In this topical book, older people's volunteering is studied in eight European countries at the structural, macro, meso and micro levels. Overall it highlights how different interactions between the levels facilitate or hinder older people's inclusion in voluntary work and makes policy suggestions for an integrated strategy.
Type of Material:
Open (Access) Book
Recommended Uses:
Additional reading for a seminar class or research paper on ageing, voluteerism, welfare policy, NGOs/voluntary organizations/sodalities, Europe or one of the specific countries covered (Italy, Denmark, Germany, England, France, Poland, Sweden, Nederlands). It can be used as a class room reference book, as well as to prepare lecture on gerontology.
Technical Requirements:
Available as a .pdf
Identify Major Learning Goals:
College-level reading for classes in sociology, social gerontology, anthropology, political science.
"The basic assumption is that five major factors concur to explain the volunteering of older people in Europe: (1) older people’s individual characteristics and predispositions (micro level); (2) voluntary organisations (meso level), that represent the demand for older volunteers and structure older people’s voluntary work opportunities; (3) the interaction and division of tasks between welfare-producing institutions (that is, the welfare mix); (4) governmental policies implemented in this field (macro level); and (5) the specific welfare regime." [316]
Target Student Population:
College Upper Division, Graduate School
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
none
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
I only skimmed the content and know very little about the subject so I could only superficially evaluate its validity, appropriateness, or methods, but there were no red flags and it seemed very complete, with an introduction, nested sections, a conclusion, and extensive work cited. It is technically an edited book with different authors for each chapter, but it seems like there was a high degree of coordination to make the case studies comparable.
Concerns:
The categorizations of entire countries in simplistic categories may be overly broad.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The table of contents clearly labels the sections and chapters, and the chapter names clearly identify the region and topic. It is well-written, clear, well-organized, and seems like it would very readable for students. It can also be used as a reference book.
Concerns:
The topic is very specific and would be difficult to incorporate into a lower division introductory class.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The .pdf is searchable and includes working hyperlinks, an index, the site works, with a consistent layout.
Concerns:
Length of book may be an issue for some.
Creative Commons:
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