Volunteering in school science lessons: expectations and experiences of university students

This study investigates university students studying engineering, science and ICT degrees and their experiences volunteering in a school-based science/maths outreach program. The aims of the program are to increase enthusiasm in science and maths in the middle years of education and promote science as a career choice. The volunteers support these aims by providing specialist knowledge and assistance to the class teacher, interacting with the school pupils and being role models. They are placed in a class for a ten week period during which they build relationships with the pupils and are encouraged to answer questions not only on the topics being studied in class, but also on their own experiences studying and their pathways to higher education. The benefits of this program to school students have been studied but the outcomes sought and experienced by the university students are less well known. To understand why students volunteer and what benefits they experience during their school placements. Volunteers were invited to take part in focus groups before and after their school placements. During the pre-placement focus group they were prompted to discuss their reasons for volunteering. In the post-placement session they were asked about why they had participated and asked to reflect on what they had gained from their experiences. The discussion was recorded and transcribed and the transcript coded to identify key themes. Students volunteered for a variety of reasons with most students having more than one motivating factor. Reasons included altruism, enjoyment of science, a desire to develop confidence and public speaking skills, and to enhance their employability. Volunteers participated in this school-based mentoring program for the expected motivational reasons described in the literature. After placements volunteers had improved their communication skills and reinforced their subject knowledge. This paper concludes that participation in this outreach program is of value to university students in terms of knowledge, skills and confidence gained but that they are often unaware of many of the skills they have demonstrated and developed.