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RESEARCHby educational institutions, employers, or even by thepenal code. Therefore, this research will focus on voluntaryservice, specifically the significance of civil society.Historically religious institutions have aimed to broadenthe reach of civil society, in lieu of American capitalism.Cohen and Arato help clarify the role of civil society inregards to economic society:In principle, similar consideration pertain to the relationshipbetween civil and economic society, even if historically,under capitalism, economic society has been moresuccessfully insulated from the influence of civil societythan political society has been, despite the claims of elitetheories of democracy. (Cohen and Arato, 29, 1992)The United States touts a political economy that, forthe most part, follows the equilibrium of the market.Without welfare contributions from civil society, theAmerican public at large would destabilize. However,many citizens devote large amounts of time and energyto specific causes or populations, which helps stabilizesociety. With this knowledge it should come as no surprisethat there are emerging interdisciplinary fields ofsociology, political science, and anthropology, which aretrying to discern the key factors that shape the motivesof these citizens.B. Critical PedagogyThese types of unconventional educational theories“were inspired by Paulo Freire’s community literacyprograms” (Whelan, 2, 2002), and education, coalitionbuilding, and advocacy are intimately connected in thisframework. Whelan claims popular education or servicelearning needs to be more broadly incorporated into theacademic educational process and that:This shift will involve redefining ‘education’. Educationneed not be confined to awareness raising activities, marketinggimmicks or to institutionalized programs. Populareducation implies personally and politically relevant content,alignment with the ideals of social movements and aninterest in collective action. (Whelan, 8, 2002)Paulo Freire, a critical pedagogist, is best known forhis critique of the banking concept of education. Traditionalistsview students as empty vessels to be filled bythe knowledge mediated by a teacher. Freire notes thatthis process “transforms students into receiving objects.It attempts to control thinking and action, leads menand women to adjust to the world, and inhibits theircreative power.” (Freire, 77, 1970) For Freire, this inhibitionof creative powers creates an apathetic population,which can be easily manipulated by politics.No pedagogy which is truly liberating can remain distantfrom the oppressed by treating them as unfortunates andby presenting for their emulation models from among theoppressors. The oppressed must be their own example inthe struggle for their redemption. (Freire, 54, 1970)Nowadays, scholarship concerning service aims totease out the complicated motives when dealing withvoluntary service. If we can better understand the motivatingfactors of students, institutions might be able tobypass these anarchic educational frameworks.The importance of voluntary service can clearlybe seen in its ability to educate youth in collaborationfor a public interest. Many avenues exist for voluntaryservice, whether it is health, poverty, or in this case theenvironment. Why some choose a particular type ofservice, is contingent on a host of variables and motives.However, that is not the goal of this research; insteadwe hope to explain compare the motives of our samplepopulations once they have committed to a realm ofservice. This consists of a broad range of variables thatcan be held constant across our data set, and finally helparticulate the underlying motives of voluntary environmentalservice.C. Motivating FactorsOne national survey, administered by the state governmenthealth and human service managers, exploredthe role that organizational factors play in shapingpublic service motivation (PSM). It found that PSM isstrongly and positively related to the level of educationand membership in professional organizations, additionally,sociohistorical context is a primary influence.The definition taken here of PSM is that “an individual’spredisposition to respond to motives is grounded primarilyor uniquely in public institutions and organizations.”(Perry, 471, 2000) Institutions that affect PSMare primarily parental relations, religion, observationallearning and modeling during the course of their lives,education and professional training.Due to the intimate relationship between PSM andeducation, many academic institutions have aimed toenhance greater access and resources to service learningand VES organizations in general. The Edwards andMooney study examined the apparent increase in popularityin service learning on a broad scope. They toofaced issues of accurately defining service in addition toservice learning due to the many avenues of opportunitiesto give back to various communities. The study waslocated in an academic institution, and service learningwas defined as “an evolving pedagogy that incorporatesstudent volunteering into the dynamics of experientiallearning and structure of an academic curriculum.”(Edwards and Mooney, 184, 2001) The goals for servicelearning are to critically reflect on recent service, todistill and synthesize current thinking in addition to illustratingthe educational differences between learningmethodologies and curricular benefits associated withdifferent options. Examinations were made in regards toout-of-class activities, volunteering, service add-ons, internships(or practica), service learning or service learningadvocacy. This form of critical pedagogy conductedacross student campuses is an integral component ofVES.D. Civic Participation and the EnvironmentBefore we can treat voluntary environmental service64 NORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL
RESEARCHas a holistic issue, it is important to analyze the threemain types of VES -- natural resource management,ecological restoration, and environmental stewardshipprograms. Granted these categories overlap (as evidencedby the participation pool we examined), they aredistinct enough to analyze separately.(1) Natural Resource ManagementNatural resource management relies on volunteerefforts due to the necessary and important role that theyplay as a result of much governmental and agency doingless in comparison to what is needed for proper protection.Measham and Barnett first explore environmentalvolunteering in a general sense to then further extrapolateif there is a misalignment between the expectationsof volunteers and the objectives of the environmentalprograms available. An increased presence of environmentalvolunteers has been examined in general, whichoften stems from the positive feeling that the volunteersthen feel about themselves. Further, environmentalvolunteering in particular often has found linkages betweenenhancements in social connections with fellowvolunteers, in addition to an “enhanced sense of place.”(Measham and Barnett, 2, 2007) In the environmentalcontext, Measham proposes that there exist six motivatingvolunteering factors in the environmental context:helping a cause, social interaction, improving skills,learning about the environment, general desire to carefor environment, and desire to care for a particularplace. Through “activism, education, monitoring, restorationand sustainable living,” (Measham, 7, 2007)it encompasses all aspects examined in environmentalvolunteering, with many of these activities knowinglyoverlapping. Based on interviews and qualitative findings,realizations such as “a general attachment to environmentwas by far the most powerful motivator forenvironmental volunteering” were found. (Measham,18, 2007) Attachment was not examined depending onurban compared to rural differences. Since the worldis now so heavily reliant on volunteers, the researchershere felt that for environmental volunteer programsto be successful, it is necessary for the volunteers to beable to pursue their personal particular interests in theenvironmental realm, to be able to increase the sociallevel of volunteerism, which has been evident to keepvolunteers for longer.VOLUME 7, 2011-2012(2) Ecological RestorationThe North Branch Prairie Project in Cook CountyForest Preserves in Illinois relies almost entirely on theactions and efforts put forth from the volunteers in ecologicalrestoration. Through this particular VolunteerStewardship Network (VSN) which was created in 1983,more than 5000 people take care of 40,000 acres of landin Illinois. In particular, restoration is examined, whichis defined as “a commitment to the re-creation of an entirecommunity of plants and animals modeled strictlyon one that occurs naturally.” (Miles, 28, 1998) Throughadministered surveys, findings proved that ecologicalrestoration volunteers have a sense of connection withnature, in addition to finding satisfaction in making adifference. Further, Miles concluded that people whoenjoy participating in activities that challenge themphysically and develop their physical fitness resulted ina marginal increases in their satisfaction levels as tenureincreased.(3) Environmental Stewardship ProgramsEnvironmental stewardship programs and voluntaryenvironmental service in general, have an extreme needfor the retention of volunteers. While not only providingenvironmental opportunities, those that took partin the stewardship programs gained more appreciationfor the natural areas and the environment as a wholeas their participation continued. A particular emphasiswas focused towards the understanding of motivatingfactors which could lead to the increase in strength ofthe volunteer base. Additionally, “volunteer stewardshipprogrammes, therefore, have a critical role, not merelyfor the important habitats that are restored or monitored,but also for their influence in building a potentiallypowerful constituency of knowledgeable advocatesfor the environment.” (Ryan, Kaplan, Grese, 647, 2000)When one is involved in decision-making processesinvolving the volunteer work, learn during their experience,know that they are actually helping the environment,have increased levels of social interactions, properreflection on their actions and project organization,then commitment was shown to be enhanced and maximized.E. Significant ServiceAs a general consensus, minimal research has beendone exploring environmental volunteering motivations,particularly for young adults. While much of theresearch takes on a broader scope of population analysis,similarities can be drawn towards our explorationof Northwestern University undergraduate volunteers.When looking at university aged students in their involvementwith volunteer service organizations, “altruismwas shown to be an important motivation initiallyfor volunteering. However, more self-interested motivations,such as social interactions (e.g. existing friendshipsor the desire to make new friends), became moreimportant for continued participation in these volunteerefforts.” (Ryan, Kaplan, Grese, 630, 2000) Further,those students who more frequently volunteered reportedback with higher levels of satisfaction to the benefitsthat they received from volunteering compared to thosewho spent less time. These same individuals had morefriends in the groups that they volunteered in. “At firstglance, the social benefits did not appear as importantNORTHWESTERN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL65
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe staff of the No
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