With the release of this comprehensive new report, MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership has provided the mentoring field with important new data about the scope of mentoring in the United States. This report advances what is understood about mentoring in several important ways. First, it moves beyond a simple head count to explore Americans'…

This article sketches the growth and accompanying challenges that face development evaluation in the future, by showing that whilst the progress in expanding the geographical presence of evaluation has been impressive, much more needs to be done. Important work has been done in promoting guidance through agencies such as the (UNEG, OECD/DAC and…

The current study explores the relationship between participation in college service-learning (SL) experiences, in both academic courses and co-curricular programs, and post-college civic engagement. Using data from a purposeful sample of 1,066 alumni from 30 campuses who participated in the 20th Anniversary Bonner Scholars Study, we explored the…

Medical students build clinical knowledge on the grounds of previously obtained basic knowledge. The study aimed to evaluate the competency of third year medical students to interpret biochemically based clinical scenarios using knowledge and skills gained during year 1 and 2 of undergraduate medical training. Study was conducted on year 3 MBBS…

This paper is about an experiment in non-formal early childhood education for migrant children in Beijing. The Si Huan Playgroup was set up by a group of volunteers in 2004 and is built on ideas of early childhood pedagogy, equity, life-long learning and non-formal education. Non-formal education has implications for policy makers as this is a…

Although peer-mentoring relationships are critical to including youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities in postsecondary educational settings, little is known about the motivations and experiences of peer mentors. To investigate, we conducted a mixed-methods study in which 17 volunteer peer mentors completed the Volunteer Functions…

Science projects, which engage non-professional scientists in one or more stages of scientific research, have been gaining popularity; yet maintaining participants' activity level over time remains a challenge. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential for a short-term, focused campaign to increase participant activity in a…

Although the tenets of modern servant leadership originated by Greenleaf (1970) have long been applied to service enterprise, no known research has applied the principles to the self-perception of AmeriCorps volunteers who commit to one year of service. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to determine whether volunteers who commit to one…

Diversity in learning options can increase efficacy of volunteer development systems. The University of Florida Critical Thinking Inventory (UFCTI) is designed to explicate an individual's critical thinking style based upon a continuum from Seeking Information to Engagement. Static and interpretive materials are best used with individuals of a…

This chapter considers how the assumptions, principles, and overall mind-set of coaching may be useful as organizations seek to foster lifelong relationships with their volunteer constituents.

Honey bee colony declines have garnered immense public interest, and consequently there is a significant demand for the dissemination of apicultural information. The Oregon Master Beekeeper Program was developed in response to this increased interest in bees and beekeeping and a demand for a credible educational program for new beekeepers. The…

It is widely recognised that tertiary education does not provide all of the knowledge and skills required to succeed in modern societies. Personal and interpersonal skills--so-called "soft skills"--are also needed to complement professional skills and expertise, and become an essential part of an individual's personality. One way of…

Many undergraduate institutions are reforming their courses to increase student engagement. A critical challenge in these efforts is to engage the academic community beyond the instructors in the process of change. At our university, we embraced this challenge by creating a volunteer community of faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and…

Paraprofessionals and school volunteers increase the number of youth who receive academic and mental health interventions by providing services that were traditionally reserved for professional staff. However, the promise of these low-cost, high-volume non-professional services is tempered by the lack of experimental evidence documenting their…

This article examines Iranian secondary students' (N = 336) life purposes. Economic and hedonistic life goals were the most valued. Relationships in terms of having a family and children were also appreciated. In the students' views, religiousness was associated with social goals such as helping others in need and volunteering in the community.…