Volunteer Mentors as Informal Educators in a Youth Physical Activity Program

Abstract

This discussion reports data from a 4‐year longitudinal evaluation of a project from the United Kingdom. The project focused on outdoor activities as a vehicle for enhancing the personal and social development of disaffected youth with the researchers specifically examining the role played by volunteer learning mentors. Following a summary of relevant literature and an overview of the project design and evaluation strategy, data are reported on the impact and effectiveness of these mentors. The findings suggest the potential for mentors to function as informal educators in such youth programs. However, a lack of preparation and the considerable challenges faced in establishing and maintaining mentoring relationships with young people in schools can restrict their impact. It is argued that similar future initiatives would benefit from greater pre‐planning and an improved understanding of how mentors and other youth professionals can work with each other.

Keywords:

• mentoring
• informal education
• physical activity
• youth disaffection

Notes

1. The sponsors of the HSBC/Outward Bound project are “HSBC in the Community”, a sub‐group of HSBC’s corporate social responsibility arm that has responsibility for promoting positive relationships with the local community. HSBC itself is one of the world’s biggest banks, its initials standing for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation from which it was founded.

2. The Outward Bound Trust is a global educational charity that has a long history (over 65 years) of using outdoor experiences and challenges to facilitate young people’s development.

3. An extended school is one that provides a range of activities and services often beyond the school day, to help meet the needs of its pupils, their families and the wider community.

4. The Excellence in Cities program came into place in 1999, and is designed to raise the aspirations and achievements of pupils in schools in disadvantaged areas. Part of the initiative includes employing learning mentors in selected schools and learning support units.

5. Although the project itself was 5 years in length, the evaluation of impact covered the first 4 years only. This was to ensure that detailed analysis could be undertaken on the data generated through cohorts 1 to 4, and that the progress of participating pupils could be followed for at least 12 months.