An exploration of the ‘Volunteer’ within the Scout Association; motivating factors, level of involvement and reward within a unique voluntary organisation

Abstract

Despite much research into the definition of volunteering, managing volunteers and understanding the motivations of volunteers, investigations have fallen short in addressing the specific journey that the Scouting volunteer takes, so a need for a dedicated investigation emerged. This study aimed to explore the degree to which Scouting volunteers are ‘atypical’, concentrating on selfless and selfish motivations, as well as exploring the concept of a ‘non-work career’ in Scouting.
Embracing more than one methodological perspective (Moses and Knutsen, 2007) helped to explore the phenomena of Scouting volunteers with a common-sense constructivist approach. The research design was also pragmatic and problem-driven. Online surveys were undertaken by (n= 118) volunteer members of the U.K. Scout Association. Questions were semi-structured as in an interview, with the added benefit of collating demographic data to provide responses with context. Data analysis was by an inductive process, identifying a series of ‘codes’ based on recurring themes.
Clear progression through a ‘non-work career’ was evident, as many volunteers progressed into volunteering roles from being a youth member. The Scout Promise also seems to create a unique environment in which their volunteers work, bound by the concept of ‘duty’, which assisted in the exploration of selfish and selfless attitudes to their volunteering time.
The study re-enforced the need for organisation specific research, as it highlighted major differences in attitude between Scouting volunteers and volunteers in previous literature. These were created by the ethos and background of the organisation, creating conditions that could not be considered in other organisations as being applicable. Further exploration of this by means of interviewing volunteers would provide a rich seam of data by which to understand these unique conditions further.