of adult education today. (SK)

Like adult education, the field of volunteer management shows increasing movement toward professionalization. The establishment of standards--both for the profession of volunteer management and for volunteer service itself--is generating debates similar to adult educators' debates over purposes and objectives. The types of learning that occur in…

This report examines the role played by the Peace Corps education sector in developing countries. Section I provides a general overview of the progress over the past 20 years of education assistance. A case study is presented of education programs in Sierra Leone. Section II provides an overview of distribution of education volunteers worldwide…

The increase in the number of community organizations offering educational programs prompted the first national survey of adult education sponsored by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES). All private, nonprofit organizations were included whose prime reason for existence was to offer services, or to serve as a vehicle for…

The author provides background on the junto and defines its role as a voluntary discussion group attempting to solve problems. She describes recent uses of the junto at conferences and provides guidelines for planning a typical group. (CH)

This manual provides a preliminary survey of Peace Corps activities in the area of small enterprise development and identifies some common factors leading to success or failure in programming this type of project. Chapter 1 presents an overview of Peace Corps policy toward and involvement in the field of small enterprise development. The emphasis…

This volume documents and reflects on the use of Open Space Technology by Peace Corps staff in the United States and in the field. An introduction reviews basic principles and processes of Open Space, which is a meeting and conference process congruent with Peace Corps philosophy, to clarify ways trainers have interpreted, adapted, and used it in…

Universities of the Third Age (U3As) are volunteer-run organizations offering lifelong learning opportunities for older adults. A survey of 84 Australian and 14 New Zealand U3As estimated an annual value of their services of over $4 million and examined organizational and student characteristics, assistance from external organizations, and…