Records from The University of Nottingham Department of Education's 'Voluntary Organisations: Citizenship, Learning and Change' study, 1991-1995

The collection comprises:

• Files of case studies of adult learning in voluntary organisations containing correspondence between the Department of Adult Education and the organisations, printed matter relating to the organisations and the arrangement of interviews, and research interview minutes and notes. 1991-1993 (MS 653/1);
• Files relating to the locality survey of Retford's voluntary organisations including returned questionnaires. 1992-1993 (MS 653/2);
• File of anonymous questionnaires returned by case study voluntary bodies. 1992 (MS 653/3);
• Printed reports published following analysis of the survey results. 1991-1995 (MS 653/4);
• Three and a half inch floppy disk containing data files relating to the voluntary organisations survey. 1989-1995 (MS 653/5).

The 'Voluntary Organisations: Citizenship, Learning and Change' study, instituted by The University of Nottingham's Department of Education, began in 1989. Its purpose was to construct a typology of local voluntary organisations by: investigating the formal and informal educational impact which they made on individuals, groups and communities; noting the origins and characteristics of good practice; and putting forward recommendations on the implications for national and local policy and for training and development.

The study was divided into two parts: a national survey of a sample 31 case studies of local voluntary organisations involving the completion of 831 interviews and 157 questionnaires; and a questionnaire-based locality study of 101 voluntary organisations in the Nottinghamshire town of Retford.

The findings of the study were published in three main works: K.T. Elsdon with John Reynolds and Susan Stewart Voluntary Organisations: Citizenship, Learning and Change (National Institute of Adult Continuing Education and The University of Nottingham, Department of Adult Education; 1995), K.T. Elsdon Adult Learning and Voluntary Organisations, in three volumes covering the case studies 1-30 (The University of Nottingham Department of Adult Education; 1991), and John Reynolds, K.T. Elsdon and Susan Stewart A Town in Action (The University of Nottingham Department of Adult Education; 1994).

The study was partly funded by the Economic and Science Research and Social Science Council (ESRC). Electronic datasets of the study's findings were prepared by Dr John Reynolds of the Department of Adult Education and submitted for preservation to the UK Data Archive which is also part funded by ESRC.

The collection has been divided by document type into five series. The series of case files has been arranged in the order in which the surveys were conducted and subsequently published.

ACCESS: The collection is accessible to all registered readers only when advance notice is given in writing by the person wishing to use it. Some files contain personal information and they are restricted at present.

REPROGRAPHIC: Reprographic copies of paper records can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

• This description is the only finding aid available for the collection. Copyright in the description belongs to The University of Nottingham.

COPYRIGHT: Permission to make published use of any material from this collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk). The Department will try to assist in identifying copyright owners but this can be difficult and the responsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the person wishing to publish.

LANGUAGE: English

The collection was deposited by The University of Nottingham's Department of Adult Education with the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections in August 1995.

• UK Data Archive: Dataset generated by these survey results from the Voluntary Organisations: Citizenship, Learning and Change study, 1991-1993. Reference: SN 3567

• K.T. Elsdon with John Reynolds and Susan Stewart Voluntary Organisations: Citizenship, Learning and Change (National Institute of Adult Continuing Education and The University of Nottingham, Department of Adult Education; 1995)
• John Reynolds, K.T. Elsdon and Susan Stewart A Town in Action (The University of Nottingham Department of Adult Education; 1994)
• K.T. Elsdon Adult Learning and Voluntary Organisations, in three volumes covering the case studies 1-30 (The University of Nottingham Department of Adult Education; 1991)