Abstract:
This paper presents early findings from research that I am conducting, which began
in September 2013 and is due to be completed in September 2016. The research
aims to explore the learning of volunteers who are being trained to perform service providing roles in health and social care charities in England in order to gain a better understanding of and insight into the learning that occurs within this context and
how it can be supported.
In this paper I introduce the area of volunteer training as currently under-researched
and propose the use of cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) as a framework that
can contribute to insights into learning within this context. CHAT views learning
as a form of individual and collective transformation and this paper argues that such
transformations are possible within volunteer training. Findings from my research
so far are discussed using CHAT to provide further insight into how individual and
collective transformation is possible within health and social care charities based
in England. The development of a shared objective, embedded within values and
regulated by rules, is explained as driving forward the activity of training. Encouraging
and engaging multiple voices within training activity are identified as a potential
source of transformation, and also conflict. Although analysis of the research is ongoing,
overall findings indicate that approaching volunteer training as a transformational
process can create wider benefits for organisations, volunteers and their communities.
