Student volunteering in English higher education

Abstract

Volunteering in English higher education has come under political scrutiny recently, with strong cross‐party support for schemes to promote undergraduate volunteering in particular. Recent targeted initiatives and proposals have sought to strengthen both the role of volunteering in higher education and synergies between higher education and voluntary sectors. There is, therefore, an emerging consensus among both politicians and academics that promoting student volunteering is beneficial for students, higher education institutions and the communities in which they volunteer. This article reviews the rationale of recent initiatives to promote volunteering and the empirical evidence of the impacts that volunteering has on students, higher education institutions and communities. It argues that the benefits of student volunteering are assumed rather than proven, and, in the light of current political conviction of the need to promote volunteering, it is essential that we consider, critically, the motivations behind this agenda.

Keywords:

• student volunteering
• community engagement
• third sector
• widening participation
• student identities

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank participants in the jury days for their contribution to the gap analysis and the anonymous referees for their comments and suggestions. This research was funded by ESRC grant RES‐171‐25‐0005.