FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

People with Intellectual Disabilities as Volunteers

The volunteers of this study differed from the existing conceptual groups of volunteers, such as the “reflexive” and “traditional” categories of Hustinx and Lammertyn (2003), as some were unable to describe what they were volunteering for or why. From Hustinx’s (2010) perspective, there are also similarities to institutionally individualized volunteers, as the school was crucial for this group’s participation as volunteers.

The group of students had several elements in common with Hustinx and Lammertyn’s (2003) “traditional volunteer,” as the interviews showed that several of them talked about the importance of contributing to the local community. This may be illustrated by the following quotes: “It is good that we have the YOG, so that the youth get more things to do,” and “We get to do something for our town.” Some students even perceived their own efforts in a bigger picture when several talked about the global importance of recycling trash—not just tidying up the arena, as some of them emphasized, but doing their part to “save the globe,” as illustrated by the quote: “We are picking up garbage for the environment.” By contrast, some students had difficulties describing the value of their work and were unable to answer questions about why they were doing a particular task and if they saw the value in doing it.

Observations showed that this was a group with a high morale for working, and there was joy in doing physical labor. The main social value was closely connected to the actual tasks, such as picking up trash and recycling. The job itself was more important than who they were doing it for or why. Like the reflexive volunteers, these volunteers did not have a close affiliation with the organization or event for which they were working (Hustinx & Lammertyn, 2003). For some students, the main value was instead being outside the classroom and doing something practical; regarding the most fun about being a volunteer at the YOG, one said, “Not being in school.”

The students knew they were there to pick up trash, but it might be that they considered it to be part of school rather than a voluntary act, as the school was the main facilitator and their main source of information. One may argue that the efforts of this group were not done voluntarily at all since they often couldn’t explain why they were volunteering or simply claimed “because the teacher told me so.” However, there were students in the class who refused to be part of the project, indicating that those who participated actually wanted to do so, even though it was difficult to express why.

Several of the students also had difficulties understanding what they were actually volunteering for. They had talked in school about volunteering in general prior to the event and especially volunteering at the LYOG. Still, they were struggling with the difference between the “regular” Olympics and the Youth Olympics. For instance, all were asked before the event, “What are you looking forward to the most in volunteering at the YOG?” One student answered, “to seeing Marit Bjoergen and Therese Johaug1 competing.”

Although not fully aware of the extent of the event for which they were volunteering, the students did not expect to get anything in return for their time and effort. As Carl said, “It’s not the best job I’ve had, we don’t get any money for this (laughing).” Moreover, as Jens said, “It has been fun to help out.” These statements imply that they understood the concept of volunteering and helping out while not expecting or getting something in return for their time and effort, according to Mannino, Snyder, and Omoto (2011).

Observations and interviews showed that even those students with little or no verbal language could recognize the colors and symbols of the event. “Youth Olympic car,” said one of the girls (with limited verbal language) when she spotted a car from the organizing committee, wearing the same colors as her uniform. She could recognize the volunteer uniforms, the cars, the flags, and the mascot, knew that all of them were interconnected, and saw herself as part of that bigger picture. She had a sense of belonging to a bigger community, even though it was hard for her to describe what this community actually was.

Challenges for the Volunteers and Their Environment

The observations conducted during the LYOG also showed several limitations in the students’ volunteer efforts linked to the nature of their disabilities. Some were rather passive in their work efforts, but small facilitations could change the picture drastically. A waste-picker was a tool that made a huge difference for some students, changing their efforts from nonexistent to high intensity.

Another challenge appeared in the electronic registration of the volunteers, a small task for the regular volunteer but time demanding for one person doing the job for 12 others. Every student needed a great deal of assistance registering personal information and retrieving pictures for accreditation. The main teacher, doing all this in addition to her regular tasks as a teacher, still saw what Baron (2006) describes as an entrepreneurial opportunity and, in doing so, activates a set of characteristics often associated with entrepreneurs. Among these are optimism and willingness to take a risk believing that all will turn out favorably for the entrepreneur (Baron, 2006).

Many people with ID rely heavily on close follow-up with one or more assistants, which can be challenging from an organizational perspective. In this case, the teachers followed the students, aiding them as little as possible (to ensure maximum learning) but still being present as a safety net for the students. Thus, the school was crucial for the participation of these students. However, it is becoming increasingly common that third parties, such as institutions, mobilize and organize volunteer groups (Haski-Leventhal, Meijs, & Hustinx, 2010). In this case, some students did not function, refusing to do anything unless a specific teacher was present.

Several other challenges for the students with ID appeared during the observations conducted throughout the event. Some tended to be more interested in talking with people and watching the crowds than working. Others needed many repeated instructions to become efficient workers. One student, who became a leader, expressed challenges attached to getting co-students to do what they were supposed to be doing. When asked about the biggest challenge of volunteering, he said, “making people do what they are supposed to.” However, a little facilitation in finding the proper tasks (for instance, driving the wheel cart instead of picking up trash) could make the difference between total passiveness and full-speed activity. This implied that the group was dependent on people around them who knew them and what they could and could not do and could find solutions when things were about to turn negative. Last, since it was the teachers who had to facilitate this within their work hours, this is clearly a limitation of this kind of volunteering, as the volunteer efforts of the students could happen only during regular school hours.

According to the teachers, every day that is different, when regular schedules and routines are broken, results in negative experiences for these students. This event, however, was considered positive for all those involved. When writing about the power of the Olympic Games, Chalip (2006) uses the term “liminality.” Although Chalip does not clearly define liminality, he describes it as the feeling of being part of something outstanding and a heightened sense of fellowship and community among those present (Chalip, 2006, p. 110). A sense of unity and being part of something bigger than themselves, almost like the experience of liminality, may have influenced the students to do their very best, making everyone pull in the same direction.

From the event organizers’ perspective, there were few or no challenges involved with including this kind of nontraditional volunteer in the event. Quoting the head of volunteers, “There were far more challenges in dealing with the regular class of 10B2, down here at junior high, than with this group.” Furthermore, she emphasized that having a group of volunteers with ID demanded a little extra from the leader in charge of clean up and recycling, especially in finding suitable tasks that were also meaningful. However, as soon as the tasks were found, the event organizers had a group that, quoting the head of volunteers, “displayed a profound amount of joy and enthusiasm, and there were so many people telling positive stories having met this particular group during their working hours.”

The Teachers as Social Entrepreneurs

Acknowledgement of risk but still being willing to “go for it” because of a highly possible favorable outcome is characteristic of social entrepreneurs (Dees, 2001; Sullivan Mort et al., 2003) as well as sports entrepreneurs (Ratten, 2011a). The teachers for the group acknowledged that there was risk involved in the volunteer project (e.g., students refusing to work or having negative experiences). As one teacher said, “This has exceeded all expectations. There hasn’t been any nonsense with anyone!” The quote indicates that there was an expectation or precaution that not every student might function well as a volunteer. In general, people with ID are dependent on a high degree of predictability and rather fixed frames for their everyday lives in order to maintain or achieve a good life quality (Albrecht & Devlieger, 1999). The YOG, by contrast, is an event that deals with several potential X-factors (such as interaction with an unpredictable number of unfamiliar people, different languages and cultures, and sudden practical tasks that need to be solved). On the event organizer’s part, there is an expectation that the volunteers will actually do what is expected of them. Still, in an entrepreneurial manner, the teachers focused on how to optimize their efforts with the resources at hand spotting and exploiting possibilities as they appeared (Martin & Osberg, 2007). The observations showed few or no instances where the students expressed negative feelings attached to their tasks.

Within social entrepreneurship literature, the focus has traditionally been on firms or nonprofit organisations (NPOs). In this context, the emphasis has been on how to create social value for a specific group while creating profit or making an economic impact. Others argue that social entrepreneurs can also be individuals independent of organizations or firms (Sullivan Mort et al., 2003), such as the teachers in this study. The high school for this study is a county-driven institution, and thus the state and government have a strong influence on how it works. Governmental enterprises often work entrepreneurially, for example, to improve education for special groups, health care, and other low-cost services for the common good. They do, however, frequently face rigid bureaucracies that can restrain entrepreneurial activities (Lee, 2014). The teachers in this study, although working in a state-run high school, had freedom of action that often NGOs also enjoy (Lee, 2014). This allowed them to engage in activities outside of school, as long as they could state the importance for the students. However, they had to think in an entrepreneurial manner, and see possibilities for new approaches (Baron, 2006).

Social innovations are highly important for social entrepreneurs, as they represent new ways of addressing a social need or problem that is not currently being met, often through new forms of cooperation (Hulgård & Lundgaard Andersen, 2014). In this study, the teachers engaged in a new activity, volunteerism, by cooperating with an organization that was partly a governmental and partly a private enterprise, the LYOGOC. Thus, the teachers displayed an entrepreneurial mindset in setting out to do something new and seeking new partners for cooperation while acknowledging that it wouldn’t necessarily succeed (Martin & Osberg, 2007).

The teachers, and one in particular, did more than was expected of them to make the volunteer project happen. The main teacher said in one of the interviews before the event, “Had I known in advance how much work it would be, I would never have done it. But I think that it will be worth the effort, seeing the joy they get in return.” Social entrepreneurship is about working toward social change and addressing social needs (Mair & Marti, 2006). The scope of this project is rather small and doesn’t address people with ID as a whole group. However, it might be a first step on a path where people with ID are included in settings in which currently they are not present. This project did not result in a radical change, but those involved were left with highly subjective, valuable experiences and a significant positive learning outcome, according to their teachers. The project was, to some extent, used to display what the teachers felt was social inequality and to create valuable and positive everyday experiences to promote learning for these particular students.

Social entrepreneurship often has an economic dimension in addition to the creation of social value (Hulgård, 2007). The economic impact of this particular project is rather small, however, it is still present. Volunteer work, in its very nature, is about people using their time and effort to aid or assist someone without the expectation of compensation in return (Mannino et al., 2011). For the LYOGOC, volunteers do jobs the organization would otherwise have to pay for. The job that the students did during the event needed to be done, one way or another, and their volunteer effort saved money for the organizers. The students, for their part, learned new skills and improved their work resumes and networks, and demonstrated what they were capable of, thus becoming more attractive to potential employers.

Social Value through Volunteerism

The term social value is problematized by, among others, Young (2006) in describing this particular kind of value as subjective and almost private. Regarding the class of students with ID, volunteering at larger events can be a source of value by being an arena to promote cooperation and learning to interact with others (for example, in the lunch line or in conversation with the trash recycling leader about what kind of trash goes where). However, the main value might be the work itself and the chance to be someone who assists instead of being assisted.

Furthermore, this experience allows students to choose for themselves what kind of discourse they want to be part of—as a “volunteer at an Olympic event doing an important job” instead of a “student with an intellectual disability with several limitations.” Furthermore, the volunteer uniform also contributed to erasing differences among the various volunteers. For instance, those students with Down Syndrome became more like the others, despite their physical characteristics related to their disability. The uniform also contributed to letting students partake of the “volunteer context,” which can also be described as “to make oneself known” where the students have opportunities to resist being placed in a certain context, for instance, as “disabled” (Grue, 2001). Moreover, volunteerism might provide an arena where people with ID can experience increased inclusion and an experience of “being normal,” thus addressing a social need (the need to belong).

In addition, the LYOG was a valuable arena for exposure, as the volunteers with ID got the opportunity to raise awareness about their potential as a work force. People with ID working as volunteers can also be seen as a social innovation as defined by Pol and Ville (2009). Applied to this case, we can see a new form of cooperation (between the LYOGOC and the local high school), with a potential for increased quality of life for the students concerned, all made possible through this kind of new cooperation and blending of sectors (Hulgård & Lundgaard Andersen, 2014).

This approach may not be appropriate for every individual with ID, but with the prerequisites and circumstances they had, it worked successfully for this group. For instance, one of the girls showed remarkable capacity for physical labor while displaying profound joy and happiness. The observations showed that when she was working, she really had no time to talk to others; instead she rushed to offer assistance where needed because, as she said, “I have to help!” Moreover, she smiled the most when she was feeling useful; the heavier the load, the better. As one teacher said, “Katrine, strong as a bear, carrying these huge bags of garbage with a huge smile on her face. That’s when she laughed, when she could run while carrying the biggest bags. She was ecstatic because that’s what she likes!” In response to the question of what had been the most fun, Katrine herself said, “to pick up garbage. A lot!” Another student, when asked the same question, simply replied, “really, it was good just being here,” implying that it was valuable just to be part of this large event, with so many activities to take part in for volunteers as well as spectators. In addition, watching athletes from all over the world, seeing their various team uniforms, and listening to their languages created impressions quite outside the ordinary and were positive experiences.

The goal of the project was for students with ID to learn and master new skills relevant for finding an occupation later on, to experience unity, and to be a part of the same discourse as their nondisabled peers. The teachers of this class emphasized that it is important for these students to be part of the same contexts and discourses as other youths. In addition, by cooperating on very specific tasks, such as opening a rubbish bin (in this case, a three-person job) they got a chance to act together in a new way to solve real world problems through cooperation. As one of the boys said to one of the girls, “You are strong; we are lucky that you are here.” This implies that there is value in solving practical jobs together, in a “real” setting. Thus, the LYOG was an arena where the students could appreciate each other’s skills in a new environment. All of these are potential sources of social value that is not possible to create inside a classroom.

According to Young (2006), social value is about activities and services valued by a group whose needs are not adequately served by the market or the political system. It is arguable whether all people need to volunteer. However, it may be argued that volunteerism is part of the “normal” discourse, as a huge number of people in Norway volunteer on a regular basis (Skille, 2012). Furthermore, according to Bogdan and Taylor (1999), contributing to the society through (for instance) volunteering is important for being part of the community. By volunteering, people get together and form social networks, and there is widespread belief that participation in sports may foster social integration in society (Elmose-Østerlund & Ibsen, 2016).

Observations during the event revealed several situations where the students with ID needed to interact with other volunteers. Many people with ID live highly organized lives and are part of only a few restricted social networks (Søderstrøm & Tøssebro, 2011). The LYOG was an arena where the students were part of a real world setting instead of practicing skills within the confines of a classroom. At the LYOG, they had to interact with many different people from different countries while accomplishing the tasks that needed to be done (such as loosening garbage bags from cans, transporting them to the correct place, and opening the dumpster). The main learning outcome of the volunteer project was closely related to being part of the real world. According to the teachers, being part of society and being as independent as possible are also main concepts that the students needed to learn during their school years.

Several students also got to show other sides of themselves during the event. The teachers were particularly impressed by how one of the boys, Sander, developed during the event. He was also the one who volunteered the most before, during, and after the event. As one of the teachers said, “Really, all of them should have been working for five days in a row; maybe we would have had different learning curves for them as well.” As for Sander, the teachers described him as being unable to make his own choices. However, during the LYOG this was not visible, as he became a leader of the group, deciding where to go at what time and the order in which the garbage cans would be emptied. Through volunteering at this event, this particular student got an opportunity to develop new personal characteristics, make independent choices, engage in conversations with other (nondisabled people), and categorize rubbish. All are activities that he normally would not undertake. For the teachers, this led to the discovery of new potential for meaningful work for this particular student.

In regard to finding meaningful occupations for other students, this was one of the main tasks of the school, which is constantly searching for relevant settings where their students with ID might be placed and trained in order to prepare them for life after school. Through the students’ volunteer efforts, the teachers discovered skills and characteristics among their students that they had no knowledge of before the event. Thus, the teachers became aware of several work places to approach for place-and-train arrangements.

Social value is, according to Young (2006), inseparable from social activity. For the students with intellectual disabilities in this study, being part of as many social activities as possible may (arguably) be highly important. Sander may be an example as the one volunteer who participated in most of the activities and also the one with the highest reward in terms of personal development. By volunteering in the LYOG, all students received an opportunity to experience what Chalip (2006) describes as liminality, the sense of being part of something bigger than oneself. With the history of Lillehammer hosting the Olympic Games in 1994, the students got to see themselves as part of that context as well. When talking about the event, almost all the students consistently used the term “the Olympic Games” instead of “Youth Olympics.” They had learned about the YOG in school before the event, and the abbreviation “YOG” was written nearly everywhere in the arena. Still, they called the event “the Olympic Games,” implying that they saw themselves mainly in an Olympic context. This might also imply that the Olympic context is more valuable than the YOG context.

Finally, the main social value for the students in this study might be the positive experiences and new skills they learned that may help them to live rich, empowering, and diverse lives—in other words, to partake in society. By relying on more empirical studies, contributions are being made in understanding the concept of social value while revealing the potential of sports in a social arena to create this kind of value.