99. Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)
Paper
The Power of Enthusiasm – A Case Study of the Potential of School Volunteering Programmes
Nadja Čekolj
University of Rijeka, Croatia
Presenting Author: Čekolj, Nadja
The focus of this paper is to describe the potential of school volunteering programmes presenting selected preliminary results of thematic analysis of focus groups conducted with student volunteers. To do so, it is first necessary to briefly define one of the key construct: school volunteering programmes (SVP).
SVP are a novelty in the education system in the European context and are gradually being recognised as a pedagogical innovation in the formal education system. The benefits of these programmes for all stakeholders (community, school, and students) are recognised. Through volunteering programmes, schools become more connected to the local community, creating a network of partners for collaborative solutions to community issues (Šimunković, Forčić, Milinković, Kamenko & Šehić-Relić, 2011). Students who have the opportunity to participate in activities in their local community and propose solutions to their needs in the school show a greater willingness to become involved in their (local) community currently and in the future (Torney-Purta, Lehman, Oswald & Schulz, 2001). In addition, while conducting volunteer activities, they strengthen their relationships with other students and also with teachers. Positive and closer relationships lead to a positive school climate. Students who participate in SVP show greater satisfaction with life and school, and describe volunteering as their lifestyle (Šimunković et al., 2011).
Organising, structuring, and planning SVP is a key factor in the success of the programme itself (Schulz, Ainley, Fraillon, Losito, & Agrusti, 2016), and increases the likelihood that young people will volunteer in the future (Harris & Nielsen, 2013). SVP coordinators play the most important role in the successful operation of the programme, as they have full responsibility for every part of it. In addition, the importance of involving parents and civil society organisations is emphasised in order to set a positive example for young people and, in this way, also increase the chances of young people volunteering in adulthood.
Civil society organisations (CSO) in Croatia play an important role in the implementation of volunteering programmes in school curricula. In the national context, CSOs were among the first to initiate the implementation of volunteer programs with the aim of cultivating elements of sustainability citizenship. CSOs also participate in the realisation of volunteer actions and activities together with the school. Through active participation in various activities of associations, young people become aware and interested in the community in which they live. They also have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and experience necessary to become a competent citizen, i.e., the result of young people's participation in CSOs is empowered, competent and active citizens (Ilišin, 2016).
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedA qualitative case study was conducted with the aim of describing and understanding the phenomenon of school volunteering programmes (SVP) and their role in developing sustainability citizenship attributes among high school students. The main research question is: What experiences, processes, and activities that are part of SVPs, are encouraging high school students' potential in developing elements of sustainability citizenship and how?
Research has been organised in several phases: 1) mapping SVPs in Croatian high schools (with the aim of selecting cases for further analysis), 2) content analysis of school curricula, 3) semi-structured interviews with SVPs coordinators, 4) focus groups with student volunteers, and in this paper, we will focus on the fourth phase – the focus groups.
Six volunteering programmes from different schools (3 gymnasiums, 2 polyvalent schools and 1 vocational school) and from different regions of Croatia were selected for further analysis.
A total of 38 student volunteers participated in the focus groups, 34 female and 4 male students between the ages of 15 and 18. The focus group participants were volunteers with at least one year of experience participating in volunteer activities in high schools that have integrated volunteering programmes into the school curriculum. The following topics were discussed in the focus groups: Motivation for volunteering, Topics of volunteer activities, Planning and organising volunteering, Relationship with the coordinator, Importance of the volunteer's role, Change in knowledge, perception, and behaviour as a result of volunteering in school volunteering programmes, and Transfer of experiences gained in school volunteering programmes.
Thematic analysis was used for data analysis according to the following steps: 1) familiarisation with the data and generating initial codes, 2) search for themes, 3) review of themes, 4) definition and naming of themes (Braun & Clarke, 2006).
Presented qualitative research is part of a larger, mixed-method project “Formal Education in Service of Sustainable Development”, a research project funded by Croatian Science Foundation (2018-2024).
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThis paper presents selected results of the thematic analysis of focus groups conducted with high school student volunteers. From the thematic analysis, it appears that the desire to help, new experiences, benefits at school, and positive previous volunteer experiences motivate students to join the school volunteering club. However, they are primarily motivated and inspired by the contagious enthusiasm of students already volunteering and the coordinators of these programs.
Students are aware that the work of coordinators is often challenging, especially when there is no support from the school collective, and that they often have to rely on themselves and their own enthusiasm. In addition to planning, organizing, and managing volunteer activities, coordinators participate with students in conducting volunteer activities. In this way, coordinators inspire student volunteers by example. In addition, they provide a relaxed atmosphere in which informal and friendly relationships prevail, an atmosphere in which positive relationships between students and teachers are strengthened.
One of the most important themes in this emergent analysis is the volunteers' intention to continue volunteering after they leave high school. By participating in volunteer activities in the school's volunteer club, students indeed feel more connected to the community and thus recognize and respond to community needs. Some students already volunteer in civil society organisations in their local communities during their school years. In addition, all students expressed a desire and intention to volunteer at least to some extent after graduation. In summary, volunteering encourages students to change their behaviour and cultivates young people to become active, socially responsible, and sustainability citizens.
References1.Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
2.Harris, C., & Nielsen, T. (Ed.) (2013). Promoting Youth Engagement and Wellbeing through Student Volunteer Programs in ACT Schools. Volunteering ACT.
3.Ilišin, V. (2016). Socijalna i politička participacija maturanata [Social and political participation of high school graduates]. In M. Kovačić & M. Horvat (Eds.), Od podanika do građana [From subjects to citizens], p. 91-111. Institute for Social Research.
4.Schulz, W., Ainley, J., Fraillon, J., Losito, B., & Agrusti, G. (2016). IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2016 Assessment Framework. Springer Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39357-5
5.Šimunković, G., Forčić, G., Milinković, D., Kamenko, J. & Šehić Relić, L. (2011). Generacija za V. Zašto i kako organizirati volonterski program u školi. [Generation for V. Why and how to organise school volunteering programme.]. Volunteer Center Osijek.
6.Torney-Purta, J., Lehmann, R., Oswald, H., & Schulz, W. (2001). Citizenship and education in twenty-eight countries: civic knowledge and engagement at age fourteen. International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).
99. Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)
Paper
Reliable or Rootless: Debating Native Adolescents’ Construction of Place Belonging in Rural China
Tangsenyi Shi
The University of Hong Kong, China, People's Republic of
Presenting Author: Shi, Tangsenyi
The outflow of the rural population has become a prevalent phenomenon on a global scale under the influence of urbanization. Rural hollowing out, thereby leading to brain drain and rural decline, is placing small villages in a severe predicament regarding their existence and development (Drozdzewski, 2008; Lall et al., 2006). Currently, China is encountering the same dilemma: the perennial urban priority has become the culprit of hallowing out, acutely pumping the rural labor force empty (Murphy, 2002; Su et al., 2018). To elucidate why rural residents are inclined to pursue urban life rather than stay and serve their homelands, some researchers ponder how subjective elements affect human decision-making processes for migration. They pay attention to individual perceptions and attitudes toward the environment in which they reside (Pretty et al., 2006; Simões et al., 2020). Hence, the concept of place belonging is raised to describe the individual’s affiliation to a particular locale (Hay, 1998; Pretty et al., 2003).
The psychological concept consists of two key elements: membership and connection (McMillan & Chavis, 1986). First, the membership indicates a position in a locale where all in-group members can co-share the belonging consciousness. This membership represents a place-based identity, enabling one to discern in-group members and differentiate from out-group others by recognizing unique indigenous features (Hernández et al., 2007). Second, common connections with the location consolidate a sense of belonging. These connections incorporate similar life experiences, values, and cultures shared by community members. By producing personal and social memories, daily connections consistently endow a particular place with specific meanings (Eacott & Sonn, 2006). Place belonging develops across one’s lifecycle rather than remain unchanged. With the constant accumulation of shared experiences, residents are apt to strengthen their connection with the place and others within it. The process helps natives cement their group membership and shape a firm sense of belonging.
In China, many scholars agree that rural adolescents commonly lose a sense of belonging. The failure to identify with local cultures and values is regarded as one primary factor arousing the individual’s underlying proneness to abandon the rustic membership and out-migrate (Cheng & Qin, 2019; Liao & Wong, 2020; Si, 2009). Nonetheless, existent research portrays a general panorama for the theme of rural residents’ place belonging, most of which tends to be theoretical and descriptive, failing to offer detailed explanations and relevant evidence with first-hand data. The insufficiency of empirical research renders corresponding arguments plausible yet virtually not credible enough. Besides, amid a limited number of empirical studies, more samples involve people exposed to urban life (e.g., university students and migrant workers). In contrast, adolescents remaining in local communities with more rural living incidents are apparently overlooked. Given current research gaps, this empirical study covers two research questions. First, how do rural junior high students elaborate on the status of their village-based belonging? Second, how do rural junior high students construct the place belonging to their place of origin?
This study employs the concept of place belonging to reveal how Chinese junior high students with rural backgrounds cognize and interpret the relationship between themselves and their original dwellings, namely whether and how they feel that they belong to their rural hometowns. Research on rural adolescents is of great importance because they will grow into subsequent rural builders. Relevant findings on their place-based perceptions will facilitate further elaborations on why they choose to stay, leave, or return, thus benefiting the global explanation of rural developmental challenges. Noticeably, due to the word limits, this study seldom discusses the relationship between place belonging and migration intentions of rural students while taking it into future academic consideration.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used This study primarily adopted an ethnographic approach that emphasizes an exploratory process. It lasted around ten months from September 2021 in the southeast of Guizhou, a province with lower per capita GDP in southwestern China. A township junior high (WY Middle School), located in a typically underdeveloped and rural region, was selected as the research base. There were 1,256 students during the school year from September 2021 to August 2022, most of whom were boarders and left-behind children. In total, by snowball sampling, 36 students were deeply involved in the study for interviewing and family visits, corresponding to 16 females and 20 males. There were 14 participants from Grade 8 and 22 participants from Grade 9. Given that interviewees may need to be more mature to think of and discuss the topic of place belonging, Grade 7 students were excluded from this study.
The researcher utilized the personal network to access the school as a temporary teacher and collect data through observation, interviewing, and personal essays. First, by taking advantage of the position, the researcher built rapport with students and observed students' daily lives at school. Additionally, the researcher had been to 7 villages to visit 10 (out of 36) students’ families, thereby obtaining a more holistic understanding of their living surroundings and experiences at close range through multiple observations in the community and at home. Second, interviewing occurred in formal ways by adopting a semi-structured form concerning students’ hometown-related feelings and extracurricular lives, with questions such as “Do you feel that you are part of your village? Why do you feel like this?” “Could you introduce some interesting events in your community? What do you think of local events (e.g., activities, traditions, festivals, and customs)?” The recording was adopted with the interviewees' permission. Data was also supplemented by informal interviewing inside and outside the classroom, face-to-face or via social media applications. Third, the author required students to write short essays titled “The village in your heart.” This method is applied to learn rural students’ rural impressions, which serves the follow-up analysis of how they form such impressions and how these impressions relate to their place belonging.
Upon the completion of data collection, the researcher processed the textual data from observation notes and interview transcripts by thematic analysis to generate concepts, identify patterns, and code into themes.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings The research findings, overall, reveal that rural junior high students exhibit a relatively reliable sense of place belonging toward their villages. All the informants confirmed that they are part of their villages, or say, that they belong there. First, kinship and geo-relation are the underlying logic that generates the feeling of place belonging. In other words, the construction of belonging originates from the confirmation of kinship and geo-relation. When asked where they come from, students spoke out their village names as responses at once, which concerned specific locations where their families reside. Second, cultural symbols provide the motives to boost the development of place belonging. Despite intangible and abstract, unique cultures (e.g., languages, instruments, dances, costumes, and customs) generated from local areas constitute exclusive features to help residents identify with their place-based memberships and resonate with other in-group members. Third, tangible and concrete connections are the bonds that strengthen the sense of belonging. Long-term local interactions bring students place-related memories, facilitating the formation of entirety with cohesive force.
However, rural students’ village-based belonging may not be as reliable as they voiced because of losing its developmental roots. First, most rural students’ cognition of local cultures is universally superficial. On the one hand, the environment where traditional cultures are inherited is not provided at school or in the community. On the other hand, adolescents have lost the corresponding passion in this regard. They know a little but just a little. Second, common connections fade due to the physical separation (boarding), increasing individual awareness, indulgence in the virtual world, and the local hollowing out caused by the population outflow. Therefore, rural students’ place belonging is becoming rootless and imperceptibly impaired. Its gradual loss may accelerate residents’ leaving and harm sustainable rural development, which deserves more academic consideration in the future.
ReferencesCheng, Q., & Qin, Y. (2019). Nongcun daxuesheng “wenhua linong”: Juese zhangli yu juese suzao (The “departure from countryside in culture” of college students: Role challenges and role shaping). (In Chinese). Nanjing Journal of Social Sciences, (3), 142-148.
Drozdzewski, D. (2008). ‘We’re moving out’: Youth Out‐Migration Intentions in Coastal Non‐Metropolitan New South Wales. Geographical research, 46(2), 153-161.
Eacott, C., & Sonn, C. C. (2006). Beyond education and employment: Exploring youth experiences of their communities, place attachment and reasons for migration. Rural Society, 16(2), 199-214.
Hay, R. (1998). Sense of place in developmental context. Journal of environmental psychology, 18(1), 5-29.
Hernández, B., Hidalgo, M. C., Salazar-Laplace, M. E., & Hess, S. (2007). Place attachment and place identity in natives and non-natives. Journal of environmental psychology, 27(4), 310-319.
Lall, S. V., Selod, H., & Shalizi, Z. (2006). Rural-urban migration in developing countries: A survey of theoretical predictions and empirical findings.
Liao, Q., & Wong, Y.-l. (2020). Jieceng shenfen rentong: Lijie woguo nongcunji daxuesheng jiudu jingyan de xinshijiao (Class identity: A new perspective to understand the learning experiences of rural college students). (In Chinese). Tsinghua Journal of Education, 41(6), 75-82.
McMillan, D. W., & Chavis, D. M. (1986). Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of community psychology, 14(1), 6-23.
Murphy, R. (2002). How migrant labor is changing rural China. Cambridge University Press.
Pretty, G., Bramston, P., Patrick, J., & Pannach, W. (2006). The relevance of community sentiments to Australian rural youths’ intention to stay in their home communities. American Behavioral Scientist, 50(2), 226-240.
Pretty, G. H., Chipuer, H. M., & Bramston, P. (2003). Sense of place amongst adolescents and adults in two rural Australian towns: The discriminating features of place attachment, sense of community and place dependence in relation to place identity. Journal of environmental psychology, 23(3), 273-287.
Si, H. (2009). Qianru cunzhuang de xuexiao: rencun jiaoyu de lishi renleixue tanjiu (Village school: A historical-ethnographic study or education in Ren village). (In Chinese). Educational Science Publishing House.
Simões, F., Rocha, R., & Mateus, C. (2020). Beyond the prophecy success: How place attachment and future time perspective shape rural university students intentions of returning to small islands. Journal of youth studies, 23(7), 909-925.
Su, Y., Tesfazion, P., & Zhao, Z. (2018). Where are the migrants from? Inter-vs. intra-provincial rural-urban migration in China. China Economic Review, 47, 142-155.
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