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For-profit environmental voluntourism in Costa Rica: Teen volunteer, host community, and environmental outcomes
Abstract
With its growth in popularity, voluntourism (volunteer tourism) has seen greater attention from the research community. This case study research investigates the tripartite outcomes of a for-profit environmental voluntourism program in Costa Rica, focusing on teen participants, host community, and the environment. Authors conducted field research and gathered data from online surveys, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and participant observation with 108 respondents, including teen voluntourists, parents, and community influentials. Findings indicated community stakeholders perceived projects to be meaningful, with visible social and environmental benefits. In the short term, teens showed an increased concern for social and environmental problems, as well as a heightened awareness of environmental issues. Self-reported increases in time spent volunteering after students completed the program was less prevalent; however, 19% of teens stayed committed to volunteerism and civic engagement through completion of more than one voluntourism service tour. We documented longer term positive outcomes in relation to pro-environmental behavior change and attempts at intergenerational learning. Unexpected outcomes were documented in relation to bolstering of longer term academic and life/career paths after completing a service trip. We highlight best-practices for planning projects through individuals with longstanding community connections and an ability to facilitate outcome oriented, meaningful service projects.
... Another purpose consists of having more comprehension of the process of development and maturation of participants (Schneller & Coburn, 2018). They are mainly teenagers in the process of change, planning their future studies, and willing to have a significant and educative experience. ...
... Firstly, in order to minimise the negative impacts of the sector, it is necessary to have more awareness of them, so that projects are developed and managed to avoid them (Guttentag, 2009). Secondly, to boost the positive impacts, it is recommended for organisations to facilitate the development of networks and interchange opportunities between volunteer tourists and the community (Gard, 2012;Olsen, Vogt & Andereck, 2017;Raymond & Hall, 2008;Schneller & Coburn, 2018). Thirdly, it is proposed to commercialise volunteer tourism programmes to different countries to attract more diverse people and to increase cultural interchange (Raymond & Hall, 2008). ...
... This fact can be considered as what should be the essence and foremost objective of voluntourism, of helping to solve economic and humanitarian problems in the world. Inside this first topic, there is the motivation of contribution and helping the local population (Coghlan, 2008;Daldeniz & Hampton, 2010;Guiney, 2017;Han et al., 2019;McGloin & Georgeou, 2015;Olsen, Vogt & Andereck, 2017;Schneller & Coburn, 2018;Sin, 2009). This motivation is often called a give-back, thus being a feeling of debt from tourist to the host community they visit. ...
Volunteer tourism is a global phenomenon that has gained popularity and interest since 1990. Understanding its dynamics and its stakeholders is important to be able to reduce the derived negative effects and to increase the positives. From an anthropological and gender perspectives, this report aims to show a critical view on voluntourism and to characterise the presents debates in the scientific literature. Therefore, North-South relations, colonial dynamics, the role of sending organisations, volunteers’ motivations and behaviours, as well as the impacts on them and local communities are highlighted. Moreover, gender perspective is incorporated as an analytical framework through which to explore dynamics that take place in volunteer tourism. Finally, possible consequences of the COVID-19 crisis on this complex phenomenon are exposed together with future lines of research.
... Otra propuesta consiste en tener una mayor comprensión del proceso de desarrollo y maduración de los participantes (Schneller y Coburn, 2018), los cuales mayoritariamente son adolescentes que están en un proceso de cambio y de planificación de estudios futuros y quieren tener una experiencia significativa y educativa. Así pues, tal como afirman estos mismos autores, los diseñadores y dinamizadores de los programas de voluntariado deberían entender mejor las complejidades del desarrollo y la capacidad de los adolescentes para comprender la multiplicidad de dinámicas económicas, sociales, culturales y ambientales de las comunidades de los países en desarrollo, que es donde mayoritariamente se lleva a cabo el turismo de voluntariado. ...
... Primeramente, con tal de disminuir los impactos negativos del sector, se debe tener una mayor conciencia de estos, de manera que los proyectos se desarrollen y se gestionen evitando que se produzcan (Guttentag, 2009). En segundo lugar, con el objetivo de fomentar los impactos positivos, se recomienda a las organizaciones facilitar el desarrollo de redes y oportunidades de intercambio entre los turistas de voluntariado y la comunidad (Gard, 2012;Olsen, Vogt y Andereck, 2017;Raymond y Hall, 2008;Schneller y Coburn, 2018). En tercer lugar, se propone comercializar los programas de voluntariado a diversos países con tal de atraer gente más diversa y aumentar el intercambio cultural (Raymond y Hall, 2008). ...
... Es por eso que algunos quieren obtener nuevas habilidades y conocimientos (Olsen, Vogt y Andereck, 2017;Roques et al., 2018) a través del turismo de voluntariado como de comunicación y de relación, trabajo en equipo, empatía y/o conocimientos relacionados con el destino, las personas que viven y su cultura, pero también adquirir nuevos conocimientos relacionados con las tareas que se están llevando a cabo durante el voluntariado. Los turistas también están motivados por ganar experiencia personal (Han et al., 2019;Roques et al., 2018) por el hecho de vivir en un nuevo lugar, con gente desconocida, en una cultura con hábitos y estilos de vida diferentes, etc. Además, quieren conseguir un crecimiento personal y hacer autorreflexión (Molz, 2015;Schneider, 2018;Schneller y Coburn, 2018) de lo que viven, sienten o ven durante esta experiencia, así como aprender más de unos mismos y ganar autoconfianza (Curtin y Brown, 2018). Esta última motivación se relaciona con la de hacer voluntariado por self-interest y self-gratification (Coghlan, 2008;Guttentag, 2009) traducido como el interés y la gratificación personal de los turistas. ...
El turismo de voluntariado es un fenómeno global que ha ganado popularidad e interés desde los años 90. Conocer sus dinámicas y los actores que participan en el volunturismo es importante para poder disminuir los efectos negativos que se derivan e incrementar los positivos. Desde una perspectiva antropológica y de género, este informe pretende mostrar una mirada crítica al volunturismo y caracterizar los debates presentes en la literatura científica. Así pues, se destacan las relaciones Norte-Sur, las dinámicas coloniales, el papel de las organizaciones de voluntariado, las motivaciones y los comportamientos de los voluntarios, así como los impactos en estos y en las comunidades locales. Además, se incorpora la perspectiva de género como un marco de análisis a través del cual explorar de forma holística el turismo de voluntariado. Finalmente, se exponen las posibles consecuencias de la crisis de la COVID-19 sobre un fenómeno complejo que se debe seguir investigando en un futuro.
... Una altra proposta consisteix en tenir una major comprensió del procés de desenvolupament i de maduració dels participants (Schneller i Coburn, 2018), els quals majoritàriament són adolescents que estan en un procés de canvi i de planificació d'estudis futurs i volen tenir una experiència significativa i educativa. Així doncs, tal i com afirmen aquests mateixos autors, els dissenyadors i dinamitzadors dels programes de voluntariat haurien d'entendre millor les complexitats del desenvolupament i la capacitat dels adolescents per a comprendre la multiplicitat de dinàmiques econòmiques, socials, culturals i ambientals de les comunitats dels països en desenvolupament, que és on majoritàriament es duu a terme el turisme de voluntariat. ...
... TURISME DE VOLUNTARIAT. CARACTERITZACIÓ I DEBATS D'UN FENOMEN GLOBAL 2020 / ALBA SUD pag 14 índex facilitar el desenvolupament de xarxes i oportunitats d'intercanvi entre els turistes de voluntariat i la comunitat (Gard, 2012;Olsen, Vogt i Andereck, 2017;Raymond i Hall, 2008;Schneller i Coburn, 2018). En tercer lloc, es proposa comercialitzar els programes de voluntariat a diferents països per tal d'atraure gent més diversa i augmentar l'intercanvi cultural (Raymond i Hall, 2008). ...
... Aquest es pot considerar com el que hauria de ser l'essència i l'objectiu principal del volunturisme, d'ajudar a resoldre problemes econòmics i humanitaris al món. Dins d'aquest primer tema es troba la motivació de contribuir i ajudar a la població local (Coghlan, 2008;Daldeniz i Hampton, 2010;Guiney, 2017;Han et al., 2019;McGloin i Georgeou, 2015;Olsen, Vogt i Andereck, 2017;Schneller i Coburn, 2018;Sin, 2009), el que sol anomenar-se com a give back, essent així un sentiment de deute del turista cap a la comunitat amfitriona que visita. TURISME DE VOLUNTARIAT. ...
El turisme de voluntariat és un fenomen global que ha guanyat popularitat i interès des dels anys 90. Conèixer les seves dinàmiques i els actors que hi participen és important per a poder disminuir els efectes negatius que en deriven i incrementar-ne els positius. Des d’una perspectiva antropològica i de gènere, aquest informe pretén mostrar una mirada crítica al volunturisme i caracteritzar els debats presents a la literatura científica. Així doncs, es destaquen les relacions Nord-Sud, les dinàmiques colonials, el paper de les organitzacions de voluntariat, les motivacions i els comportaments dels voluntaris, així com els impactes a aquests i a les comunitats locals. A més, s’incorpora la perspectiva de gènere com un marc d’anàlisi a través del qual explorar de forma holística el turisme de voluntariat. Finalment, s’exposen les possibles conseqüències de la crisi de la COVID-19 sobre un fenomen complex que cal seguir investigant en un futur.
... The issue of volunteering and volunteerism in NGO operations is also found in tourism studies where the practice has been given a nickname; "voluntourism" (Schneller & Coburn, 2018;Wearing, 2001). Wearing (2001) defined such activity as an organized way in which people go on a kind of holiday that will also involve assisting in alleviating poverty or providing some social benefit. ...
... This was due to the fact that NGOs employ volunteers on short stay in the project communities and hence the volunteers get limited time for training and orientation. In addition, some volunteers' personal interest to go sight-seeing within the host country, practically aligning with Schneller and Coburn's (2018) principles of tourism plans, brought about tension. In this case time could be the common denominator for the first causes of the conflicts. ...
In this chapter I explore the tensions that exist between international
development organizations and the communities in which they operate. As organizations work across borders and deal with different communities and people with different backgrounds, there is a greater tendency for ambivalence. Ambivalence can be strengthened by untranslatability (Lomas, 2017), given the different cultural backgrounds of the actors, and can both lead to creative processes and to frictions. By focalizing on Northern Ghana, the chapter looks into how the operations of international nongovernment organizations (NGOs) in developing countries might lead to ambivalence within the receiving communities, despite NGOs’ purported positive intentions
... The literature has suggested deep volunteering experiences can trigger a change in perception which causes volunteers to re-evaluate their own life and values (McGehee & Santos, 2005). However, the existence of a galvanized post-trip volunteer activist is questionable to many researchers who have found that despite their pro-social intentions, only a small minority take up the opportunity to volunteer any further (Schneller & Coburn, 2018;Sin, 2009). ...
... As such, host project managers should attempt to sustain relationships with volunteers upon departure from the project. Extant volunteer tourism literature has noted the challenges of engaging the post-trip volunteer (Schneller & Coburn, 2018;Sin, 2009). However, by creating processes that keep past volunteers up-to-date about the project and maintaining contact through Whatsapp and Facebook channels, it may be possible to establish friendships that encourage long-term integrative volunteering. ...
Drawing upon research from six volunteer projects in Cambodia, this paper explores the volunteer host community as a 'space' that has its own rules and normalized ways of behaving that influences the assistance prospective beneficiaries receive. Underpinned by Bourdieu's theory of field's, qualitative interviews and participant observation is conducted with both volunteers and hosts. This paper concludes that volunteer project rules are not homogeneous and that normalized ways of behaving can lead to unregulated and unsustainable practice but also integrated and productive outcomes. This suggests a more regulative and structured approach to volunteer tourism led by media and volunteers themselves may enhance the sustainable foundation of the sector.
... The idea of offering international travel opportunities is to create improved understandings of inequality, justice and the causes of poverty (Conran 2011). Even some high schools (secondary schools) take this approach in offering international volunteer learning opportunities (Schneller and Coburn 2018). More commonly, many school boards require students to achieve a certain number of hours volunteering at the local level (Billig 2000). ...
... Another important factor is to consider the profitability of online learning (Schneller and Coburn 2018). In as much as international experiential learning has been heavily critiqued over the capitalist tendencies and profit motives that it brings to learning experiences, the same could be said about the platform basis in which educators and learners engage (Chau 2010). ...
The September 2019 Global Climate Strikes witnessed hundreds of thousands of students express forms of global citizenship through street-level environmental activism. These strikes were led, and motivated, by youth who chose to strike from class in order to send a message to world leaders. It was an enormous occupation of public space and public imagination that encouraged schools to cancel classes for students to go outside to engage in street-level politics. Five months later, everyone was told to stay at home. COVID-19 ordinances effectively made many normal activities suddenly illegal, including the sort of activism that engaged youth around the world only months before. This article explores how the Global Climate Strikes and the COVID-19 pandemic will be important moments to advance the concept of global citizenship education within International Development Studies, and especially around the place of international experiential learning in the discipline. Studying, and volunteering abroad, has been long encouraged in International Development Studies (IDS), but with a global youth movement encouraging less carbon-based travel, more street-level activism and a pandemic demanding more digital learning, how will International Development Studies programmes respond? The author argues that International Development Studies can adapt to these events through “Anthropocene Activism”, a term used to depict global connectedness and consciousness for change-making politics. IDS programmes will need to focus curriculum on inclusive postcolonial pedagogy including land-based pedagogy, foster skills of intercultural communication and encourage change-making politics, even if it means expressing it indoors and online. Climate change and COVID-19 are global problems that will require a global citizenship education that goes far beyond experiential learning through service-learning, and instead recognise that meaning can be made out of our current global challenges, including through Anthropocene Activism.
... Some benefits of voluntourism for its participants and for society could be the enhancement of civic attitudes and activism (Bailey & Fernando, 2011;McGehee & Santos, 2005), growing concern for social and environmental issues amongst participants (Schneller & Coburn, 2018), and the improvement of international concern and intercultural relations (Lough et al., 2014). Furthermore, Schneller and Coburn (2018) reported that host communities (voluntourism target communities) in Costa Rica felt that the implemented projects were meaningful and had visible benefits, and some studies have observed positive cross-cultural exchanges and financial benefits in host community members (Rattan, 2015). ...
... Some benefits of voluntourism for its participants and for society could be the enhancement of civic attitudes and activism (Bailey & Fernando, 2011;McGehee & Santos, 2005), growing concern for social and environmental issues amongst participants (Schneller & Coburn, 2018), and the improvement of international concern and intercultural relations (Lough et al., 2014). Furthermore, Schneller and Coburn (2018) reported that host communities (voluntourism target communities) in Costa Rica felt that the implemented projects were meaningful and had visible benefits, and some studies have observed positive cross-cultural exchanges and financial benefits in host community members (Rattan, 2015). ...
Tourism is growing at a fast rate and so is its carbon footprint. Alongside conventional tourism, a new form of tourism, so-called voluntourism, has emerged. The discussion on voluntourism in the existing literature has hereby mainly centred around its positive impacts on the health and education of communities and the local environment in developing countries. Nevertheless, little attention has been drawn to its climate impacts. This study set out to investigate the carbon footprint of voluntourism. The data were collected at a local non-governmental organisation (NGO) in India working with voluntourists. Both the carbon footprint of the stay in India and that from the round trip by air were taken into consideration. The results showed that although the carbon footprint of voluntourists during their stay is comparable with that of locals, the flight significantly contributes to the carbon footprint of voluntourism. Depending on the distance flown and the length of the stay, the average share of the carbon footprint stemming from the flight can be between 83% and 96%. The article concludes that faraway destinations and short stays should be avoided; otherwise voluntourism might cause more harm than good. On the basis of the findings, this article provides recommendations for policymakers and further research.
... These are closely aligned to Wearing's (2001) four categories of personal development and Wearing and McGehee's (2013) more recent analysis of volunteer tourism research which suggests upon returning home the consciousness-raising component of the experience changed behaviours. Indeed, the short term effects found in this study closely mirrors that of many other volunteer tourism studies (Gmelch, 1997;Jones, 2005;Manea, Nae, Matei, Vijulie, & Tirla, 2013;Schneller & Coburn, 2018;Wearing & Neil, 1999). ...
... Raymond (2007) suggests any international field-trip within an education context must incorporate evaluation. In addition, Schneller and Coburn (2018) highlight long-standing, meaningful, outcome oriented community connections as best practice. While this case study does build on long-standing connections and outcome oriented actions in Cambodia, deliberate reflection processes for the students or the teachers were not explicitly included in the experience. ...
Using an exploratory case study approach, this research used semi‐structured interviews to investigate the motivations, expectations and experiences of high school students in New Zealand who travelled to Cambodia on a school supervised field‐trip. Findings suggest students are motivated by altruistic behaviour and the desire for unique experiences. Students had very high expectations, predicting the experience to be either life changing or incredibly important. Post‐trip interviews revealed that the volunteer work undertaken was perceived as positive and that experiences of poverty were challenging and influential. Finally, personal development and an increased sense of social responsibility were identified as important effects of the trip.
... Concerning benefits to voluntourists, Roques et al. (2018) found that MVT results in increased education and awareness. MVT has been demonstrated to increase environmental concern or continued participation in conservation-oriented activities (Schneller & Coburn, 2018). Increased volunteer satisfaction can also lead to enhanced self-awareness and personal growth of the voluntourist (Alexander, 2012b;Broad & Jenkins, 2009). ...
Marine wildlife voluntourism (MVT) is a niche with potential that warrants research on the dynamics underpinning MVT experiences, to steer sustainable development. This study investigated influential factors in marine wildlife voluntourists' satisfaction and post-experience attitudes, through structural equation modelling (SEM). Southern Africa was the location of the research, given its growing popularity as an MVT destination and its need for marine conservation efforts. From June 2019 to June 2020, a questionnaire survey was administered to 142 tourists at three MVT organisations in South Africa, Mozambique and Madagascar. SEM identified ecocentric motivations and the perceived ethical conduct of MVT organisations as positively influencing satisfaction and post-experience attitudes towards education, the environment, compliance and advocacy, volunteering, citizen science, career choices, and paying for conservation. This study emphasised the importance of coupling the right tourist mindset with ethical roundness to make MVT a successful form of tourism with multiple direct and indirect benefits. ARTICLE HISTORY
... Some consumers finally found freedom and empowerment [104], a sense of importance [152] connection to their birthplace [153], while some started trusting themselves and their newly acquired perspectives [16], passed on what they have learned in their community [154], overcame personal fears [155], gained confidence [156], changed their parental philosophy and noticed growth in adaptability [157], or even engaged more in personal growth, all pertained as beneficial aspects acquired from travel [158]. Transformative tourism can encourage towards sustainable behaviours [159] by immersing participants in the environment [94], but also through long-lasting changes in individuals' identities leading to major shifts in priorities and new habits [23]. ...
Transformative tourism (TT) has been gaining a lot of attention over the past few years due to its power to transform both the individual and the world we live in, in a positive way. Although presently consisting of a plethora of studies, transformative tourism lacks the lens of a bibliometric approach to track its growth in a more objective and quantitative manner. In this article, a total of 250 publications were analysed using several bibliometric performance metrics, science mapping techniques, such as citation analysis, co-occurrence, and co-authorship, as well as enrichment procedures. By combining these methods, the study identifies the most prolific journals, reference studies in the field, key authors, collaboration patterns, geographic distribution, preferred methods, major research topics, as well as an overall research timeline in this area of study. Findings suggest that transformative tourism could become the heart of tourism in the upcoming years as it begins to take deeper roots through new junctions and discoveries, appealing to more researchers and practitioners, with the literature on TT thus gaining momentum. This paper contributes to fill a research gap and capture the evolution of the fast-growing concept of transformative tourism using bibliometric analysis. The article provides useful insights as well as further research directions for both researchers and tourism practitioners interested in this field of study.
... The framework of transformative learning (TL) can be applied by educational program facilitators to design better programming in support of the desired outcomes of experiential environmental education (EE) and service learning, which itself is a form of TL (Knollenberg et al., 2014). Research on meaningfully designed environmental service learning programs has shown they have the capacity to be supportive of TL outcomes as they provide opportunities to incorporate transformative components, including experiential environmental education, engagement with social and environmental justice discourses, group discussions, individual critical reflection (journaling and debriefing), group problem solving and collaboration, social action and advocacy, and intercultural experiences (Mezirow, 1997;Schneller & Coburn, 2018;Taylor, 2008). ...
This case study investigated the outcomes of an environmental service learning program that incorporated pedagogical components taught within the transformative learning (TL) and environmental justice (EJ) frameworks at the Radix Ecological Sustainability Center - an urban ecoliteracy and environmental justice center - in Albany, New York. Authors conducted participant observation and gathered data from surveys, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and journaling with high school, college student, and community stakeholders in an Ecojustice Summer Youth Employment Program. In the short-term, service learners adopted enhanced pro-environmental behaviors, an heightened awareness of community environmental issues, and an increased interest in civic engagement, with multiple participants returning for consecutive service periods. Transformative learning outcomes were documented in relation to affirming/changes in longer-term academic, life, and career paths. This research contributes to the field of experiential environmental education that advocates for a better understanding of the outcomes of pedagogies that emphasize social justice youth development, issues of power and justice, and the enhancement of social action and critical consciousness.
... Although recent research has focused on understanding aspects of volunteering among individuals who seek to combine both travel and their service under the form of what has been called 'voluntourism' (Abreu & Ferreira, 2021;Campbell & Smith, 2006;Ellis, 2003;Lyons & Wearing, 2008;Schneller & Coburn, 2018;Tukamushaba et al., 2017;Wearing, 2001), there has been comparatively little research combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to understand the underlying knowledge, motivations, and values of environmental volunteers more broadly, including those who regularly volunteer within their own communities. An improved understanding of the motivational links between the environmental program and volunteers may help to facilitate a strong sense of stewardship to successfully achieve conservation goals (Ryan et al., 2001). ...
Volunteers play a key role in the conservation of many threatened species, yet volunteer motivations for participating in conservation and strategies used for attracting and retaining volunteers remain little studied. Iconic and charismatic megafauna species, such as marine turtles, attract the attention of conservation volunteers worldwide, making this species an ideal case study to explore volunteer motivations. We developed a novel values-based framework that examines the motivations and values of people volunteering with turtles in Queensland, Australia by harmonizing insights from Values Belief Norm (VBN) theory and intrinsic, instrumental, and relational values. We found that although motivations for these volunteers are multi-faceted, common factors underpinning volunteering decisions included values alignment with the organization, social influence, the ability to learn, and optimism. Awareness of these characteristics can assist organizations with designing more effective voluntary programs and further scholarly understanding of drivers of pro-environmental behaviors among a key group of environmental stakeholders.
... Moreover, very little empirical work has been conducted in the Southeast Asian region . Most of the studies which have been conducted focused on education (Jakubiak, 2012(Jakubiak, , 2020, were medical-based (McCall & Iltis, 2014;McLennan, 2014), and researched sustainability (Brondo, 2015;Schneller & Coburn, 2018). Previous studies discussed widely aspects of motivation and experience in relation to voluntourist behavior (Wearing & McGehee, 2013), but very few studies have related the behavior of voluntourists to the theoretical framework and design with volunteer intention (Francis & Yasue, 2019) particularly in the island tourism context. ...
In this study, the authors aim to unearth the factors influencing voluntourists’ behaviors. A quantitative approach along with a field survey at three Malaysian east coast island destinations is used. The findings reveal that environmental concern and intrinsic motivation significantly trigger attitude and satisfaction, and that affective image and satisfaction are important contributors to building voluntourists’ intention to sustain their motivation for volunteer activities. Satisfaction is demonstrated as a mediator within the proposed framework. Enriching the existing knowledge, this research helps the local government and voluntourism organizations to craft a better approach and policy to promote voluntourism across the globe.
... Other motivations include: conceiving of the trip as a social opportunity (i.e., as a way of knowing other people or making new contacts) (Schneller & Coburn, 2018), or as an opportunity for leisure (Coghlan, 2008); or seeking to engage in tourism in an alternative way, in a group or a style of traveling endowed with a particular social prestige (Sin, 2009). This prestige derives from visiting an unknown destination that is not available to everyone, with a touch of exoticism and the guarantee of direct contact with local people and the local way of life-a new trend in tourism. ...
This article aims to use the applied ethics perspective to reflect on the ethical complexities that may appear in the context of volunteer tourism. In this tourist typology, volunteers come into contact with the local culture by establishing a dialogue between their motivations (diverse and not always markedly altruistic) and the morals and needs of the host community. In this dialogue, difficulties arise that may put these volunteer projects at risk since interactions between people with different values and morals can generate distrust, frustration, and even open conflicts between the host community and visitors. In this context, this article exposes and applies ethics concepts to specific cases and reaffirms the need to train volunteers before their trips to encourage critical self-reflection on their behaviour when they are in societies with a different system of morality.
... It is not all good news for the voluntourists either. Although many will enjoy their time abroad, and some studies report longer-term positive outcomes and spill-over effects into other pro-environmental behaviours (Schneller and Coburn 2018), systematic documentation of the full range of volunteer outcomes is lacking. Our own survey data suggests that volunteers come away with mixed feelings. ...
With increasing demand for large-scale data and effective, wide-spread action, conservation volunteers can play an important role in tackling the global biodiversity crisis. Cost-cutting pragmatism aside, the recruitment of volunteers into diverse roles within conservation organisations also responds to growing public concern for the environment and demand for 'meaningful' engagement in people's pastime. Here we argue that this auspicious premise of a win-win transaction fails to acknowledge a range of emerging ethical issues regarding the management of unpaid workers. This lack of critical examination frustrates the development of solutions that are effective for conservation and fair to volunteers. We focus our attention on three archetypal cases—citizen science, voluntourism and unpaid internships—to highlight the complex and value-laden trade-offs that need to be negotiated to ethically manage unpaid work in conservation. We identify opportunities to redress the balance between volunteer needs and conservation goals. Ultimately, we hope to stimulate further, more open debate on the effective and fair use of the available labour force in conservation.
This study explored wildlife rehabilitation centers (WRCs) in Costa Rica as a potential posthumanist model for wildlife ecotourism. Posthumanism attends to the rights, welfare, and agency of nonhumans to depart from a conservation biology ethos that focuses on the species-level, to consider all particular individual animals in wildlife tourist attractions (WTAs). A team of 16 US-based researchers composed of faculty, a wildlife rehabilitation professional, and 12 university students conducted a 16-day pilot study to understand the context of wildlife rehabilitation, veterinarian practices, and ecotourism operations at three WRCs and a veterinary teaching hospital. Three rehabilitation centers are rated using a posthuman multispecies livelihoods framework. Ethnographic insights highlight practical challenges in operating rehabilitation centers and also the ethical challenges in promoting individual rights, welfare, and agency. Findings suggest that the level of treatment toward each individual animal in WRCs and ecotourism sites differs, based on the actions and beliefs of human actors who hold power over nonhumans. A major unforeseen ethical dilemma arose during the study concerning the treatment of prey species, which foregrounds the need for future research on this topic. By attending to ethical beliefs in WTAs, WRCs show their potential as a pathway for posthumanist ecotourism.
Transformative tourism experiences (TE) have powerful personal and societal implications due to life-changing capacities when consumers subsume their experiences. Past reviews and conceptualisations of TE have been limited in scope, often emphasising a particular theory or context, and prioritising the consumer perspective. Given an increasing need to understand TE due to its implications concerning tourism sustainability, this study systematically reviews TE in travel and tourism. The study adopts a hybrid systematic narrative approach to build a holistic conceptual framework of TE from a co-created perspective, offering insights for future research. From the 125 studies, the review's findings revealed a massive dominance on qualitative approaches across seven broad experience categories concerning TE. These broad categories are general travel and tourism, educational, voluntourism, cultural, nature-based, wellness, and niche tourism experiences. From these seven broad categories of studies, three identified dimensions of TE were: experience, experience-facilitator, and experience-consumer. The inter-relations between these three dimensions produces four different outcomes to both the experience-consumer and experience-facilitator. While the findings indicate several areas for future research, three areas require greater attention: potential barriers, the role of culture in TE, and the potential for negative transformations.
The main cognitive objectives of this paper are the following: to present previous results and achievements in the field of research on pro-environmental behaviours in the hotel industry, to identify major barriers to the shaping of such behaviours, and to specify directions of further research on this topic in the context of sustainable tourism development. The dominant research method used in this paper is a systematic analysis of the available literature on the subject, but the authors also use their own knowledge and experience resulting from conducted quality audits. An analysis of the previous publications in this topic allows the authors to identify the major barriers to the shaping of pro-environmental behaviours in hotels in both the objective dimension (concrete actions and problems) and the subjective dimension (all people who should manifest pro-environmental behaviours). The paper discusses various theories and models explaining the process of the occurrence and development of pro-environmental behaviours in hotels. They can constitute a basis for hotel managers to create their own training programmes aimed at the shaping of pro-environmental behaviours.
In an effort to combine tourism with pro-social giving and personal development, more and more people choose to go abroad on volunteer tourism trips. We explore the potential transformational influence such trips have on travelers, aiming to map the transformation process stages and examine their boundary conditions. In doing so, we follow a mixed methods approach using a qualitative study comprising ethnographically informed in-depth interviews and a quantitative one, by means of a structured questionnaire. Findings indicate that the transformation process volunteer tourists undergo involves three stages related to liminality. We conceptualize the degree of liminality as immersiveness and show how the transformation process is significantly influenced by the degree of authenticity and the immersiveness of volunteer tourists’ experiences, as well as their own perceptions on how societally meaningful their actions were during their trips. Based on our conclusions, we present important implications for academics, managers, and tour operators.
The article explores the natural context and the geographical conditions for developing the tourism and for designing sectorial plans. The objective is to offer basic visual rendering as a resource for appreciating the natural environs in which the tourist activity evolves and use such resource as useful input during the planning and designing exercises. The methodology relies on the application of cartographic and spatial tools as instruments for recognising the territory and the natural landscape. The results render the current condition of natural resources and the territorial reality, as a general frame for proposing sustainable strategies of tourism planning. The contribution of the analysis can be appreciated amid the scarcity of local and specific cartographic analysis, and the precarious stock of inputs that could guide the tourism and the territorial planning in lagged territories. An overwhelming conclusion of our exercise is that the entire awareness and valuation of natural endowments is a key element for preserving the environment and for applying an adequate planning strategy in order to reconcile the economic necessities and the preservation of natural environment.
Although nature-based tourism is often promoted as benefiting local destinations through income generation, employment, and direct conservation support, it is also believed to influence tourists' environmentally friendly attitudes, knowledge, and ultimately their behavior. Yet, few studies have empirically documented these outcomes, and those that do are inconsistent in the variables measured and the time frame analyzed. This paper examines the empirical research on nature-based tourism's ability to foster long-term stewardship behavior among travelers by conducting a systematic review of peer-reviewed tourism research published between 1995 and 2013. This search, focused on literature addressing changes in tourists' environmentally related knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and actual behaviors, yielded just 30 empirical studies. Outcomes related to new environmental knowledge were commonly reported in these studies, but findings related to environmental attitudes and behaviors were inconsistent. Few studies measured environmental behavior directly, and fewer still include longitudinal assessments of persistent changes in attitudes or behaviors. We suggest potential future areas for research as well as programmatic strategies that may facilitate favorable outcomes from nature-based tourism, particularly those related to tourists' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Key areas include understanding visitors' prior experiences and background, designing and delivering more effective interpretive messages, and using social media.
This article provides a conceptual discussion regarding the phenomenon in which volunteer activity and tourism are intertwined. First, it is suggested that the phenomenon of volunteering in tourism could be grasped as an expression of the so called “other” postmodern tourism. Second, it is argued that the notion of volunteering in tourism needs to be expanded beyond volunteering guests and include hosts who volunteer in the local tourism industry. Third, it is proposed that in addition to the notion of volunteer tourism as leverage for self-development, volunteers in tourism may also enhance their self-image and utilize their volunteer activity for self-presentation purposes. Fourth, it is argued that nature and results of the host-guest encounter may vary according to the different settings in which the phenomenon of volunteering in tourism occurs.
In many countries volunteers are playing an increasing role in nature conservation. Many factors have lead to this trend including reduced government budgets assigned for conservation and an increased awareness and interest expressed by each country's general population to contribute to environmental health and nature conservation. This paper utilizes descriptions of volunteers' experiences participating in Volunteer for Nature, a volunteer programme operated by Canadian conservation NGOs, which facilitates the participation of Ontario-Residents' in 3 to 17-day working vacations involving habitat restoration and recreation infrastructure projects located in natural environments. This paper describes volunteer attitudes and values regarding nature, as highlighted through the description of their volunteering experiences and their characterization and perceptions of nature. Using a constructivist approach to data collection and analysis, the researchers found that volunteers conceptualized nature in four different ways: ‘nature in crisis,’ ‘nature as it should be,’ ‘nature as outside or something different,’ and ‘nature as nurturing.’ Volunteers' egoistic concerns centred on the self (e.g., my health, my favourite activity, my grandchildren), altruistic concerns centred on other people (society in general, people in my community) and biocentric or ecocentric concerns, centred on living things (e.g., plants, ecosystems, birds, the environment in general). While biocentric concerns were cited as important, they were not ascribed greater value than the egoistic or altruists concerns. The volunteer tourism experience generally failed to change the volunteers' perceptions of nature from an ‘external’ phenomenon to an ‘internal’ one, (i.e., changing treatment of nature as ‘other’ to a more ecocentric approach, which incorporates nature into ‘self’). Implications for generating a pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours amongst citizens are discussed.
Medical voluntourism, where health professionals travel to another country to provide medical services is a growing, but under-researched phenomenon. This paper, based on qualitative research with medical voluntourists in Honduras, uses Scheyven’s (2001) continuum of voluntourism to explore the complexities of medical voluntourism. The research found that while ostensibly ‘helpful’, volunteer tourism in Honduras is often harmful, entrenching paternalism and inequitable relationships; and that many voluntourists are ignorant of the underlying power and privilege issues inherent in voluntourism. While there are examples of volunteer tourism as both educational and as a form of social action, the paper argues that these are not natural consequences of voluntourism but must be nurtured. As such this paper highlights some implications for practice, noting that addressing the paternalism inherent in much medical voluntourism requires an honest appraisal of the benefits and harm of voluntourism by sending and host organisations, education and consciousness-raising amongst volunteers, and long-term relationship building.
There has been a considerable growth in the volunteer vacation concept in the U.S. since around the mid—1980s. The increased demand has been attributed to an increased sense of global awareness among the Baby Boom generation, along with a growing willingness to make a contribution to other societies while on vacation. This study consisted of two parts, the first of which was an identification and description of some of the major organizations in the U.S. providing volunteer vacation opportunities. Next the concept of the mini-mission or ‘mission lite’ was described as a potential means for tour operators to build volunteering into itineraries. An exploratory study was conducted to determine the potential demand for the mission lite concept, which could be instrumental in significantly expanding participation in volunteer vacations in the future. A survey was conducted among a sample of members of the Ambassadair Travel Club, the largest organization of its type in the U.S. The study's results indicated considerable potential demand for adding a volunteer component as part of tire overall vacation experience. Tire activities in which the respondents had the greatest interest in participating on volunteer vacations were arts and crafts, chaperoning orphans, educational activities, building projects, physical fitness activities, and medical assistance. There appeared to be certain characteristics of those who are likely to be more interested in volunteer vacation participation. These included people who volunteer in their home communities, and those with higher levels of education, especially postgraduate degrees. Additionally, those who vacation more frequently and with higher household incomes may be more likely to participate.
This paper applies the educational theory of transformative learning to reconceptualising the practices of volunteer tourism. The theory of transformative learning posits a 10-step process to experience a radical shift in consciousness that dramatically and irreversibly alters how participants see their place in the world. Volunteer tourism has commonly been seen as a form of alternative tourism that provides a cathartic experience for the volunteer tourists and benefits to the hosting organisation and the natural and/or social environment of the project. Existing research suggests that these outcomes have not, as yet, been achieved by current practices in this sector. In referring to the theory of transformative learning we note that some, but not all, of the 10 steps have been applied and that we might therefore expect volunteer tourism to fall short of its promises. We conclude that the theory of transformative learning offers a useful framework for volunteer tourism, providing insights into the need to create opportunities for participants to complete the transformative process. We suggest that volunteer tourism organisations redesign their activities to include the remaining steps of transformative learning to improve their product for both the tourists and the sustainability outcomes of the projects.
Volunteer travel has become a substantial market segment in the tourism industry. Case studies have documented the effects of volunteer travel on participants and host communities. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the impact of volunteer travel experiences on the openness, civic attitudes, and wisdom of college participants and to elucidate predictors of positive growth in these intended outcomes. A multivariate latent growth model was tested to determine the nature of growth trajectories. Results indicate that the program had positive immediate impacts on all dependent variables. Evidence of continued growth was found one month after the experience in a follow-up assessment. Participants involved in leadership roles and those who engaged in regular personal reflection demonstrated stronger long-term growth.
Voluntourism or volunteer tourism is increasingly available and popular amongst everyday tourists in different parts of the world. Despite its seeming virtue and it often being positioned as a form of “justice” or “goodwill” tourism, critics in the public media have begun to question and criticize the effectiveness or “real” value of volunteer tourism. However, academic work has not yet critiqued volunteer tourism in the same manner. This paper thus provides a critical and timely review of volunteer tourism, using interviews and participant observation with 11 respondents on a volunteer tourism trip to South Africa. This paper reviews volunteer tourists’ motivations (what prompted their participation); performances of the “self” in volunteer tourism; and the tensions and paradoxes surrounding volunteer tourism.
This is the perfect book for any student new to qualitative research. In this exciting and major updating of his bestselling, benchmark text, David Silverman walks the reader through the basics of gathering and analysing qualitative data. David Silverman offers beginners unrivalled hands-on guidance necessary to get the best out of a research methods course or an undergraduate research project. New to the fourth edition: - A new chapter on data analysis dealing with grounded theory, discourse analysis and narrative analysis - Further worked-through examples of different kinds of data and how to interpret them - A separate section on focus groups and interpreting focus group data - An expanded ethics chapter - More coverage of digital media and photographs as data - A companion website with additional case studies and examples, links to SAGE journals online, and links to useful websites, podcasts and Youtube videos. This fourth edition is also accompanied with its own group page on www.methodspace.com where users can give feedback and discuss research issues.Visit www.methodspace.com/group/silverman
Volunteer ecotourism has been described as an ‘ideal’ form of decommodified ecotourism that overcomes problems associated with tourism in general, and ecotourism specifically. Using a case study of volunteer ecotourism and sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica, this paper interrogates this ideal. Perceptions of volunteer ecotourism were explored through in-depth interviews with 36 stakeholders, including hosts, NGO staff, government employees, local ‘cabineros’ (families who provide accommodation) and guests (volunteers). Results show that while all stakeholder groups share similarly positive views of volunteer ecotourism, subtle but important differences exist. We analyse these differences in terms of aesthetic, economic, and ethical values, and situate the results in existing theories about the moralisation and decommodification of ecotourism.
Research ecotourism is a relatively new component of activities within the ecotourism industry, providing research opportunities for visitors focusing on aspects of the natural environment which are principally located in developing countries. This paper is directed towards identifying the nature and causes of socio-cultural impacts of this strand of ecotourism using a case study from Indonesia. The positive nature of socio-cultural impacts perceived by host communities alongside the irregular nature of economic benefits to host communities is analogous with the altruistic surplus theory of individual recognition of communal benefits. Certain characteristics of research ecotourists are identified as contributing towards host reactions towards visitors which reinforce the contention that this is a desirable form of ecotourism in similar locations.
Volunteer tourism is an increasingly popular form of travel that is attracting growing research attention. Nevertheless, existing research has focused primarily on the benefits of volunteer tourism, and many studies have simply involved profiling volunteers or investigating their motivations. However, there are numerous possible negative impacts of volunteer tourism that deserve increased attention from both researchers and project managers: a neglect of locals' desires, a hindering of work progress and completion of unsatisfactory work, a disruption of local economies, a reinforcement of conceptualisations of the ‘other’ and rationalisations of poverty, and an instigation of cultural changes. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Volunteer tourism as a subset of alternative tourism is the focus of analysis. This paper contributes to the limited writings
on volunteer tourism by investigating the activities in South Africa of Habitat for Humanity, a grassroots ecumenical Christian
organization that works in partnership with communities to eliminate poverty through the provision of shelter. A profile of
the volunteer tourist and of their tourism experience in South Africa is presented which is based largely upon the return
of 123 questionnaires from volunteer tourists in South Africa working with the local branch of Habitat for Humanity.
The study involved in-depth interviews with participants of an Australian non-government organization (NGO) that organizes projects in which young volunteers aged between 17 and 26 years from Australia and New Zealand participate in welfare projects with partner NGOs in developing countries. The welfare projects provide on the ground assistance to communities; these may not lead to longer-term sustainable development through longer-term skills training but engage the volunteers and community in a mutual exchange. Typically, participants will be engaged in short term courses in health and hygiene, micro-enterprise management skills, assisting in community health projects, community service with children with disabilities or orphans, painting, construction of school playgrounds and classrooms, guest teaching in schools, cultural exchange and disaster relief. The Australian NGO provides no financial assistance for participants; it primarily organizes and facilitates the travel, project and community work. Each project lasts between two and four weeks and are thus typically short-term in duration. As such, participants can be considered 'shallow volunteer tourists' (Callanan and Thomas 2005). This article has been published in the journal: Tourism Recreation Research. © 2007 Tourism Recreation Research. Used with Permission.
This book provides an overview of the phenomenon of volunteer tourism, its sources and its development as a concept; and focuses on the potential positive social and environmental benefits of volunteer tourism, and the prerequisites for a successful experience. Chapter 2 examines alternative tourism experiences and how tourists themselves construct them, then conceptualizes the concept of volunteer tourism within those boundaries of alternative tourism and, subsequently, mass tourism. Chapter 3 examines one of the 60 environmental projects undertaken by Youth Challenge International (YCI) between 1991 and 1995, which provides a microsocial context for the examination of the Santa Elena Rainforest Reserve experience of YCI participants. Chapter 4 presents the data obtained from the in-depth interviews with participants from Australia, over the 3 years of the Costa Rica project. Chapter 5 examines the elements of ecotourism, volunteerism and serious leisure in conjunction with the themes that emerged from the participant's definitions of the experience and links them to related information in the interviews and the literature. Chapter 6 focuses on the centrality of the natural environment. Chapter 7 explores how volunteer tourism experiences actually contribute to the development of self, framing the experience in the very words of the participants. Chapter 8 examines the growing convergence of aims between local communities and the tourism sector. Chapter 9 argues that the alternative tourism experiences should not be reduced to a dialogic model of impossible realities related to dialectal materialism. Instead, its understanding should be grounded in human interactions and the concrete social reality in which it takes place.
This chapter explores the nature of volunteer tourism and travel volunteering as part of the larger section of this book on the purposive types of volunteers and volunteering. This new type of volunteering now constitutes a burgeoning segment of the alternative tourism industry that goes far beyond both the traditional notion of volunteering and traditional mass tourism. This chapter explores many key debates that underpin volunteer tourism, in particular the various issues and dimensions evident in various cultural contexts. We also provide an understanding of the reasons why some consumers use their tourism leisure time to volunteer. Our focus will be on international volunteer tourism, excluding domestic tourism volunteering.
This book includes 15 papers selected from the presentations that were delivered at the 15th World Congress of the International Sociological Association. These papers were prepared for that organization's research committee on international tourism, which took as its overall theme 'the tourist as a metaphor of the social world'. Following the introductory chapter, two contributions (chapters 2 and 3) raise serious fundamental questions about how academics should research (and hence theorize) about tourists. The next two contributions (chapters 4 and 5) provide a critique of conventional tourism wisdom. Chapter 6 suggests that tourism is an intricate and evolving social network with varying degrees of trust that are based on the correlative processes of self-presentation and interpretation. Chapter 7 conceptualizes the tourist and the social world within a paradigm of social facts so that the former becomes a sign of the latter. Chapter 8 sees the tourist as never entirely alone on an uncharted journey, because there are always those who have undertaken it before. Chapter 9 asks the question as to whether or not tourists experience reality. Chapter 10 provides an analogy between tourism and love in all its many phases. Chapter 11 emphasizes that it is necessary to go beyond traditional analyses that focus solely on the 'tourist gaze'. The next two essays (chapters 12 and 13) highlight the fact that not all tourists are identical and hence, by implication, that the tourist as a metaphor of the social world must be understood as a multiple persona figurative of complex reality. The final three contributions (chapters 14-16) present postmodern and futuristic perspectives on tourists. The book has a subject index.
This study reports the instructional effects of a formal environmental education methodology, issue investigation and action training (IIAT) on middle school students. Can issue investigation and action training improve responsible environmental behavior of middle school students? Can variables identified as critical contributors to responsible adult environmental behavior be enhanced in middle school students as a function of issue investigation and action training? If middle school students demonstrate increased environmental behavior as a result of issue investigation and action training, will there be a parallel increase in those variables contributing to responsible environmental behavior? These questions are the focus of the discussion that follows.
Despite the growth of the volunteer tourism market, and the coverage afforded by the popular press, volunteer tourism has received little academic attention. This paper is based on an ethnographic case study of volunteering at the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (GRP) in Thailand. The study explored the relationship between volunteers, their volunteering experiences and the outcomes that eventuated. The study findings revealed that volunteers were provided with substantial opportunities to make positive contributions to wildlife conservation. However, the findings also demonstrated that the volunteering experience was much more than just the work duties carried out at the project. Volunteers also engaged in local village life and undertook tourist activities, and the current paper focuses on these aspects of the volunteering experience. Living in shared accommodation at the project headquarters, in a small village on the island of Phuket, volunteers' free time was spent socialising and sightseeing with other volunteers and local Thais. Thus, volunteers were able to go beyond the superficial interactions that travel is often restricted to. Indeed, many volunteers discussed how living in this way enabled them to become immersed in the Thai culture and the way of life. These experiences contributed to ‘personal growth’ and a ‘changed view of the world’ being frequently identified benefits of volunteering.
Transformative learning (TL) is an important component of sustainable volunteer tourism experiences, potentially reducing unsustainable outcomes, and educating and enlightening volunteers. This paper reviews theories and issues about TL in volunteer tourism, and analyzes data from 1008 useable responses to an online survey of potential volunteer tourists. A factor–cluster analysis of potential volunteer tourists’ motivations identified key volunteer tourist segments and assessed differences in expectations of TL across each segment. Altruism remains the primary motivation, with personal development an expectation, but the study also found desires to experience different cultures, build relationships with family, and to escape one's daily life. Three motivation segments emerged: Volunteers, Voluntourists, and Tourists. Differences in the three clusters’ expectations for TL were assessed through multiple analysis of variance using items representing Taylor's three elements of TL: self-reflection, engaging in dialogue, and intercultural experience
This paper examines the current state of ‘volunteer tourism,’ both as a field of study and modern phenomenon. The foundation of the review rests upon themes initiated over 10 years ago in Volunteer Tourism: Experiences That Make a Difference (Wearing, 2001). The review begins with a discussion of the explosive growth of volunteer tourism (research and practice) and continues with an analysis of the literature utilizing a multiphasic format that reflects the volunteer tourism process. Specifically, the paper includes a review of research in the area of pre-trip motivations, continues through work focussing on the volunteer tourism experience itself with emphasis on the role of the volunteer tourism organization and the community, and ends with discussion of the literature in the areas of post-trip reflections and transformations. Conclusions include recommendations for future research.
This paper develops research propositions for volunteer tourism using a combination of critical theory and social movement theory as a foundation. As is often the case with emerging areas of research, a theoretical foundation has been difficult to establish in volunteer tourism. The inherent contradictions of volunteer tourism, particularly concerning the interplay of oppression/emancipation, dependency/resistance and dominant hegemony/agency beg to be deconstructed with a critical theory lens. Social movement theory then in turn offers a tool through which researchers can look to break the hermeneutic circle by examining good practices in volunteer tourism, particularly concerning potential improvements for all stakeholders in self-efficacy, resource networks, and consciousness-raising experiences. The paper culminates with a proposition model based on these theoretical perspectives.
This mixed methods case study describes an innovative two-semester middle school environmental learning course that departs from traditional Mexican expository pedagogy through the incorporation of experiential and service learning. This research takes place in a small middle school in Pescadero, Baja California Sur, Mexico. The research approach utilized in the study adds to the handful of studies in this cross-disciplinary field by employing quantitative methodologies to measure course outcomes on student environmental knowledge, perceptions, and actions, while simultaneously qualitatively describing the behavioral, educational, environmental, and social experiences of students. This research employs Dewey's theories of experience---as well as those of more contemporary authenticity theorists---in order to identify the philosophies that advocate incorporating experiential pedagogy within the curriculum. Implications for Mexican educational policy, practical pedagogical applications, and theory are discussed.
With the growing trend of volunteer vacations, research has been warranted in regard to understanding the motivational factors of individuals who participate in such endeavors. With this understanding, the goal is to increase these travel offerings in the industry, which will bring better understanding between cultures. This study examines different travel motivation factors for someone who chooses to use part of their vacation participating in volunteer or humanitarian activities. Considering that ‘mission’ often has connotations of a religious purpose, the phrase ‘travelling with a purpose’ brings on even more significance as this concept expands. To understand travel motivation in general, a variety of scales and theories have been researched. Maslow, Dann, Iso-Ahola, Plog and Pearce are some included in the Literature Review. A qualitative focus group and semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted. The analysis of the data revealed that four main themes for why people traveled with a purpose emerged. Cultural immersion was a strong objective; the desire to give back; the camaraderie that occurs on volunteer vacations; and the fourth theme focused on family. Non-verbal communication and bonding occurs at several levels with the local people and family members. This is a good example of cultivating peace through tourism.
This article reports on a longitudinal study of a two‐semester middle school environmental learning course that departs from traditional Mexican expository pedagogies through the incorporation of experiential and service learning approaches. In the short term, course participants acquired a heightened awareness of environmental issues, augmented their environmental perceptions and consciousness, and complemented all this with environmentally responsible behaviours. Two years after completing the experiential course, students retained pro‐environmental attitudes and behaviours and unexpectedly exhibited an expanded role in intergenerational learning. The research adds to the handful of studies in this cross‐disciplinary field through qualitative methodologies that refine our understanding of the outcomes of experiential environmental learning.
This chapter updates transformative learning theory through discussing emerging alternative theoretical conceptions, current research findings, and implications for practice.
Critical and autonomous thinking must take precedence over the uncritical assimilation of knowledge. Transformative learning is a route to the development of critical thinking.
Many conservation organisations rely heavily on volunteers, and the government often relies on them to achieve tasks for which funding is insufficient—for example, the monitoring of trends in biodiversity on a national scale. Thus, it is critical to deploy non-professionals effectively. In this study we validated and calibrated the data collected by 155 volunteers, assisting with mammal monitoring at Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire, between April 2000 and December 2001. Tasks included small mammal trapping and handling, surveying and censusing for badgers, estimating deer population sizes from dropping counts, and transect surveys for mammal field signs. We analysed the effects of age, gender, previous experience, physical fitness and aptitude on volunteer performance using quantitative measures and qualitative scores. We found that (1) techniques that could be taught to volunteers without lengthy or specialist training were sufficiently accurate to yield reliable data, (2) with approximately half a day of training in each task, volunteers could produce reliable data, verified by professionals, and (3) volunteer teams brought considerable time savings to many tasks, compared with a single professional researcher. Our analyses show that physical fitness was a significant predictor of a volunteer's ability to perform tasks well and, in our particular sample, a male-bias in volunteer aptitude was apparent in some tasks. Previous experience as a conservation volunteer did not enhance performance over that of novices nor did age have any effect on volunteers’ ability. The overall veracity of volunteer data compared well with data collected using more specialist methods or collected by professional researchers using the same method. Volunteers required more time per task and, while they showed a tendency to underestimate population sizes, their results were consistent. Additionally, the programme helped to raise the environmental awareness of volunteers and their understanding of woodland ecology.
This research tested a theoretical model drawing on components of social psychological (self-efficacy) and resource-mobilization (networks) theories to explain changes in social movement participation among Earthwatch expedition volunteers. It was hypothesized that involvement in an Earthwatch trip increases self-efficacy and facilitates the development of new networks, influencing volunteers' participation in social movement organizations. Results from pre- and post-trip survey suggest that as a consequence of the networks established during an expedition, participation in an expedition had a significantly positive effect on social movement activities. Changes in self-efficacy were not found to have any significant effect.RésuméLe tourisme alternatif et les mouvements sociaux. La présente recherche a testé un modèle théorique qui utilise des éléments des théories de la psychologie sociale (autoefficacité) et la mobilisation des ressources (réseaux) afin d'expliquer des changements dans la participation aux mouvements sociaux de la part des bénévoles de l'organisation écologique Earthwatch Expeditions. On est parti de l'hypothèse que la participation à un voyage Earthwatch augmenterait l'autoefficacité et faciliterait le développement de nouveaux réseaux, ce qui aurait un effet sur la participation de ces bénévoles aux organisations du genre mouvement social. Les résultats d'une enquête menée avant et après un voyage suggèrent que, comme résultat des réseaux qu'on avait établis pendant l'expédition, la participation à une expédition avait un effet positif considérable sur les activités de mouvement social. On a trouvé que les changements dans l'autoefficacité n'avaient pas d'effet significatif.
Theories of social movements were used to explore possible changes in networks and consciousness-raising among participants in volunteer tourism. Focus group research targeted three US based organizations: Mobility International, WorldPULSE, and The American Jewish World Service. Findings indicate that participation in volunteer tourism had a positive effect on both intended post-trip social movement activities and support for activism. Implications are discussed in the context of the need for coordinating organizations to provide opportunities for the establishment of network ties and/or consciousness-raising experiences both during and after the volunteer tourism experience.RésuméChangement social, discours et tourisme de bénévolat. Des théories des mouvements sociaux ont été utilisées pour explorer des changements éventuels dans les réseaux et la sensibilisation parmi des participants au tourisme de bénévolat. La recherche de groupes de discussion a ciblé trois organisations basées aux Etats-Unis: Mobility International, WorldPULSE et l’American Jewish World Service. Les résultats indiquent que la participation au tourisme de bénévolat avait un effet un effet positif sur les activités prévues pour après le voyage avec le mouvement social en question et sur le soutien pour l’activisme. On discute des implications dans le contexte du besoin de coordonner les organisations afin de fournir des occasions pour l’établissement de liens de réseau et/ou des expériences de sensibilisation pendant et après l’expérience de tourisme de bénévolat.
Volunteers are potentially a huge scientific resource but there is scepticism among some scientists about the reliability of data collected by inexperienced people. An assessment was therefore made of the ability of a group of 13 volunteers, recruited by the Earthwatch Institute, to collect valid data in a project that aimed to map the distribution and abundance of common littoral organisms on shores of the Isle of Cumbrae, Scotland. The volunteers ranged considerably in age, educational background, knowledge and experience. They were capable of performing straight-forward tasks, such as learning to identify species, recording their occurrence on specific parts of the shore and making length measurements of samples of some gastropods. They made some recording errors during the fieldwork but similar errors were also made by experienced scientists and it is recommended therefore that all ecological studies should include quality control of data whether or not they involve volunteers. The assessment of abundance was problematic. Volunteers’ assessments for some species were inconsistent and there is evidence that individuals interpreted the scale in different ways. It is suggested that these problems stemmed from: (1) a lack of field experience in the volunteers; (2) inadequate guidelines on the use of the abundance scale; and (3) insufficient training before field surveys commenced. However, projects themselves may benefit in unexpected ways from the input of volunteers. They contributed taxonomic and computing skills to the current project. Members of the group also offered new insights by developing hypotheses relating to populations of gastropods during their fieldwork. These were tested and could have formed the basis of longer-term research programmes. There were also educational benefits for the volunteers who were involved in the project. These included increased knowledge of marine issues and clearer understanding of the ways in which scientific studies are undertaken.
Experience and Educationis the best concise statement on education ever published by John Dewey, the man acknowledged to be the pre-eminent educational theorist of the twentieth century. Written more than two decades after Democracy and Education(Dewey's most comprehensive statement of his position in educational philosophy), this book demonstrates how Dewey reformulated his ideas as a result of his intervening experience with the progressive schools and in the light of the criticisms his theories had received. Analysing both "traditional" and "progressive" education, Dr. Dewey here insists that neither the old nor the new education is adequate and that each is miseducative because neither of them applies the principles of a carefully developed philosophy of experience. Many pages of this volume illustrate Dr. Dewey's ideas for a philosophy of experience and its relation to education. He particularly urges that all teachers and educators looking for a new movement in education should think in terms of the deeped and larger issues of education rather than in terms of some divisive "ism" about education, even such an "ism" as "progressivism." His philosophy, here expressed in its most essential, most readable form, predicates an American educational system that respects all sources of experience, on that offers a true learning situation that is both historical and social, both orderly and dynamic.
This is a longitudinal study of twenty-one U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers, first interviewed in the mid-1960s during their tour of service in the Republic of the Philippines and then twenty years later as middle-aged adults. Life events reported after their service and the high degree of response agreement in the two interviews confirm that their Peace Corps experience constituted a turning point in their life courses. The study reviews the literature on turning points, proposes an appropriate definition for the concept, identifies conditions that promote turning points, especially for youth, and indicates directions for future research.
Promotion of adolescent health requires well-designed scientific studies that determine the prevalence of the problem of interest, identify risk and resilience factors, and evaluate methods for prevention and intervention. Many adolescent-related health problems are typically considered sensitive by society (e.g., sexual and substance use behaviors), thus further complicating the research process. Using the principles of the Belmont Report as its framework, this paper draws on developmental theories to discuss ethical issues specific to the conduct of research with adolescents. Our ability to use developmentally sensitive research practices will be enhanced by further understanding of issues associated with risk and benefit assessment by the adolescent, their parents, and institutional review boards, and by delineating ways to ensure that adolescent participants are adequately protected and have a developmentally affirming experience.
There is a need for increased guidance for the ethical conduct of qualitative research with vulnerable populations such as homeless youths.
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the main ethical challenges of conducting qualitative research with homeless youths and to propose possible solutions to these challenges.
This paper was informed by a review of professional guidelines for the ethical conduct of adolescent health research, national (US) and international bioethics bibliographical searches, and personal experience with qualitative research with homeless youths.
The main ethical challenges of conducting qualitative research with homeless youths include establishing and maintaining healthy researcher roles and boundaries, addressing the risks of researcher burn-out and safety issues, assuring optimal confidentiality, and avoiding sensationalism and voyeurism.
It is important for qualitative researchers who work with vulnerable populations to ensure that research is conducted in the most ethical way possible.
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