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Supporting the marching arts: the salience of parent volunteer booster training

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Supporting the marching arts: the salience of parent volunteer booster training

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Supporting the Marching Arts: The Salience of Parent Volunteer Booster Training

by

Gayle Yraceburu

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

December 2021

© Copyright by Gayle Yraceburu 2021

All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Gayle Yraceburu certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Dr. Monique Datta
Dr. Patricia Tobey
Dr. Alexandra Wilcox, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2021

iv

Abstract

Students benefit from marching arts and music education, but districts and schools may not
allocate resources to programs outside of the school day. Instead, nonprofit booster organizations
assume the support role, providing critical financial and logistical structure, assistance, and
encouragement. Parent booster organizations are no exception to the general rule that when
organizations lack volunteer leadership and engagement, achievement of the mission may be
hampered. The focus of this qualitative study was to ascertain the needs of the parent booster
organization for the marching arts at Bofie High School – Marching Arts Volunteer Association
(MAVA) – through interviews of 18 subjects including parent alumni, volunteers, and leaders.
The study used Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis to determine gaps in knowledge, motivation,
and organizational culture to identify and inform training needs for new parents and leaders to
improve volunteer engagement and leadership development. The study results informed the
innovation of monthly micro-trainings for MAVA leadership delivered at regular MAVA board
meetings open to all parents. The micro-trainings focus on one validated need per month,
repeating the sequence annually to ensure continuity over annual leadership transitions.
Keywords: high school music; marching band and color guard; parent booster; volunteer
engagement; volunteer leadership development; micro-training.

v

Dedication

To my dad, Lee Nord, in whose hospital room this project was completed.

vi

Acknowledgements

Thank you to my husband Rob who supported and encouraged me in this doctoral goal,
as he has in life. Thank you to our three daughters, Laura, Emily, and Sarah, who were
concurrently in college pursuits along with me, were my editors, encouragers, mentors, and the
source for my dissertation topic and involvement with marching arts. Thank you as well to our
son-in-law, Ryan Dall, my tech support. Without all of you, this goal would not have been
realized.
Thank you to USC Rossier School of Education, professors, and cohort members for your
knowledge, support, and recognition that even one who is a volunteer leader of volunteers can
make a difference. You have allowed me this platform to acknowledge and raise awareness of
the valuable work people do as volunteers, giving their time, talent, and treasures without
monetary remuneration or the expectation of anything in return in their support of worthwhile
missions such as marching arts programs for high school students.
Thank you to the various marching arts programs with whom I have been involved. I
hope what I have assembled here might assist you in providing the best possible music education
experience for your students, so they go on to lead productive, music-filled lives.

vii

Table of Contents

Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... v
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ vi
List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. x
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xii
Chapter One: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1
Background of the Problem ........................................................................................................ 1
Importance of Addressing the Problem ...................................................................................... 2
Organizational Context and Mission .......................................................................................... 5
Organizational Goal .................................................................................................................... 5
Importance of the Organizational Goal....................................................................................... 6
Description of Stakeholder Groups ............................................................................................. 7
Purpose of the Study and Questions ......................................................................................... 10
Overview of the Conceptual and Methodological Framework ................................................. 10
Definitions................................................................................................................................. 11
Organization of the Project ....................................................................................................... 13
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature ........................................................................................ 14
The Marching Arts .................................................................................................................... 14
Volunteer Organizations ........................................................................................................... 19

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Leadership Development .......................................................................................................... 25
Facilitating Change ................................................................................................................... 31
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences ....................................... 33
Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................................. 58
Summary ................................................................................................................................... 60
Chapter Three: Methodology ........................................................................................................ 63
Research Questions ................................................................................................................... 63
Overview of Methodology ........................................................................................................ 64
Data Collection, Instrumentation and Analysis Plan ................................................................ 67
Ethics and Role of Researcher .................................................................................................. 73
Chapter Four: Results and Findings .............................................................................................. 76
Identified Needs Validated in MAVA ...................................................................................... 83
Document Analysis ................................................................................................................. 132
MAVA’s Support of the Marching Arts ................................................................................. 136
Concluding Summary of Findings .......................................................................................... 137
Chapter Five: Discussion and Recommendations....................................................................... 141
Discussion of Findings and Results ........................................................................................ 142
MAVA’s Organizational Change Approach ........................................................................... 166
Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 175
Limitations and Delimitations................................................................................................. 177

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Final Observations: Why Support of Marching Arts Matters ................................................. 179
References ................................................................................................................................... 182
Appendix A: Interview Protocol ................................................................................................. 206
Appendix B: Data Collection Crosswalk - Interview ................................................................. 212
Appendix C: Document Analysis Protocol ................................................................................. 222
Appendix D: Email to Request Participation for an Interview ................................................... 223
Appendix E: Text or Social Media Message to Request Participation for an Interview ............ 225
Appendix F: Information Sheet for Exempt Research ................................................................ 226

x

List of Tables

Table 1: Organizational Mission, Goal, and Stakeholder’s Group’s Performance Goals 9
Table 2: Knowledge Influences 40
Table 3: Motivation Influences 49
Table 4: Organizational Influences 58
Table 5: Combined KMO Influences 61
Table 6: Interview Participant Recruitment Strategy 65
Table 7: Data Sources 67
Table 8: Stakeholder Demographics 82
Table 9: Validation Status of Assumed Influences in Knowledge 89
Table 10: Participant Responses Regarding Roles and Responsibilities for MAVA 90
Table 11: Participant Responses Regarding MAVA Resources 92
Table 12: Participant Responses Regarding Awareness of Diversity Benefits 95
Table 13: Validation Status of Assumed Influences in Motivation 99
Table 14: Participant Responses Regarding Volunteering as an Asset to School Success 101
Table 15: Participant Responses Regarding Value for Parents’ Involvement 105
Table 16: Participant Responses Regarding Ability to Accept Leadership Tasks 109
Table 17: Assumed Influences in Organizational Culture 112
Table 18: Participant Responses Regarding Meeting Volunteers Needs 113
Table 19: Participant Responses Regarding Succession Plans for Leadership 115
Table 20: Participant Responses Regarding Training and Materials 119
Table 21: Participant Responses Regarding Communication 123
Table 22: Participant Responses to MAVA’s Improvement Needs 126
Table 23: Comparison of Participants’ Self-Suggested with Study-Validated Needs 132

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Table 24: Combined Validation of Influences in Knowledge, Motivation, and Culture 139
Table 25: Summary of Knowledge Needs and Recommendations 144
Table 26: Summary of Motivation Needs and Recommendations 148
Table 27: Summary of Organizational Needs and Recommendations 153
Table 28: Summary of KMO Recommendations for Practice and Training 164
Table 29: MAVA’s Action Plan Timeline 168

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List of Figures

Figure A: Conceptual Framework 59
Figure B: MAVA Organization Chart 80

1
Chapter One: Introduction

Volunteer engagement is the subject of numerous research studies, likely because
volunteers are essential for the economy and nonprofit organizations rely on volunteers to
engage in their work (Hyde et al., 2016; Manetti et al., 2014). Volunteer engagement is important
to address as 1.56 million nonprofits contributed approximately $985.4 billion to the 2015 U.S.
economy and more than 25% of adults volunteered with an organization, for an estimated total of
8.8 billion hours, valued at $195 billion (McKeever, 2018). Beyond that, the product of a
nonprofit organization is a touch on a human life, a changed person (Drucker, 1990), and that
value cannot be measured. Volunteer engagement is an issue that organizations have historically
faced, even demonstrated in a 1894 article from Oxford University stating the difficulty in
recruiting and training volunteers to serve in most charity organizations (Oxford Journal, 1894).
Yet it is the organizations’ purpose or mission that draws volunteers in for the work. Volunteers
exist for their support of the organizational mission, and relevancy outside of that support does
not make one a volunteer. A volunteer is one who serves without pay or legal obligation, but as
an offer willingly given. Further, volunteerism is defined as giving “time and talents” for
activities beneficial to the community (Dictionary.com). The importance of volunteers serving
the community through their work is clear.
Background of the Problem

The problem that numerous organizations face is filling volunteer leadership positions
with engaged volunteers who are willing to carry out the work of the organization. The problem
is evident by unfilled volunteer leadership roles in closed membership organizations, or
extensive searches for anyone to fill the leadership roles in open nonprofit organizations
(Cornelius & Corvington, 2012). Even corporate leadership can struggle with identifying the

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importance of early succession planning, where a strong plan for leadership change may not exist
in a practical way, especially if the leader has been in the role for a long time (Adubato, 2016). A
visible, recognizable leader is vital to a volunteer organization. The leader provides
accountability and guidance to the volunteers for achieving the goals and mission of the
organization, and appropriate management of volunteers is associated with volunteer retention
(Brudney, 2016; Cornelius & Corvington, 2012).
The volunteer leadership engagement needs for this study focused on one marching arts
volunteer organization in one high school. Also called music booster organizations, or music
boosters, groups like these are composed of the parents of the high school marching arts
students. Many parents are needed to participate in their student’s music education through
marching arts, so effective strategies for parents’ participation and the organization’s support of
the volunteer is essential (Monson, 2014). Volunteers are more likely to engage in an activity
where their interest or involvement already lies, or where they already hold a commitment in
their personal lives (Barnes & Sharpe, 2009). Since high school students spend a great deal of
time in class, rehearsal, performances and competitions where the parents may be involved
driving them to and from school, practice, and as spectators, it makes sense to seek parents’
further involvement through engaging in leadership opportunities in music booster organizations.
Yet the effort to build and train leadership should include considerations by the organization, not
just the individual (Cornelius & Corvington, 2012).
Importance of Addressing the Problem

Addressing the problem of a shortage of engaged parent volunteer leaders is important to
ensure the support necessary for students in the high school marching arts program. Music
booster groups exist solely for the purpose of supporting a marching arts program. With the roles

3
in music booster groups come advocacy for continued funding and support for the marching arts
and music programs, which are often at risk (Hedgecoth & Fischer, 2014). Therefore, advocating
for support of the arts as well as working in funding and fundraising for the marching arts is a
continual effort engaged in by music booster groups.
An effective music booster group can assist in the longevity and success of the marching
arts program at the local level. Research on student and parent perceptions of involvement in the
hard work required to make a successful marching program helped students feel like a family
working together. Through the work of class time, rehearsals and performance, students support
each other. Students build trust, self-worth, and emotional intelligence through marching arts’
inclusive nature, where students with diverse backgrounds and abilities can be involved, and all
students depend on each other and are necessary (Carver, 2019; Dagaz, 2012; Gardner, 2018;
Kuntz, 2011; Zdzinski, 2004).
Through marching arts participation, the students’ network of connection expanded for
greater identification and engagement with their school as a whole (Elpus & Abril, 2011). Often,
marching bands are the public face of the school itself and perhaps one of the few ties to
observation of music instruction in the schools (Garrison, 1986). Cognitive and intellectual
development in math, science, and English, and higher SAT scores are also associated with
participating in marching band (Guhn et al., 2019; Zehner, 2011). Additionally, “music is a place
for everyone,” (Lautzenheiser, 2010, p. 2), is often used to remind people that music is an
inclusive activity where it is possible that students with disabilities can participate (Coates, 2012;
Lapka, 2006; McKenna, 2020). Skills and positive qualities are learned on the field such as
dedication, cooperation, practice, memory, teamwork, leadership, sacrifice, time management,
and manners, respect, ethics, and generosity, in addition to the ability to follow the chain of
command (Gardner, 2018; Lautzenheiser, 2010; Mourdock, (n.d.); Ray, 2011). Because of the

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benefits to these musical athletes academically and in character development, it is important that
music booster groups are able to optimally support their marching arts programs through
volunteer engagement and leadership development for the parents within the marching arts
volunteer organizations themselves.
A smooth program is also important for the volunteers. Volunteers have a choice how to
spend their time, and relationships and satisfaction in the activity encourages engagement, where
positive climate and positive relationships generate positive volunteers (Nencini et al., 2016).
The impact of music booster group participation can be lifelong. One parent, and now
grandparent volunteer and a long-time marching arts volunteer and leader shared about her 35-
year experience as a volunteer. She touched on positive, transformative points for students and
their parents’ involvement such as educational benefits realized for students, bonds developed
between student and parents, bonds among students within the program, and lasting friendships
of parents who have put in the time to support the students (James, 2019).
Marching arts has been described as one of the largest team sports in the world (Gilley,
2018), where the unit size can range from smallest performing color guard at a handful of
performers, even providing opportunities for solo performers (Winter Guard International n.d.) to
upwards of 150 to 340 marching band members performing on the same field (Western Band
Association, n.d.). Millions of students over the years have marched in high school, college, and
Drum Corps (Drum Corps International, n.d.; National Association of Music Parents, n.d.). All
of the marching organizations require support beyond the music and coaching staff to function
effectively and rely on volunteers. In the specific area of marching arts volunteer organizations
or music booster groups, little empirical research exists. The lack of research does not mean
challenges regarding marching arts organizations are not important. There are some secondary
resources related to marching arts programs such as websites that support different aspects of

5
marching arts as well as the websites of the marching organizations. Notably, literature and
research on volunteers, leadership, and parent involvement in high school, as well as those
professional and related organizations’ marching arts websites as professional sources were
pulled together for reference with interviews in conversation to discuss marching arts volunteer
organizations.
Organizational Context and Mission

The organization of focus for this study was the Marching Arts Volunteer Association
(MAVA) that supports the marching arts program at Bofie High School in California (a
pseudonym). The purpose of MAVA per the by-laws is to “promote the marching arts program
and related activities at Bofie High School in California through logistical, financial, and moral
support both ongoing and as requested by the Faculty, MAVA members, and marching arts
students” (Bofie High School Marching Arts Volunteer Association, 2003, p. 1). Marching arts
includes marching band, drum line, and color guard, as well as other related music groups
established at Bofie High School. MAVA members are parents of the marching arts students.
MAVA is a booster organization, which means it supports the educational marching arts program
at Bofie High School and must comply with the IRS rules for nonprofit organizations. MAVA
supports and provides assistance for the marching arts program in order to allow the Music
Director the opportunity to focus solely on the education of students in music curriculum,
performance skills, and to provide leadership in the field of music (Bofie High School Marching
Arts Volunteer Association Mission Statement, n.d.).
Organizational Goal

The goal for the Marching Arts Volunteer Association (MAVA) of Bofie High School
was that MAVA would design and implement a new parent volunteer leadership development

6
program. Previously, no such program existed. By summer of 2022, a new design will be in
place for leadership development in MAVA. MAVA will create a program where its parent
volunteer leaders will be educated and trained to accept future leadership roles and
responsibilities. Evaluation of effective training and education for MAVA will be determined by
a full leadership slate, 100% of parent volunteerism in at least one leadership opportunity.
Importance of the Organizational Goal

First and foremost, the goal of involving all parents as volunteer leaders in MAVA is to
promote and encourage and support students’ involvement in music and marching performance
and education. The benefits the students receive from participation can have a lifelong impact.
Sometimes the only reason a student stays in school and gets passing grades is so they can
participate in marching arts, as described by one Bofie High School student (George, 2015).
The goal of designing and implementing the parent volunteer leadership training program
was important for a variety of reasons. First, MAVA is made up of the parents of the high school
students in the marching arts program at Bofie High School, so they are part of the organization
for only the years their child is involved, up to four years unless they have other children who
will also be in the marching arts program when they get to high school. As new parents enter,
parents of seniors graduate out, so there is continual turnover in the leadership and membership
and knowledge and succession planning may be inconsistent. Second, MAVA acts as a booster
organization and must follow funding and fundraising guidelines and requirements set forth by
the IRS to keep its tax-exempt status as a nonprofit organization. Short term volunteers may be
unfamiliar with these details of governance and mismanagement would be detrimental to MAVA
and its support at Bofie High School. Third, MAVA is structured by the by-laws in a
configuration that needs to be followed for the optimum performance of MAVA in both

7
management and governance. Yet the process and procedure information toward both
management and governance had historically been lacking or left up to individuals to interpret
what needs to be transferred to incoming members. Finally, MAVA had not been able to fill all
of its leadership positions and engage sufficient volunteers over the last several years, which put
more of a strain on those volunteers that do step up. Without diligent transfer of information,
policies and procedures, the organization risks losing focus, efficiency, and validity (Caldwell,
2014).
The importance of MAVA’s role in the students’ marching arts education involves
freeing the music director to teach along with specialty coaches, without having to handle the
logistics and funding as well. Then students receive higher quality music, marching, and
performance education (Bofie High School Marching Arts Volunteer Association Mission
Statement, n.d.). Without the support of MAVA, the program would have to diminish in size and
involvement, without funding and people to move, feed, mentor, and support the students, and
uphold the needs of a high performing marching arts program. Thus, the purpose of this research
addressed these issues and provided MAVA with a research-based guide for innovating a
leadership development program guiding MAVA in effective performance in reaching its goals
and mission.
Description of Stakeholder Groups

The stakeholders that contributed to and benefitted from the achievement of the
organizational goal were parent volunteers, the volunteer board of directors in MAVA, and the
Bofie High School music director and coaching staff. The school curriculum is guided by the
teacher/music director in teaching marching arts classes during the school day. Those 50-minute
classes focus on the musicianship of the performers, or skill practice for the color guard, but are

8
not nearly enough to create the competition ready shows that will be performed throughout the
season. The director is joined by the marching staff, which includes coaches and show designers,
for after-school rehearsals. Direct performances and competitions take place over selected and
scheduled weekends, including concert and symphonic band classes, percussion, and color guard
practice. MAVA is in place to assist the coaches with whatever their logistical or equipment
needs will be with the students under the direction of the band director. Additionally, all parents
of the students in marching arts classes are stakeholders and are asked to participate as MAVA
volunteers. It is their children who are receiving the education and the benefits of that education.
Some parents are involved with MAVA as occasional volunteers, some regular volunteers, and
some serve in leadership and board positions to guide the work done by the rest of the volunteers
and keep in check that the work is done legally, ethically, and with clarity. Finally, the parent
volunteer leaders in MAVA itself, the Bofie High School Marching Arts Volunteer Association
Board of Directors, were stakeholders in this endeavor to innovate a leadership development
program for the organization. The leadership development program used researched methods and
industry ideas to communicate the mission, goals, and vision for the organization to boost
volunteer engagement and leadership development for the optimal performance of MAVA and
the benefit of the marching arts students.
Stakeholder Group of Focus for the Study
The primary stakeholder group for this study were the parents as volunteers and leaders
in MAVA. MAVA is the place parents can participate, effect change, and be involved in what
interests their high school student. The level of interest, capacity, knowledge, or organizational
structure may hinder the parents from full involvement, which hinders MAVA’s effectiveness.
While it would be prudent to acknowledge all parents may not be able to fully participate at all
times, this study made the assumption that given the right conditions, most parents would want

9
to be involved in a booster organization to some degree that supports their child’s education.
Therefore, the goal for the parents as stakeholders involved 100% of the parents participating in
at least one volunteer leadership opportunity following training in the functions of MAVA.
Stakeholder Performance Goals
The goals for MAVA are included in Table 1.

Table 1
Organizational Mission, Organizational Goal and Stakeholder Group’s Performance Goal
Organizational Mission
The purpose of the Marching Arts Volunteer Association is to promote the Bofie High School
marching arts program and related group activities by providing financial and moral support
deemed appropriate by the Music Faculty and the membership of MAVA.
Organizational Performance Goal
By September of 2022, a new design will be in place for leadership development in the
Marching Arts Volunteer Association (MAVA). MAVA will create a program where its parent
volunteer leaders will be educated and trained to accept future leadership roles and
responsibilities.
Music Director and Marching Staff
By July 2022, 100% of parents will be
informed of MAVA opportunities
including MAVA’s role in their
child’s education, parent volunteer
leadership opportunities and the new
parent volunteer leadership
development program.
Parent Board of
Directors

By June 2022 MAVA
Board of Directors will
design and implement a
pilot leadership
development program for
parent volunteers.

Parent Volunteers

By August 2022, 100%
of parent volunteers will
be engaged in MAVA
by accepting one
leadership opportunity.

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Purpose of the Study and Questions

The purpose of this study was to explore the degree to which the organization was able to
meet its effectiveness in volunteer engagement and leadership development and innovate a
training program in MAVA to increase effectiveness based on identified needs related to
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences with respect to successful strategies for
volunteer organizations. While a complete performance evaluation would focus on all
stakeholders, for practical purposes, the stakeholder of focus were the parent volunteers in the
Marching Arts Volunteer Association at Bofie High School. The following questions served as
the research questions for this study:
1. What are the knowledge and skills, and motivational needs of parent volunteers to
be engaged in the MAVA program by accepting a leadership opportunity?
2. What is the interaction between MAVA organizational culture and context and
parent volunteers’ knowledge and motivation as it relates to increasing engagement of
parent volunteers by accepting a leadership opportunity?
3. What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of
knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the MAVA program by accepting leadership opportunities?
Overview of the Conceptual and Methodological Framework

The conceptual framework for this study was gap analysis which explored the needs in
knowledge, motivation, and organizational (KMO) influences (Clark & Estes, 2008). The
framework guided the volunteer - organization conversation through knowledge, motivation, and
organizational needs that hindered optimal performance (Clark & Estes, 2008). Gap analysis was
an ideal model for this study as the need to explore gaps in knowledge and motivation should

11
improve volunteer engagement and leadership development and help determine the
organizational factors that caused barriers to effective engagement. The methodological
framework was qualitative and used interviews to gain insight into the perceptions of current and
past parent volunteers, parent volunteer leaders, and Bofie High School music directors. The
desired result was a mutually beneficial relationship between engaged parent volunteers and the
organization with a full slate of leaders for the benefit of all stakeholders.
Definitions

In order to gain an understanding of marching arts and its components, the following
definitions were provided. The definitions that reflect the aspects of the student involvement and
participation are included for context. MAVA supports the students in the marching arts arena.
This basic understanding of what the students do was necessary for understanding the purpose of
MAVA’s work with the marching students and the performance aspect, in addition to the day-to-
day parent booster organization tasks. Finally, as the research questions reflect, the definitions of
volunteer engagement and leadership development are included.
Leadership development: The definition of leadership by Northouse (2016) of “a process
whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal,” (p. 6) is
combined with the discussion by Hartley and Benington (2010) of leadership development as
“the activities and experiences that are used to enhance the quality of leadership and leadership
potential in individuals, groups, teams, organizations, and networks” (p.112). Therefore,
leadership development for this purpose involved coaching and training volunteers to develop
their leadership skills and potential for effectively guiding the volunteers in the work of the
organization to effectively accomplish the common goals.

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Marching arts: Marching arts is the cumulative term used to describe the marching band, color
guard, and drumline activities. Students who participate in these activities are said to be
“marching,” as a way of saying they are participating (Sward, 2002). Marching arts involves
performances and competitions of marching band, drumline, and color guard. Marching arts
programs, whether in schools (scholastic) or outside of high schools (independent) require a
great deal of support in financial and logistical matters (Mackie, 2013; Winter Guard
International, n.d.).
Marching band: takes place on a football field, often performing in half-time shows during the
football season, and competing in field show competitions or tournaments. The marching band
includes the band made up of brass and wind instruments, drumline, percussion and front
ensemble, and color guard (Bailey, et al. 2015).
Parent volunteer booster organizations: such as MAVA - Marching Arts Volunteer Association,
are structured under the direction of the music director to provide financial and logistical support
for the marching arts programs and to care for the students (National Association of Music
Parents, n.d.). This happens during various seasons: Fall Marching Band, and Winter Guard and
Winter Drumline.
Volunteer engagement: defined by Alfes et al. (2015) as a volunteer's positive mental state
gained from both the work that is done and the positive emotions gained in the mutually
beneficial individual and organization interaction. This becomes a motivating factor for
continuing in sustained effort to complete the tasks.
Winter drumline: (also called Indoor Drumline) performances in a gym includes the drumline
battery of snare drums, cymbals, tenor drums, and pitched bass drums along with the front
ensemble of marimba, xylophone, bells, timpani, chimes, tam-tams, gongs, electric bass and rock

13
guitar, electronic keyboards, or any mix as desired by the director (Bailey, et al., 2015; Winter
Guard International, n.d.).
Winter guard: performance in a gym through dance with flags, rifles, sabers, batons, and other
props. (Bailey et al., 2015; Winter Guard International, n.d.).
Organization of the Project

This study was organized in five chapters. The first chapter introduced the concepts and
information relevant to the work of the Marching Arts Volunteer Association in support of
marching arts students at Bofie High School, and the need to engage parent volunteers and
encourage leadership development within the program. Chapter Two provided current literature
around advocacy and funding in music organizations, and research concerning volunteers in
general, and leadership characteristics and development. Chapter Three detailed the methodology
that was implemented for this study. The data was then collected and analyzed in Chapter Four.
Chapter Five provided recommendations for practice and future research.

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Chapter Two: Review of the Literature

Little empirical research has been conducted concerning marching arts organizations and
their efficiency and effectiveness. Therefore, to analyze parent volunteer engagement and
leadership development, this section drew upon research conducted in related areas and applied
the principles in the marching arts context. The literature review began with a brief history of
marching arts for context and to demonstrate the need for parent volunteers. Marching Arts
organizations generally operate as parent booster organizations. The booster organizations have
responsibilities in music program funding and advocacy, so literature there followed. Volunteer
engagement and leadership development are both well researched, and findings were applied to
the problem of developing and engaging parent volunteers and leaders in marching arts
organizations. The final part of Chapter Two addressed knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences to support the problem of practice using Clark and Estes’s (2008) Gap
Analysis relating to the needs of the parent volunteers within MAVA.
The Marching Arts

To understand the work of the Marching Arts Volunteer Association (MAVA), it is
important to understand the activity the organization supports and why marching arts are
important. Many volunteers become involved in MAVA to support their high school children in
a new learning opportunity. However, if parents have not had experience with marching arts in
the past, they may not fully understand the activity. Nevertheless, parents’ commitment to the
program is crucial to the success of the marching arts organization, the students, and has benefits
for the parents as well (Caldwell, 2014). Therefore, the historical background of marching band,
color guard and drumline, as well as the current marching programs began the literature review
to set the stage for the study on volunteer engagement and leadership development.

15
History and Scope
Originally a military activity, marching branched into the competitive pageantry of
current marching arts (Vickers, 2002). There are numerous associations and circuits that oversee
the competition process and procedure, logistics, judging and scoring for competitions. Marching
arts groups may participate in the larger associations or smaller local circuits depending on the
programming decisions made by the marching directors at each group or unit (Marching.com,
n.d.). The magnitude of the marching arts activities is exemplified by the numerous associations
worldwide whose membership includes thousands of marching art scholastic and independent
performing groups. There are over 20 countries participating in one international marching band
association, and over 150 active marching bands in California alone (Marching.com, n.d.; World
Association of Marching Show Bands (WAMSB), n.d.). Nationwide there are over 60 major
associations or circuits, where nearly two million students have participated over the years
(WAMSB.org/affiliates; World of Pageantry, n.d.) Additionally, an international association of
winter guard and winter drumline includes over 500 nationwide and international units (Winter
Guard International, n.d.). The performances and competitions of all these associations are
staffed by primarily volunteers, generated from the individual scholastic or independent unit or
from the association or circuit itself. Each event requirement can include 50 to over 200
volunteers for hosting, in addition to ongoing volunteers required by each unit for their
program’s logistics, funding, (Drum Corps International, n.d.; Winter Guard International, n.d.;
Western Band Association, 2020) and governance as booster organizations (Caldwell, 2014).
Marching Arts Boosters - Advocacy and Funding
Research directed at music funding and advocacy covers a part of the marching arts
boosters’ activities. Fundraising is necessary to supplement needed resources for marching arts
programs and should support but not replace district funding and music education content and

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procedure (MENC, 1989). In a perfect world, as Gerdy (2014) pointed out, all educational
pursuits would be funded. But that is not the reality. One study of music education by the CMA
Foundation (Give A Note Foundation, 2017) found that financial support of high school music
programs is inconsistent across districts, with 66% of high schools receiving district funding,
57% of schools receiving funding based on school budgets dependent on area property tax and
building, and 8% of high schools received no funding allocations. Supplemental funding for
school music education came from outside sources: 79% of schools sourced from student
fundraising; 63% of school funding through parent fundraising; 51% of schools had funding
sourced through family donations; and 48% of schools funded through outside donations or
sponsorships (Give A Note Foundation, 2017). Further statistics resulting from the CMA
foundation study showed 58% of music teachers believed fundraising was beneficial to their
music education programs, and 42% stated that additional funding beyond what the school
allotted was essential for the adequate delivery of the music program.
Although evidence establishes the value of high school music programs, program and
budget cuts plague these programs. Local and state policies prioritize programs to fund, and it
can often fall to music and the arts where cuts are made (McCormick, 2001). Emphasis on
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) has threatened music education over the
years, as music instruction has been deemed less essential in times where funding is tight. Elpus
(2008) stated advocacy for the marching arts and music education is a basic need for the program
from the boosters before funding cuts are threatened. Introducing STEAM (STEM including the
Arts) for a well-rounded education is preferred by the music community as well as the visual and
other performing arts organizations (Catterall, 2009). The research which supports this inclusion
of the arts in STEM point to three aspects: (1) arts involvement increasing academic
achievement; (2) the tie between music education and math achievement; and (3) the association

17
of theater arts (and assumed theater development within theatrical aspects of marching arts
performances) with human development (Catterall, 2008).
Hand in hand with advocacy comes involving the community in the marching arts
programs. Promoting the marching arts within the community through performances, services,
and advertising allows the community to also serve as advocates, donors, supporters, and
spectators. Thus, advocacy becomes crucial to the music program success (Hedgecoth & Fischer,
2014). Music unites people; music captivates and entertains and is part of every culture
(Hedgecoth & Fisher, 2014). Music can be experienced or performed yet cannot be kept for the
benefit of marchers alone, it is shared. Communicating the value of music and marching arts
programs in the form of advocacy is a continual process, working against budget constraints
(Shorner-Johnson, 2013). Whether it is called advocacy, publicity (Music Educators National
Conference, 1989), or marketing (booostr.co, (sic) n.d., booster-club-marketing), the goal is to
get the word out for supporting music for the benefit of all involved (Hedgecoth & Fischer,
2014).
When an organization engages in advocacy, accountability must follow to show the
communicated passion and skill intended to be instilled in students has been done, and the results
are demonstrated to the community in performance. The program structure must have financial
accountability behind. Financial accountability is often the focus of measurement, yet another
important and often overlooked measure for accountability is how the organization is meeting
other goals and objectives. While financial accountability is important, Shorner-Johnson (2013)
pointed out that what gets measured gets attention, so promoting the goals and outcomes of the
music program, advocating its performance credibility is essential to justify the time and
expense. With the importance of music education established, marching arts support

18
organizations can move on to doing the work for which they volunteered. Resources for running
booster organizations tailored to the marching arts themselves are useful.
The Marching Arts - COVID-19 Concerns
Current events had put a strain on the involvement of students in music education.
Schools and related programs have been seriously disrupted due to the global COVID-19
pandemic. The 2020 winter drumline and winter color guard seasons came to a screeching halt in
March of 2020, summer Drum Corps International 2020 was cancelled, and the fall 2020
marching band season was also cancelled or altered significantly, including college marching
arts due to PAC 12 and BIG 10 schools cancelling fall athletic and football events where the
marching band would normally perform (Winter Guard International, 3-11-2020; Drum Corps
International, 3-26-2020; Western Band Association, 7-10-2020; Marching.com, 9-30-2020).
Additionally, Winter Guard International (WGI) announced the cancellation of the 2021 Winter
Season (Winter Guard International, 9-28-2020). What this meant for the future of marching arts
was unknown. Directors were attempting to teach marching arts online, which was difficult in
the nature of the activity. Yet, the instruction continued, even as WGI, DCI, and others posted
training videos, posted historic performances on their websites, WGI.org and DCI.org, and WGI
held a virtual 2021 marching season involving individual, small group, and ensemble
performances both competitive and noncompetitive (Winter Guard International, 2020).
Going forward, however, the instruction and participation considerations of marching arts
were left up to the professionals to consider. There were plans in place for hygiene
recommendations, protective equipment, and social distancing guidelines for the return to
marching arts. The National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) News (2020) quoted James
Weaver, an NFHS director, stating “Marching band is an important activity for millions of
students around the United States. As we return to activity it is essential we find ways to keep

19
our students, directors, adjudicators, and spectators safe while engaging in music education and
performance” (p. 2). MAVA, as well as marching arts support organizations nationwide, still
carried out the role of support, albeit limited. Efforts in parent volunteer engagement and
leadership development were more critical when programs resumed, as the lapse in active
participation limited the knowledge transmission and motivation to participate in parent
volunteer programs and fundraising activities.
Volunteer Organizations

MAVA operates as a separate nonprofit volunteer organization apart from the school,
therefore research involving volunteer organizations was relevant to discussions of MAVA.
There is a significant body of research concerning volunteering in general, and that research
approaches several aspects of volunteers and volunteer organizations. There is no question that
nonprofit organizations rely on volunteers to do the work and to do it without pay (Eisner et al.,
2009; McCallum, 2017; Stebbins, 2009).
Volunteer Motivation and Engagement
The first challenge organizations face is volunteer recruitment, i.e. how to get the
potential volunteer to step their foot in the door (Hagar & Brudney, 2011). According to the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2015, 62,623,000 people began volunteer activities. When asked
how they became involved, respondents gave three main reasons: they were approached by the
organization to help (41.2%); the request came from someone in the organization (23.7%); or a
friend or relative invited them (14.5%) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). Volunteer
motivation, vital for understanding recruitment issues, also plays a significant role in the
volunteer retention and engagement issues that organizations face. Volunteer motivation for
involvement can be defined through the dichotomous aspects of internal altruism or external self-

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interest, (Finkelstein, 2010; Geiser et al., 2014) whether the involvement is out of their own
kindness (Shye, 2009); to give back to the community where they have received benefit
themselves, or self-defined as a personality trait (McCallum, 2017). Some argue that even in
altruistic motives there is self-interest in selecting opportunities (Stebbins, 2009). It is common
for volunteers in the same organization to participate under different motives. Additionally, there
are different types of volunteering that people may prefer, including episodic, sustained, brief
micro-volunteering, or virtual (McAllum, 2017). In most volunteer organizations, their “life
expectancy” is tied to its ability to keep volunteers in place and studying factors of dropout and
retention could keep the organization alive and functioning (Yanay & Yanay, 2008). Volunteer
motivation is a highly studied concept, which reflects its importance in volunteer recruitment and
retention strategies. Many organizations spend a great amount of time and resources to attract
volunteers (Shye, 2009).
Research suggests a range of motivations for engaging in volunteer activity. Some
volunteers respond to tangible rewards, such as recognition or a small gift or intangible rewards
as being told “thank you” or the feeling of personal satisfaction (Lacetera et al., 2014; Phillips &
Phillips, 2010). Clary et al. (1998) developed the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) to
measure factors that motivate volunteers to engage. These functions involve protective factors
(“giving back” for what they have), values, career assistance, social factors, understanding, and
enhancement factors. Subsequent researchers have used the VFI to study motivation and
volunteer retention from different perspectives. While motivation through rewards may lead to
volunteer retention, that motivation can change with time and circumstances (Harp et al., 2017;
Hyde et al., 2016; Phillips & Phillips, 2010) or with organizational barriers which discourage
volunteering (Hustinx, 2010; Shye, 2010; Yanay & Yanay, 2008). Considering volunteer
motivations can assist the organization in structuring for volunteer retention, as the effort to keep

21
volunteers engaged requires organizations to adapt to the different needs of the volunteers
through benefits, changes over time, and making the experience manageable. Volunteer
engagement happens with meaningful tasks and emotional connections to the organization (Alfes
et al., 2016).
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015) examined volunteering characteristics among
several categories. Among the findings was that volunteers were most likely to volunteer for
religious organizations, at 33.1% of all volunteers, followed by 25.2% who were most likely to
volunteer for educational or youth service organizations (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015).
With regard to the first characteristic, religious individuals may perceive volunteering as a way
of life. Giving of time, talents, and treasure (i.e., objects of monetary value) is understood as a
way to further the gospel. These individuals may identify their motivation for volunteering as
love for people, for God. This love for people may also carry to the second characteristic, caring
for young people through education and youth services volunteering. Hybels (2004) stated that
“the desire to be a world-changer is planted in the heart of every human being, and that desire
comes directly from the heart of God. We can suffocate that desire in selfishness, silence it with
the chattering of competing demands, or bypass it on the fast track to personal achievement” (pp.
13-14). Religiously motivated volunteers may gain a sense of meaning, demonstrated by
spending time on someone else’s needs rather than one’s own needs. This desire to serve others
is a central motive of the Christian faith, as in Lev.19:34, and is where some may begin their
volunteer interest to branch out in other arenas (Lindey et al., 2018; Schnell & Hoof, 2012).
Shye (2009) examined volunteering related to demographics and found the leading
demographics of volunteers are religious affiliation as well as education and socioeconomic level
in organized volunteering; and casual volunteering among needs of family and friends is more
likely to take place by those with lower education or socioeconomic levels. The motivation focus

22
is people first, joining organizations to help people (Shye, 2009). Yet still people receive benefits
of social and connectedness even when the initial prompt is selflessness and meaning (Schnell &
Hoof, 2012). Johnson (2015) suggested that with knowledge gained from research into how the
human brain works, that knowledge should be implemented into motivating volunteers. The
understanding that “compassion is contagious” (Johnson, 2015, p.6) suggests people can be
motivated by others’ compassion in socially beneficial behaviors. By feeling rewarded and
connected, volunteers are more likely to engage; conversely when feeling threatened and out of
control, people are less likely to engage.
Factors other than motivation cause volunteers to continue working with an organization.
Historically, what affects society as a whole or just a sector of the population can prompt
volunteers who may act in response to an event or societal trend where leadership or funding
may be lacking. They see the need and step in (Ellis, 2015). One study measured the
significance volunteers felt when they observed the impact their volunteering made on the people
they were serving. The observation resulted in the volunteers feeling good about their
participation and they were more willing to volunteer in the future. (Haski-Leventhal et al.,
2011). Volunteering makes a difference to the people served in addition to the satisfaction, skills,
and social networks and relationships volunteers receive.
Volunteers not only give their time, but also donate their money to fulfill the mission of
the organization. Through the donations, the organization realizes cost saving aspects received as
monetary or in-kind donations (Handy & Mook, 2011). Time involved in volunteering has great
value to organizations and to the economy. Volunteer giving in funds and work time in the
United States amounted to nearly half a trillion dollars in 2016, of which volunteer labor
equivalent was 12.6% of that or approximately $56 billion (McKeever, 2018). While the most
straightforward researched measurements of volunteer value address numbers of volunteers and

23
the hours they worked, it does not tell the whole story; the meaningful aspect of volunteering is
how the volunteer furthers the organization’s mission (Nesbit et al., 2018).
Organization Responsibilities for Volunteers
The organizations that do not address the issue of volunteer engagement and do not
implement strategies to meet the volunteers’ needs will cause the organizations to have an
insufficient supply of volunteers (Nesbit et al., 2018). The result is a loss for those people who
rely on the assistance of organizations that serve the communities. The further consideration in
volunteer success is in how the organization prepares volunteers to do the job (Nesbit et al.,
2018). Hyde et al. (2016) found volunteers were motivated to continue when they had the
necessary tools and training for the job, using organizational constraints, role ambiguity and
community service self-efficacy as predictors of volunteer engagement. These are issues related
to the organization itself. The value of training is increasingly discussed and brought into
organizations for work effectiveness, as one cannot do it when one does not know what to do and
how to do it (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009).
The responsibility the organization holds toward the volunteer appears in literature as the
need for effective leadership, volunteer management practices, and resources and training to do
the job (Handy & Mook, 2011; Haski-Leventhal et al., 2011; Harp et al., 2017; Hustinx, 2010;
Nesbit et al., 2018; Yanay & Yanay, 2008). Nesbit et al. (2018) pointed to the important aspects
the organization has control over that can affect volunteer involvement: characteristics of
leadership; organizational culture; attitudes of acceptance among staff and volunteers; and
communication. Nencini et al. (2016) advocated listening to the volunteers’ suggestions and
concerns as part of the communication, and fostering the relationships between the leaders and
volunteers, suggesting that positive climate and positive relationships develop a positive
volunteer. Eisner et al. (2009) agreed that volunteer management is important, but often not

24
optimal due to misalignment of skills with tasks, lack of recognition of contribution, lack of data
on volunteer value, lack of training, and lack of leadership in volunteer management. Thus,
leadership is important in the organization’s successful mission and goal accomplishment,
creating a positive culture that values volunteers and demonstrates it. Further discussion of
leadership is continued following the volunteer section.
Volunteer management resources from well-known management expert Peter Drucker’s
(1990) book Managing the Nonprofit Organizations, suggests running a nonprofit with business
expertise, yet McKee and McKee (2012) pointed out that the volunteer force needs a new
perspective of management, with more flexibility and less rigidity than the older systems. Just as
was the case in the discussion of booster organization resource availability, bookshelves are full
of ideas and help even for preparation of the bad, problematic, disasters that may happen within
the organization (Garry, 2017). Many nonprofit organizations have paid staff that works with the
volunteers, so gleaning pertinent information is necessary and can be helpful. The basic idea is
for the organization to be ready for volunteers so all work efficiently together (Brudney, 2012).
Informed leadership goes a long way to providing for and producing positive volunteer
experiences where people are willing to participate.
When Motivation is Not Enough
Hustinx (2010) studied reasons volunteers quit, examining personal constraints such as
family, work, and leisure choices, and negative organizational issues. The analysis indicated that
47.5% of respondents left for both personal and organizational reasons, 35.3% left for personal
reasons only, and 17.2% left for reasons tied to the organization, such as dissatisfaction,
workload, training, responsibility level, organizational structure and governance, and lack of
appreciation (Hustinx, 2010). When people do not want to or are not able to volunteer, they can
be offered the important position of event spectator (Caldwell, 2014) and should still be made to

25
feel comfortable (Fader 2010). Leadership must examine the cultural practices within both the
leadership ranks and organizational factors causing barriers to volunteer engagement, and not
fault those whose volunteering behavior is different from others (Cooper, 2009).
Leadership Development

With respect to leadership development in the context of marching arts volunteer
organizations, it naturally flows from the information on booster organizations, where leadership
makes or breaks the organization’s performance. To delve deeper into why leadership is so
important, research has provided examples of effective leadership. Caldwell (2014) argues that
all booster members are leaders in some way. Purposeful leadership is crucial to the success of
music booster groups. There is a temptation within nonprofit boards to fill open positions with
warm bodies, just so the work can continue. Although Jim Collins (2001) stated that leaders need
to focus on getting the right people on the bus, nonprofits may tend to want anyone who wanders
onto the bus, meaning that they often must use volunteers that may not have specific skills to
further the work of the nonprofit toward the mission. However, for effectiveness of mission and
to avoid overburdening active leaders, development and thoughtful planning and training will
create an efficient, sustainable board to lead the organization. Research confirms that positive
management practices lead to volunteer satisfaction and retention within the organization. The
cycle caused by volunteer turnover can prohibit the operation and mission of the organization,
causing the volunteer experience to be unsatisfactory. The result may be further perpetuation of
dissatisfaction leading to retention and recruitment problems (Boezeman & Ellerman, 2014;
Erdurmazil, 2019; Hager & Brudney, 2004).

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Valuable Volunteer Leadership Characteristics
Researchers agree that valuable leaders have exemplary organizational, communication,
and visionary skills to effectively lead volunteer organizations (Rehnborg & Moore, 2012; Safrit
& Schmeising, 2005). Additionally, when leaders in an organization demonstrate these
characteristics, volunteers feel appreciated, cared for, supported, included, and recognized for the
part they played in the organizational successes (Boezeman & Ellemers, 2014; Brudney, 2016;
Hager & Brudney, 2004; Posner, 2015; Senses-Ozyurt & Villicana-Reyna, 2016). Good leaders
also have personal characteristics that draw volunteers in as followers and engage them in the
work. Those characteristics include integrity, passion, commitment, modeling and inspiring,
creating a team spirit, having a personal connection with volunteers and genuinely caring for and
having empathy for volunteers in the organization. (Hager & Brudney, 2004; Posner, 2015;
Senses-Ozyurt & Villicana-Reyna, 2016).
Leadership characteristics may play more of an essential role in volunteer organizations
than in for-pay organizations (Catano et al., 2001; Senses-Ozyurt & Villicana-Reyna, 2016).
Volunteer leaders guide differently toward achieving the organization’s goals (Brudney, 2016;
Catano et al., 2001; Posner, 2015), where leaders do not have the ability to give financial
compensation to the followers. They have no power or economic leverage to entice action from
those volunteers who work under them and are under no obligation to continue with the
organization, unless as is the case with MAVA, their child is a part of a program supported by
the organization. Instead, the leader must work with the intrinsic motivation and goals of the
volunteer to do the job, and use non-traditional styles of motivation, such as relationship building
(Posner, 2015). Volunteer leaders cannot force others to follow, so they must implement other
means needed to lead, such as influence while they continue to motivate other volunteers and
encourage participation by reluctant volunteers (Champlin, 2009). Even in for-profit

27
organizations it is the perceptions of management that can lead to organizational commitment
(Borgogni et al., 2011). When volunteers perceive the leaders to be inclusive, concerned about
the individual’s volunteer experience, they create a positive relationship, where volunteers are
valuable human resources, whose time is valued, not wasted (Brudney, 2016; Hager & Brudney,
2004; Safrit & Schmeising, 2005).
Researchers have identified servant leadership (Erdurmazil, 2019; Schneider & George,
2011) and transformational leadership (Catano et al., 2001; Posner, 2015) as effective for leading
volunteer organizations. Catano et al.’s (2001) study found that transformational leadership style,
instead of transactional as in the for-pay organization, was more effective in recruiting and
retaining. Schneider and George (2011) also made the case for servant leadership as most
effective in organizations for commitment, satisfaction, empowerment, and retention with
perceived servant leadership above transformational. Additionally, Erdurmazil (2019) found
perceived servant leadership influenced motivation and commitment. These leadership styles
incorporate the relationship with volunteers’ and their need to feel appreciated, included,
empowered, and nurtured, and that they are making a difference (Lord et al., 2016; Northouse,
2016), which can help the volunteers be efficacious in performing tasks for the value of the
community. As society changes, leadership may need to adapt as well, and these traditional
leadership identities may change. Leadership must shift focus to involve demographics and
diversity, increased complexity, and social and sustainability issues, and expand to support and
develop new leaders in the changing global contexts (Lord et al., 2016). Leadership adaptation is
especially important as society deals with the current issues of the COVID-19 global pandemic
and increased dialogue concerning systemic racism.

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Effective Volunteer Leadership
While effective leadership is important for organizations, smaller volunteer organizations
may have a greater need for effective leadership practices but barriers such as lack of funding
and time may play a role (Brewis et al., 2010; Hager & Brudney, 2004; Meier et al., 2012).
Larger organizations tend to incorporate more management strategies for effectiveness, even
modeling business strategies in some cases, but most nonprofits have not maximized their
inclusion of volunteer management practices. For example, based on the interviews from a
sample drawn from over 3000 charities, only 46% have adopted volunteer training and
professional development to some extent, while only 25% have adopted this training portion to a
larger degree (Hager & Brudney, 2004). Similarly, a research report of 1004 volunteer managers
in England concurs, with only half of the volunteer organizations having a training and
development program in place (Brewis et al., 2010). When combining charities into four subsets
according to type, Hager and Brudney (2004) found that education and the arts were the least
likely to have adopted volunteer management practices, over health and human services.
Champlin (2009) and Meier et al. (2012) recommend providing volunteers with smaller
leadership responsibilities as entry into greater leadership responsibilities, essentially developing
leadership skills while they are volunteering. New leaders still need support, especially in
smaller localized organizations.
Training for Effective Volunteer Leaders
The need for volunteer engagement, management, encouraging, and training volunteers
into volunteer leaders is well documented (Brewis et al., 2010; Champlin, 2009; Lockett &
Boyd, 2012; Meier et al., 2012). People need to believe they can become leaders (Bandura,
2000). Elliot et al. (2017) stated that learners’ self-efficacy beliefs can be influenced and action
encouraged during learning, and modeling and credible social persuasion can serve as a source of

29
self-efficacy. Restated, self-efficacy can encourage volunteers into leadership. Additionally,
modeling and using veteran volunteers and past leaders as a resource to train new leaders is
effective (Champlin, 2009; Lockett & Boyd, 2012). To assist future leaders in development of
self-efficacy, training can be helpful.
With only 25% or so involved in volunteer training as stated above, there is a missed
opportunity to develop volunteer skills to assist their move into leadership positions. Posner
(2015) stated that strengthening leadership ability benefits the organization as well as those
people who benefit from the organization. Good leadership is necessary for recruitment and
retention, and for-profit organizations also discuss the importance of the leader in employee
satisfaction and engagement (Borgogni et al., 2011). Although it can be difficult to find
volunteers willing to lead, for effective organizational performance it is essential to encourage
volunteers to lead and develop positive leadership characteristics through training for maximum
impact as a volunteer leader and identify and cultivate future leaders.
The Importance of Leadership and Volunteer Diversity
The volunteer experience may be different for those families from underrepresented
groups. According to research from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2016), people who are White
volunteered at a rate of 26.4 percent of all volunteers. Following were people who are Black at
19.3 percent, Asian at 17.9 percent, and 15.5 percent were people who are Hispanic. Informal
volunteering, defined as “helping” others, was found to be more frequent than formal
volunteering with an organization for African American and Hispanic-Latinx populations (Lee &
Brudney, 2012). Leaders should make a space for everyone to participate as they can, as there
are advantages to involving underrepresented volunteers, and diversity can be an asset in
creativity, innovation, and problem solving (Kerby & Burns, 2012; Prieto et al., 2009). Students
observe people working together and learn to follow that example (Doyle, 2014). Research

30
shows that workplace diversity improves performance and mutual respect can be fostered by
diverse people working together for the common good, increasing cultural sensitivity to the
group as people work together from different backgrounds (Prieto et al., 2009).
Historically underrepresented groups are becoming a greater part of the school
enrollment, especially Latinx families (Fry & Lopez, 2012), and when families are involved in
education children perform better (Epstein, 2011). Yet diversity may be lacking because
individuals from underrepresented groups may feel they are being asked to give free labor (Mc
Allum, 2017; Stebbins, 2009) or they feel uncomfortable resulting from perceived negative
perceptions from school personnel (Kim, 2009). The lack of social capital and socialization
which influences the expectation to volunteer may be a factor for their volunteering. However, to
hear the voices of the historically underrepresented groups, Sondeen et al. (2007) recommend
organizations should consider the barriers to volunteer as well as inviting and engaging
volunteers in a way that more closely aligns with considering comfort level and values of people
from the underrepresented groups. Underrepresented groups could then help to form the
organization to plan to meet their needs and be integrated and welcomed into the organization.
The traditional manner of volunteering may need to change to engage all parents (Cooper, 2009).
Cooper (2009) suggests instead of focusing on how the groups are different or what they lack,
effort should be placed on the value and experience underrepresented groups bring. Appreciation
for the resulting diversity and increase in relationships offer benefits for the student, families,
and the school. That mutual appreciation and welcoming spirit is needed based on surveys of all
stakeholders in one district including parents, administrators, teachers, pre-service teachers, and
staff (Ferra, 2009). School personnel benefit by listening to the parents’ voices, to break barriers
by understanding the beliefs of parent involvement already in place and remove negative
perceptions by and about the school regarding involvement (Cooper, 2009).

31
Efforts by the school to build a relationship among the family, community, and school
would be appreciated by the parents. Simons (2019) presented the importance of schools’ efforts
to involve all families including underrepresented groups, socioeconomic groups, and family
types. Continuing, Simons found the involvement effort of schools made more of an influence on
actual involvement by families than any family or group background, dynamics, or students’
achievement. Sheldon (2019) stated that parents may feel less able to help their child
academically in high school, but involvement of parents in an established program can help
parents gain confidence in dialogue and interactions concerning school matters.
Facilitating Change

Strategies MAVA had in place for leadership development were inconsistent, and parent
volunteers were not all engaged in the organization that supports their child’s music and
performance education through the marching arts. While leaders vocalized the need for change,
an effective strategy had not yet been implemented. Rueda (2011) cautioned goals may still not
be met when the organization comes up with change strategies without really understanding the
problem, or even ignoring any kind of action altogether, thinking the problem is insurmountable.
The problem is not one unique to MAVA at Bofie High School, but deficiencies in leadership
development and engagement of parent volunteers was an issue faced by many marching arts
parent volunteer booster organizations. Therefore, the value to MAVA in understanding how to
implement effective practices for volunteer engagement and leadership development could be
adapted to other marching arts organizations.
The first step in change for MAVA was the foundation to easily access and follow the
organizational goals. Then examination of the goals and accomplishments identified the needs
with respect to knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences. Thus, the framework for

32
the study was the Gap Analysis by Clark and Estes (2008). Innovating leadership development in
MAVA was based on the identified areas that needed further development to increase
knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs.
Clark and Estes (2008) Knowledge, Motivation, and Organization Influences Framework
The optimal parent volunteer engagement and leadership development in MAVA, the
organization of focus in this study, was addressed through the framework introduced by Clark
and Estes (2008). This framework, or gap analysis, examines gaps or inconsistencies between
performance goals and goal achievement in knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences (KMO). The strategy involves identifying those areas that do not align with the goals
that had been previously established, and this creates a gap between the organization’s current
performance level and the desired performance level based on the stated goals. Without
connecting the performance to the organization’s goals, the change strategy may be misdirected
(Clark & Estes, 2008). The focus of the change strategy is not in what the person in the
organization is doing wrong, per se, but may also be where the support is lacking for people to be
successful in achieving the goals within the organization. The first logical step then is to
determine if the goals exist and if the expected performance goals align with the organization’s
goals. If the goal or purpose of activity is not stated, is unclear, or is unmet, the organization will
not be successful in achieving its performance ideals, as the volunteer’s or organization's focus
may be in the wrong direction (Marsh et al., 2006). This need for clear and relevant goals
includes overarching goals as well as day to day activity expectations so people know what
needs to be accomplished. It can even be beneficial to compare and benchmark to other
organizations within the industry as well as outside.
This study involved interviewing parents of current or past marching arts students to
determine if adequate knowledge, motivation, and organizational support existed or needed to be

33
reinforced. By determining the source of the problem, the solution could be properly
implemented (Clark & Estes, 2008). Knowledge needs could be determined by whether people
could communicate the performance goals and how, when, where to work, and why and for
whom they volunteer. The influences of motivation involved active choice, persistence, and
mental effort (Clark & Estes, 2008). Organizational barriers can be barriers or needs people
faced in completing their volunteer work. People with ties to an organization were more likely to
be able to answer questions about the KMO information and influences within the organization.
This information helped people understand why the performance was not meeting goals and how
it could be improved. The knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences all interact with
each other to accomplish the goal in the work performance environment (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Knowledge informs how to do things; motivation keeps the process moving. Motivation benefits
the organization's function even if there is not a gap between goals and performance. All three
aspects must be examined (Clark & Estes, 2008). After determining the goals and needs and
performing the analysis, steps are identified to realign the people and organization with the goals.
Further evaluation checks the realignment with the goals again.
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences

The following section will examine the influences in knowledge, motivation, and
organizational culture as they relate to the potential needs within MAVA as an organization.
Three knowledge influences, three motivation influences, and four organizational culture
influences presented here are further examined in Chapter Four study findings. Further, the
KMO influences validated as needs will inform the Chapter Five study recommendations.

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Knowledge Influences
Knowledge involves four aspects: (1) factual - having a basic knowledge of facts,
knowing information on a subject; (2) conceptual -understanding relationships among factors
that work together for a purpose or function, how things fit together like frameworks, theories, or
models that support understanding in a given area; (3) procedural - how something works or how
something is done; and (4) metacognitive - awareness of an individual's thinking process about
their own knowledge learning, self-regulation, and problem solving behavior (Krathwohl, 2002;
Rueda, 2011). These four aspects of knowledge revised the well-used Bloom’s Taxonomy in use
since 1956, describing six types of cognition as knowledge, comprehension, application,
analysis, synthesis, and evaluation (Krathwohl, 2002). Optimal performance requires knowing
what is known and unknown, so that knowledge needs can be enhanced through training,
involving information and education, as well as job aids to assist the processes (Clark & Estes,
2008).
Knowledge and skill improvement are necessary when people do not know how to
accomplish a performance goal or when novel situations may be encountered. To assist
knowledge at different levels, Clark and Estes (2008) identified a progression depending on the
level at which the skill is needed: (1) information; (2) job aids; (3) training; and (4) education.
Information involves communicating strategy or examples. Job aids provide self-help
information people can access to assist them in performing their job. Training informs how to do
the job with time for practice and corrective feedback. Education involves acquiring conceptual
knowledge that can be used to handle unanticipated situations.
Conceptual Knowledge Influence

Parent volunteers need to understand roles and responsibilities of booster and
leadership requirements and be able to identify support after accepting leadership tasks.

35
Understanding the parent volunteer role in MAVA involved understanding booster governance
and responsibilities. Clark and Estes (2008) pointed to education in this knowledge bridge, where
conceptual and strategic knowledge inform handling job needs in unanticipated and unexpected
situations, as conditions change. A perusal of the web brought forth countless sites dedicated to
booster clubs. It appeared that information about booster organization operation is readily
available, yet those who need the information may not know and do not access it. Some schools,
(i.e. Leander Independent School District, 2019; Anoka-Hennepin Public Schools, 2018; Dinuba
Unified School District, n.d.; Kern High School District, 2018), law and professional firms,
(Alliance of Schools for Cooperative Insurance Programs, ascip.org; BGE Financial,
bgefinancial.com; Bricker and Eckler, Attorneys at Law, bricker.com; Don Kramer’s Nonprofit
Law, nonprofitissues.com; Education Law Association, educationlaw.org; Fiscal Crisis and
Management Assistance Team, FCMAT.org), and booster websites (Association of Music
Parents, amparents.org; Booostr [sic], booostr.co; Boosterland, boosterland.com; National
Booster Club Training Council, boosterclubs.org; Parent Booster USA, parentbooster.org) posted
information that is relevant for booster organizations in general. Leaders could look to websites
for booster organizations as sources for support in booster governance even though the websites
vary greatly, where some provide detailed and current information, and some have not had new
posts for several years, but the older information can still be helpful (Caldwell, 2014). Books are
also available on booster key components, fundraising, and governance. For example, the
following resources are available for reference: The Booster Leader (Caldwell 2014), Strategic
Plans for a Successful Booster Club (Vandewalker 2017), and School Fundraising: So Much
More than Cookie Dough (Englund 2015). Environmental scans revealed that parents at MAVA
did not know about or have never accessed outside resources to inform their work with booster
organizations. It would be helpful to parent volunteers to know resources were available.

36
Understanding what needs an organization had involved knowing where to find support
and underscored the importance of conceptual knowledge required by volunteers to locate
support. Parent volunteers might not understand or be able to communicate the organizational
structure as a nonprofit booster group for the mission support of MAVA without some
introduction, training, or resources to guide. Caldwell (2014) observed that parents are at their
busiest during the high school years with their children, and there is often not time or ability to
explore and develop resources on their own. Guidance is vital for booster organizations,
especially since booster organizations exist to serve almost every school in some capacity
(Vandewalker, 2017). Publicly available resources illustrate effective and important strategies
and practices that are required for effective mission and goal achievement by booster
organizations. Booster leadership must communicate the purpose and mission, guides planning
and goal setting, recordkeeping, cooperation and congeniality, ethical practices, and fundraising,
while creating a successful business environment for the benefit of the booster organization and
the group it supports. Sources in booster and nonprofit governance are available, and offer
suggestions on booster management (Caldwell, 2014; Englund, 2015; Parent Booster USA, n.d.;
Vandewalker, 2017).
Booster organizations are required to keep up with IRS guidelines and manage booster
funds, engage in fundraising, provide governance as a booster board, and provide assistance to
the marching arts program, students, and director (Caldwell, 2014; IRS, 2020; Raynor, 2013).
Booster organizations may be better able to comply with legal, ethical, and operational
obligations if volunteers operate within a framework connected to the school through the teacher,
yet with the boosters operating as a business (Vandewalker, 2017a). When the organizational
structure encourages “ownership,” active participation, and teamwork, their effort is more
effective (Vandewalker, 2017a). Caldwell (2014) stated the importance is remembering the

37
ultimate purpose and goal is supporting student education, and the benefits students receive. It
may be that parent volunteers receive personal gain or recognition from involvement in the
organization, but that is not the main purpose. As Isaac et al. (2001) stated that choosing a
leadership role in an organization gives strength to improve performance, solve problems, and
can inspire others to be involved.
Procedural Knowledge Influence

Parent volunteers need to know how to leverage MAVA resources in order to be able to
successfully accomplish their leadership task. In order to do the tasks, parent volunteers needed
to understand the terminology they use that is unique to the marching arts. Parent volunteers
need procedural knowledge, so they know how to do what they need to do. Actual research on
booster organizations is limited, yet several websites and books hold information that would be
valuable to booster parents. Yet that guiding information was not readily available for new
booster members who may not know where to find the information. While parents may have the
best of intentions to be involved, they may not have knowledge and guidance they need, and the
organization may not offer much support (Monson, 2014). Because the composition of marching
arts volunteer organizations changes annually with the influx of new parents of freshmen
students and the graduation of senior students, parents and systems must be in place to ensure
consistency and adherence to effective procedural and legal practices. Clark and Estes (2008)
emphasized the importance of knowledge and training so people acquire the knowledge and
skills of how to do the job, with feedback as a component for continued improvement.
Metacognitive Knowledge Influence

Parent volunteers need to be able to reflect on and know their diverse strengths in work
and experience skills, knowledge, and leadership experiences are beneficial to MAVA.
Metacognition is being aware of and examining the way one thinks. Volunteers may be able to

38
adapt their thoughts to be involved and engaged as leaders (Krathwohl, 2002). Metacognition, or
thinking about thinking, includes the ability to assess one’s prior knowledge in work and
experience along with strengths to determine how to use that knowledge in a meaningful way for
leadership (Ambrose et. al., 2010). MAVA could not recruit specific people with specific skills
into parent volunteer and leadership positions because of the connection with their child’s high
school years with marching arts involvement. Therefore, the volunteers needed to understand
how a variety of skills and backgrounds could be used to complete the tasks, and volunteers
should consider how their own skills can be advantageous to the organization's mission.
Wickersham et al. (2015) found in their study of students’ academic learning that
metacognition, or reflecting on and awareness of the learning process along with students’
experiences, led to greater academic gains. Student experience paired with guided reflection
resulted in students able to participate in new leadership roles by adapting what they already
knew to a new situation. Hart (2014) discussed metacognition in reference to music students’
learning. He related practice strategies as thinking about the goal, and practice and experience
getting one closer to the goal, resulting in autonomous achievement. If guided metacognition is
helpful for learners toward understanding and achievement, relating it to parent volunteers as
learners for understanding could be useful. Having parents reflect on past experiences and skills
could bring connection to use in new situations, in this case, working with marching arts students
through MAVA. Guidance through seasoned volunteers demonstrating the need for verbalizing
how diverse experiences are beneficial to understanding MAVA participation and leadership
would assist in metacognitive knowledge development.
Diverse knowledge comes not only from skills and experiences, but from diverse
socioeconomics and demographics as well. The goal should be to make underrepresented groups
feel comfortable, accepted, and valued, knowing how their experience assists MAVA and

39
students’ success. According to Bortree and Waters (2014), people from different groups are
encouraged to share their input when they feel included, and organizations benefit from
reflecting the culture and diversity of the arena in which the organization operates. Therefore,
diversity alone is not the priority; organizations should focus on inclusion as much as diversity.
Nichols et al. (2012) researched sports organizations where people or their children
participated and found that common interest in the organization brought the social capital and
“bridging and bonding” that happens to volunteers. The interest and engagement of the activity
bridges across demographics and is the source of bonding, and bonding is the tie individuals
experience in the shared norms, trust, and the collective identity in the activity. This can be
related to the bridging and bonding that occurs in the parent volunteers of the marching arts,
where parents from different backgrounds work together for the common goal of their child’s
music education. Jorgensen (2020) equated the values in music education to the Declaration of
Independence’s statement of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all students, where
music bridges these founding values and has its focus on people, where music meaning is made.
Another advantage of the marching arts volunteer organizations composition of parent
volunteers is that they represented diverse employment, socio-economic status, and cultural
arenas. Diversity is beneficial to provide different perspectives and involving volunteers of color
in MAVA supports the students of color and gives them a voice to help their needs be met. This
diversity also brings outside industry benefits, innovation, and competitive advantage as people
with different skill sets and frames of mind are included. Schein (2017) suggests that working
together in diverse cultures, both ethnic and occupationally, can facilitate a new structure that
allows new dialogue through personal stories. Connecting through stories and examples in life
can help move people into new connections and actions (Denning, 2011). Efforts must be made
to ensure the organizational culture is diverse and inclusive in its climate for change and

40
effectiveness (Clark & Estes, 2008). Table 2 presents the assumed knowledge influences that
affect the volunteers in MAVA.

Table 2
Knowledge Influences
Knowledge Type Assumed Knowledge Influence
Conceptual 1. Parent volunteers need to understand roles and responsibilities of
booster and leadership requirements and be able to identify support
after accepting leadership tasks.
Procedural 2. Parent volunteers need to know how to leverage MAVA resources in
order to be able to successfully accomplish their leadership task.
Metacognitive 3. Parent volunteers need to reflect on and know that diverse strengths
in work and experience skills, knowledge, and leadership experiences
are beneficial to MAVA.

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Motivation Influences
When organizations consider motivation to engage volunteers, the research suggests
providing volunteers with necessary means and support to complete their job, clear role
definition, and considering volunteer’s preferred recognition style (Nesbit et al., 2018; Phillips &
Phillips, 2010). Yet even when these considerations are met and volunteer motivations are
considered, failure occurs in retaining volunteers. Motivational analysis and efforts to meet the
needs of volunteers do not guarantee success in volunteer retention. Organizations could benefit
by observing their practices for volunteers and eliminating negative aspects that may cause
volunteers to leave, while keeping in mind the volunteer motivations for engaging. Personal
reasons that cause volunteers to leave are outside of the organization’s control and addressing the
volunteer motivation would not lead to volunteer retention. Still, organizations can seek to
understand motivations and what happens when there is not a match between the organization
and the volunteer to know how to reassess and retain those volunteers in the organization, if
possible.
Clark and Estes (2008) described three aspects of motivation: active choice, persistence,
and mental effort. Further, they discuss four factors that can positively influence a person’s
motivation in choice, persistence, and mental effort: (1) individual and group confidence; (2)
perceived organizational barriers to goal achievement; (3) a positive emotional experience within
the organizational environment; and (4) highlighting rationale for the values of the goals. A
person’s self-efficacy to perform the task cannot be engaged in ambiguous situations where
knowledge is lacking (Bandura, 2012). Furthermore, self-regulation skills can assist the person’s
ability to perform tasks (Bandura, 2005). When people see the importance of the work, they can
consider their desire to participate as well as their ability to complete the tasks. The perceived
value of completing the task leads to making a participation choice (Wigfield et al., 2017), which

42
is one of the factors of motivation along with persistence and mental effort (Clark & Estes,
2008). People determine ahead of time their abilities and expected outcomes for engaging in the
action, and plan to participate to achieve the goal (Bandura, 1991), which relates to persistence
(Clark & Estes, 2008). According to Clark and Estes (2008), people who have confidence (i.e.,
self-efficacy) expend the most mental effort on a task, although overconfidence may cause
mistakes or lack of sufficient effort. The personal gaps that may be present are knowledge as
above, and motivation, stated here. Clark and Estes (2008) state “Knowledge tells us how to do
things and is our storehouse of experience, motivation gets us going, keeps us moving, and tells
us how much effort to spend on work tasks” (p. 80). Motivation can be lowered by barriers or
organizational constraints people encounter. These consist of lack of consistent or communicated
goals, unfairness, unnecessary rules, too much internal competition, and negativity. What people
value also makes a difference in the motivation people must choose to participate in the activities
(Clark & Estes, 2008).
Expectancy Influences
Parent volunteers need to believe their volunteering is an asset to help their child be
successful in school. Parents need to see the positive relationships that result from involvement
in their child’s education to encourage parents’ involvement. Through volunteering, both
children and parents will benefit: the children through educational achievement aspects
demonstrated by research (Epstein, 2019); and the parents, through relationships, the social
network that will be built, along with other benefits from volunteering. When volunteers have
high expectations of positive outcomes, they will be more engaged (Schindler et al., 2014).
Booster organizations and leadership can share the research on the effects of parent involvement
in school, so parents understand the value they have and the role they play in their child’s
education.

43
One of the core functions of MAVA was to involve parents in their students’ education. It
is well-established that students whose parents are involved in their school through volunteerism
are more successful academically and developmentally (Epstein, 2011, 2019). The partnership of
families, schools and communities strengthen the students’ performance where there is a well-
planned structure and implementation in place (Simon, 2019). Benefits of parent involvement
included higher grades, passing classes, and enrollment in higher level classes; regular school
attendance; better social skills, attitudes, and connections to school; and higher graduation rates
and advancement to post-secondary education (Henderson & Mapp, 2002; The Center for Mental
Health in Schools at UCLA, 2015). Davies (2002) suggested using this evidence to inform and
prompt parents to be involved in schools for the benefit of all stakeholders.
Parent involvement is of particular importance in high school where fewer parents
volunteer over the student’s younger years. Yet the parents’ involvement makes an impact in
staying connected with their children, and consequently their children tend to stay more focused
on school and are less likely to have discipline problems (Jansorn, 2019). Although research
suggests the tie between parent involvement and their child’s achievement and academic success,
parent volunteer participation in schools typically drops in high school because parents are
unsure how to participate (Jansorn, 2019). Having a goal-linked approach to the parent
involvement provides a plan to make the partnership happen (Jansorn, 2019). Further, parents
can volunteer in the structure of the marching arts volunteer organization to fulfill the goals of
involvement to improve student academic and music achievement, and parent-child connections.
Parental involvement is both a motivating factor for volunteering, and the marching arts
volunteer organization provides the avenue for parent involvement. Volunteers serve as part of
their child’s school experience and as a separate functional organization at the same time. Parent
involvement can also impact the student’s music education. Research suggesting overall student

44
attitudes and achievement were improved when parents were involved and reinforced music
participation at home (Dell et.al., 2014; Zdzinski, 2002).
Expectancy theory, developed by Victor Vroom in the 1960s, states that people tend to
prefer some outcomes over others, depending on what the outcome is, and when the action
produces that desired outcome (Miner, 2015). Parijat and Bagga (2014) state that expectancy
theory calculates motivation in three relationships: effort and performance; performance and
reward/outcome; and reward/outcome and personal goals (referred to as valence). Expectancy
theory in motivation is expecting an outcome in the relationship between effort, performance,
rewards, and personal goals. Even though volunteers may have different motivations to
participate, there are numerous outcomes that they may seek. People generally have a desire to
be effective in their lives, and consequently will participate in behavior which they perceive to be
effective (Clark & Estes, 2008). Application of expectancy value in motivation to parent
volunteer efforts leads to the conclusion that when parent volunteers expect they will have a
positive impact on their children’s education through involvement, they will be more motivated
to engage with the organization (Wigfield et al., 2017).
Task Utility Values

Parent volunteers need to value the benefits of their involvement for themselves as well
as their children. Through the work volunteers engage in, the students will learn and compete in
a way they would not be able to do without assistance. Parent volunteers can be motivated to
work on leadership tasks that may not be of particular interest to them if they see the value of the
task. Task value describes the idea that the task is worth pursuing and has value for future goals
(Liem et al., 2007; Wigfield et al., 2017). Johnson and Sinatra (2013) found that inducing task
value in their participants facilitated greater engagement in that task.

45
Much of the work done by the volunteers in marching arts programs at schools is tied to
support at the marching arts competitions, where all parent volunteers are leaders through the
administration of their tasks. These thousands of marching arts organizations, involving upwards
of hundreds of thousands of marchers annually, operate through volunteer assistance. This most
often takes the form of booster organizations which have two basic components: the performance
and pageantry aspect, and the governance. First, the volunteer duties can be compared to theater
stage managers and backstage support required for theater performances. Multiple websites for
multiple marching arts programs and organizations outline these duties of the volunteer
organizations, as all have similar requirements (booostr.co, 2018; Caldwell, 2014; Gardner, n.d.;
Hackett, 2016; Kritsch, 2018; Kuhl, 2018; Lochner, 2009; Walker, 2018). Simply stated, these
duties include logistics, show site management, staging and support, and general caregiving and
chaperone duties for each marching arts group. These duties could not be done without volunteer
support. Therefore, if all parents as volunteers took on at least one leadership role in support, the
load would be lighter for all. Then the parent volunteers’ work for the students would be done
both in performance support and governance in the booster organization, and all needs would be
met.
In addition to the competition or performance duties of the volunteers, the booster
organization is also responsible for the governance of the nonprofit, including fundraising, and
must follow specific rules and guidelines. Booster organizations are bound by legal and ethical
obligations, which if not adhered to, can result in loss of nonprofit status with the IRS, loss of
funds through mismanagement, or repercussions from not following school and district
guidelines and requirements (Booostr.co, n.d.; Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team,
2019). Information about basic booster practices and legal requirements are readily available
online through different sources, which provide the information in greater or less detail, but still

46
serve as a resource from which to draw. Because booster organizations are legally classified as
nonprofit organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Tax Code, they are required to
follow all applicable laws in the Tax Code. For example, some organizations have lost their
nonprofit statuses for engaging in innocent and seemingly appropriate fundraising strategies
(Chan, 2012; Cowen & Sack, 1993; Fitz-Gibbon, 2017; Reilly, 2015; Scott & Sanders, 2014).
Also, a fundraising strategy used by several groups in the past, that of having students pay their
own expenses, have resulted in lawsuits associated with that illegal practice (Benjamin, 2009;
National Booster Club Training Council, n.d.). Essentially, all students must benefit from the
funding, with no private inurnment of funds. Blogs, white papers, and news articles have
reported violations and loss of nonprofit status over the years, and this appears to be a recurring
issue. Booster organizations often rely on outdated information and may not recognize the
organization is subject to IRS rules at all (Englund, 2018).
Programs flourish when booster organizations work properly. There has been an increase
over the last several years of school supported nonprofit organizations, where gaps in educational
funding are being filled by these organizations, where the activities would not be possible
without the supplemental funding (Fermanich, 2011; Nelson & Gazley, 2014). The value of
booster organizations cited by the National Booster Club Training Council found that “the well-
organized booster club provides on average over 400 volunteer hours annually to programs” and
“averages over $12,000 in funding support annually” (boosterclubs.org/about-clubs, n.d.), and
research by Elpus and Grise (2019) found that in 2015, those music boosters nationwide raised at
least $215 million in support of public-school music programs.
Part of the leadership training for volunteers then should include the task value so they
understand why they are doing what they are doing and how it can help their child and the
marching arts program as a whole. Volunteers are motivated and engaged when they understand

47
the importance of their work and observe the results connected to the goals and mission of the
organizations (Millett & Gagne, 2008). Increasing a person’s confidence level and removing
barriers from the work environment that lower motivation can give the person what they need for
the task provided the changes are made strategically and not just for the sake of change (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Motivation to get through the task because of the benefit it brings, not necessarily
because it is completely enjoyable.
Self-Efficacy

Parent volunteers need to believe in their ability to accept the leadership tasks in MAVA.
To be an effective leader requires self-confidence or optimistic outlook in a person’s ability to
lead, monitor, and influence, which is related to self-efficacy (McCormick, 2001; McCormick &
Martinko, 2004). The leader’s role and achievement of goals and related tasks are assisted with
reflection and self-regulation, along with their social cognitions of relationships, processes, and
interactions between the triad of person, behavior, and environment. The leader who has self-
confidence in their ability or understanding of the environment exhibits greater success
(McCormick, 2001). That success, tied to self-efficacy, can be enhanced through training,
suggesting that repeated performance accomplishments, learning by observing, receiving
positive messages, and leader emotional well-being should be supported. The aspect of
leadership in all volunteers regardless of their role in the organization creates a high performing
motivational environment (Caldwell, 2014; Isaac et al., 2001). A volunteer’s ability or agency to
complete the tasks may be assisted by taking the time to engage in forethought regarding the
direction they will take; self-regulation, where thought is given to the performance of the task;
self-reflection after performance to determine effectiveness; while using their strengths, skills,
knowledge, and leadership, for example (Bandura 2018). In addition to personal self-efficacy,

48
team confidence as collective efficacy factors into motivation, where the person believes his
team can come together to accomplish the tasks (Bandura, 2000; Clark & Estes, 2008).
Booster organizations like MAVA can (and must) cultivate leadership from the
volunteers within the organization. Effective leaders can identify leadership characteristics in
their volunteers and can cultivate their growth and development through providing smaller
leadership opportunities with small successes that can grow into more substantial responsibilities
(Champlin, 2009; Lockett & Boyd, 2012). Using veteran volunteers and leaders as a model and
resource can help volunteers develop leadership skills while they are performing the service to
the community, understanding the value and purpose the volunteers bring with their service
(Ferris et al., 2009; Lockett & Boyd, 2012; Meier et al., 2012). Natural leaders tend to rise up
during the volunteering process and bring subject matter expertise to the organization (Champlin,
2009), and demonstrate the self-efficacy to serve in leadership (Senses-Ozyurt & Villicana-
Reyna, 2016; Wang et al., 2010). Training and connecting with other leaders can facilitate
leadership within their roles. Bandura (2000) stated that people need to believe they can do
something to be willing to act. In this way development for leadership becomes an important
way to increase their self-efficacy from moving from volunteer to leader (Fuller & Friedel,
2017). Table 3 presents the motivation influences that influence an individual’s participation in
volunteering.

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Table 3
Motivation Influences
Motivation Construct Assumed Motivation Influence
Expectancy 1. Parent volunteers need to believe their volunteering is an asset
to help their child be successful in school.
Task Utility Value 2. Parent volunteers need to value the benefits of their
involvement for themselves and their children.
Self-Efficacy 3. Parent volunteers need to believe in their ability to accept the
leadership tasks in MAVA.

Organizational Influences
The culture of an organization can be difficult to define, as there are different levels
within the organization, the macroculture of the organization as a whole, and microcultures that
may exist within often unconscious or unseen by those outside (Schein, 2017). These
organizational characteristics, positive and negative, can be grouped into the idea of
organizational culture which Schein (2017) described as ways of doing things, beliefs, values,
and assumptions held by the group that can be unconscious but that new group members must
learn. The culture is transmitted through observing leadership’s focus, reactions, resource
allocation, modeling and coaching, and ideas and process of who and what they recruit, promote,
and ignore. Since the culture is shaped by beliefs, values, and assumptions over time in the
organization as well as from people, communication and support of these attributes play a role in
how the volunteers in the organization work together (Clark & Estes, 2008: Schein, 2011). When
examined, the culture and climate including the everyday practices, procedures, and behavioral
norms, can show where changes are needed (Clark & Estes, 2008; Rueda, 2011; Schein, 2017).
Since culture is not necessarily observed from the outside, gaining information from people

50
within the organizations through interviews, surveys, or focus groups give the best insight into
cultural status and alignment. (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Cultural models are beliefs, values, and assumptions that leaders instill within the
organization by the way they repeat or focus, react, allocate resources, model, reward and how
recruiting and selection is accomplished (Schein, 2017). The cultural models, while often
unconscious, are the ideas people have of how their environment should work (Rueda, 2011).
Cultural settings are “shaped by individuals and groups -- who operate with cultural models that
impact their own behavior” (Rueda, 2011, p. 57). Cultural setting reinforcements include the
organization’s structure and procedures, rituals, space, as well as its formal statements and
informal stories and historical events. The interaction between cultural models, and cultural
settings is dynamic, as people bring their cultural model assumptions to the cultural setting.
Thus, cultural models help shape the cultural setting (Rueda, 2011).
Characteristics that the organization is capable of changing, whether it is changing the
nature or the structure, (Nesbit et al., 2018) can also be defined as the organizational culture
(Shein, 2017). The organization has a responsibility to provide the opportunity for people to
interact with it successfully and without barriers (Harp et al., 2017). Bandura (2000) stated that
an organization's success is based on the knowledge and skills of the individuals as well as the
culture or cooperative dynamics of working together. Volunteers who feel they are contributing
and do not have to overcome organizational barriers in their environment are more likely to
engage and continue in volunteer activities (Harp et al., 2017). Success is the interaction between
the organizational culture, people’s knowledge, and motivation. Therefore, the organization must
do its part to support the process (Clark & Estes, 2008).

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Cultural Model Influence 1

MAVA needs to prioritize the needs of its parent volunteers. Booster members, who are
parents of the high school marching arts students, will never be as busy as they are now with all
that goes with high school involvement in addition to their support for their child’s activities
along with academic success (Caldwell, 2014). The busy schedule of a high school parent should
not be a barrier to being an informed booster parent. As one parent stated, “with three children
who attended nine schools, serving on any school booster committee was a shot in the dark,
informed by tradition and urgency rather than knowledge” (Rich, personal communication,
2016). The organization has an obligation to inform parent volunteers how they can give their
support (Monson, 2014).
Through their research on school involvement for underrepresented groups, Quintanar
and Warren (2008) and Martinez and Wizer-Vecchi (2016) described meeting families’ needs in
the value of having a space, a “family hub” for parents at school to meet with other volunteers
and teachers and to conduct work for the benefit of the students’ education. This space may be a
physical room, which requires buy-in from the school to provide, but also is space in a
welcoming atmosphere, being responsive to the volunteers’ needs. There is a saying, “There is a
difference between a space where everyone is welcome versus a space that was created with you
in mind” (author unknown). The research found that the idea of space for parents to volunteer
and gather encouraged the parents of historically underrepresented students, as well as all
parents, to be a part of their child’s education as a volunteer at school (Quintanar & Warren,
2008; Martinez & Wizer-Vecchi, 2016; Nencini et al., 2016). This space can certainly be the
marching arts space for MAVA. Even “volunteering” to attend at least one event had a positive
effect on the high school-student-parent relationship (Simons, 2019), and schools that have
involvement programs have better parent and community involvement (Sheldon, 2019).

52
Regarding the structure of the nonprofit booster associations, Caldwell (2014) describes
his own involvement in a music booster association, where most often people are unsure of what
to do. Unlike other nonprofit organizations that operate with volunteers to assist paid staff,
booster organizations are composed entirely of volunteers, and its success is tied to the ability of
volunteer booster leadership to guide the volunteer force (Caldwell, 2014). To allow for the
success of leaders and volunteers, MAVA needs to prioritize the needs of its parent volunteers.
Cultural Setting Influence 1

MAVA needs to prepare succession plans for leadership, recognizing the constant
restructuring of MAVA’s composition due to parent involvement only through the four years or
fewer of their child’s involvement. While passing institutional knowledge by word of mouth may
be easiest for outgoing members, written instructions and records are more effective to ensure
consistency and to prevent informational attrition. Both Caldwell (2014) and Vandewalker
(2017) discuss strategies for succession and strategic planning that allows for the sustainability
of the information and program to future band parent leaders and point out the time it takes to
compile written records, organization charts and roles are well worth the effort. The National
Booster Club Training Council (n.d.) recommends avoiding isolation within one’s own booster
club alone, but instead, booster members should meet with other booster clubs that serve other
activities on campus to share suggestions and strategies for sustainability. Additionally, booster
members should keep a relationship with school administration to maintain adherence to district
policies and keep communication open.
Successful marching arts organizations have used several strategies to encourage
volunteers’ succession into new positions through various practices. The clear organizational
chart can be used to keep track of relevance and roles, holding one position only, finding that
having a plan with staggered structure and co-presidents and co-vice presidents works well,

53
along with instituting term limits (National Association of Music Parents, 2014). This would
reduce the optics of ‘once in never out’, or the role is a huge chunk of the organization’s work,
which can be a barrier to involvement. The benefit is that parents would not be locked into
‘forever’ positions and leadership can be spread among more people, promoting sustainability of
engaged volunteer leaders which benefit parents, students, and organization. Additional
importance for sustainable practices involves maintaining the records and providing the space for
storage even if it is electronic or cloud storage (Parent Booster USA, n.d.) instead of requiring
volunteers keep information at their homes as is often the practice in volunteer organizations.
Home storage is a problem as important documents and records as well as historic procedures
can be inadvertently discarded. When procedural information is lost, that lack creates a barrier to
volunteers’ knowledge of the job requirements. Engaging new leaders also keeps the ethical
consideration of accountability more transparent with shorter terms where problems may not be
purposefully or accidentally hidden.
Good leadership comes from engaged and motivated volunteers who understand the
characteristics of the job and are willing to step in and do the work. The leadership plays a major
role in how the organizational culture is transmitted and perceived. If they use incorrect or
inconsistent change strategies and training methods, the organization may be worse off than
before (Clark & Estes, 2008). Focusing on the succession plan communicates its importance in
the organization’s culture, and an effective succession plan will lead to sustainable practices for
effective parent volunteer engagement and leadership development.
Cultural Setting Influence 2

MAVA needs to provide training and materials to adequately prepare parent volunteers
for their successful support of both MAVA and the marching arts program. The culture of the
organization transmits the knowledge of how things are done; the meanings and understandings

54
transferred must be of learning and developing influences to survive changes and pressures from
changing external forces (Costanza et al., 2016), oriented toward a learning organization (Senge,
1990). Providing knowledge and modeling to prepare new parent volunteers supports the current
volunteers and may improve the motivation for new volunteers as they avoid the barrier of the
unknown in their contribution and required tasks in the organization.
The problem with this ever-changing organization led by volunteers was lack of
consistency in succession planning, and transmission of procedural knowledge. The need for
consistent training at the beginning of the year as well as annual refresher training to ensure
transfer (Grossman & Salas 2011) was necessary. Training involves increasing knowledge and
skills to increase individual engagement and effectiveness and can result in benefits applying to
cognitive, interpersonal, and technical skills to improve overall team effectiveness (Aguinis &
Kraiger, 2009). Many parents have stated they would be more likely to volunteer if they knew
what was involved and how to help. The organization has created a barrier because the culture
inadvertently formed in the haste of the work prevents volunteer engagement, and leadership
laments about not having enough volunteers. The benefit of creating a learning culture where
people and their past knowledge and skill sets along with continuous improvement are valued
will facilitate potential adjustments to outside influences as well (Schwandt & Marquardt, 2000).
Training in the distinct vocabulary of marching arts, what to do as a volunteer and as a board
member, manager, or other leadership position, and rules and laws for booster organizations and
nonprofits, would lead to a more successful organization. Then, with a strong leadership and
knowledgeable volunteer base, the major work of generating funds can be done more effectively.
Grossman and Salas (2011) provided a clear and succinct chart of key factors to aid training
transfer in three areas of trainee characteristics, training design, and work environment. Trainee
characteristics of cognitive ability, self-efficacy, motivation and perceived utility of training

55
were influential in transfer of training when people had higher levels of these characteristics.
Training design influences supported transfer of training by using behavior modeling, realistic
training environment, and managing and planning for potential issues and errors (Grossman &
Salas, 2011). Task preparedness through training supports volunteer confidence and motivation
for organizational involvement (Sheptak & Menaker, 2015).
When considering training it is necessary to be mindful of the ultimate organizational
goal (Clark & Estes, 2008). Communicating the defined goals is needed to guide and orient new
members in the organization's work and their performance role. Understanding the starting place
directs parent volunteers so they are motivated to be engaged in the work to meet the
organizational goals and mission. Additionally, training should be specific to the work and
culture of MAVA and the importance of leadership within the organization. Caldwell (2014)
described his own involvement in a music booster association, where most often people are
unsure of what to do. To be the leader, who influences and shares the work of the organization,
parent volunteers need to be confident in their role. Moreover, as Caldwell (2014) states all
members of the music boosters are leaders, and therefore, leadership development training for
parent volunteers is necessary.
Cultural Setting Influence 3

MAVA needs to provide regular communication and feedback to parent volunteers to
increase engagement and interest in leadership opportunities. Feedback includes several aspects
of the volunteer experience. Schein (2017) defines feedback as “specific information on whether
the results are on target or deviating from the target” (pp. 160-161), which means a target or goal
must have been communicated ahead of time. Bauer and Lim (2019) suggest utilizing the
organization’s mission statement as a strategy to internalize and engage communication among
volunteers. Ambrose et al. (2010) described feedback as a component of a learning environment.

56
They pointed out through the consensus of research that the most effective strategies include
specific feedback that can be acted upon to change course; given through time considerations of
immediately after a performance; given frequently so as not to overwhelm with too much
information at once; and targeted specifically rather than generally. Zhou et al. (2020) defined
three types of feedback that are useful for improvement and promotion of satisfaction in
volunteer participation which include task, self, and social. Task feedback assists in the
development of ability to perform the task (knowledge) and contributes to perceived enjoyment
and meaning for the volunteer as he engages in the task (motivation). Self-directed feedback that
a person gives to himself led to self-growth in performances, which is not under the control of
the organization but can point to the self-efficacy of a volunteer’s motivation. Too much
emphasis on social feedback led to focus on comparisons and competition in performance (Zhou
et al, 2020) which may not be productive in creating a positive welcoming culture. Volunteer
satisfaction and their perceived relevance is related to the task performance, and frustration can
set in when barriers prevent task completion, which results in lower engagement (Sheptak &
Menaker, 2015). Additionally, volunteers face less satisfaction and can be frustrated when they
face uncertainty through lack of communication about events and tasks. Volunteers preferred
communication and feedback by leadership in a supportive voice (Garner & Garner, 2011;
Kramer et al., 2013; Sheptak & Menaker, 2015).
Research has established the connection between communication and volunteer
engagement. Volunteers are a “unique resource” different from paid employees so volunteer
management has the responsibility to strategically use the volunteer resource for the best
development and benefit both for the organization and for the volunteers (Studer & von
Schnurbein, 2013). When the organization thoughtfully implements actions and pathways that
promote communication, volunteers’ engagement and commitment are strengthened (Bauer &

57
Lim, 2019; Trent et al., 2020). Volunteers’ satisfaction is increased when the organization
communicates its appreciation for volunteers’ contribution to the success of the mission or event
(Bang & Ross, 2009; Garner & Garner, 2011), as well as social communication among
volunteers that increased the volunteers’ likelihood of involving others in the organization's
volunteering opportunities (Kramer et al., 2013). Volunteers are more engaged and satisfied with
the work of an organization when there is two-way communication among volunteers and
organizations (Trent et al., 2020). For volunteers who are racially and ethnically diverse and may
face the potential of feeling less connected, communication, feedback, and involvement in
decisions led to greater feelings of inclusion and trust among volunteers and the organization
(Bortree & Waters, 2014). Feedback given by managers could be perceived as an internal reward
for some volunteers, particularly in event volunteering in an area where the volunteer has a
particular interest (Garner & Garner, 2011).
Communication and feedback are valuable, so the organization’s leaders are able to
understand the needs and concerns of the volunteers (Trent et al., 2019). Volunteers expect to be
included in the organization where they give their time, and to be included in the communication
process (Sheptak & Menaker, 2016). Feedback communication is crucial, both as informative
and corrective feedback to maintain transparency and accountability. Regular communication
that is clear and honest encourages trust and can help communicate the goals and diminish the
gap between performance and the goals. (Clark & Estes, 2008). Table 4 shows the organizational
influences that affect volunteers in MAVA.

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Table 4

Organizational Influences
Organizational Influence Category Assumed Organizational Influences
Cultural Model Influence - 1 1. MAVA needs to prioritize the needs of its parent
volunteers.
Cultural Setting Influence - 1 2. MAVA needs to prepare succession plans for leadership,
recognizing the constant restructuring of MAVA's
composition due to parent involvement only through the
four years or fewer of their child's involvement.
Cultural Setting Influence - 2 3. MAVA needs to provide training and materials to
adequately prepare parent volunteers for their successful
support of both MAVA and the marching arts program.
Cultural Setting Influence - 3 4. MAVA needs to provide regular communication and
feedback to parent volunteers to increase engagement and
interest in leadership opportunities.

Conceptual Framework

A conceptual framework provides the direction and foundation on which the study will
be built (Grant & Osanloo, 2014; Rocco & Plakhotnik, 2009). The conceptual framework also
illustrates the need for the study (Rocco & Plakhotnik, 2009). The conceptual framework for
this study was the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis change model. This model was ideal for
this study design to address the research questions in the overarching question of “what is the
optimal structure to meet the needs of the organization-volunteer relationship to promote all
parent volunteers to be engaged in at least one leadership opportunity?” This study used
literature, document analysis, and interviews to examine parent volunteer engagement and
leadership development in the Marching Arts Volunteer Association (MAVA) and identified
knowledge and motivation needs and how MAVA as an organization needed to support the
volunteers. The goal was to strengthen each side of the KMO triangle that supported the
volunteer through engagement and leadership development to the goal of full participation of

59
parent volunteers in MAVA. This took place under the guidance of Clark and Estes (2008) gap
analysis, as issues relating to knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors and barriers
were explored. Parent volunteers were interviewed to determine the needs or gaps in the
knowledge, motivation and organizational concerns that hampered engagement and leadership.
The KMO lens determined the gaps between MAVA’s goals and performance. The identified
gaps illuminated how change efforts should take place in the innovative parent volunteer
leadership development program that engage parent volunteers. The study assessed needs
through the interviews and methodology of Chapters 3 and 4 and gave recommendations for
addressing those needs in Chapter 5. Figure A depicts the conceptual framework for this study
that depicts the evidence from assumed needs in the KMO structure of the mutual organization-
volunteer relationship that are validated for the innovative training program to promote all parent
volunteers to be engaged in at least one leadership opportunity.

Figure A
Conceptual Framework:

60
Summary

Marching arts have a long and varied history, have grown over the years, and have
touched and impacted the lives of millions of participants, families, volunteers, and spectators.
Marching arts programs require the support of volunteer organizations that usually take on the
structure of booster organizations. The literature review included empirical research that began
with the portion of booster organizations tied to advocacy and funding, with significant research
gaps addressing the specific arena of marching arts parent volunteer organizations.
Research in effective volunteer practices were applied to MAVA as a volunteer
organization. The recruitment and retention of volunteers for the four-year (or less if they join
late or leave early) time their children were in high school and in the marching arts needed to be
optimal. Research showed motivations of volunteers played a significant role in their choice to
participate in the organization or not. Those motivations and benefits back to the volunteer could
be communicated for encouragement and recruitment of other volunteers. Without enough
volunteers, the program struggles to meet its mission to support the marching arts program, so
the organizational barriers were examined. Removing the barriers involved creating the culture
of facilitation, where knowledge of procedures, and what is needed to accomplish the process
were in place. The interaction between the volunteers and the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational barriers was important to consider and adapt when gaps prevented engagement.
Within the volunteer ranks, leaders were drawn to serve on the MAVA board, as managers of the
various groups in the organization, and as ancillary supporters. The lack of willing leaders to
take on responsibilities also were observed through the gap analysis, which examined the needs
in knowledge, motivation, and organizational barriers that keep people from being willing to
serve as leaders. Research on leadership provided suggestions for optimal leadership styles, and
self-efficacy played an important role as the volunteer leader builds the confidence to do the job,

61
through the support of past achievements, and support of information, training, and mentors to
serve as models. Also important was ensuring diversity in all aspects within the leadership and
volunteers. The broad knowledge and experience base not only meets the needs of the
organization, but fosters the connection with the students, their families, and the school
community.
The change framework is Gap Analysis (Clark & Estes, 2008) using knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences to determine the changes needed in MAVA for this
organizational improvement and training innovation. Table 5 shows all knowledge, motivation,
and organizational assumed influences for the stakeholder goal to be met.

Table 5
Combined KMO Influences
Knowledge Type Assumed Knowledge Influence
Conceptual
1. Parent volunteers need to understand roles and responsibilities of
booster and leadership requirements and be able to identify support after
accepting leadership tasks.
Procedural
2. Parent volunteers need to know how to leverage MAVA resources in
order to be able to successfully accomplish their leadership task.
Metacognitive
3. Parent volunteers need to reflect on and know that diverse strengths in
work and experience skills, knowledge, and leadership experiences are
beneficial to MAVA.
Motivation
Construct Assumed Motivation Influence
Expectancy
1. Parent volunteers need to believe their volunteering is an asset to help
their child be successful in school.
Task Utility Value
2. Parent volunteers need to value the benefits of their involvement for
themselves and their children.
Self-Efficacy

3. Parent volunteers need to believe in their ability to accept the
leadership tasks in MAVA.

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Organizational
Influence Category Assumed Organizational Influences
Cultural Model
Influence - 1 1. MAVA needs to prioritize the needs of its parent volunteers.
Cultural Setting
Influence - 1
2. MAVA needs to prepare succession plans for leadership, recognizing
the constant restructuring of MAVA's composition due to parent
involvement only through the four years or fewer of their child's
involvement.
Cultural Setting
Influence - 2
3. MAVA needs to provide training and materials to adequately prepare
parent volunteers for their successful support of both MAVA and the
marching arts program.
Cultural Setting
Influence - 3
4. MAVA needs to provide regular communication and feedback to
parent volunteers to increase engagement and interest in leadership
opportunities.

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Chapter Three: Methodology

This chapter described the methodology that determined the parent volunteer leadership
engagement process to benefit one Marching Arts Volunteer Association (MAVA) at Bofie High
School. MAVA existed solely for financial backing and assistance for the marching arts program
student participants and has no purpose outside of that support. MAVA operated exclusively
through parent volunteers of the marching arts students. People who volunteer generally have
good intentions for their involvement in organizations but may not be aware of the nature of
working with marching arts students or the requirements of nonprofit organizations and by-law
and booster organization structure. To determine the leadership innovation necessary in
knowledge, motivation, or organizational needs, several concepts were examined: are the goals
of MAVA stated and known; what knowledge do the parent volunteers have or how can it be
increased; does motivation need to be improved and how can the MAVA organization assist;
how can board leaders assist with the improvements; and what can the MAVA organization do
better to engage parent volunteers and meet its goals. The information needed was restated below
in the research questions that served as the foundation for this study. The research questions were
explored through interviews and were tied back to information from the literature review in
Chapter 4 and 5, and the results were examined.
Research Questions

1. What are the knowledge and skills, and motivational needs of parent volunteers to
be engaged in the MAVA program by accepting leadership opportunities?
2. What is the interaction between MAVA organizational culture and context and
parent volunteers’ knowledge and motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement of parent volunteers by accepting leadership opportunities?

64
3. What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of
knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the MAVA program by accepting leadership
opportunities?
Overview of Methodology

This study involved qualitative research through interviews of current and alumni MAVA
program stakeholders which include parent volunteer leaders. Included in the interviews were
parents whose children were currently in the marching arts program at Bofie High School, and
alumni parents whose children had been involved in the marching arts program at Bofie High
School but had since graduated. The current marching arts director from Bofie High School as
well as a past director were included in the interviews. The participants, qualifications,
recruitment strategy, population and target are outlined on Table 6.
The benefit of involving parents of current and alumni marching arts students in the
research was it allowed a span of perspectives over time. Additionally, with the difficulties
schools were experiencing in the COVID-19 pandemic, new parent volunteers experienced
something completely different, albeit somewhat temporary, so those with more experience in
the “normal” procedures were able to share their insight. At the same time, the new volunteers
were able to contribute information for the “new normal” that was created. The interviews were
conducted by the researcher over Zoom, lasted approximately 45-60 minutes, and covered
interview items previously determined as well as open ended comments offered by the
interviewees. The interviewees of focus for the study were able to communicate the knowledge
and support systems in place and shed light on organizational needs that they believed necessary
for further participation and communicated highlights of their involvement.

65
Table 6
Interview Participant Recruitment
Interview
Participants Qualifications Recruitment Strategy Population
Target
sample
Current MAVA
Parents
Current MAVA Board
Members
Board meeting request 15 4-6

Current MAVA Volunteers
not serving on the board
Snowball sampling
from board member
and additional
interviewee requests
estimated
70
4-6
Alumni MAVA
Parents
Alumni MAVA parent
volunteers who have been in
MAVA within the last six
years
Convenience based on
past contacts; email,
text, social media
messaging
estimated
contact 25
4-6
Music Directors Current and most recent past
Music Director as head of
MAVA
In-person request 2 2
Total
12-18 parent and alumni
volunteers plus 2 directors
to equal 14-20 participants.

The choice of qualitative research made sense where the focus of information gathered
originates from the participants' perspectives, and not that of the researcher who may not be able
to gather rich information from the outside perspective (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The
participants had knowledge about the level of knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences that may not be optimal or that identified needs in organizational goals carried out in
common practice (Clark & Estes, 2008). The knowledge needs identified by the participants
guided areas that need training, where leaders were directed back to the mission and needs,
improved the cognitive aspects for the participants, as well as increased motivation with a
knowledgeable leadership focus. Training to improve knowledge and motivation with work on
transfer of that training into the organization, allowing for feedback, is valuable both in

66
effectiveness and cultivating a learning organization that can bridge the gaps and lead to
organizational proficiency (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2099; Eisner et al., 2009; Grossman & Salas,
2011; Isaac et al., 2001; Senge, 1990). The organization's influences and culture, often
unconscious, are generally known best by the participants (Shein, 2010), and therefore the
participants were the best sources of information.
In addition to interviews, document analysis gave understanding to the pervasiveness of
the problem of inadequate leadership ranks and training processes. Using document analysis
provided further triangulation along with interviews and brought corroboration and credibility to
the responses (Bowen, 2009), and what that means for the knowledge, motivation, and
organization concerns. Bowen (2009) stated that using document analysis provides context of
research, including background and historical information, to further understand the interview
portion of the research. Additionally, document analysis provided a way to track change
processes and strategies that may have taken place at one time.
The researcher-developed interview protocols (found in Appendix A) for both MAVA
parent and alumni volunteers and the Music Directors were designed to explore the volunteers’
perceptions of the knowledge, motivation, and organizational strengths or needs relating to the
functions and organizational culture of MAVA. The interview protocols addressed the research
questions through the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences identified in Chapter
Two. Following the interview protocols are the data analysis crosswalk tables (see Appendix B),
presenting the relationship between the research question, KMO assumed influences, and
interview questions. The following Table 7 shows the data sources described above that was
used to address the research questions.

67
Table 7
Data Sources
Research Questions Interviews
Document
Analysis
RQ1: What are the knowledge, skills, and motivational needs of parent
volunteers to be engaged in the MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities? X X
RQ2: What is the interaction between MAVA organizational culture
and context and parent volunteers’ knowledge and motivation as it
relates to increasing engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities? X X
RQ3: What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the
areas of knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources to
favorably impact parent volunteers’ engagement in the MAVA
program by accepting leadership opportunities? X X

Data Collection, Instrumentation and Analysis Plan

The exploration for the research questions involved reviewing existing literature and
research to determine aspects that would benefit the efficient operation of MAVA. The review
involved discovering effective engagement of volunteers, benefits of parent volunteering,
effective leadership characteristics for developing effective leaders, identifying important
information that booster organizations need to know, and communicating the benefit of a diverse
parent volunteer population. The information gathered from the review will be helpful for
organizations in general, particularly marching arts volunteer organizations, and the interviews
contained information to benefit MAVA specifically. The information gained, combined with the
interviews, revealed the needs in knowledge, motivation, or organizational concerns that were
addressed in the analysis and research recommendations.

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Method 1: Interviews
The primary data collection method utilized interviews of MAVA parent volunteers
which included types of questions designed to get the most insight from the participants'
experience. Patton (2015) recommended that questions include six types to stimulate responses
which included: experience and behavior; opinions and values; feelings; knowledge; sensory;
and background and demographics. The questions also covered areas of knowledge, motivation,
and organizational influences per Clark and Estes (2008) Gap Analysis.
Participating Stakeholders
This study involved purposeful sampling as described by Merriam and Tisdell (2016)
with the expectation to produce participants who can provide rich information, as well as those
whose experience can inform and address the research questions. The sample of participating
stakeholders was drawn from MAVA parents, including those who served on the all-volunteer
leadership board and parents who volunteered as needed. All parents whose children are enrolled
in marching arts including marching band, color guard, and drumline at Bofie High School are
automatically members of MAVA. All are encouraged to volunteer for the many needs
associated with their child’s performance in marching arts, although not all participate. For this
study to get a wide range of information using the multiple views of the subjects, interviews
among the parent volunteers of MAVA continued until saturation of information was achieved
from the sample population. Several participants in each category were recruited. This
purposeful sampling was based on convenience and available contacts that met the volunteer
criteria of (1) current parents of marching arts students at Bofie High School and (2) alumni
parents whose students had been involved in the marching arts program at Bofie High School
within the last six years.

69
The rationale for using purposeful sampling involved recognition of past events which
obligated enlarging the sample pool to include the wide variety of participants for this specific
timing of the research study. First, there was a new music director hired at Bofie High School
four years ago. The director had overlap for the last four years of students and parent volunteers
who had been involved with MAVA during the tenure of two different directors. The previous
director served nearly three decades in the position, so there were two categories of volunteers
from which to understand parent involvement: past parents who worked under the end of the
long-established director, and current volunteers who either have had the experience with both
directors or one year with only one director. Teacher turnover has an impact on students’
stability and learning (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017; Terry & Kritsonis, 2008).
Turnover in music directors can make a difference on students' attitudes in the arts, where they
are often accustomed to connecting with one teacher throughout their high school years (Kloss,
2013). Additionally, Kloss (2012) found that band students tended to decrease participation
during turnover, but student involvement in band leveled off and remained more consistent with
the band director’s consistency. As student participation was affected, so too would their parents’
participation as volunteers. Therefore, gaining the perspective of both volunteer categories,
current parent volunteers under a newer director and past parent volunteers under a seasoned
director, gave greater information. Another rationale for using past volunteers was due to the
COVID-19 pandemic which has shuttered schools and cancelled marching arts programs and had
resulted in a very different experience for current volunteers during those unusual events. Yet the
current volunteers who went through the pandemic shutdowns had gained experience that past
volunteers did not have.
The purposeful sample first involved requesting 4-6 parent volunteers on the leadership
board participate in the study out of the fifteen filled positions on the current board. The open

70
invitation was made by the researcher during a board meeting, held over Zoom at that time due
to the social distancing restrictions. The remaining participants were identified through snowball
sampling, where key participants were asked about referrals to other potential participants who
met the specified requirements (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Therefore, at the board meeting,
board leaders were asked for names of parents of marching arts students who volunteer but did
not serve as leaders on the board for inclusion in the interviews. The potential pool for current
participants was approximately 70 total, representing the families of the students enrolled in
marching arts classes at Bofie High School at that time. Then past parent volunteers in MAVA
were contacted as the researcher had accessibility and through connections with current and past
volunteers and the directors. The sample of 4-6 interviews involving past leadership board parent
volunteers, and past volunteers who were not on leadership boards, were derived through
researcher contacts and the snowball method of current volunteer recommendations. The total of
16 MAVA parent interviewees were ultimately recruited, the number of interviewees determined
to provide saturation of information (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Finally, the current and past
directors were also included in the interviews for their perceptions of MAVA parent volunteer
involvement, as the teacher is the connection to Bofie High School and the head of MAVA.
There were 18 participants interviewed for the study.
The potential interviewees were contacted through email, text, and social media message,
which depended on the contact information available to the researcher. The contents of the
interview requests are in Appendix D and E. Follow-up emails were sent to schedule
appointments for the interviews. Sufficient participants were recruited, so no further requests
were necessary. The brief request for volunteers to participate in the study can be found in
Appendix F.

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Instrumentation
The interview protocol was primarily semi-structured in approach. The interview
protocol was prepared by the researcher in advance, but each question was used flexibly, without
a predetermined order or need to ask every question. The semi-structured approach served as a
guide (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016), and included highlighted questions of most importance, with
additional questions used as needed for further knowledge. Additionally, unstructured
information from the interviewee was welcomed to further the understanding of their perspective
of knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences on their volunteering in MAVA. The
interview questions were open-ended, exploratory, and conversational (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). From the marching arts directors’ perspectives, the information gained was toward their
understanding of perceptions of the volunteers that served their programs, and the knowledge,
motivation, or organizational influences that were observed from their position of leadership
within the organization, and from their perspective as director for whom MAVA is the provider
of service (See Appendix A). Following the interview protocol are the two data collection
crosswalks for interviews in Appendix B. The first set shows how the interview questions were
structured for volunteers; the second set in the data collection crosswalk shows how the
interview questions were structured for input from the music directors.
Data Collection Procedures
The interviews were conducted over Zoom (zoom.us). Using Zoom allowed the interview
to take place while maintaining social distancing guidelines established in consideration of the
COVID-19 pandemic. An added benefit of using Zoom was the ease of scheduling and meeting,
as no prearranged location was needed, and interviews could be conducted in a familiar setting of
convenience for the interviewee. The meetings lasted generally between 45- 60 minutes, which
allowed for collection of sufficient information. The interviews were recorded with the approval

72
of the interviewees, as identified by Merriam and Tisdell (2016) as the most common and
comprehensive method for gathering interview information. The Zoom transcription feature
allowed the interview to be transcribed nearly verbatim, so the best information was available for
later analysis (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The participants were encouraged to rename their
Zoom screen and turn off their camera if they preferred not to be identified during the interview,
but only one participant did so. The remaining participants were comfortable with the
confidentiality assurance, and that the Zoom video would be deleted after analysis.
Data Analysis
The data received from the interview transcriptions was prepared for analysis by
rereading the gathered data and then coding the data into bracketed chunks of important points,
then identifying themes for the chunks as Creswell and Creswell (2018) recommended.
Information was noted when similarities were present, and common ideas were discussed as an
indication of a gap in knowledge, motivation, or organizational influences that needed to be
addressed. An action plan was created and given to MAVA to put into place, along with an
evaluation model for feedback of the new plan.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
The credibility and trustworthiness strategies used in this study followed accepted
strategies for research which included maximum variation, where information sought from
different sources (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). These strategies within MAVA included current
and alumni parent volunteers and the current and a past music director. The research findings
were discussed with peers in the marching arts field to determine the appropriateness of the
approach and interpretation of data. An audit trail with contextualized descriptions showed the
process and the transferability of the data (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).

73
Method 2: Document Analysis
O’Leary and Hunt (2017) defined document analysis as a way of using written
documents as primary data for informing research. This aspect of gaining information assisted in
understanding the interview research responses and presented data that actually reflects the work
the parent volunteers have engaged in (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). O’Leary and Hunt (2017)
further suggest planning the process and considering the credibility of the documents before
beginning the research. This process involved obtaining presidents’ reports and related meeting
minutes and documentation confirming staffing issues in leadership, reflecting on knowledge of
by-laws, mission, and organizational goals as well as budgets and training. The current items
were accessible through direct requests and historical documents given to the researcher to use
for the study. Credibility was assumed in the meeting minutes as an official documentation of the
activities of MAVA. In consideration of potential harm, revelation of inadequacies could be
hurtful to individuals, and legal inadequacies could be harmful to the organization. Care was
taken to maintain confidentiality. The document analysis supported the interviews and provided
understanding of the accessibility of the organizational goals to MAVA members, to help
determine knowledge, motivation, and organizational strengths or challenges MAVA has
encountered. Although the information received from MAVA for the document analysis consists
of numerous paper files and online documents covering the years since 1998, only the items from
the last six years were scanned for possible analysis, the time frame for the study focus. See
Appendix C.
Ethics and Role of Researcher

The ethical consideration of research must be thoughtfully and thoroughly evaluated
early in the construction of research (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Throughout the plan, as much

74
respect and privacy as possible was maintained for the study participants. The study purpose was
generated to benefit the intended population, and to benefit others in similar situations.
Therefore, the data collection took place within sound practices, with truthfulness and openness
regarding the purpose to the interviewees and the trustworthiness of the findings as described in
Creswell and Creswell (2018) and Merriam and Tisdell (2016) regarding ethical research. The
research plan was evaluated by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of
Southern California for protection of the rights of human subjects.
Potential participants were emailed, messaged, or otherwise contacted with the interview
request based on current and past connections to MAVA, determined by correspondence,
published board lists, and recommendation by other MAVA members. The selection was
purposeful to ensure a varied but representative group with some deliberate selections which
included the past music director and MAVA board presidents, selection techniques defined by
Maxwell (2013). The assumed sample availability was larger than needed for the study, so the
concern of lack of participants was not a restrictive factor. The 18 identified participants were
interviewed beginning in a semi-structured interview protocol with allowance for less structured,
informal responses as the interview progressed; participant’s responses are best captured through
this method, as described by Merriam and Tisdell (2016). To protect the privacy of the
participants, the marching arts volunteer organization is not named, as MAVA and Bofie High
School are pseudonyms. Study participants were assigned numerical pseudonyms, and their
interview responses were kept confidential. All potential participants were informed that their
participation was voluntary, they may stop participating at any time, and they were informed of
the exact nature of the research, as suggested for research ethics by Creswell and Creswell
(2018). The researcher acknowledges a relationship with some of the participants but kept the
privacy of those friendships and kept the data derived from the interview session private,

75
concerns addressed by Glesne (2011). Participants were informed of the potential benefit of their
participation, that of program improvement. The interview protocol, data analysis crosswalks for
both the interviews and document analysis can be found in the Appendix B and C. The
information sheet for exempt research that was given to each potential participant upon first
contact with the researcher can be found in the Appendix G.
This researcher understood the positionality and relationship to the organization that
could bring assumptions and bias. The researcher has worked with various marching arts
volunteer associations and marching arts students for 14 years prior to this study, and has a
background in education as a classroom teacher, with postgraduate education focused on parent
involvement in education. Potential bias was mitigated by listening to what the participants had
to say without offering feedback during the interview procedure and taking care to avoid
invading their privacy if participants revealed information due to the relationship with the
researcher that they would not have revealed otherwise. The ethical structure of the study is tied
exclusively to the values and ethics of the researcher (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016), so the
researcher had to take into consideration any potential harm if the findings were released so that
they would not lead to identification of any study participants.

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Chapter Four: Results and Findings

The purpose of this study was to explore the degree to which the organization can meet
its effectiveness in volunteer engagement and leadership development and to innovate a training
program based on the validated needs in knowledge, motivation, and organizational culture. The
study focus was on the Marching Arts Volunteer Association (MAVA) at Bofie High School,
where MAVA supports the marching arts education of the students. The value of the arts is
observable and validated by the inclusion of the field within the California Arts Framework for
Public Schools (California Department of Education, 2021), which provides direction, guidance,
and support for school learning expectations for students in visual and performing arts, grades K-
12. The California Arts Framework acknowledges the many benefits students receive from
involving arts in their well-rounded education that contributes to the student and community
quality of life. These benefits, in brief, include music’s important role in communication,
particularly with its global, constant part of our society today (California Department of
Education, 2021). For example, recent research suggests 90% of the population hears music an
average of 32 hours per week (Cristman, 2017), and the majority listen daily (Statista Research
Department, 2021). Video was the most sizable music streaming format (Dredge, 2019), adding
the visual effect to the music. Music accessibility is increasingly within reach with mobile
phones (Randall & Rickard, 2017).
Additionally, music provides support for the well-being of participants and audience
members alike and connects people to history and community through the performance and
education in music. Music education supports students’ cognitive development, creativity,
perseverance, problem solving, and equity and inclusion, for example, and because of the value
of visual and performing arts, including music and dance (color guard covers both), California’s
Department of Education (2021) creates the Framework as the vision and goals for students’

77
complete education. In high school, all California students are required to have at least one year
of visual or performing arts. When students enroll in marching band, color guard, and drumline
at Bofie High School, that one year requirement usually turns into a four-year involvement.
MAVA’s support of the marching arts optimizes the students’ education to include significant
time outside of the music classroom and into the performance arena.
Using the gap analysis model from Clark and Estes (2008), this study sought to identify
needs in knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences for successful strategies for
MAVA to increase effectiveness. Expected increased effectiveness as a marching arts parent
volunteer booster organization should lead to increased effectiveness of support for the high
school marching arts programs, the basis for MAVA’s purpose. The research questions that
guided the study are as follows:
1. What are the knowledge and skills, and motivational needs of parent volunteers to
be engaged in the MAVA program by accepting a leadership opportunity?
2. What is the interaction between MAVA organizational culture and context and
parent volunteers’ knowledge and motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement of parent volunteers by accepting a leadership opportunity?
3. What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of
knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the MAVA program by accepting leadership
opportunities?
The study incorporated 18 qualitative interviews with participants within MAVA to
determine their perceptions of knowledge, motivation, and organizational issues within the
organization. Additionally, document analysis involved limiting the focus to the last six years to
parallel the time frame of involvement in MAVA interview participants. As time is a factor in

78
MAVA participation, with parental involvement supporting the marching arts students for their
four years of high school, the study focused on the last six years to cover various volunteer
compositions and experience levels. Additionally, the last six years yielded information at the
unique point in time with the departure of a long-tenured successful marching arts director. This
time frame also coincides with the replacement of the marching arts director, and with the
unprecedented effects of school closures and marching arts program cancellations during the
global pandemic of COVID -19.
Participating Stakeholders
MAVA is the booster organization that supports the marching arts program at Bofie High
School. Membership in the program is open to all parents of students in the marching arts
programs. MAVA is a nonprofit booster organization and is operated by parent volunteers who
serve on the board of directors as both the executive board and members of the working board.
Whitney and Downey (2013) defined a “working board” as nonprofit board members who
participate in the physical work of the organization alongside the staff. In MAVA, the music
director as the teacher at the school is the staff, and the entire board is composed of parent
volunteers. The length of the parents’ tenure with the organization lasts only as long as their
children are in the high school marching arts program, four years or fewer.
The exception to the four-year tenure is the alumni liaison role on the board, supported by
the alumni committee composed of parents whose children have graduated from the program.
The alumni parents willingly volunteer their time and expertise to benefit the students in the
program even though they no longer benefit in any way as their child is no longer involved. The
alumni parents serve as a valuable resource, particularly in years where the working board
positions are open. Of the six alumni participants in this study, four have served or are currently
serving on the alumni committee. Many parents who are not on the MAVA board participate as

79
parent volunteers in many capacities, supporting and receiving direction from each working
board member as appropriate.
MAVA Organizational Chart
The following organizational chart shows the board roles and to whom they are
responsible. The Music Director is the official non-voting head of MAVA as the teacher and
employee of the School District. The President reports to the director and is the point of
communication between the board and the director. The Alumni Liaison is responsible for
consultation and support leveraging the long-term participation in MAVA for the benefit of the
current parent volunteer board members. The Alumni Committee is a flexible committee
composed of former MAVA parents whose children no longer attend Bofie High School, but the
alumni remained committed to the mission of educating and supporting students in marching arts
education. The Alumni Committee reports to the Alumni Liaison. There are 22 official MAVA
Board positions plus the Music Director as Head. All parents are encouraged to participate in
MAVA as parent volunteers and report to the various managers or committee coordinators they
serve. All parents are considered participants in the marching arts program for the benefit of the
students. The organization chart in figure B shows the MAVA board roles under the direction of
the MAVA President and Director.

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Figure B
MAVA Organization Chart

Stakeholder Interview Participants
The 18 interview participants were recruited from four groups. The first group included
six alumni who had participated as volunteers within the last six years but who no longer had
children in the program, of which three have continued to work in the marching arts field. The
interviews also included five current booster board members and five current parents who
volunteered but did not hold a leadership board position and who still have children in the
program and who could give a current perspective. The last group included a current and past
director. The director’s responsibility with MAVA is to serve as head of the board, the
connection to the school as the employee, and the teacher/director of the marching arts programs.
The rationale for including all of those groups was to get a broad representation of information
and to capture the critical range that included the change in Bofie High School marching arts
leadership. The leadership change resulted from the retirement of a previous director and the

81
incoming new director, who will need to remodel the program for his style, abilities and
preferences.
A convenience sample for the research involved the consideration of obtaining as broad a
representation within each group as possible in terms of marching group affiliation and time
served. The six alumni parents were drawn for the sample from contacts the researcher has
maintained and with whom access was available. Even though there was an effort to exclude
persons known to the researcher, this was ultimately not possible due to the long working
relationship the researcher has had with MAVA and the alumni parents. Therefore eight alumni
were contacted via email and text with the opportunity to participate in the research. Six
responded favorably, and the researcher interviewed them over Zoom in keeping with social
distancing requirements due to Covid restrictions within the county and state.
Another group of interest for the research involved the working board of directors for
MAVA. They are the parents currently working within MAVA and have the most current
understanding of leadership in MAVA. Of the 15 board members who were sent an email
concerning the research purpose and interview request, five responded and agreed to the Zoom
interview. Additionally, to obtain current parent volunteer participants with whom the researcher
did not have contact, snowball sampling and manager referrals were used. The information from
the parent volunteer portion spoke to MAVA members who did not serve on the leadership
board. The researcher contacted the seven referrals and of those, five responded. These interview
participants were parents of students involved in marching band, color guard, drumline, or
instrumental music, or perhaps mixed when parents had multiple children involved in different
marching arts groups. Table 8, stakeholder demographics, includes the information the
researcher considered to gain a broad sample.

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Table 8
Stakeholder Demographics
MAVA
Involvement/
Participant
Number
Occupation Years in
MAVA
Gender Main
Marching
Arts Group
Sample Group
Responses

6 Alumni
parents

A-1 to A-6

3 employed
3 work from home /
volunteers

2 six+
2 five
1 four
1 one

1 male
5 females

2 marching
band
3 color guard
1 mixed

6 of 8 convenience
sample participants
responded to an
email or text.
5 current
MAVA parent
Board members
B-1 to B-5
5 employed 1 six+
1 five
3 two
1 male
4 females

3 marching
band
1 drumline
1 instrumental
5 of 14 board
members
responded to an
email.
5 current parent
Volunteers

V-1 to V-5
2 employed
3 work from home /
volunteers
1 five
1 four
2 two
1 one
5 females 1 marching
band
2 color guard
2 drumline
5 of 7 responded to
email requests,
names obtained
through snowball
referrals.
2 Directors/
Bofie HS
teachers

D-1 to D-2
2 employed 1 six+
1 four
2 males 2 of 2 responded to
in-person verbal
requests.

In addition to parent volunteers, the interview participants included two Music Directors,
teachers of the marching arts and music programs. The researcher selected one former MAVA
director for historical context, as well as the current MAVA director, who had been in this role
for four years at the research time. That time frame is critical to the research conducted at this
point. Therefore, all students in the marching arts programs have learned under the new director
exclusively. The value of this research is not only to innovate a training program for volunteer
engagement and leadership development for MAVA parent participants, but also to give the new
director pause to consider how he will continue to guide MAVA in the future.

83
Currently, most of the former culture and practice is in place. The new director can take
the opportunity to change practice to match his leadership and instructional style and preferences
as the new head of MAVA. The new director has primarily followed the processes that MAVA
has had in place over the last several years, and likely most roles and procedures will remain the
same. However, the goal is not for MAVA to lead the director; MAVA is the provider and
support for the marching arts program under the leadership of the director.
The former director’s input is included because of his long tenure in leading MAVA and
teaching and directing the marching arts program. The research conducted is also timely as
MAVA is in flux, in many ways still under the former director’s leadership proclivities yet
requiring adjustment to fit the new director. All interviews lasted between 25 minutes to one
hour and 11 minutes, at an average of 48 minutes for the 18 interviews. Two participants were
contacted for follow-up information to clarify some points of interest from their interviews.
Identified Needs Validated in MAVA

The gap analysis model by Clark and Estes (2008) serves as the guide for identifying the
needs in knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences in MAVA and the framework for
this research. Chapter Two presented the ten assumed influences in knowledge types, motivation
constructs, and organizational influences that this research would explore. Then questions for the
interview protocol were created to understand the participants’ perceptions and insight in these
areas to identify if needs exist. The participants’ interview responses inform the recommendation
whether the needs are validated, or the needs are not validated and the KMO influence is an
asset. The validated need means the data gathered indicates the majority of participants’
responses illustrate the need does exist and a recommendation will be identified in Chapter Five.
A need that is not validated indicates there is sufficient support for the influence indicated by a

84
majority of the participants, and no further recommendations are necessary. The data gathered
informs recommendations for organizational practice and innovative training in the areas of
knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources to favorably impact parent volunteers’
engagement in the MAVA program by accepting leadership opportunities.
Emergent Findings
Each of the ten assumed influences are validated or not validated by the participants’
perceptions and understanding. In addition to the ten influences, needs in traditions and returning
from COVID-19 surfaced as needs to be understood as they relate to the work of MAVA. Time
in MAVA played a factor in participants’ understanding of impact and traditions.
Salience of Time within the MAVA Program

There was a wide range of years of involvement with the different participant groups,
from one to 30+ years. There was a significant difference in interview length and thus content
between the participants that had been involved with MAVA longer, four or more years, versus
those participants who had been involved three years or fewer. Several of the longer-term
volunteers had more than one student in the program. Therefore, their involvement was able to
last longer than the four years of high school, or they were serving on the alumni committee,
giving their time to MAVA even though they no longer personally benefited from having a child
in the program. There was a greater knowledge base with longer-term involvement, but not a
significant difference in motivation levels among longer term volunteers and those that have
served for a shorter time.
The interview session with the participants began with low stakes questions to put the
participants at ease. The questions were demographics such as occupation, how long their
involvement had been in MAVA, and in which marching arts group were they most familiar. The

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questions that were more difficult to answer concerned traditions associated with and carried out
by MAVA.
Traditions

The traditions are the periphery activities and events to the actual instruction carried out
by the director, “the things MAVA does.” Typically, these are the social activities designed to
build relationships among the parents which is useful for identifying future volunteers and
leaders, and celebratory events to benefit the students. Participant A-3 identified traditions as
“the memories” created from involvement in the marching arts. For example, parents have
attended the last half of rehearsal in the stadium on Monday nights to see the “final run-through”
of the marching band show. At the end of each rehearsal, the show is performed as it would be in
competition without the costuming and uniforms. The Monday night rehearsals serve also to
gather the parents in an informal setting for information and relationships. Traditions, as rites and
rituals, defined by Schein (2017) is one example of an embedding mechanism a leader could use
to adapt the culture under his leadership. Alumni and the former director were able to answer
about the traditions MAVA engages in more fully, although there were a wide variety of
responses and none gave a full account of the traditions. However, newer parent volunteers as
well as the new director were less able to think of any traditions at all. Since the traditions were
created by the former director and the former MAVA boards over time, it makes sense that
newer members and the new director were less familiar with past traditions.
The difference in familiarity with traditions that are a part of MAVA is perhaps one of
the most informative themes that was an unexpected discovery within the interviews. The most
poignant dichotomy was revealed by the two directors’ responses to the traditions question.
When asked, the former director, Participant D-1, stated “Well, when I was there I created most
of them.” Then Participant D-1 continued with a list of traditions for parents and students.

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Participant D-2, the new director, stated, “Maybe it's interesting that I can’t think of some, I am
sure there are some, but maybe that speaks a little bit to the culture of what we have right now.”
According to Schein (2017), traditions are part of a culture, and by not paying attention to the
traditions, the new director may be unaware that he is signaling the culture is unimportant. The
new director had not changed what MAVA has always done, listening to MAVA instead of
directing MAVA to perform the support duties and activities the way he articulated. However,
care should be taken by the new director to consider how his new ideas fit into the current
culture, consisting of the beliefs, values, and assumptions, or as Schein (2017) suggests, the new
ideas will not be accepted into the existing culture.
How Traditions Support the Director and Provider Roles

The difference in knowledge of traditions that are part of MAVA stems from a piece of
organizational chart knowledge that is likely missing. The director is the head of MAVA as the
teacher, and MAVA is the support group for the student, logistics, and fundraising needs
identified by the director. MAVA is the provider of services, which both directors mentioned is
often forgotten or unrecognized by MAVA. Participant D-2 described,
The perception, especially of people in the executive cabinet, is like they have to be
another band director...they feel ownership over the product and stuff like that in ways
that may be overstepping the bounds of what, in my opinion, they should be doing… It
should be freeing to a lot of parents to feel like they can volunteer without having to
spend 20 to 30 hours a week doing it, (D-2).
Participant D-1 had been more direct in addressing the issue of overstepping that he had seen
during his tenure. He stated he had given feedback around responsibility to MAVA usually as,
“you are doing a great job.” Sometimes his feedback was directed at realigning the roles and
responsibilities of director and provider, when,

87
every now and then I ask [MAVA] why you are trying to get involved in areas of me
teaching the kids that you shouldn’t be in, please stick to what you do best and don’t get
involved in my end of the deal… I had a president once call a meeting and say to MAVA,
‘Look, he [the director] does kid things, this is how it operates, and we don’t get
involved. We do stuff, he does kids.’ ...It was the greatest thing ever, (D-1).
Therefore, clarifying the director-provider roles is crucial to who will ultimately be responsible
for MAVA and the music education of the students.
Both directors do, however, understand the enormity and importance of the job that
MAVA provides. When discussing the effect of MAVA on the students, Participant D-1 stated,
“it’s critical. It’s gigantic. It’s gargantuan. The program can’t exist, won’t exist without a solid
big effort from a strong MAVA group. It cannot happen. It’s off the charts.” Participant D-2 also
stated, “really like without MAVA a lot of what we do couldn’t happen.” One MAVA member
described the excitement of seeing growth in the students on her Facebook page, which reflects
the importance of MAVA’s support and the growth opportunities marching arts provides for
students:
I finally understand why teachers and coaches do what they do and enjoy it for such little
pay!! ...My color guard team at yesterday’s regional competition made me so proud. It
was a 16-hour day in [the competition location]. We had our bumps in the road this year,
and yesterday they were exceptional… It’s the all around - no attitudes - no drama - no
fighting - no crying - zero issues. They worked as a team… I am proud to be there [sic]
Mama K (they call me that) and I love it. I have never worked so hard for zero money
(volunteer guard manager) and [am] really enjoying it.
The information from both directors show that they understand the tremendous asset and role
that MAVA plays in the marching arts program, as do parents, but sometimes problems may

88
arise when role distinction between the director and parents in MAVA as providers of service
and support are blurred, unknown, or ignored.
The lack of understanding of traditions as part of practices opens the opportunity for new
traditions and practices, with the shift to the new culture with the new director. The timing is
favorable with the first full MAVA board who have worked with the new director, as well as
coming out of over a year of the COVID-19 shutdown of the school. Certainly, the traditions or
lack thereof are not an indication of instructional quality for the students, nor does carrying out
traditions encompass the entirety of MAVA’s purpose. However, addressing needed change and
new traditions and practices to align with the goals of the new director is significant to
acknowledge his leadership, and adapt the culture with the new leader. The opportunity is
immediate for implementation in his first four-year class composition of students that have been
under his instruction alone; the transition is complete; he is the director.
Findings of Assumed Knowledge Needs
This section analyzed the knowledge types presented in Chapter Two, including
conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge and each assumed influence concerning
the organization to compare with interview findings. The following Table 9 shows the
knowledge influences that are validated or not validated. A discussion of results in each
knowledge type follows the table.

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Table 9

Validation Status of Assumed Influences in Knowledge

Knowledge
Type
Assumed knowledge influence Findings
Conceptual Parent volunteers need to understand roles and
responsibilities of booster and leadership requirements
and be able to identify support after accepting leadership
positions
Not Validated
Procedural Parent volunteers need to know how to leverage MAVA
resources in order to be able to successfully accomplish
their leadership task
Not Validated
Meta-
cognitive
Parent volunteers need to reflect on and know that diverse
strengths in work and experience skills, knowledge and
leadership experiences are beneficial to MAVA
Validated

Parent volunteers need to understand the roles and responsibilities of booster and leadership
requirements to be able to identify support after accepting leadership tasks (not validated)
All parent volunteers who participated in the interview described learning the roles and
responsibilities for MAVA from a previous person in the leadership role or volunteer opportunity
in some form. The directors also identified shadowing apprenticeship, or modeling, as the
method of knowledge transmission. Eleven of the 18 participants remarked that they learned by
observing the operations. These comments indicate personal transmission and observation of
others in the role was effective enough for volunteers to understand the roles and responsibilities
of their jobs and are learning strategies supported by social cognitive theory (Rueda, 2011).
Regarding support for the leadership tasks, 12 of the 18 participants indicated that they would
ask someone else if they did not understand or know what to do. Examples from the interviews
that confirm parents are able to understand the role and responsibilities and identify support are
outlined in Table 10.

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Table 10
Participant Responses Regarding How They Learned and Received Support for the Roles and
Responsibilities of MAVA.

Participant Statement of how participants learned the roles
and found support as leaders in MAVA
Meaning
A-5 “I learned through observation.” Responsibilities for the role
were learned through
observation
A-1 “I learned from the first [person] I met.” Responsibilities for the role
were learned through
modeling.
B-1 “One on one training with the prior person.” Responsibilities for the role
were learned through
individual training.
B-5 “From the past person that was in that role.” Responsibilities for the role
were learned through
modeling from a credible
individual with experience.
B-3 “A friend asked me to be involved so we worked
together. I was her assistant.”
Responsibilities for the role
were learned through
guidance in meaningful work.
A-4 “I got in front of people and asked for specific
help.”
Parent volunteers asked for
help when they needed
support
V-1 “I would contact or holler for specific people
that were in charge and ask them.”
Parent volunteers asked for
support from leaders.
B-4 “Reaching out in email to the president.” Parent volunteers emailed the
president for support.
B-5 “Email, call, or text...the board, they are very
open.”
Parent volunteers had a
variety of contact methods
available to them when they
needed support.

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The table demonstrates learning behaviors from MAVA volunteers and leaders involves
observation, training, meaningful involvement, and modeling from a credible source. The
behaviors are effective learning techniques, and volunteers identified support was available when
they needed it. Therefore, the conceptual knowledge influence is not validated.
Parent volunteers need to know how to leverage MAVA resources in order to be able to
successfully accomplish their leadership tasks (not validated)
In exploring the influence of procedural knowledge participants were asked questions
regarding their ability to identify and access resources to guide their success in their leadership
tasks. Three participants referenced resource binders that are to be passed from person to person
within the role. Two participants mentioned the new strategy MAVA is attempting to store
information and resources electronically on Google Drive instead of in paper form. Ten
participants confirmed communications such as emails, orientation packets, and word of mouth
are the resources volunteers use to know what needs to be done. Three participants identified the
director as a resource who informed volunteers of what needs to be done. Additionally, nine
participants, stated history, tribal knowledge verbally handed down, people who have held the
leadership position in the past, and alumni parents were the resources available to support them
to accomplish their leadership tasks. Examples of participants’ responses indicating where they
found resources to assist them with their leadership tasks are in Table 11.

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Table 11
Participant Responses Regarding MAVA Resources
Participant Statements that suggest parent volunteers are
able to leverage MAVA resources in some way
Meaning
D-2 “Pretty much every position either doesn’t have
any documentation or it has it in like 17 binders
that are just stuff that’s impossible to go through
and make sense of.”
Binders were a resource for
each position, but the quality
and usefulness varied.
B-1 [Volunteers had access to] “the binder that
contained “paperwork passed down from the
previous person,” [which they said they found
helpful.]
Binders were handed down
that were useful.
B-2 “Every position is supposed to have a ‘how to’
sort of thing in a notebook; in one position I was
given a box of paperwork in no order.”
The notebook containing
information of how things
were to be done varied in
quality.
B-3 “Some leaders have been committed to passing
along information. We’ve used Gmail accounts
with google drives attached.”
The effort had begun to
improve the information
transmission through using
electronic resources.
V-1 [Volunteers know what needs to be done] “just
by showing up and someone telling you, hey, do
this, or hey, do that.”
Volunteers show up and are
instructed in what needs to be
done by someone else at the
event.
B-2 [Knowing what to do] “usually comes through
the manager they are working under… they often
find out through the grapevine...I don’t think
there’s one direct line of communication that
says, ‘as a volunteer you will do this,’ … we
have stuff written, but not anything formal.”
The informal resources that
exist involve receiving verbal
information on what to do
from the manager.
A-2 [The] “director has the list of what needs to be
done… the director directs, the minutiae is left to
the worker bees, the parents in MAVA, to
support not guide the program.”
The director is the resource
that informs the volunteers
what to do.
A-6 “The entire program [is] guided by the director
and what he needs, we follow through and get it
done.”
The director is the resource
that informs the volunteers
what to do.

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The participants’ responses indicate they can locate resources within the organization to
get the job done. However, most interview participants remarked about the quality of the
resources they received and further indicated that improvements were underway to improve
storage of the information that currently exists. These findings will be addressed further as a
recommendation in Chapter Five. The resources identified include other people including the
director, email and electronic documentation, and resource binders specific to leadership roles
within MAVA. While outside resources exist, none of the participants indicated they were aware
of them. Participants were able to identify resources within MAVA to successfully accomplish
their leadership tasks, even if the quality of those resources was less than desired and therefore,
the influence is not validated.
Parent volunteers need to reflect on and know that diverse strengths in work and experience
skills, knowledge, and leadership experiences are beneficial to MAVA (validated)
All participants acknowledged that background or experience was beneficial to
understanding the work of MAVA, with all parents indicating some form of their background
informing their engagement in MAVA. Half of the 16 parent participants gave examples from
their work that have assisted them in understanding the work of MAVA. Participant A-4 “spent
my whole career talking people into what they don’t want to do,” and others identified being an
“entrepreneur,” “administrator,” having a “military background,” being in a service industry
where “being a social person” is a requirement and a benefit to marching arts leadership. Two
participants, B-2 and B-3 respectively, who identified being in the performance industries
remarked that it, “enabled me to catch when something was off,” and “[entertainment]
management enabled me to understand marching band.” These participants were able to draw
from their backgrounds to support their work with MAVA.

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Half gave examples of their personality strengths and experiences that have assisted
them, including previous volunteering experiences. Of the latter half, several had previous
volunteering experience that was beneficial to their volunteering for MAVA. Six participants had
previously volunteered at church, PTA/PTO, or school volunteering before high school that gave
them the experience to volunteer with MAVA and two had previous marching arts experiences
that motivated their involvement. Both directors acknowledged that a wide variety of strengths,
backgrounds, and experience is required to accomplish the numerous and varied tasks required of
the parent volunteers in MAVA. The participants clearly recognize the value of their varied
outside experiences as important to the work they do for MAVA.
To further clarify the participants’ knowledge of the benefits of diverse experiences in
MAVA, the participants were asked about the level of effort they saw MAVA engage in to
involve all parents with diverse backgrounds, skills, and occupations. Fourteen participants did
not see an effective effort to engage all parents with diverse backgrounds, skills, and
occupations. Instead, the effort was to get anybody to fill an open role, usually a friend or
someone they already knew. The participants indicated by these comments that little success was
achieved in involving parents with diversity in background, skills, occupations. Parents’ ability
to reflect on how to draw people in through relationships and the benefit to MAVA and students
to draw in diverse backgrounds as well as diversity representing the student population was not
considered by participants. The participants understood how their own experience was beneficial
but did not further their understanding enough to articulate the importance of all types of
diversity within MAVA. Recruitment could be improved through widening the pool of parents
by building relationships to include all parents. Examples of participants’ responses confirming
their understanding of their diverse strengths in work and experience knowledge, and leadership
experiences that are beneficial to MAVA as assets are outlined in the first section of Table 12.

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Examples of participants’ responses suggesting the lack of understanding how others with
diverse strengths in work and experience, knowledge, and leadership experiences can be
beneficial to MAVA are outlined in the second section of Table 12.

Table 12
Participant Responses Regarding Awareness of Diversity Benefits, Asset and Need Statements

Participant Statements that suggest metacognitive
knowledge is an asset
Meaning
V-2 “Being a mom, you’re kind of driven by
completing a task.”
R-V-2’s role as mom supports
the ability to volunteer with
experience skills that benefit
MAVA
B-2 “Being a people person [and] understanding and
respecting the kids” [is a benefit].
Personality and knowledge of
students is a strength that
benefits MAVA
A-6 “Being outgoing and using your friends, your
contacts outside of school” [assisted them in the
program.]
Having a network outside of
MAVA that can be used as a
resource is a benefit to
MAVA
V-5 [As a] “stay at home mom and full-time
volunteer.”
V-5’s experience as a
volunteer is a benefit to
MAVA
B-5 “I was with the PTA with the elementary school
and loved meeting new parents and their kids.”
B-5’s experience working
with students in a school
setting in a leadership
position is a benefit to
MAVA.
Participant Statements that suggest metacognitive
knowledge need is validated
Meaning
B-3 “There is a strong desire to do so, but it may not
get pulled off very well… it's open to parents but
they don’t come.”
B-3 indicates further
reflection on inclusivity is
needed for strategies in
communicating to parents the
invitation for involvement.

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Participant Statements that suggest metacognitive
knowledge need is validated
Meaning
A-2 “The goal is just to get people...the program
cannot run without their assistance...Make
parents feel useful, see people’s
enthusiasm...specific jobs to get involved. That’s
where we go astray, we don’t share what we see
needs to be done.”
A-2 could reflect on their
skills, background and
experience to impact the
concern of diversity
recruitment, and make parents
feel more included and
engaged instead of simply
recruiting for numbers.
A-5 “The effort was there, the follow through was
poor...the board [can appear] very cliquey and
standoffish.”
According to A-5, the board
lacks inclusivity and without
deeper self-reflection on
behalf of MAVA parents, it
will continue to lack the
diverse and inclusive
representation that should
reflect the students and the
parents.
B-2 “We are stronger and trying to pull in more
parents ...but it does feel a little cliquish, even
though we don’t want it to happen...we get
discouraged when no one steps up.”
B-2 suggests some effort has
been made to be inclusive, but
further reflection revealed
there was actually behavior
that kept people from
participating. Discouragement
can hamper the effort and the
group returns to operating
inwardly focused.

B-1 “Family background is not irrelevant, but we
will welcome anyone who will help. We just
need someone to fill the position.”
B-1 indicated little reflection
occurs for including different
backgrounds and experiences,
the only concern is with
getting someone in the
position.
A-1 [There is] “massive effort and hard work to
attract diverse demographics, but it follows the
80/20 rule...the effort and support is there to
have parents join, it’s just waiting for them.”
A-1 stated bringing in parents
with different backgrounds
and occupational strengths
was understood to be
desirable, but the effort was
unfruitful.

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Participant Statements that suggest metacognitive
knowledge need is validated
Meaning
D-2 “The general consensus is we don’t know the
other parents well enough to ask them to do
these things… And I guess when they are
buddies with somebody, friends with somebody,
it's an easy thing to ask. But often they're like a
really tight-knit circle of friends, I haven't seen a
whole lot of making the effort to build those
relationships then ask for help.”
D-2 indicated the lack of
relationships among the larger
group of parents could be a
barrier to a more diverse and
inclusive MAVA
organization, effectively
excluding the potential for
diverse backgrounds, skills
and experiences.
A-6 “We need to have more Spanish speaking
parents in there and be able to communicate to
the Hispanic families better so they can feel
more involved in what their student was doing.
That’s huge at our school, then everybody feels
welcome and wanted and can participate and not
feel left out.”
A-6 reflected on the deficit in
understanding the benefit of
involving the parents who do
not easily speak English,
which affects the ability for
parents to feel welcomed and
desire to participate.
A-3 “The majority in the program were English
speakers and the Spanish speakers saw the
barriers they were crossing. They were hard to
approach because the parents themselves were
unapproachable. So the parents who also spoke
Spanish were needed as resources for other
Spanish speaking parents. It wasn't that they
didn't want to get involved, it was just hard for
them if there wasn’t someone to explain it.”
A-3 understood when
language was a barrier,
involvement was difficult
even if parents wanted to be
involved; MAVA needs to
consider approaches to see
language diversity as an asset

The pieces missing in MAVA’s metacognitive knowledge is the recognition of the racial
diversity in MAVA to be representative of the student population and taking the time to build
relationships within MAVA to expand the group from which volunteers can be drawn. Parents
need to be able to think about how they were recruited and how their skills and experiences
benefit MAVA and reflect on how to transfer that information into recruiting new diverse
members. There needs to be an understanding of the benefit to MAVA of including diverse
strengths in work and experience skills, knowledge and leadership experiences with volunteers’
different backgrounds. The work that MAVA engages in on behalf of the students requires such

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a diversity of skills and abilities, the marching arts program benefits most when the diversity of
background skills is represented. Additionally, MAVA needs to reflect the diverse racial
background of the marching arts students, so all participants feel they are included.
The participants’ responses in the second section of table 12 illustrate that more effort is
needed to engage all parents as volunteers and develop all parents’ leadership potential to
contribute their skills and backgrounds to the work of MAVA. Therefore, this influence is
validated. All participants acknowledged their metacognitive understanding of how their
personal background benefits MAVA, but 14 out of 18 participants acknowledged not observing,
reflecting on, or understanding how others’ backgrounds are a benefit to MAVA or are actively
pursued, including the involvement of Spanish-speaking parents.
Findings of Assumed Motivation Needs
Rueda (2011) stated that there is no single way to approach motivation, but instead, it is
composed of multiple aspects that can generate the desired outcome. The research conducted for
this study of MAVA participants incorporates expectancy, task utility value, and self-efficacy as
motivational constructs of interest regarding MAVA parent involvement. Both of the first two
influences below, expectancy, and task utility value constructs of motivation contain numerous
examples of parents’ motivation to be involved because of the value they see for themselves and
their children. There is a broad range of responses, and many are included in this findings
section. Therefore, needs for the expectancy and task utility value constructs of motivation were
not validated. Furthermore, those two motivation constructs are the crux of parent involvement,
the core of why parents volunteer, and why MAVA exists, ultimately to benefit the students. The
first two motivational constructs speak to the problem of practice concerning volunteer
engagement. In the section below within the individual influences, participants’ descriptions of
why they are engaged as volunteers are listed in table format. Further, the motivational construct

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of self-efficacy is validated as a need; this motivational construct spoke more to the leadership
development concern, where leaders did not feel fully confident in their ability at first to
participate in leadership. The following Table 13 shows the motivation influences that are
validated or not validated.

Table 13

Validation Status of Assumed Influences in Motivation

Motivation
Construct
Assumed Motivation Influence Findings
Expectancy Parent volunteers need to believe their volunteering is an
asset to help their child be successful in school
Not Validated
Task
Utility
Value
Parent volunteers need to value the benefits of their
involvement for themselves and their children
Not Validated
Self-
Efficacy
Parent volunteers need to believe in their ability to accept
the leadership tasks in MAVA
Validated

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Parents volunteers need to believe their volunteering is an asset to help their child be
successful in school (not validated)
Participants readily articulated a variety of ways their volunteering is an asset to
themselves and their children’s involvement and connection to school. Seven discussed the
family aspect created by participating, where they and their child gain connections to others
within the program, and lifelong friendships are made among the volunteers. Researchers suggest
students whose parents are involved in their school through volunteerism are more successful
academically and developmentally (Epstein, 2011, 2019). Additionally, students’ performance is
strengthened when families, schools, and communities partner in a supportive structure (Simon,
2019). The participants confirmed positive outcomes they have observed in their children
relating to school success in relationship development.
Eleven participants appreciated being there to watch their child’s performances and
friendship interactions and communicate parental support for their child’s interests. Five
respondents were involved to understand the program better, making the program possible, and
to modeling hard work and volunteerism. Participant B-5 stated, “my kid likes to see me there
involved in volunteering.” A-6 stated, “They get to see a different side of mom, my passion for
doing it, and it brought us closer.” D-2 said, “there is a sense I get to make this happen for my
kid and all these other kids.” While Participant D-1 acknowledged “I know it's a lot of work, but
I think they actually really enjoy it.” One participant identified their involvement was based on
the desire for their child’s involvement to foster a love of music. Participant B-1 stated she
values “knowing I am supporting something that benefits my daughter that she enjoys. I want to
foster that love for music, so I feel good I am helping her.” These participants articulated the
success of their student in school through being involved in a visible way in their child’s
education.

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Eight participants also acknowledged their volunteering was an asset to their child by
receiving parental support to navigate the high school years, strengthening support relationships
through shared experiences, which facilitated communication and appreciation. The students’
school success is strengthened through shared experiences. Four participants described the
positive characteristics their child sees modeled in the volunteers that help them in school,
including leadership and dedication. These participants enhanced their children’s success in
school through modeling leadership and dedication. Examples of how parent volunteers believe
their involvement is a benefit to their child as a student are outlined in Table 14.
All participants had a ready answer of how their volunteering is an asset in some way.
The participants gave responses that suggested their children's success in school was supported
through their volunteering through various aspects including the family aspect and
connectedness to school; involvement to show parental support in the child’s academic interest;
strengthening relationships through shared experiences; and parents’ models of leadership and
dedication. Accordingly, the expectancy motivation influence is not validated, as parents easily
identified benefits to their children’s school success as a result of their involvement in MAVA.

Table 14
Participant Responses that Confirm Parents Believe their Volunteering is an Asset to Their
Child’s School Success.
Participant Statements concerning the benefits of their
involvement in MAVA for their child as a
student
Meaning
B-4 [A result of volunteering is] “getting to know
other parents and being engaged with the school
activities and events that are to benefit the kids.”
B-4 identified when parent
volunteers are able to attend
and support the activities and
events that students
participate in at school, that
communicates school is
important.

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Participant Statements concerning the benefits of their
involvement in MAVA for their child as a
student
Meaning
V-3 “Being involved is a good thing, I try to be as
supportive as I can… I’ve gotten to meet a lot of
her [marching arts] friends who now call me
mom, which is a lot of fun.”
V-3 stated that knowing the
friends of a student can
encourage friends to support
each other in appropriate
conduct, knowing the parent
is in close proximity.
A-1 “MAVA is like one big family in a way...you
make a lot of friends… you have such a group
of friends even years after leaving the program.”
A-1 stated the family aspect
of volunteering connects the
family to school.
A-2 [Being there] “not just as a parent for my own
kids, unfortunately in situations you become a
parent for other kids that may not have support...
Then I go out on the street and see those band
students grown and they still [call me] Mama.”
A-2 described the importance
of volunteering to support
other students whose parents
may not be able to volunteer
and gives them a sense of
belonging.
V-2 “Just getting to know the kids, the other parents,
knowing that I’m helping with something that is
valuable to my kids personally and their friends
drives me.”
V-2 stated building
relationships to assist students
and parents to connect with
the school is their motivation.
V-5 “My [student] sees that I care and support what
he likes to do. I don’t know what it is about
music, but it helps in their thinking, it helps
them in their school work, in his self-esteem, he
makes friends with people he has things in
common with, and just his overall thinking.”
Parent interest in their child is
communicated through V-5’s
involvement in their child’s
interest; supporting the music
program supports the
student’s overall education.
B-2 “They just know I am there, confident that I
have their backs if they need it, being around,
especially in high school where kids tend to
disappear.”
B-2 suggests high school can
be difficult for some kids.
Having their parents as a
champion familiar with the
school can give confidence to
the students.
V-5 “I just love seeing the kids perform, and actually
being able to be involved a little bit in the high
school level because kids are growing up and
being more independent...this is such a great
group of kids, they are entertaining, hilarious,
and they are fun. It’s fun to be able to be on the
school campus and see that and help out.”
V-5 stated being involved
allows parents to see the
humorous side of students and
support their enjoyment of
high school.

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Participant Statements concerning the benefits of their
involvement in MAVA for their child as a
student
Meaning
A-4 “It made it easier to have conversations about
things that can happen as you make your way
through high school, we could have
conversations about things that didn't involve
him but as illustration of ‘that was good,’ or
‘don’t ever do that,’ whatever. Parents can know
what’s going on in school.”

A-4 stated when parents are
involved and observe
situations, they can use them
as a teaching moment to
support their child’s
knowledge about what is
appropriate at school.
A-1 “It strengthened our relationship a lot; we had
differences though, both leaders at different age
levels. Sometimes we were in each other’s faces
on how we wanted to run the program, but at the
end of the day we resolved and appreciated each
others’ leadership. She learned a lot.”
A-1 stated parents and
students can observe each
other grow as leaders and
support and build the
relationship with each other.
A-2 “It showed them responsibility and learning by
seeing and doing and making band a piece of
our lives, part of our family. The dedication the
kids have at that time will be seen in their
leadership abilities and then where they are
personally and professionally, using the skills
they learned in large part not only from the
director, but from the program and from the
parents that were involved in the program.”
A-2 stated that when parents
show their interest by making
their child’s interest part of
the family’s interest, knowing
what the students are learning
will assist them not only in
high school, but will support
their success after they have
graduated.
A-2 “Students see the dedication of the parents.
When you see your parents work all day then go
to help with the program or take time off work
or travel...they know their parents care about
them and want to be around. When they see a
group of parents working together, they learn
how it will be in the future for them to
communicate and work with others.”
A-2 observed parents model
collaboration and cooperation
for the students as well as
dedication and hard work.
A-3 “Helping [my student] recognize the other adults
who were involved to help them with the
program and she got comfortable with them and
could reach out to them if I wasn't around.”
According to A-3, the
students learn to comfortably
interact with adults who
volunteer for MAVA, which
can support communication
with their teachers in school.

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Parent volunteers need to value the benefits of their involvement for themselves and their
children (not validated)
This influence of task value is tied to the former, expectancy, as most participants
acknowledged benefits for themselves and their children in various ways. This construct
examined how parents believed their involvement in the task was beneficial to themselves and
their children, discovering how motivated they are to be involved and value their involvement.
Five parents acknowledged that they would volunteer no matter what. Three said they were there
because there was no one else to help. Five parents mentioned relationships with others as a
benefit. Two participants acknowledged the marching arts program could not continue without
MAVA and parent involvement in the tasks necessary. Parents gave examples of how they and
their children benefit from the parents’ involvement in MAVA, as the parents see value in the
work they do through providing a service to the students, other parents, and gaining relationships
in the process.
One interview question asked about the most valuable aspects of being involved with
MAVA. Nine parents stated spending time with the students was most valuable, supporting them
and helping them learn responsibility, time management, and seeing them succeed. Participants
discussed their positive reflections on their program involvement and described the feeling from
working with the students. The parent volunteers expressed their motivation as tasks that support
students. Two participants valued learning about the marching arts program as a way to support
their child. Three parents enjoyed the work, learning what to do, and seeing hard work pay off
for the students. The participants that described the value of the tasks with MAVA spoke
directly to the task value of their motivation, which supports their engagement as volunteers.
Examples of how parents value the benefits of their involvement with MAVA for themselves and
their students are outlined in Table 15.

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Table 15
Participant Responses to Confirm Parents Value Their Involvement for Themselves and Their
Students.

Participant Statement indicating the value participants had
toward their involvement
Meaning
A-4 “Honestly I can’t help myself; some people are
more inclined to just want to do it.”
A-4 is motivated to be
involved no matter the task.
B-4 [I was] “just trying to be involved in something
related to school and related to something my
daughter is involved in.”
B-4 is motivated to be
involved in school as a
volunteer for the first time to
support the students’ interests.
A-3 “I was there all the time anyways...and I could
have an easier approach to the Spanish speaking
parents.”
A-3 saw value in her
contribution to the Spanish
speaking parents.
B-1 [I am in leadership roles because of] “the dire
need for volunteers.”
B-1 is involved because of the
value of the task, if they did
not do it, who would?
B-3 [I am involved in leadership] “because no one
else would do it”
B-3 is also involved to
support MAVA to assure the
tasks would get done.
A-2 “The interactions with adults and kids, that’s the
most rewarding.”
A-2 valued the social aspect,
getting to know the adults and
students during tasks.

A-6 [There is] benefit in “comradery, I stay because
the people I work with are amazing, giving their
time out of their own life to the program is
inspiring, and the friendships.”
A-6 appreciates the time
others give to the program,
and values the friendships
formed from working
together.
A-6 “Keep the program going, building it for
sustainability long after my daughter and I are
gone...it’s a joy to share the experience the kids
have in the music program...memories are
priceless and we get to experience that.”

A-6 stated the program is so
valuable A-6 is involved to
support its sustainability.

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Participant Statement indicating the value participants had
toward their involvement
Meaning
V-5 motivation is, “knowing that I’m doing
something for these kids that makes them happy
and seeing the smiles on their faces.”
V-5 indicated the tasks have
value because they support
the program that the students
enjoy.
A-4 “I actually like teenagers; they’re snarky,
they’re snide, they have a big attitude. You can
be sarcastic with them, have fun, and they’re
preparing for the future so the hope is you can
be an appropriate positive influence for them,
your own kid and all the others...I am there for
them and it is very gratifying.”
A-4 indicated high school
students need support and
someone who is able to
understand and interact with
them. The value of
involvement is the
connections made through
performing the tasks.
V-5 “I learn something more about the program
every meeting. Being a leader is continuing to
learn and I want to continue that with the
boosters so they can succeed with the
fundraising and stuff that goes on for the
program.”
V-5 values MAVA as a
learning organization and
values the very important task
of fundraising to support the
program’s financial needs.
B-1 “I enjoy the work; it's kind of tedious, but I
don’t mind that attention to detail.”
B-1 acknowledges some tasks
are tedious but still need to be
done.
V-2 “Being part of something where you shift the
focus off of yourself and onto something else
that’s bigger than you just adds value to your
life when you’re a part of something beneficial
not just to yourself but to multiple people that it
helps.”
Focus on the tasks is valued
by V-2 for the larger altruistic
aspects of giving back and
helping others.
A-2 “Knowing you have helped the program to be
what it is so kids can be involved and get the
most out of the program, not only music but
growing and responsibility, time management,
see the growth from freshman to senior. They
learn they are a critical link in the program and
that’s a hook for parents who see their child
changed because of the responsibility they take
on and they get to know their own kids through
watching.”

A-2 suggested volunteering
for the tasks is valuable
because of the benefits the
students get out of the
program and the relationship
parents strengthen with their
own children.

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Participant Statement indicating the value participants had
toward their involvement
Meaning
B-4 “I am getting out of my...routine and
stretching[ing] my skills set a bit doing things I
don’t do at work...It’s motivating me to take on
something outside of my element.”
B-4 indicated volunteering is
beneficial for learning new
skills and for growing as an
individual.
B-2 “ I like to collaborate with people and
brainstorm...bounce things off of somebody…
There’s adult conversations and learning what is
going on.”
B-2 values the socialization
that occurs through the work
with MAVA and the
intellectual requirements of
the tasks.

Participants could easily articulate benefits for themselves and their children through
volunteering with MAVA These benefits included relationship building and strengthening
among the volunteers and their children, growing individually and intellectually through learning
and skill building, and contributing to society through giving time and sustaining the
organization for longevity so future students and parents can gain the benefits through
participation, for example. Therefore, the need is not validated.
Parents need to believe in their ability to accept leadership tasks in MAVA (validated)
Interview participants were asked how confident they felt in their ability to participate in
a leadership role and how parents can gain confidence. For personal confidence to accept a role,
10 participants stated they were not confident at first but gained confidence by observing, doing
the job, being successful in the effort, and with support. For example, (A-1), “honestly I was
quite nervous,” (B-2), “I don’t have a lot of confidence, I am forcing myself to do it to be
honest,” (B-4), “At first I didn’t know a lot,” (A-6), (A-2), and “I am more comfortable now than
even a year ago,” (B-1). The participants accepted the leadership role before believing in their
ability to complete their leadership tasks. Six participants reported being confident about their
ability because they have had similar roles at work, or they approach their selected activities with

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confidence as a character trait. The participants accepted the leadership role with confidence in
their ability to perform the task. Nevertheless, a common comment among volunteers is that they
would help but did not want to be in charge, or they were waiting for someone else to step into
the leadership role. Participants indicated it can take time to feel confident enough to accept
leadership tasks; their self-efficacy emerged later with experience.
Regarding how parents might believe in their ability to accept a task, the interview
participants had various ideas. Six people thought breaking the jobs down into smaller tasks
would be helpful for parents to gain confidence in managing smaller pieces first. In these
comments, participants are expressing the overwhelming feeling of a role that is too large, or that
takes too much time, demonstrating a lack of self-efficacy in accepting an ill-defined leadership
role. Their suggestions demonstrate role and time ambiguity that prevents parents from engaging
in leadership tasks. The fear of being overwhelmed prevents people from accepting leadership
roles. Three participants suggested placing volunteers in tasks that fit within their skills and
interests. Additionally, three participants suggested maintaining supportive communication and
relationships to know where to place and support volunteers, which supports the volunteer
engagement and willingness to accept a leadership role where the volunteers feel capable.
Participants discussed aspects of self-efficacy both for themselves and how others can develop
confidence to accept a leadership task; those statements are outlined in Table 16.

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Table 16
Participant Responses Concerning Their Ability to Accept a Leadership Task.
Participant Statement concerning participants' belief in their
ability to take on a leadership role.
Meaning
A-1 “I didn’t really know what I was getting into.
But by slowly watching, getting my hands dirty,
it was doable.”
A-1 was not sure at first, but
through observation and
participation, they were able
to complete the tasks.
A-2 I learned “by doing, and ‘training’ such as it is,” A-2 identified learning
through limited training that
was given, and then gained
confidence through doing the
tasks successfully.
B-3 “Work is very similar to my role as a marching
band manager.”
B-3 indicated that self-
efficacy can come from a
related field where they
already had confidence.
A-4 “I am always confident, I don’t ever question [if
I can do something].”
A-4 indicated that self-
efficacy to complete a task
can be a personality trait.
B-2 “I like being the wingman and staying away
from leadership; my motto was to commit to
nothing but participate in everything. As I did
everything, I found how I fit in.”
B-2 identified a common
theme in volunteer
organizations that ‘I will help,
but I don’t want to be in
charge.’
V-3 “Break them into smaller tasks, offering them as
a partnership like a co-position is a good way
for people who are willing but hesitant. And
then a person might be good at one part and
another good at another part, the split leadership
role could be valuable.”
V-3 suggested self-efficacy
can be encouraged through
shared leadership roles to
allow support of each other
and to make the time
requirement more manageable
within their skillset.
V-5 Define the role so that people “would not be
scared that it's going to involve taking over their
whole lives.”
V-5 indicated for a person to
be self-efficacious they need
to understand the scope of the
role.

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Participant Statement concerning participants' belief in their
ability to take on a leadership role.
Meaning
D-2 “Having clear expectations for the roles...and
parents knowing, okay, well it’s just these
things, and if I want to do anything else, I can.
That would give parents, I think, a lot of
confidence to jump in and it’s much less
overwhelming when the list isn’t ‘have a second
job.’”
D-2 described communicating
the scope and responsibilities
of the roles can encourage
parent volunteers to take on
leadership roles
A-2 “Getting parents in and finding their niche is
what is going to keep them. Keep an eye out for
what the parents might be able to do so they
don’t stand back and not get involved. Keep an
eye out and see if it works for them, and if not,
try something else.”
A-2 encourages engaging
parent volunteers in a task
area where they can be
successful and allowing them
to try different roles will help
them find where they can be
effective and confident.

B-5 “It's up to us leaders to guide them and
communicate with them personally so we have
to take time to get to know them and
communicate more about the program and invite
them to feel that excitement of the program. It
makes them enjoy doing it and helps gain
confidence and comfort to be in a leadership
role. You can’t just throw them out there.”
According to B-5, leaders
create leaders by encouraging
communication, support, and
inclusion which leads to a
positive valence, and a greater
confidence in their ability to
be a leader.

The suggestions by A-2 and B-5 means current leadership must be making a conscious
effort to identify areas where a volunteer would experience self-efficacy in leadership based on
their abilities and maintain personal communication to support their confidence through
guidance. Effective leaders can cultivate growth and development in others through providing
smaller leadership opportunities with small successes that can grow into more substantial
responsibilities (Champlin, 2009; Lockett & Boyd, 2012), indicating self-efficacy can be
developed with assistance. Research from Chapter Two indicated that volunteers need to be self-
confident and know the roles and responsibilities. Likely the study participants have experienced
those factors demonstrated by their involvement. However, the lack of volunteer leaders,

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demonstrated in the document analysis section presented later, indicates that parents already
volunteering possess the self-confidence necessary. Those who are not involved, not part of the
sample, may need further boosts in self-efficacy for engaging as volunteers in leadership.
Therefore, this section is validated, as participants were not confident at first, and indicated
strategies need to be put in place to boost confidence early in volunteering both to engage the
volunteer and support their leadership involvement.
Findings of Assumed Organizational Needs
The first two findings sections covered knowledge and motivation influences and had to
do with the person’s willingness to accept the volunteer tasks and leadership roles. This next
section changes the angle to look at what the organization is doing to promote or discourage
parent volunteers from participating. The organizational influences include one cultural model
and three cultural settings. Culture is not always visible, and it can be helpful to dive into
questions about the culture to see if practices align with the cultural models and settings. The
cultural models impact people's behavior, and include the shared values and how things work,
and the cultural settings are the daily practice where the routine aspects are more visible (Rueda,
2011). The following Table 17 shows the assumed organizational influences and their validation
status.

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Table 17
Assumed Influences in Organizational Culture
Organizational
Influence
Assumed Organizational Influences Finding
Cultural Model
Influence - 1
MAVA needs to prioritize the needs of its parent
volunteers
Validated
Cultural Setting
Influence - 1
MAVA needs to prepare succession plans for
leadership, recognizing the constant restructuring of
MAVA’s composition due to parent involvement only
through the four years or fewer of their child’s
involvement.
Validated
Cultural Setting
Influence - 2
MAVA needs to provide training and materials to
adequately prepare parent volunteers for their
successful support of both MAVA and the marching
arts program.
Validated
Cultural Setting
Influence - 3
MAVA needs to provide regular communication and
feedback to parent volunteers to increase engagement
and interest in leadership opportunities.
Validated

MAVA needs to prioritize the needs of its parent volunteers (validated)

The interview protocol directed a question at discovering the ways MAVA considers the
needs of parent volunteers. When considering the best practices for involving volunteers in an
organization, Alfes et al. (2016) discussed that keeping volunteers engaged requires an effort
from the organizations to adapt to the volunteers’ different needs. Some examples of meeting
volunteer needs include identifying the benefits, communicating changes over time, and making
the experience manageable. Volunteer engagement happens with meaningful tasks and emotional
connections to the organization. Nesbit et al. (2018) found that when organizations do not
address the issue of volunteer engagement and do not implement strategies to meet the

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volunteers’ needs, they are less likely to have enough volunteers. The preceding statement is
important for MAVA as a lack of engaged volunteers, not enough people stepping up in
leadership roles is the problem MAVA has been facing.
Four participants believed MAVA does not consider parents’ needs. Three participants’
comments confirmed MAVA’s consideration of parents’ needs, which indicates there is
inconsistency in meeting the parents’ needs. Three participants responded that MAVA is there
for the needs of the students, not the parents. The responses by the participants show a
disconnect regarding MAVA. The participants’ responses to the organizational setting influence
of parent needs prioritized by MAVA are outlined in Table 18.

Table 18
Participant Responses that Indicate MAVA Does Not Prioritize the Needs of its Parent
Volunteers.

Participant Statement to MAVA’s ability and intention to
meet volunteers’ needs
Meaning
A-5 “There was not a mechanism for that [meeting
parents’ needs]. If you need anything come ask,
but nothing formalized. I don’t think the
organization did a good job on this,”
A-5 confirmed that MAVA
does not seek to meet
volunteers’ needs but will
help if the volunteer asks.
V-4 Because of COVID-19 shutdown, “I haven't seen
it unfortunately because it's been such a weird
year. I’m not really sure that I’ve really seen the
full extent of that.”
V-4 discussed the lack of
contact with volunteers the
past year hampering the
ability to know if there even
is a consideration of
volunteers’ needs.
A-6 Needs may not be met because “sometimes not a
warm reception is given” by the leadership when
parents show up, so people do not feel
encouraged to participate.
A-6 was indicating a need
parent volunteers have is the
relationship aspect of MAVA
parents that is not met. The
lack of a positive reception
further hinders volunteer
engagement.

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Participant Statement to MAVA’s ability and intention to
meet volunteers’ needs
Meaning
B-3 “We’ve always focused on the needs of the kids” B-3 indicated there is no
intended focus on parents’
needs.
A-2 “The bottom line is we are there for the kids, not
the parents.”

A-2 spoke to working for the
kids, not for parents’ needs.
B-2 “I think everyone’s main goal is the kids and I
think when we help the kids, we’re helping the
parents because we want our kids to succeed,
have a valuable experience in music in their high
school years and I think just helping the kids will
help the parents. So when everyone’s goal is
toward that, it's a win-win.”
B-2 suggested parents' needs
are met when their kids are
helped through MAVA, but
not as a stand-alone
consideration of parents’
needs as volunteers.
B-3 “We are all in the same boat: parents with kids
there. Most people work either full or part time,
we’re all conscious of the struggles, limitations,
and frustrations we all have, but we are also very
committed and focused and driven to get stuff
done.”
B-3 suggested MAVA is well
aware of parents’ shared
needs of management through
life with the constraints it
offers but does not suggest
formal consideration of
volunteer needs would be
necessary.
A-1 “It’s a must, no consideration. Without parent
volunteers nothing would get done.”
A-1 recognized the
importance of meeting
volunteers’ needs to complete
the tasks and to engage
volunteers.

Volunteer engagement and leadership development would be enhanced through
understanding the needs of the volunteers to support their involvement. Therefore, the influence
is validated, MAVA needs to prioritize the needs of its parent volunteers. Although MAVA is an
organization to support students, parent volunteers' needs must be prioritized to maintain the
parents as volunteers, and thus have the force in place to carry out the responsibilities of MAVA.

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MAVA needs to prepare succession plans for leadership, recognizing the constant
restructuring of MAVA’s composition due to parent involvement only through the four years
or fewer of their child’s involvement (validated)
When describing leadership succession plans or the transfer of leadership, participants
had these words to say: “not good;” “messy;” “happy chaos;” “loosey-goosey;” “choppy;”
“abrupt;” “pretty good;” “has some negativity;” “transparent;” “it seems smooth.” Others
commented that only speaking for their position and experience was pretty good, and the
participant stepped in after being an assistant to learn the role. Different people had different
experiences; the obvious goal is to have positive experiences for volunteers so that they want to
stay around and accept leadership roles.
Nine of the participants directly indicated that leadership transfer or succession planning
was a need. The responses reveal succession plans are not prepared for the continual
restructuring of the organization and board as students and parents are only involved for four
years. Participants’ responses supporting the need for succession planning are included in the
outline in Table 19.

Table 19
Participant responses that indicate MAVA needs to prepare succession plans for leadership.
Participant Statement indicating participants
experience with succession of leadership

Meaning
B-1 “I can only speak to my experience, and the prior
person was very thorough and knowledgeable
and kept diligent notes in anticipation of passing
the duties to the next person.”
B-1 demonstrated individual
positions used successful
plans to transfer roles from
outgoing to incoming
volunteers.

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Participant Statement indicating participants
experience with succession of leadership
Meaning
B-3 “Personally, for me it has been good, I stepped
into the role after being assistant and she handed
me everything and was a good resource and the
former person is still around.”
B-3 demonstrated how
individual positions
progressed from assistant to
manager with ease in the
transition including
documentation resources.

A-1 “No two people lead the same way, [they lead
from] different backgrounds, cultures,
mentalities, the way they were brought up. So,
transferring from one to another cannot be
expected to be in the same leadership style.”
A-1 acknowledges that even
with succession plans in
place, adjustments are
necessary to integrate the new
leadership team together.

A-1 “We should not transfer every year, because it’s
not good for the stability of the program...it takes
a year to learn. You can’t teach someone after
only one year... So you learn one year, master
one year, and hand off the third year.”
A-1 suggests succession
planning is less likely to
develop leaders when
leadership changes are made
too often before leaders
understand their roles and
responsibilities enough to
engage new volunteer leaders.

B-3 “The challenge is always just time, because
when you’re in the middle of the craziness and
you just don’t have even time to think about
should I document this? I should train somebody,
I should do this, you know. I mean you’re just
scrambling to pull it off and for me at least at
times I’m just going to do everything because it's
faster in a way. Then you get to the end of the
season and... I didn't train anybody on this, or
nobody was around to learn this.”

B-3 demonstrates why
leadership must be developed
over the course of the year
and not left to the end when
there is no succession plan in
place.
B-3 “For the next one, [year] I don’t have a person
identified to take over...so I have no one to pass
things on to.”
B-3 continued that with no
succession plan in place, there
is no one to whom leadership
can transfer.

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Participant Statement indicating participants
experience with succession of leadership
Meaning
B-3 Described having two jobs, saying, “so
obviously that was a lot to do...at the end of last
year we did finals, and I was so exhausted, so
wiped out...but two big jobs is definitely a lot.”
B-3 described the situation
when leadership holds more
than one board role because
there is no one else to take it
over. The result is twofold:
one, the parent faces burnout
from the overload, and two,
people are more hesitant to
take over a position having
seen the same person doing so
many things because then
there is no distinction in roles,
and it seems gargantuan. With
a succession plan in place, it
would be unlikely people
would need to double up on
unfilled positions.

The need for succession plans to be in place as a cultural setting would improve volunteer
engagement and having a plan in place speaks to the development and availability of future
leaders. When a plan is in place which includes training to give the volunteers the tools and self-
efficacy needed to move from a volunteer to a leader, leadership development will be improved
(Fuller & Friedel, 2017). When the plan for leadership succession exists, volunteers will have the
opportunity to develop their self-efficacy for engagement as a volunteer ahead of time and be
ready to optimistically step in as a leader (McCormick, 2001; McCormick & Martinko, 2004).
Therefore, the benefit of a succession plan is established, and the need for MAVA to engage in
succession planning is confirmed; the cultural setting influence concerning succession plans is
validated.

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MAVA needs to provide training and materials to adequately prepare volunteers for their
successful support of both MAVA and the marching arts program (validated)
The questions posed to the participants involved examining current preparation for
leadership, understanding the goals or the reasons why the support of MAVA is necessary, and
identifying training strategies that participants believed would be beneficial. The first inquiry
involved participants identifying ways they were or were not prepared for leadership. Most
participants were not entirely or not prepared for the leadership role and did not believe others
were prepared. Sixteen of the 18 participants gave examples of ways they or others were not
prepared to serve in leadership. The main reasons people do not feel adequately prepared for
leadership had to do with the roles themselves. Eleven participants gave unknown job
responsibilities, the extent of work required, the lack of clear vision, and the lack of information
and resources as reasons why volunteers were unprepared for leadership. The responses from the
participants indicate the need for MAVA to provide training for the leaders.
Three participants discussed the need to communicate with new parents in the program to
understand roles, that all volunteer opportunities are important, even smaller ones, and the
possibility of roles shared. A-2 suggested, “When someone comes to volunteer who is
new...make it a goal to keep seeing this person, whether friend or stranger. We want them to
come back and feel needed. We need to get the point across that all tasks are important, nothing
is insignificant.” The participants described needs in communication and conflict strategies to
keep volunteers engaged. Training is needed to assist parent volunteers in knowing what to do
and how to do it so they can confidently accept volunteer and leadership roles. Incoming parents
would benefit from training to adequately prepare parents to understand the roles and
responsibilities of volunteering with MAVA and supporting the students in the marching arts
program.

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Understanding the organizational goals speaks to the work that volunteers will do and to
preparing the volunteers for understanding why they are needed as volunteers with MAVA. The
organization’s goals are essential to direct the logistical operations and culture of the
organization (Schein, 2017). Goals need to be in place as a metric to determine success in
achieving those goals, and goals are necessary to determine what change strategies may be
needed to move the organization back into alignment with its goals (Burke, 2018; Lewis, 2019).
Therefore, understanding the organizational goals of MAVA is important for determining change
strategies MAVA might need to implement to repair the gap in communication of the goals in
the form of support or training program, and therefore the rationale for the question around a
potential training program. The participants' responses to the question concerning their
preparation for leadership and their support for MAVA and the marching arts program are
outlined in Table 20.

Table 20
Participant Responses that Indicate MAVA Needs to Provide Training and Materials to
Adequately Prepare Volunteers for the Support of MAVA’s Mission.

Participant Statements regarding preparation and
understanding for leadership roles
Meaning
B-4 “I didn’t know the extent of the role; I was
overwhelmed at the beginning...it was a surprise
when I saw how much work [it was].”
B-4 expressed the need to
know what the role would
involve before taking it on so
that they could engage instead
of being overwhelmed.
B-2 “[I was] not prepared for conflict management.” B-2 indicated a need for
transparency and training to
assist new members to
mitigate conflict.

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Participant Statements regarding preparation and
understanding for leadership roles
Meaning
A-4 “It was hard because of the lack of background.
I started from zero...We spend time on the front-
end, when it's like repairing what we’ve already
done. If we could have a little help on the front-
end things would go faster and easier.”
A-4 indicated too much time
was wasted by having to
create the knowledge of how
to do a job instead of being
trained on how to do it, then
time could be spent engaging
in the work.
A-1 “I was not prepared for dealing with the school
and district administration...I thought they were
there for the good of the kids, but I was faced
with politics, rules that had nothing to do with
the kids.”
A-1 indicated leadership
responsibilities,
organizational charting, and
district policies that are
conveyed through training
would make it easier to
navigate instead of seeing
them as barriers to working
with the students.

A-5 “[I] was weakest in dealing with parents and
having a workshop discussion for volunteers to
deal with some of this stuff, difficult parents,
difficult kids.”
A-5 indicated advance
information that conflict
could arise, and pointing back
to the mission and goals with
recommendations could
redirect the conflict to
engagement in the mission.

D-2 Parents “either don’t know [the goals] or just by
talking to other MAVA members and being told,
but again, I think that comes back to what I was
saying, there’s not a clear vision for what the
role of the MAVA member is.”
D-2 indicated that volunteers
need to be trained to
understand MAVA’s goals
and mission, and what the
role of volunteers entails to
engage volunteers.

Participants gave a variety of short initial responses to what a support or training program
should look like if one were to be created. The responses included the following list:, “good
question;” “mandatory;” “that would be fun!” “short and time-sensitive;” “multiple tiers;” “like
job training;” “that’s a good question;’ “little bites;” “ like an eight hour tour;” “ a four to six

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hour day-in-the-life;” “an interesting concept;” “start with a Zoom meeting;” “music themed;”
“cocktail hour;” “one or two hours only,” “another good question;” “multifaceted;” “power
point.” These initial responses followed with the participants’ suggestions on either traditional
type training sessions “It should look like job training,” (B-1), or participants recommending
innovative training “using electronic communication and the ability to go through it on your
own… virtual meetings that we have learned from can take us to the future,” (V-4). Participants’
interest in this question clearly indicates volunteers agree that training and support materials
would better prepare and engage them and incoming parents for the volunteer work of MAVA.
Of note, although one participant said they did not know what the training program
should look like, not one participant declared a training program not needed. Instead, 17 of the
18 participants offered their suggestions for implementation, a clear validation identifying the
organizational need for training and support materials to adequately prepare volunteers for
engagement in their support of MAVA and the marching arts program. Training also
encompasses the basis for this study, to use data to inform and innovate a training program to
support volunteer engagement and leadership development for the parent volunteers in MAVA.
MAVA needs to provide regular communication and feedback to parent volunteers to increase
engagement and interest in leadership opportunities. (validated)
The final cultural setting assumed influence was twofold, incorporating feedback and
communication. The first part that the participants were asked was if they had ever given or
received feedback for work they had done with MAVA. The question did not generate much
interest among the participants. Eleven of the participants indicated they had given or received
feedback, A-6 stated, “I have given and received and most of it has been positive.” Of those, five
included they had received negative as well as positive feedback. A-1 said, “I have received
good and bad feedback.” The remaining six of that group had only received positive feedback in

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the form of a thank you and good job statements. V-5 stated, “I have gotten thank yous, that’s
feedback I guess.” Six participants indicated they had not received feedback, as A-3 said, “I want
to say yes, but I can’t think of any.” These responses by the participants were unremarkable,
which highlighted the lack of awareness regarding the importance of feedback and even the
impact feedback may or may not have played within MAVA.
Clark and Estes (2008) state feedback can improve both knowledge and motivation. The
process to be learned is perfected when feedback is provided during training for a new
procedure. Additionally, Clark and Estes (2008) described improvement in self-confidence and
team confidence when given feedback that is directed toward the goals, reminding people that
different tasks and skills are required to complete the tasks. The indifferent responses to
feedback given by the interview participants indicate feedback is not part of the culture within
MAVA. The responses indicate a validated need, that organizational improvement for MAVA
can be enhanced with feedback to better engage volunteers through knowledge and motivation.
Communication was a more significant issue for the interview participants, as they
described communication among the leadership board and from the leaders to the parents in the
program. Clark and Estes (2008) stated that communication is essential for transparency which
encourages trust, and communication of the goals direct performance to diminish the gap
between performance and the goals. Therefore, effective communication among the leaders of
MAVA produces trust, and communication toward the parent volunteers assists their knowledge
in roles and responsibilities to carry out the duties of MAVA. Thirteen participants responded
that communication was good among the leadership board members. However, four participants
acknowledged that better communication was needed from the director. When the question was
directed to communication with parents outside of the MAVA leadership board, it had more
significant variability. Several responses were tied to a particular manager or managers with

123
exceptional communication efforts within the group they managed. Other than those positive
responses, most of the participants agreed communication could be improved in several areas.
Responses from participants’ observations of communication within MAVA leadership, with the
director, and with the parent volunteers in general is outlined in Table 21.

Table 21
Participant Responses that Indicate the Need for Regular Communication to Increase Volunteer
Engagement and Interest in Leadership Opportunities.

Participant Statement of participants’ observation of
communication within MAVA leadership and
with parent volunteers.
Meaning
B-1 “[Communication is] good within MAVA when
we need to get a hold of someone.”
B-1 indicated communication
was effective when someone
within MAVA was seeking
information from another
MAVA leader.
A-6 “The MAVA board is amazing [with
communicating].”
A-6 indicated communication
within the MAVA board was
effective in information
dissemination among itself.
A-1 “Around the MAVA [board, communication is]
not bad, everyone understands the rules and you
do this for the kids.”
A-1 suggested understanding
the roles and responsibilities
contributes to effective
communication in MAVA.
B-3 “Honestly, as an organization to the broader
group it [communication] is lacking from our
director. He needs to be out there talking to
parents, so they see and know he’s there.”
B-3 stated the director is the
head of MAVA and could be
more engaged with parents,
so they understand his role in
MAVA as directing the
support of the students for
MAVA to carry out, along
with teaching them
musicianship and
performance skills.

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Participant Statement of participants’ observation of
communication within MAVA leadership and
with parent volunteers.
Meaning
A-2 “Some people communicate better than others.
The director needs to communicate at the
meeting this overview, what he needs, they will
do this then, make sure we have what we need
when we step off, we won’t be coming back, that
kind of thing.”
A-2 suggested more
communication from the
director for the program
needs and his needs for
students’ performances would
enhance understanding of
responsibilities for MAVA
volunteers.

V-2 “[My manager] is a really good communicator
and is doing an outstanding job in her world and
making sure all of us parents know what's going
on and we are all on board.”
V-2 gave an example to show
there are individuals within
MAVA that communicate
well.
A-4 “The formal communication is always a little bit
of a mess, getting information on getting people
involved in the sweet spot, not too early and not
too late, but just at the right time to plan for it
and not forget.”
A-4 stated timing of
information is an important
consideration in
communication, but it can be
difficult to execute.

B-3 “There is so much to say, you can’t get it all in
an email and it’s more challenging because we
are short staffed in the communication role.”
B-3 described the amount of
information that needs to be
communicated can be
overwhelming. Additionally,
the formal communication
role covering the website is
vacant.
B-1 “Communication outside leadership needs
improvement. I want to find a more efficient
way to get more responses. I don’t think email is
enough these days, we need to improve
communication.”
B-1 stated MAVA relies most
on emails for its convenience
to send information to
parents, but perhaps a more
direct method would work
better to engage more parents
into volunteering roles.

B-3 “Irregularity of communication is a problem for
me… consistency and routine in communication
[are needed].”
B-3 indicated parents need to
know what to expect in
communication, so they do
not miss it.

125
Participant Statement of participants’ observation of
communication within MAVA leadership and
with parent volunteers.
Meaning
A-5 “We need to find someone, maybe the front
office, to translate. We didn’t do that well.”
A-5 pointed out that
communication to parents
also includes communicating
to Spanish speaking parents
so they are aware and can
participate.

Communication within MAVA is essential in each influence in knowledge, motivation,
and organizational culture and context. The intentional focus on communication improves
volunteer engagement (Bauer & Lim, 2019; Trent et al., 2020), volunteer satisfaction for
involvement (Bang & Ross, 2009; Garner & Garner, 2011), and increases the likelihood of
bringing others into the organization (Kramer et al., 2013). Volunteers are more engaged and
satisfied with the work of an organization when there is two-way communication among
volunteers and organizations (Trent et al., 2020). Communication with the Spanish speaking
parents is critical for their involvement. Bortree and Waters (2014) described that
communication, feedback, and involvement in decisions with those with racial and ethnic
diversity led to their greater feelings of inclusion and trust among volunteers and the
organization. Therefore, the assumed cultural setting influence is validated; feedback was not
used as the tool for improvement that it could have been, and there was a clear lack of awareness
of the valuable role feedback plays in an organization. Communication was generally positive
according to participants only within the leadership board. However, with the director and
general population of parents in MAVA, communication was inconsistent. By increasing the use
of feedback and effectiveness of regular communication, MAVA should be able to attract and
engage volunteers and promote interest in leadership opportunities.

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Participants’ Suggested Changes
The suggestions made by participants for change in MAVA are important to include in
more detail. Information generated through interview questions through the discovered themes
and ten assumed influences in knowledge, motivation, and organization produced data to indicate
whether an assumed need was validated or not. An additional question for further discovery
asked what changes, if any, would be helpful for MAVA to make. Those responses are included
in Table 22 and demonstrate needs for change in MAVA perceived by all interview participants
which included alumni, current board members, volunteers not in leadership, and the directors.

Table 22
Participant Responses to MAVA Improvement Needs
Partici
pant
Statement regarding a needed change or
improvement within MAVA
Analysis of need Assumed KMO
influence
A-1 “I believe constant modification to the
bylaws, rules and regulations based on
ongoing changes in society or the district and
school administration. Life happens, and you
have to have changes, you can’t have bylaws
that are 20 years old and expect that will fit
your operations right now… Adjust and
modify how the program changes.”

Governance
structure needs
attention.

Knowledge,
Conceptual
A-2 “I don’t think there is anything miraculous
we can do at this point, the best thing we can
do is educate the parents for the need for
assistance, that parenting continues through
not just getting them to school but supporting
whatever they're doing in school...I think
parents are forgetting the fact that their kids
in high school still need a parent and a parent
needs to be visible.”

Parent involvement
is valuable for their
high school
students.

Motivation,
Expectancy

127
Partici
pant
Statement regarding a needed change or
improvement within MAVA
Analysis of need Assumed KMO
influence
A-4 “Everything involves being on time and short
and sweet, its consistency and getting to the
point, and doing the thing in a timely way, if
you can't do it get somebody who can to help
you. It really can’t be super successful if
people don’t know what they're supposed to
do and when they are supposed to do it or
how they're supposed to do it.”

Parents need
efficiency, role
clarity.

Knowledge,
Procedural

Cultural Model
1, Parent Needs
B-2 “I think right now our changes would be that
we just need our people back [from Covid],
we need our positions filled, we need our
marching band manager to have an assistant
manager, we need our marching band
manager to be separate from our drumline
manager, those kinds of things. It is the
people that we need most.”
Succession
planning in place
to find people to
fill roles on the
MAVA board.
Cultural Setting
1, Succession
Plans

B-1 “I wish we could get more parents involved.” Volunteer
engagement is
needed. By
meeting the
identified needs the
goal should be
achieved. This is
the crux of the
study.

Knowledge,
Metacognitive

Motivation, Self-
efficacy

Cultural Model
1, Parent Needs

Cultural Setting
1, Succession
Plans

Cultural Setting
2, Training

Cultural Setting
3, Feedback and
Communication

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Partici
pant
Statement regarding a needed change or
improvement within MAVA
Analysis of need Assumed KMO
influence
B-3 “I think we do need to be better
communicating and representing ourselves as
a group to try to draw in the parents, like the
word booster organization and the titles that
are used and some of these thing are very
difficult to understand when you are coming
in, like what does it mean to be a booster and
am I going to sign myself up for something,
what are they expecting from me or am I
going to get drafted to do and those things.
Try to position ourselves more as an
organization that's for the kids and there’s
fun parts of the work and you get to be
involved with them and we're the ones that
are giving your kids a lot of these beneficial
things, I think could be communicated better
and a little more visibility... better
communicating what we do, why we do it,
what the benefit is and the upsides of it and
not just the boring parts.”

Parents need
communication
and training to
understand MAVA
and its purpose,
roles and
responsibilities,
and motivation for
why parents are
involved.

Knowledge,
Conceptual and
Procedural

Motivation,
Expectancy and
Task Utility

Cultural Setting
2, Training

Cultural Setting
3,
Communication
and Feedback

B-4 “I think improved use of technology. I think
a lot of us now are pretty acquainted with
Zoom, so I think that helps a lot with
communication. Some of that may still
remain even as we go back to in-person
meeting. And just leaving more electronic
documentation behind so future parents that
take over the roles have something to go on.”
Parents need to use
resources they
have recently
become familiar
with and resources
which would also
improve roles and
responsibilities
information
transfer.

Knowledge,
Procedural

B-5 “I feel like someone needs to be shadowing
the president because she knows so much and
when she is gone... but the [alumni] are still
around and help out. There needs to be a way
to draw in more volunteers to help and want
to get in that leadership role.”

Succession
planning is needed
to fill vacant
positions.

Cultural Setting
1, Succession
Plans

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Partici
pant
Statement regarding a needed change or
improvement within MAVA
Analysis of need Assumed KMO
influence
V-1 “Communication. The first couple of years
was a big problem and I feel like they have a
better handle on that and maybe some kind of
new getting to know you kind of thing. And
we’re all so busy. But if we get to know each
other a little bit, maybe that would inspire
some people who don’t want to be involved.
I definitely realize the struggle to get people
to volunteer and in somehow or another
trying to acknowledge to people that they do
matter and their help is definitely warranted.”

Communication so
parents know what
to do, and feedback
so parents build
relationships and
understand the
value of their role.

Motivation,
Task Utility
Value

Cultural Setting
3,
Communication
and Feedback

V-4 “I think continuing to expand maybe
messaging opportunities for communication
just kind of those last-minute things that
everybody can get more easily. Maybe
student leaders talking to the other students
and younger students about the same things
that the boosters are trying to talk to the
parents about. That helps when the kids
pressure their parents a little bit.... they could
say, did you hear they might not be able to do
this because they don’t have enough
volunteers? I don’t think anyone's parents
purposely ignore the request, but just
sometimes it helps to come from all angles to
understand that it’s important versus being
seen as extra. You figure, parents with
schedules like mine have always been able to
volunteer in some respect so what does that
look like? … Maybe just helping them know
that I would like to assign somebody to this
task but maybe two of you can split it, here’s
what it might look like.”

Communication
methods could be
strengthened, and
parents with busy
schedules could
volunteer more
easily with smaller
tasks.

Cultural Model
1, Parent Needs

Cultural Setting
2,
Communication

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Partici
pant
Statement regarding a needed change or
improvement within MAVA
Analysis of need Assumed KMO
influence
V-5 “I think the freshman parents coming in [to
hear] about this. This is what everything is,
and this is what you’re going to be going
through. We’re going to ask if you
[volunteer] and how many competitions and
all that, you know. The toll that it takes, I
mean the kids are tired when they are
practicing almost every night during
marching band season and then they have to
come home and do homework. You kind of
have to learn how to change their schedule
around a little bit so that they can get their
homework done, and I think that would be a
really good thing for freshmen parents to
have.”
New parents need
training to
understand
marching arts and
its impact on
family.

Cultural Model
1, Parent Needs

Cultural Setting
3, Training
D-1 “Things change all the time, but financially,
things needed to change, but the needed to
raise more money and it's harder and harder
to do that so they need to come up with
strategies in these different environments to
raise the needed funds. It’s hard to raise the
money with the same old strategy so that has
to change. And having somebody keep up on
the changing demographics is difficult to do.
And strategies to get more involvement, to
get people to understand that they need to
volunteer.”
Parents need to
identify effective
funding strategies
as part of their role
in MAVA and
need to generate
more volunteer
involvement.

Knowledge,
Conceptual

Motivation,
Expectancy and
Task Utility
Value

D-2 “I think first establishing more of a culture in
the boosters, I guess corporate culture to a
certain extent, like having a vision, having
clear goals, and then using those as a
launching point for like what are we doing
now? I think that my perception and my
experience has been that we're just constantly
like, what do we have to do right now? And
there is never an opportunity to sort of fill in
the holes and get caught up and get ahead
really… It’s never big picture, long-term, or
focused; It’s always kind of we’ve got this
big problem, what, how do we fix it? And I
think having that vision and those specific
goals would help drive it in a better way.
Parents need to
understand the
mission and goals
of MAVA as well
as roles and
responsibilities and
documented
resources for how
to do the job.
Additionally, there
needs to be more
effort given to
developing
relationships to
involve all parents.
Knowledge,
Conceptual,
Procedural, and
Metacognitive

Cultural Model
1, Parents
Needs

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Partici
pant
Statement regarding a needed change or
improvement within MAVA

D-2
(Ctd.)
“Tied to that is having clear documentation
for things, setting the expectation for what
we really need to do , what is the job, how
much time should I be spending on it, how to
streamline the process for myself or whoever
takes over my job in the future.”

“Third, would be creating that community of
parents who are then willing to volunteer, but
building that community first.”

Most of the participants identified areas of MAVA they would like to see improved.
Participants indicated that improvement is needed in all 10 influence areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organization. The previous table analysis of the influence tied to the identified
need showed the cultural model 1, parent needs, as the greatest need for improvement.
Table 23 outlines the mention for change or improvement needed from Table 22 and
compares it to the interview results showing the need as validated or an asset, and therefore not
validated indicating sufficient support exists for the influence. Interestingly, metacognitive
knowledge was identified fewer times than conceptual and procedural, but in interviews
metacognitive diversity needs were validated, and conceptual and procedural were not. Likewise,
the participants identified expectancy and task value of motivation more than self-efficacy, yet
the interviews indicated self-efficacy was validated and expectancy and task value were not. The
discrepancy could indicate that participants are working on areas they believe are needed, but
sufficient support already exists. By using the interview data analysis, MAVA can redirect effort
to influences where the greatest needs are exposed instead of where needs are assumed to exist.

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Table 23
Comparison of Identified Needs from Participants Self-Suggestion with Validated Needs from
Participants’ Interview Data

Influence Identified as a needed
change in Table 22 by
number of mentions
Validated or not validated as
a need from interviews
Knowledge, Conceptual 4 Not Validated
Knowledge, Procedural 4 Not Validated
Knowledge, Metacognitive 1 Validated
Motivation, Expectancy 3 Not Validated
Motivation, Task Value 3 Not Validated
Motivation, Self-Efficacy 1 Validated
Organization Cultural Model 1,
Parent Needs
5 Validated
Organization Cultural Setting 1,
Succession Plans
3 Validated
Organization Cultural Setting 2,
Training and Materials
3 Validated
Organization Cultural Setting 3,
Feedback and Communication
4 Validated

Document Analysis

MAVA granted access to the researcher to documentation of leadership roles and
financial information from the last six years, the website, and the marching arts General
Information Handbook for 2019-2020. The decision to focus on documents only from the last six
years will align with the interviews of MAVA participants only from the last six years. Doing so
offers a more up-to-date view of volunteer participation and leadership role needs.

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Document Sources
The information gathered for the study through MAVA documents were ultimately
gathered from three sources: the president’s verbal report, treasurer’s reports and budgets for the
last six years, and MAVA’s informational website.
President Report: Cultural Setting Influence 1 - Succession Plan Needs

Communication with the current MAVA president yielded the list of open positions on
the booster leadership board for the last five years that had not been filled. The following points
show how many positions were unfilled:
● 2016-2017: 4 positions unfilled out of 24, operating at 83% of capacity
● 2017-2018: 6 positions were unfilled, operating at 75% capacity
● 2018-2019: 7 positions were unfilled, operating at 71% capacity
● 2019-2020: 9 positions were unfilled, operating at 63% capacity
● 2020-2021: 9 positions were unfilled, operating at 63% capacity
● Upcoming 2021-2022 year’s slate of board positions unfilled: 18 out of 24
positions, an operational capacity of 25% unless a significant change is made.
The data indicates a problem with succession plans, of bringing new volunteers in to take the
place of those who are leaving. The cultural setting need is validated further by the leadership
board information. The document analysis indicating the rise in unfilled leadership positions
further indicates the need to engage parent volunteers and develop leaders to take over leadership
positions as they are vacated.
Along with the documented shortage in board positions, document analysis of year-end
surveys from the 2019-2020 year revealed that most parent volunteers serving on the leadership
board did so because of a personal invitation from a friend. The literature review in Chapter Two
introduced survey information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015) concerning how

134
volunteers became involved in an organization. The results showed that 41.2% of people became
involved when asked by the organization, and 38% became involved when asked by another
person either within the organization or a person volunteering with the organization with whom
they had a friendship relationship. Accordingly, relationship-based volunteering is a critical
strategy for MAVA to consider as it is entering the current school year with only 25% of its
positions filled. The relationships that need to be established point to both metacognitive
knowledge needs and cultural model 1 influence addressing needs of parent volunteers.
Year-End Budgets: Cultural Setting Influence 2 - Training for Financials and Fundraising

The year-end budgets were included in the document analysis, as they depict the financial
health information for MAVA. The budgeted and actual expenditures for the last six fiscal
school years document the need for MAVA’s fundraising concerns. The analysis showed MAVA
had done well with expenditures as they remained flat to slightly declining over the last five
years, but income has not kept up with the expenditure levels. On average, over the three years
before 2020-2021, expenses had dropped 18% over the two prior years, 2015-2017. However,
income had dropped 24% over the same period. The year 2020-2021 shows the unique
challenges COVID-19 caused in income generation even though expenses are greatly reduced
due to the shutdown and subsequent lack of activity. Since fundraising is one of the major goals
of MAVA, the information on budget variance is crucial to understand by all members, not just
the treasurer. Yet often the budget and financial reports may not be understood. The important
role funding and fundraising plays demands the effort to train MAVA parents in what exactly
they are looking at when they see the financial information, adding to the needs in conceptual
knowledge of understanding the governance board duties while addressing further financial
information in training for future leaders, a cultural setting influence 2, training. This will be
further addressed in Chapter Five.

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MAVA Website: Cultural Setting Influence 3 - Communication Needs

The website includes information about MAVA and the Mission Statement and an
invitation to join as a volunteer. Email addresses are listed for all the board members. However,
they are not all the email addresses that are currently in use, and the website had not been
updated with the new board members, as former people were still on the list. Even though
outdated, the information for the general request for volunteers is clear. However, with the old
dates, would parents sign up online? Although several interview participants had mentioned the
website as a source of information, and forms can be accessed there, one participant also stated
the need for a current person to manage the website. There were no longer parent volunteers with
that ability. The lack of website management indicates a communication problem, a need in the
cultural setting influence 3, that MAVA needs to provide regular communication and feedback to
parent volunteers to increase engagement and interest in leadership opportunities. With an
existing communication gap, engaging parent volunteers is a problem. The document analysis
further confirmed the validated need in the cultural setting.
Document Analysis Summary
The net income has dropped annually since 2016. The drop, along with the percentage of
unfilled board positions rising, indicates the persistence in lack of funding and volunteer
leadership engagement. Several interview participants mentioned the fundraising issues briefly
but primarily focused on this research’s volunteer leadership engagement piece. The financial
statements show the continual need for funding sources to fulfill the marching arts program’s
activities. In the latest year, starting in 2020, the COVID-19 induced shutdown had severely
impacted the financial health of MAVA further. Funding ceased, and fortunately, spending was
reduced due to the lack of activities, although fixed costs remained. COVID-19 impacts are
unknown, as the global pandemic was unprecedented, and its repercussions cannot be fully

136
determined. It is possible COVID-19 could take a toll on income into the future for some time.
The COVID-19 impact from the interview participants’ perspectives generated numerous
statements, but will not be included in the findings further, as COVID-19 is not an influence that
is under the control of MAVA, and it cannot be resolved through training. COVID-19 has
negatively impacted the marching arts program and MAVA must address the needs with greater
urgency to restart the marching arts program.
MAVA’s Support of the Marching Arts

MAVA is a critical arm of the marching arts programs in schools. It cannot be
understated. Without MAVA, marching arts programs are in jeopardy. Without volunteers,
MAVA ceases to exist. As part of this research, participants were asked to express the impact of
MAVA on the marching arts. Included below are some of their responses. V-3 stated that
MAVA’s work with the students “is really helpful in trying to create community.” Further, V-2
stated,
I think they [the students] feel supported when they see the parents are coming alongside
them and supporting them and helping them reach their goal, whatever that may be. We
all want to see our kids succeed, and I think MAVA tries very, very hard to do that, to
make sure all these kids succeed in music and life basically. They learn a lot of life skills
in music, so I appreciate that too.
B-1 stated, “I think our actions [as volunteers] affect students greatly in that there wouldn’t really
be a program without the volunteers.” Also, students gain a sense of where to go to get help. B-3
stated,
The students get a sense of, you know, if I have a music question, I’m going to my
director, but if I have a ‘where am I supposed to be and when’ question, I'm going to my

137
booster person, you know, the parent that’s standing there. And the more parents you
have, the more just to help, you can be the one that helps kids figure out how to do it. Just
having those people present is a huge boost to the kids.
According to D-1, “the program can’t exist, won’t exist without a solid big effort from a strong
booster club.” The statement D-1 made is the essence of why MAVA is important, why this
study is working to identify optimal knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences to
build MAVA’s training program to increase volunteer engagement and leadership development.
MAVA does not exist, nor need parents to volunteer and leaders to lead for the sake of MAVA
itself; the entirety of the effort, the reason MAVA needs engaged volunteers and leaders in the
program is to benefit the students of the marching arts program. D-1 continued further on the
importance of MAVA’s support of the marching arts program, stating,
because the kids need, especially today, kids need an activity. Whether it's sports or
music or any other activity, they can learn how to get along, they can learn life skills,
they can learn that there is winning and there’s losing in the world, they have to deal with
both of those, and leadership skills. Any program that can provide that for a kid is worth
supporting. Teach them ethics, responsibility, leadership, team building, self-esteem, all
of those things come out of the program like the marching arts offer.
MAVA’s effort to engage volunteer support of the marching arts program and develop training
for developing leaders is for the purpose of supporting students and their education in music and
life skills.
Concluding Summary of Findings

This study interviewed the 18 participants composed of alumni MAVA members, current
members on the MAVA board, MAVA volunteers not serving on the leadership board, and two

138
directors. Data from the four groups of MAVA participants was analyzed to determine the needs
and assets of the 10 assumed influences in knowledge, motivation, and in the organizational
context and culture. The results of the interviews did not suggest validation of all 10 influences.
The most robust responses by participants indicating areas that need improvement were in the
organizational areas of Cultural Settings 1 and 2, indicating the greatest needs in succession
plans and training. Additionally, cultural model 1, prioritizing parent volunteers’ needs, and the
motivation construct of self-efficacy were validated. The motivation constructs of expectancy
and task utility value were not validated, indicating these influences do not represent the needs of
the parent volunteers in MAVA represented by the research participants.
Two of the three knowledge influences were not validated, indicating that parent
volunteers can leverage their knowledge in a somewhat successful manner to fulfill their roles
and responsibilities at MAVA. Metacognitive knowledge was validated as a need. Participants
could understand how their diverse background, skills, and experiences benefitted MAVA, but
could not further understand and reflect on how to bring in others’ diverse backgrounds, skills
and experiences to be included in MAVA leadership. They did not realize the relationship
building aspect needed to bring in other volunteers who are not as well-known but who bring
additional background skills and experiences to benefit MAVA. Additionally, the cultural setting
3 influence regarding feedback and communication was also validated. Additional needs also
resulted from themes generated from the interviews outside of the KMO influences. The need
was identified for the new director to inform MAVA on new traditions and procedures he deems
necessary for MAVA to provide. Additionally, the outside impact of COVID-19 on the marching
arts program was identified as a negative influence by almost every participant. The summary
tables of assumed influences were combined for the final Table 24 of influence validations.

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Table 24
Assumed Influences in Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Culture
Knowledge Type Assumed knowledge influence Findings
Conceptual Parent volunteers need to understand roles and responsibilities
of booster and leadership requirements and be able to identify
support after accepting leadership positions
Not Validated
Procedural Parent volunteers need to know how to leverage MAVA
resources in order to be able to successfully accomplish their
leadership task
Not Validated
Meta-cognitive Parent volunteers need to know that their diverse strengths in
work and experience, skills, knowledge and leadership
experiences are beneficial to MAVA
Validated
Motivation Construct Assumed Motivation Influence Findings
Expectancy Parent volunteers need to believe their volunteering is an
asset to help their child be successful in school
Not Validated
Task Utility Value Parent volunteers need to value the benefits of their
involvement for themselves and their children
Not Validated
Self- Efficacy Parent volunteers need to believe in their ability to accept
the leadership tasks in MAVA
Validated
Organizational Influence Assumed Organizational Influences Finding
Cultural Model
Influence - 1
MAVA needs to prioritize the needs of its parent
volunteers
Validated
Cultural Setting
Influence - 1
MAVA must prepare succession plans for leadership,
recognizing the constant restructuring of MAVA’s
composition due to parent involvement only through the
four years or fewer of their child’s involvement.
Validated
Cultural Setting
Influence - 2
MAVA needs to provide training and materials to
adequately prepare parent volunteers for their successful
support of both MAVA and the marching arts program.
Validated
Cultural Setting
Influence - 3
MAVA needs to provide regular communication and
feedback to parent volunteers to increase engagement and
interest in leadership opportunities.
Validated
Additional Themes The director - provider relationship needs to be
established; the new director needs to guide the program
to meet his educational knowledge, preferences and style.
Tied to
Communication and
Knowledge

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Chapter Five will provide recommendations for research question three, toward meeting
the needs identified in knowledge, motivation, and organizational culture. The identified needs
provide the evidence on which to base the course of action for innovating a needs-specific
training program. The recommendations are anticipated to improve volunteer engagement and
leadership development through innovating the training program for MAVA based on those
identified needs.

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Chapter Five: Discussion and Recommendations

In this chapter, the participants’ validated needs will guide the recommendations for
MAVA. The purpose of the study is to close the gap in knowledge, motivation, and
organizational experiences to favorably impact MAVA’s performance toward meeting its goals.
Research question three is answered in Chapter Five, as recommendations for improvements in
KMO validated influences:
3.What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources to favorably impact parent volunteers’
engagement in the MAVA program by accepting leadership opportunities?
The chapter ends with limitations and delimitations of this study and reflections on the
importance of the organizational study.
The analysis of the data in Chapter Four indicated influences that were barriers to optimal
organizational performance for MAVA. Chapter Two presented research findings and
informational sources that peripherally touched the marching arts volunteer associations’
performance, as there is little if any empirical research in those areas. Instead, factors relating to
volunteering in general from both the motivational and organizational perspective and leadership
research and informational sources for marching arts comprised the sources of information.
Previous literature supported the needs identified by MAVA interview participants as common
needs and considerations in organizations composed of parents, volunteers, and boosters, in
nonprofit organizations. The impact of the global pandemic with its subsequent shut down of
nearly every aspect of society globally, and specifically in schools and all marching arts
activities was the one need that was identified by participants that had never before been
addressed. This Chapter proposes recommendations to address the needs identified in Chapter 4
with respect to knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences.

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Discussion of Findings and Results

The effect of the global pandemic of COVID-19 on the marching arts organizations has
been enormous, a sentiment that is shared and understood within most organizations worldwide.
The impact on marching arts has also been immense, with the beginning of the shutdown of
marching arts events mid-season as schools also closed. With the Center for Disease Control’s
(CDC) announcement of the end of the mask mandate and social distancing for those individuals
that are fully vaccinated (CDC, 2021), and California’s mask mandate end date of June 15, 2021
(covid19.ca.gov, 2021), marching arts began gearing up to return. Drum Corps International
announced returning to an abbreviated summer tour for 2021 (Drum Corps International, 2021),
and Western Band Association (2021) released its 2021 fall event schedule. Schools have made
plans to open fully in the fall of 2021. After students spent nearly a year and a half out of in-
person school and with no marching arts activities beyond online classes for students in their
homes, MAVA had few duties beyond trying to fundraise for ongoing costs. The interviews took
place through March and early April 2021, when the end to the shutdowns was not in sight, and
the interview participants that addressed the issues exacerbated by COVID-19 spoke from that
perspective.
The extended pause in MAVA’s activity further impacted needs that MAVA had already
experienced. While more experienced MAVA interviewees discussed their understanding from
what they knew before COVID-19’s emergence, the newer MAVA members displayed limited
previous experience. The point-in-time relevance of this research was to be the transition of a
new director as the rationale for the program reset. Four years in a high school position is
meaningful as the students have fully been educated under the new director. However, the
COVID-19 induced shutdown of the final third and full fourth year of the new director has
amplified MAVA’s needs in KMO and increased the salience of training for parent volunteers

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going forward. Knowledge transmission and MAVA organizational practices for parent
volunteers and potential leaders could not be modeled or observed by new parents during the
near year and a half of activity shut down.
The KMO influences presented below demonstrated the need for support and
improvement. Recommendations for each influence precedes the discussion. Key needs repeated
in each of the KMO influences included leadership roles and responsibilities, leadership
succession planning, communication and feedback, and information transmission. The greatest
needs existed in the organizational influences based on the interview participants’ responses.
There is one validated influence each in knowledge, and in motivation: metacognitive knowledge
and self-efficacy in motivation. In organizational culture, all four of the influences are validated
as needs, including the cultural model of meeting volunteers’ needs, and the cultural settings of
training needs, succession plans, and communication and feedback. The discussion of the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs follows.
Knowledge Recommendations
Krathwohl (2002) described four aspects of knowledge as factual, conceptual, procedural,
and metacognitive. Through the analysis of the interview data, the three knowledge types
(excluding factual) that were investigated indicated validity in the metacognitive assumed
influence. The findings indicated that participants had sufficient support for conceptual and
procedural knowledge so they were not validated as needs. Metacognitive knowledge required to
understand the benefit of including the diverse population with diverse strengths and experiences
was validated as a need. The metacognitive knowledge recommendations are summarized in
Table 25, which is followed by further explanation of the validated influence.

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Table 25
Summary of Knowledge Needs and Recommendations
Validated Knowledge
Influence
Principle and Citation Context-Specific
Recommendations
Parent volunteers need to
reflect on and know that their
diverse strengths in work and
experience skills, knowledge
and leadership experiences
are beneficial to MAVA.
Common interest in the
organization brings
relationships to volunteers.
The interest and engagement
of the activity bridges across
demographics and ties
individuals’ experience in the
shared norms, trust, and the
collective identity in the
activity (Nichols et al., 2012).

Engaging diverse volunteers
requires identifying barriers
that must be overcome and
consider the comfort level and
values from underrepresented
groups (Sondeen et al., 2007).

The sense of inclusion in the
organization fosters the
climate where innovation and
job satisfaction are supported
(Brimhall & Mor Barak,
2018).

Knowledge can be improved
through information, job aids,
training linked to goals;
education to handle novel
experiences (Clark and Estes,
2008).
1.Support diversity of all
types and create relationship
opportunities for parents to
know each other and more
readily engage with each
other by creating an inclusive
culture.

2.Invite all parents to
participate, including parent
information in Spanish.

Metacognitive knowledge recommendations: Actively pursue diversity in all its forms and
engage in inclusion in board participation.
The results of the study indicated that MAVA volunteers have not considered the benefit
of or pursued involvement of diverse parents with different backgrounds, skills, and strengths.

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All of the interview participants articulated how their background or experience was beneficial to
MAVA or valuable to guide their knowledge for volunteering in specific roles. However,
participants did not know how to draw in others with different or specific backgrounds into
MAVA. The following recommendations point to needed action based on participant responses
and research regarding metacognitive knowledge.
1. Support diversity of all types and create relationship opportunities for parents to
know each other and more readily engage with each other by creating an inclusive culture.
The influence is twofold; first, diversity of backgrounds, skills, and strengths is important for
what it brings to the organization. Second, thinking about how it is important (the metacognitive
piece) and reflecting on one’s own diverse strengths in work and knowledge, experience and
background as well is valuable. Research by Buse et al. (2016) found that boards that had diverse
members were more effective in getting the work done when the culture of the board members is
favorable to inclusivity. Inclusivity is fostered where relationships are built. Engaging diversity
in board leadership composition takes effort and may require strategies beyond what has been
done before (BoardSource, 2017). Having group diversity alone is not the goal but including
diverse parents and integrating their skills and abilities must occur for effective benefits to the
organization (Salomon & Schork, 2003; Van De Ven et al., 2007). Therefore, effort to create
relationships to draw in and include all parents is recommended.
Participant responses suggested involvement could start by connecting with parents as
audience members and holding events to encourage relationship building. Events such as post-
band camp meet and greet, end-of-season parent celebrations, weekly open gatherings during
marching band season where parents come out and watch rehearsals encourage relationships.
Inclusivity is the key to creating relationships; MAVA must create a culture where all feel
welcome. The shared marching arts activity of their children create an easy conversation starter

146
involving, “What does your child play?” or “How long has your child been involved in marching
arts?” Starting with the question may bring further conversation and is the start to relationship-
building. It may even be beneficial for some if a micro-training was given to provide questions
for parents to ask each other to generate ideas on how to connect with each other. The marching
arts by nature create community as so much time is spent together; the goal is to create inclusive
parent volunteer community as well. Generating relationships among parents may assist them in
taking on greater responsibilities and roles, which yield greater rewards in community
connection in MAVA and connections with their children.
2. Invite all parents to participate, including parent information in Spanish.
Poignantly, only two participants mentioned the need to involve the Spanish-speaking parents in
the communications, as no communications were delivered in Spanish. Bofie High School’s
demographics include 28% Hispanic students (publicschoolreview.com, 2021), some of whose
parents are non- or limited English Speakers. While lower than the California state average of
54% Hispanic students, it is still important to address the portion of the population that needs
language support to be involved. Occasionally if a Spanish-speaking leader was available,
parents were able to communicate verbally with them. Otherwise, the information Spanish-
speaking parents received was through their children’s translations for them. Therefore, although
the need to self-identify the strengths of diversity is not a need, understanding other parents'
backgrounds is an identified need.
Since MAVA’s volunteers are the parents of the marching arts students at Bofie High
School, all parents must be involved to the degree they desire. There needs to be encouragement
from all socioeconomic, background, ethnic, and employment experiences to cover the diverse
needs of MAVA to carry out its mission. Therefore, making diversity a priority, building
relationships among all members, and creating an inclusive culture with preferred

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communication language is important. By engaging parents with diverse backgrounds, MAVA
will not only be fostering a more diverse and inclusive culture that is representative of the
student population, but it will also be enhancing its organizational culture by including diverse
backgrounds, as well as skills and experience, which will aid in further innovation and
organizational improvements (Brimhall & Mor Barak, 2018; Salomon & Schork, 2003; Van De
Ven et al., 2008).
Motivation Recommendations
The participants of this study demonstrated motivation to be involved with MAVA. Two
of the motivational factors of KMO were not validated as needs. Some interview participants
stated they would be involved no matter what, as they viewed involvement as part of their role as
a parent. Those participants see their involvement as assuring their child’s role as a student is
improved. Alfes et al. (2016) stated that volunteer engagement occurs when tasks are
meaningful, and the volunteers have emotional connections to the organization. Perhaps the most
meaningful and emotional connectedness comes from the parents’ children and their education.
Yet the gap that surfaced within the volunteers’ motivation was directed to self-efficacy, the
belief in their ability to complete the leadership tasks. The motivation recommendations are
summarized in Table 26 followed by further discussion.

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Table 26
Summary of Motivation Needs and Recommendations.
Validated Motivation Influence Principle and Citation Context-Specific
Recommendations
Parents volunteers need to believe
in their ability to accept the
leadership tasks in MAVA.
Effective leaders require
self-efficacy, or confidence
and optimism in their
ability to do the work
(McCormick, 2001;
McCormick & Martinko,
2004).

Training is important to
give volunteers the tools
and self-efficacy to move
from a volunteer to a leader
(Fuller & Freidel, 2017).

Reflection is important in
self-efficacy before and
after task performance,
considering how all factors
of direction, skills,
knowledge, and leadership
come together (Bandura,
2018)
1.Give parents the tools and
resources to gain
confidence to accept
leadership tasks.

2.Provide reflection and
feedback opportunities for
parent volunteers to think
about and evaluate their
upcoming actions and past
performances, identifying
positives and small
successes for continued
motivation.

Self-efficacy recommendations: Create resources and training so that parent volunteers can
feel confident enough to participate in leadership roles.
The only motivational need validated was in the self-efficacy of the volunteers. Participants did
not feel confident at first to complete their leadership roles. People must believe in their ability to
be successful to accept the responsibility of taking on a role (Clark & Estes, 2008). Parent
volunteers in leadership indicated they were hesitant at first due to the ambiguity and scope of
the role. The following recommendations point to needed action based on participant responses
and research regarding self-efficacy in motivation.

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1. Give parents the tools and resources to gain confidence to accept leadership tasks.
Research on leadership indicates training is essential for people to volunteer as leaders and new
leaders need support, especially in smaller organizations which may be hampered by lack of time
and funding for training (Brewis et al., 2010; Hager & Brudney, 2004; Meier et al., 2012).
Training is essential to give volunteers the tools and self-efficacy to move from a volunteer to a
leader (Fuller & Freidel, 2017). Additionally, reflection is vital in self-efficacy before and after
task performance, considering how all factors of direction, skills, knowledge, and leadership
come together (Bandura, 2018). Suggested interventions that encourage self-efficacy identified
by Clark and Estes (2008) include being specific about goals and using job aids and training to
assist with successful goal achievement. Including sustainable roles and responsibility resources
through electronic sources such as MAVA’s recent push to use Google Drive for information
storage and sharing plays a large role in supporting volunteers and encouraging their self-
efficacy to understand the roles. Therefore, providing training and tools for success could help
parent volunteers receive sufficient support to confidently accept a leadership task.
2. Provide reflection and feedback opportunities for parent volunteers to think
about and evaluate their upcoming actions and past performances, identifying positives
and small successes for continued motivation. Feedback can assist volunteers in the event
reflection to determine team effectiveness and team efficacy, elevating the influence of feedback
on the organization. Effective strategies for encouraging individual confidence involve feedback
on past successes; using positive feedback for difficult tasks and using corrective feedback
carefully so it is directed at the event, not the person; and communication of positive confidence
leaders hold in the person’s ability to be successful (Clark & Estes, 2008). In addition to a
person’s self-efficacy, people can have team-efficacy, believing that the team will complete the
task (Bandura, 2000; Clark & Estes, 2008) and that the members of MAVA will work together to

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accomplish the common goals. As MAVA volunteers move from volunteer roles to leadership
roles, with more training to reduce the ambiguity of their roles and opportunities for reflection on
the roles they have assumed, they can become more confident in fulfilling their roles as leaders
in MAVA.
Organizational Recommendations
The study of MAVA participants yielded more validated needs in organizational
influences than either knowledge or motivation. Since the problem of practice for this study
involved volunteer engagement and leadership development for parents within MAVA,
understanding what the organization is doing that promotes or inhibits the problems are
important to understand. Research in motivation for volunteers’ involvement presented in
Chapter Two indicated that an organization itself could hinder volunteers’ desire to be involved.
(Hustinx, 2010; Shye, 2010; Yanay & Yanay, 2008). Organizations that consider volunteers’
needs facilitate the volunteers’ engagement. When the tasks are meaningful, and when volunteers
have an emotional attachment to the organization, they tend to be more engaged (Alfes et al.,
2016). Research has established that organizations hold the responsibility for effective volunteer
engagement through resources and training as well as leadership practices (Handy & Mook,
2011; Haski-Leventhal et al., 2011; Harp et al., 2017; Hustinx, 2010; Nesbit et al., 2018; Yanay
& Yanay, 2008). Organizations are made up of people who often unconsciously develop and
participate in the culture (Clark & Estes, 2008). A board’s culture impacts the ability of the
people to meet the goals of the organizations (BoardSource, 2017). When volunteer leaders are
inclusive and concerned about the individual volunteer’s experience, a positive relationship is
formed, and volunteers feel valued (Brudney, 2016; Hagar & Brudney, 2004; Safrit &
Schmeising, 2005). Thus, addressing organizational needs in cultural models and settings will

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support volunteers’ knowledge needs and motivation to be engaged volunteers and leaders in
MAVA.
Organization recommendations for MAVA made sense since the volunteer base changes
annually with the influx of freshman and new students, and the outflow of graduating students
and, correspondingly, their parents, is continual. Since the organization is composed of short-
term volunteers and board members, but the organization remains, there must be resources,
procedures, and sustainability steps to facilitate the work of the parent volunteers. If the
organization is ready for the volunteers, all can work together efficiently (Brudney, 2012).
BoardSource (2017) reported tracking nonprofit board effectiveness for nearly three decades. Its
report of the latest survey from 2016 from 1700 board leaders provides insight into effective
leadership boards. The suggestions given by the BoardSource research are salient to the needs
validated by the interview participants from MAVA. The needs MAVA experiences are common
and documented, except for the unprecedented COVID-19 repercussions.
The MAVA study participants gave examples of how parts of the organization worked
well, an individual leader’s skills and practices being the reason for their opinion. BoardSource
(2017) found that leaders and boards who were strong and supportive in their role made work
more effective and facilitated the chief executive’s work (the director in MAVA’s case). Since
one of the purposes of MAVA is to support the director and the marching arts program, it is
essential to support a strong direction within MAVA’s leadership board.
Additionally, the findings of this study in traditions carried out by MAVA showed little
to no knowledge of the traditions by the new director and the current volunteers. The former
director readily provided a nearly complete off-the-top-of-the-head list since he created those
traditions. The alumni and current board members were able to articulate some of the traditions
that MAVA had historically engaged in on behalf of the students. Therefore, the new director

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will need to identify the necessary traditions that would help guide the marching arts program
and MAVA to the direction he desires, as part of his assimilation into and development of the
new culture with the new director in the lead. The timing for this aspect is crucial, with the return
from COVID-19 and the first classes of marching arts students and MAVA board that was
entirely under his direction. The organizational culture has been critically disrupted, and resetting
the beliefs, values, and assumptions following the COVID-19 shutdown can set the organization
up for future success with a positive and supportive culture. This recommendation should be
acted upon before the fifth year of the new director’s involvement at Bofie High School.
The views and experiences of all the MAVA interview participants show the importance
of continuity and training to assure all aspects of MAVA carry on with the continual turnover
within the organization. Anyone who takes on leadership in those positions should be supported
through resources and information sources to support their work in MAVA for the benefit of the
marching arts students. Therefore, a discussion of recommendations for each organizational
model and setting is presented in Table 27, following with in-depth recommendations for
practice.

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Table 27
Summary of Organizational Needs and Recommendations
Validated Influence Principle and Citation Context-Specific
Recommendations
MAVA needs to
prioritize the needs
of its parent
volunteers.
When volunteer leaders are inclusive
and concerned about the individual
volunteer’s experience, a positive
relationship is formed and volunteers
feel they are valued (Brudney, 2016;
Hagar & Brudney, 2004; Safrit &
Schmeising, 2005)

Boards are improved with diverse
membership, providing the board
operates in a manner that is welcoming
to all members and has practices to
support their involvement (Buse, et al.,
2013).
1.Encourage volunteers even
in co-positions, episodic or
event participation, and allow
volunteers to step in and try
on a role as “assistant for the
day.” Define roles and
responsibilities so parents
understand the scope and they
can accept roles where they
are able to fit within their
needs.

2.Create a culture of
welcome, inclusion, and
acceptance of all volunteers.
Be understanding of parents’
abilities to engage in
volunteering and fundraising.

MAVA needs to
prepare succession
plans for leadership
recognizing the
constant
restructuring of
MAVA’s
composition due to
parent involvement
only through the
four years or fewer
of their child’s
involvement.
Observe volunteers in their duties to
find recruits who would make effective
leadership board members
(BoardSource 2012).

Look for the successor as soon as the
new leader takes on the position
(Caldwell, 2014).
1.Address leadership
succession annually and as
soon as the new leadership
team is in place.

2.MAVA leadership board
members should fill only one
position. If positions are
unfilled, clearly communicate
the joint board’s efforts in
that area until someone fills
the position. Term limits
would define the positions’
time involvement.

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Validated Influence Principle and Citation Context-Specific
Recommendations
MAVA needs to
provide training and
materials to
adequately prepare
parent volunteers
for their successful
support of both
MAVA and the
marching arts
program.
Roles need to be defined and
understood so volunteers are more
likely to be engaged (Hyde et al, 2016)

Volunteers are more likely to continue
with tools and training, and training is
necessary for work effectiveness, to
understand what needs to be done
(Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009).

Performance goals are achieved when
people have the training to know what
to do and how to do it and learn the
cultural knowledge that is
unconsciously transmitted (Clark &
Estes, 2008).

Research indicates stability in retention
is boosted through training (Clark &
Estes, 2008).

1.New parent training should
take place annually and
leadership training monthly.

MAVA needs to
provide regular
communication and
feedback to parent
volunteers to
increase
engagement and
interest in
leadership
opportunities.
Two-way communication and feedback
are valuable to convey organizations
and volunteers’ needs (Trent, et al.,
2019).

Regular communication and feedback
establish trust, transparency,
accountability, and goal achievement
(Clark & Estes, 2008).

Communication of goals, feedback
concerning performance, and in-depth
evaluation of programs and
performance provides data to support
future action or necessary changes
(Clark & Estes, 2008).
1. Increase effort to contact
every parent through their
preferred method and connect
with parents. Managers need
to communicate at least once
at the beginning of the year
with each parent in person or
over the phone.

2. Post-event / post-season
reflection and feedback
should be a priority, and the
end-of-year survey should
continue to allow opportunity
for reflection and provide
feedback data to inform the
next year’s practices.

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The recommendations follow the acknowledgement that the organization comprises
individuals, for governance and structure, but primarily as a working board. The only long-term
individual in MAVA is the director, whose role is as teacher/director. To say the ‘organization’
should make these changes means that structures such as resources, information storage, and
training should be in place to support the volunteers that flow through the program over the years
without having to reinvent procedure with annual changes in membership. When the
organizational culture holds sustainable sources of knowledge and acts to motivate parents to
become involved, MAVA can uphold its mission and goals of supporting the marching arts
program, director, and students at Bofie High School.
Cultural Model 1 recommendation: MAVA must prioritize the needs of parents.

Almost half of the study participants did not observe MAVA considering parents’ needs
as volunteers, either assuming there was no need as parent volunteers' needs were unimportant or
met through meeting the needs of the students, or because it had not been thought about within
MAVA. As research has shown and was presented above, meeting volunteers’ needs encourages
retention and engagement (Nesbit et al., 2018). The interview participants stated that knowledge
of roles and procedures was passed on through observation and asking volunteers who had
served previously in the roles. Communication effectiveness was tied to people’s abilities rather
than systems in place to facilitate effectiveness. Some participants mentioned knowledge lost
when people left the organization abruptly. BoardSource (2017) found leadership was more
effective when they understand the mission and goals, roles and responsibilities, and when a
positive culture was developed among the leadership. A positive organizational culture can
improve relationships, trust, and conflict resolution (BoardSource 2017). Additionally, the
positive culture is encouraged by allowing time for relationships to develop, including everyone
to participate as they can (Kerby & Burns, 2012; Prieto et al., 2009) and welcoming diversity and

156
inclusion of all parents (Ferra, 2009). The following recommendations point to needed action
based on participant responses and research regarding prioritization of volunteers’ needs in
MAVA.
1. Encourage volunteers even in co-positions, episodic or event participation, allow
volunteers to step in and try on a role as “assistant for the day.” Define roles and
responsibilities so parents understand the scope and they can accept roles where they are
able to fit within their needs. Chapter Four described the way participants saw needs met
through offering volunteers to participate in their areas of interest and ability and offering
flexible time commitments both for episodic and leadership roles. Some participants identified
relationships that facilitated volunteer engagement while others found MAVA was not
welcoming to other parents and came off cliquish. Some participants described adequate
communication; others mentioned a lack of communication to Spanish-speaking parents. Buse et
al. (2013) found that boards are improved with a diverse membership, providing the board
operates in a welcoming manner to all members and has practices to support their involvement.
Therefore, the recommendation is to meet parents’ needs for a variety of volunteering styles and
opportunities.
2. Create a culture of welcome, inclusion, and acceptance of all volunteers. Be
understanding of parents’ abilities to engage in volunteering and fundraising. Clark and
Estes (2008) suggested that culture is developed by understanding the unique aspects of the
organization, how goals are met, jobs are done, and how the direction of the organization is set
and altered. Since the culture of an organization is composed of shared values, beliefs, and
assumptions (Schein, 2017), MAVA must assure that the value is one of welcome, inclusion, and
acceptance, and that the culture is transmitted when the annual change occurs. Being considerate
of volunteers’ time and effort, abilities and financial needs contributes to the overall positive

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culture.
Some participants appreciated MAVA providing fundraising opportunities, while others
indicated that more fundraising participation was needed. Parents did not feel generally
supported by the school and district administration for the work MAVA does for the students,
even though the work and funds parents generated supplemented the activity, which furthered the
education of the high school students. BoardSource (2017) indicated the greatest needs for
improvement among boards are reported in fundraising and advocacy, the top two needs for the
existence of the nonprofit and the mission it supports, which becomes even more critical during
times of change in the external environment. Recently, MAVA took on its first move into
advocacy when working through regulations from the school district concerning post-COVID-19
in-person marching arts activities and performances. Fundraising is a greater need following the
COVID-19 restraints on most fundraising activities and people’s availability to give when so
many jobs were lost. These are expanded needs beyond what MAVA normally experienced due
to the external impact of COVID-19. Therefore, the recommendation is to consider parents'
needs as volunteers. Although parents are not the focus of MAVA, they are the group that carries
out the work on behalf of the marching arts students and must have their needs met to be willing
and able to carry out MAVA’s mission.
Cultural Setting 1 recommendation: Succession planning must be a priority not an
afterthought.
The influence of cultural setting in leadership transitions was one of two that generated
the most interjections from the participants. The participants’ exclamations confirmed the
problem, and the number of unfilled leadership board roles revealed in document analysis
justified their exclamations. Effective succession planning was related to individual abilities,
relationships, and even luck as to the parents who are entering MAVA at a particular time.

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Research by BoardSource (2017) found a commonality in boards that struggle with strategic
planning for the future. Caldwell (2014) suggested looking for a successor as soon as the new
leader takes on the position. BoardSource (2012) recommended observing volunteers in their
duties to find recruits who would make effective leadership board members when the
organization is an all-volunteer one.
1. Address leadership succession annually and as soon as the new leadership team is
in place. There is a push and pull to get the right people in leadership, involving the parent group
of the current year and filling open positions to allow the working board to do its job.
Participants indicated time was short and duties were many, so thinking of who could take over
when they left was forgotten until it was too late to recruit and train someone new. At times,
participants indicated someone on the leadership board left midway through due to
dissatisfaction, and retrieval of information they held to pass to a new person did not happen.
When families moved, or their child left the program, information was less available and at the
option of the parent who left the position. BoardSource (2012) stated that conveying the roles
and responsibilities along with the mission and goals of the organization is vital. The guiding
documents such as bylaws need to be reviewed and adapted as what fits during one point in time
may not be best practices currently. Additionally, storage sources for role and responsibility
information and records and data sustainability must be streamlined. Google Drive storage, in
development in MAVA for example, provides an opportunity to save information and retrieve it
electronically. With less focus on paper notebooks there is less likelihood of lost information or
sources that do not get transferred to an incoming leader. Growth and change happen, so using
strategic planning sessions should be implemented to discuss and communicate plans
organizationally for sustainability and less toward the individual’s term (Herman & Renz, 2004;
Northrop, 2018). Therefore, the recommendation is to address succession planning for leadership

159
early.
2. MAVA leadership board members should fill only one position. If positions are
unfilled, clearly communicate the joint board’s efforts in that area until someone fills the
position. Term limits would define the positions’ time involvement. Another issue involved
the perceived enormity of some roles. Individuals in the past have taken on two or three major
leadership roles due to vacancies. The multiple roles seemed like a way to get things done but it
hindered the recruitment of new leaders as they could not tell where one role ended and another
began, making the leadership task seem to be two or three times what it should have been. Terms
on the board were not defined, so people were fearful that they would not be able to leave once
they accepted a role. In the recent history of MAVA, two parent volunteers served five-year
terms in their positions. Two other volunteers served in two and three prominent positions on the
MAVA board simultaneously. The resulting exhaustion left one participant on the brink of
resigning from the volunteer work. Thus, here the recommendation is to communicate the
defined role and service commitment to encourage new leaders to participate.
Cultural Setting 2 recommendation: Training is needed to prepare parent volunteers to
successfully support both MAVA and the marching arts program.
Training was the second area generating exclamations and short phrases indicating
interest from the interview participants, and various suggestions. Hyde et al. (2016) found that
volunteers were less motivated with organizational barriers such as role ambiguity and were
more likely to continue with tools and training. Training is necessary for work effectiveness, to
understand what volunteers need to do (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009). Clark and Estes (2008) stated
that performance goals are achieved when people have the training to know what to do and how
to do it and learn the cultural knowledge that is unconsciously transmitted.

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Additionally, Clark and Estes (2008) stated that research indicates that stability in
retention is boosted through training. Therefore, training is vital for the longevity and
effectiveness of MAVA, with its continually changing membership. This study sought to inform
the volunteer engagement and leadership development of MAVA through evidence based on
outside research and internal interview findings. Together, these findings would base the
innovative training program developed for MAVA.
1. New parent training should take place annually and leadership training monthly.
Approximately eight years ago according to former MAVA members, MAVA attempted a
training program for new freshman parents. While it was a good idea in theory, it caused further
confusion because too many board leaders at the time wanted to interject, the plan was not
communicated, so the one-evening event was choppy and less successful than it could have been.
Subsequent training had not taken place. The results of the interviews showed that 94% of the
participants believed training was needed, which was the greatest need determined by the study
for MAVA. Training suggestions from the interview participants point to innovative strategies
that emerged from the COVID-19 world that may not have been easily considered previously.
Evaluation must be a part of training to keep it effective and focused on the goals of MAVA.
Participants identified areas they believe training would be effective:
a. Training needs to involve the governance portion of the nonprofit organization, including
funding and financial resources.
b. Training should be self-sustaining to consider the ever-changing membership of MAVA.
Therefore, micro-trainings will be included in each monthly meeting agenda and each
influence will be addressed one a month over the course of the year. Occasionally if
needed, training can involve different strategies for different parent needs, from “a day in
the life” to weekly shorter sessions and could incorporate in-person training

161
supplemented with Zoom, and video instruction from outgoing leaders.
c. Training should include use of Google Drive and uploading documents and videos for
record and information storage and transmittal.
d. The efficiency and effectiveness of the training must be included for accountability.
The primary purpose of the leadership training is to develop volunteers’ leadership skills
and confidence to lead. The leadership discussion of research from Chapter Two indicated that
leadership characteristics played a key role in volunteer engagement. For example, good leaders
draw volunteers in and engage them in the work. Those exhibited characteristics of good leaders
include integrity, passion, commitment, modeling and inspiring, creating a team spirit, having a
personal connection with volunteers, and genuinely caring for and having empathy for volunteers
in the organization. (Hager & Brudney, 2004; Posner, 2015; Senses-Ozyurt & Villicana-Reyna,
2016). Researchers identified servant leadership (Erdurmazil, 2019; Schneider & George, 2011)
and transformational leadership (Catano et al., 2001; Posner, 2015) as effective for leading
volunteer organizations. Therefore, including suggestions for leadership behavior in the training
is essential.
Cultural Setting 3 recommendations: Improvements in communication and feedback are
needed to increase engagement and interest in leadership opportunities.
According to some participants, front-end communication among MAVA board members
is adequate, although some participants indicated that more involvement with the director would
be helpful. Considering that communication need from the leadership board, the director has
scheduled weekly meetings with the marching arts and music managers to regularly
communicate needs, expectations, and logistics. Participants also felt that communication with
parents outside of the MAVA board could be improved, but barriers to communication with all
parents involved gathering the parents’ contact information. Due to privacy concerns, MAVA no

162
longer has access and must rely on various strategies to obtain that information. Internal
communication was good, according to participants, but external communication was deemed
less effective.
1. Increase effort to contact every parent through their preferred method and
connect with parents. Managers need to communicate at least once at the beginning of the
year with each parent in person or over the phone. Communication does not take place with
parents as soon as possible to involve parents before the start of the school year, around the time
of band camp, when connections are forming. One manager found phone contact with each
parent, or in-person communication was effective for gaining stronger support from potential
volunteers and even gaining parents as audience members. Several participants thought email
communication was sufficient, while others said emails could get lost in the sea of
communication and missed. Regular communication that is expected, like a weekly message, for
example, would encourage parents to read it, especially if urgent information was bullet-pointed
and detailed further into the email. Immediate needs should be sent via text for those parents who
indicate they prefer that format, and personal connections should be made with all parents to
engage them as volunteers for MAVA.
Beyond communication involving information for schedules, call sheets, and fundraisers,
parents need communication from the director as well. Some participants indicated the director
needed to improve communication with them; he did not acknowledge them in passing at school
or show sites. The lack of communication made them feel unappreciated, unseen, and unheard.
The director is the head of MAVA, the teacher of the marching arts students, and his
communication with parents can encourage parents to volunteer. Additionally, the
communication of the director with the leadership is crucial for planning and carrying out the
responsibilities necessary for the students’ performances. The director’s communication with

163
parents is a necessary part of his role in MAVA and communicates volunteers’ value and
appreciation of their involvement.
Research suggests regular communication and feedback establish trust, transparency,
accountability, and goal achievement (Clark & Estes, 2008). Two-way communication and
feedback are valuable to convey the organization’s and volunteers’ needs (Trent et al., 2019).
Participants generally described feedback as an area they had not considered necessary and so it
was validated as a need. Group feedback evaluating how events, meetings, activities went instead
of just moving on is helpful from the learning perspective for future action (Ambrose et al.,
2010). Often, post-event weariness and the need to move on to the next event prevent any group
reflection or feedback from taking place within MAVA. When feedback is incorporated, the
same mistakes are not made, or new ideas that were generated from the event are not lost. Task
feedback develops the volunteers' understanding of task completion and performance enjoyment
(Zhou et al., 2020). For organizations to be effective, feedback is essential (Clark & Estes, 2008)
as the first form of evaluation, crucial to determining program and action success. Feedback
should be communicated in a supportive voice by leadership (Garner & Garner, 2011; Kramer et
al., 2013; Sheptak & Menaker, 2015), a view echoed by interview participants.
2. Post-event / post-season reflection and feedback should be a priority, and the end-
of-year survey should continue to allow opportunity for reflection and provide feedback
data to inform the next year’s practices. Some participants indicated that negative feedback
for performance correction might be needed. In those cases, they preferred in-person, private,
direct communication. However, as volunteers are not paid employees, and they are able to leave
at any time, keeping feedback as positive as possible during correction is essential, and should be
an opportunity to understand the volunteer’s needs and concerns (Trent et al., 2019).
Communication of goals, feedback concerning performance, and in-depth evaluation of

164
programs and performance provides data to support future action or necessary changes (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Therefore, the identified needs in communication and feedback are important for
MAVA to address.
Recommendations Summary
Findings from this study through MAVA interview participants, document analysis, and
outside sources resulted in the following recommendations for practice. One metacognitive
knowledge influence and one motivational self-efficacy influence were validated. Two
recommendations for metacognitive knowledge are shown in the summary table below, and two
recommendations to address self-efficacy motivational needs. The greatest needs were evident in
organizational culture, and seven recommendations are presented in the four organizational
categories. The summary information is presented in Table 28.

Table 28
Summary of KMO Recommendations for Practice and Training.
KMO
Category
Validated Need Recommendation
K - Meta-
cognitive
Parent volunteers need to know
that their diverse strengths in
work and experience, skills,
knowledge, and leadership
experiences are beneficial to
MAVA.
1.Support diversity of all types and create
relationship opportunities for parents to know
each other and more readily engage with each
other by creating an inclusive culture.

2.Invite all parents to participate by including
parent information in Spanish
M - Self-
Efficacy
Parent volunteers need to
believe in their ability to accept
the leadership tasks in MAVA.
1.Give parents the tools and resources to gain
confidence to accept leadership tasks.

2.Provide reflection and feedback
opportunities for parent volunteers to think
about and evaluate their upcoming actions
and past performances, identifying positives
and small successes for continued motivation.

165
KMO
Category
Validated Need Recommendation
O -
Cultural
Model 1
MAVA needs to prioritize the
needs of its parent volunteers.
1. Encourage volunteers to engage in co-
positions, episodic or event participation,
allow volunteers to step in and try on a role as
“assistant for the day.” Define leadership
roles and responsibilities so parents
understand the scope and they can accept
roles where they are able to fit within their
needs.

2.Create a culture of welcome, inclusion, and
acceptance of all volunteers.
Be understanding of parents’ abilities to
engage in volunteering and fundraising
O -
Cultural
Setting 1
MAVA needs to prepare for
succession plans for leadership
recognizing the constant
restructuring of MAVA’s
composition due to parent
involvement only through the
four years or fewer of their
child’s involvement.
1. Address leadership succession annually
and as soon as the new leadership team is in
place.

2. MAVA leadership board members should
fill only one position, If positions are unfilled,
clearly communicate the joint board’s efforts
in that area until someone fills the position.
Use term limits to define the position's time
involvement.
O -
Cultural
Setting 2
MAVA needs to provide
training and materials to
adequately prepare parent
volunteers for their successful
support of both MAVA and the
marching arts program
1.New parent training should take place
annually and leadership training monthly.

O -
Cultural
Setting 3
MAVA needs to provide regular
communication and feedback to
parent volunteers to increase
engagement and interest in
leadership.
1. Increase effort to contact every parent
through their preferred method and connect
with parents. Managers need to communicate
at least once at the beginning of the year with
each parent in-person or over the phone.

2. Post event / post season reflection and
feedback should be a priority, and the end-of-
year survey should continue to allow
opportunity for reflection and provide
feedback data to inform the next years’
practices.

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MAVA’s Organizational Change Approach

The following includes a change strategy for the innovation in MAVA’s training
program, based upon research into volunteer engagement and leadership development needs
using the Gap Analysis (Clark & Estes, 2008) framework. The final needs assessment resulting
from the interview data and document analysis showed training was the most salient need,
followed by leadership succession planning. As the needs have been identified and
recommendations made to close the gap between goals and performance, the new training
program will be introduced. One thing that must be considered is making the training accessible,
as well as easy to comprehend and engaging, to remove any barriers for volunteers.
Through training and discussion, MAVA can address the validated needs in KMO
influences. MAVA participants demonstrated that MAVA is doing well in conceptual and
procedural knowledge influences, along with motivational constructs of expectancy and task
values despite potential barriers. Parent volunteers are finding knowledge for the work through
other people. Parent volunteers are motivated to help because their effort is for the good of their
children. The main struggle lies in removing barriers and facilitating involvement at the
organizational level as a framework that provides guidance and structure that stays in place as
the volunteer base moves in and out of the organization quickly.
With the validation of needs and subsequent research-based and participant suggested
recommendations, MAVA needs a team approach and collaboration between the director and the
MAVA leadership to apply training and support for incoming parents to become volunteer
leaders. Evidence from the interview participants revealed they have a significant number and a
great diversity of ideas to improve various aspects of MAVA. The training approach will involve
the director first, considering the path he would like to take. The opportunity to adapt traditions
and procedures to embed positive culture is immediate. The four-year timing and the loosening

167
of COVID-19 restrictions marks a milestone in his teaching position. The organizational culture
is still operating under the previous values, beliefs and assumptions embedded by the previous
director. According to several participants, MAVA is struggling with the mismatch between
former leadership and culture and adaptations to new leadership working under existing culture.
The overall process that is needed is demonstrated using a system generally attributed to
Lewin from 1947 and where many other change strategies can align (Cummings et al., 2016).
The concept of “unfreezing - change- refreezing” relating to MAVA can be thought of as a
simplistic description for MAVA members to understand what the process will look like from a
broad overview. The needs identified through this research pointed out the need for “unfreezing”
the old traditions and any ineffective procedures, where volunteers and leaders lacked in
engagement. New procedures are identified as “changes,” which include training as a large part
of the organizational recommendations and the basis for MAVA’s innovation to close the gap
between performance and goals or purpose. Changing to new traditions identified by the director
and agreed upon by MAVA and training strategies implemented by MAVA’s leadership
becomes the “refreezing” portion. The assumption is then there will be an alignment of MAVA’s
performance and practices with the goals, where KMO strengths remain in place, and MAVA
performs at its optimal level to support the marching arts program at Bofie High School.
Action Plan for Training Innovation
Data indicates that much of the learning and knowledge people gain in an organization
happens informally (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The MAVA interview participants
demonstrated that informal learning was the most significant way parent volunteers currently
know what to do. The training innovation that this study will inform serves to further MAVA’s
performance by actively informing parents on the mission of MAVA and the knowledge and
motivation parents will need, and the support the organization will provide to guide volunteers to

168
fulfill the mission. The training will assist parent volunteers in gaining the confidence needed for
moving into leadership roles. Furthermore, freshman parents will gain the head start they need to
understand the unique marching arts world and the contribution of MAVA to the program at
Bofie High School. Training will facilitate their early involvement and development as leaders.
The action plan for MAVA’s training innovation to support volunteer engagement and
leadership development will begin August 2021, as the COVID-19 restrictions began to lift, and
in-person schools were to resume in the fall of 2021. The first year will be a rebuilding year as
MAVA leaders work to create and refine the training, but also as students are returning and the
post-COVID-19 classroom experience must be navigated by students, the director, and MAVA
volunteers. The complete leadership development program will be in place by the 2022 school
year in September 2022. The action plan is presented in timeline form on Table 29.

Table 29
MAVA’s action plan timeline.
Action Suggested Timeline
Present recommendations overview to MAVA’s director for
review and approval and discuss traditions in line with the
new director’s strengths and preferences as a music
educator.
August 2021
Present recommendations overview to MAVA board and
recruit members for the training committee, including
president and marching band, color guard, and drum line
managers.

August 2021, first board
meeting after summer break
Gather calendar timelines from all managers and committee
heads for inclusion in electronic document storage. Define
roles and responsibilities from MAVA board members and
check against bylaws.

Throughout 2021, and before
board members are released
from duty for the 2022 summer.

169
Action Suggested Timeline
Innovation training committee to brainstorm and create
different presentations. Test leadership development
trainings out on incoming board members for feedback
September 2021
Prepare the introduction training for freshman and
sophomore parents returning from the Covid shutdown. This
is a test run, and involves formative evaluation.
September 2021
Continue to align and update information in the training
program throughout the development year.
August 2021 to June 2022
Generate feedback from MAVA board and members
throughout the year, and use the feedback to evaluate
perceived effectiveness of the leadership development and
volunteer training program.
August 2021 to June 2022
MAVA board will implement the leadership development
program for parent volunteers.
June 2022
100% of parents will be informed of MAVA opportunities
including MAVA’s role in their child’s education, parent
volunteer leadership opportunities, and the new parent
volunteer leadership development program.
July 2022
100% of parents will be engaged in MAVA by accepting
one leadership opportunity.
August 2022
The new leadership development plan will be in place to
create a program where MAVA’s parent volunteer leaders
will be educated and trained to accept future leadership roles
and responsibilities.
September 2022

In addition to the new training plan, metrics will need to be identified and tracked to
provide a basis for tracking specific needs and successes. Metrics are an essential part of the
evaluation, as sometimes self-evaluation of what people have learned can be a declaration of
what people think they should have learned (Clark & Estes, 2008). Training can tend to be a
catch-all area for guiding thoughts about what people wish other people knew. However, it is
crucial to see that training makes a difference. Regular feedback will also play a crucial role in

170
evaluation beyond the recent use of year-end satisfaction surveys. People’s reactions to the
training are also components of evaluation (Clark & Estes, 2008).
The document analysis in Chapter Four included metrics used in this study to identify
areas for improvement. The only metrics readily available and used for the document analysis
were the financial documents gained through the request to the treasurer and the list of open
board positions gained through the request to the president. The information included with the
budget, cost and income information from the treasurer should include the financial reports from
the marching band tournament (MBT) that MAVA hosts at Bofie High School every year (prior
to COVID-19).
The number of volunteers involved in the MBT should be documented, as this
information seems to leave a question every year in the planning phase of the competition, as to
how many people it will take to run the event. This information should not have to be
regenerated every year. Fundraising metrics and information should be tracked, as it also serves
to guide the crucial piece of MAVA’s purpose in funding much of the marching arts program.
Additionally, there should be a record of student competition performance events
attended and outcomes, such as scoring, caption awards, show names, and performance specific
information that may be important. While it may be assumed the director tracks this information,
it was not readily available. The work of MAVA includes events and competitions in large part,
so they should be part of MAVA’s records, although not within the metrics for evaluation, as
many factors come into play for the competition outcomes.
Training Plan for MAVA
The first step toward organizational improvement will be regarding training for new
leaders and leaders already within the MAVA board. Training to address the assumed influences
identified as needs in Chapter Four will be integrated in MAVA’s monthly meetings as micro-

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trainings. While the meetings are open to all parents, the reality is that attendance by parents not
on the leadership board are rare. Nevertheless, attendance and participation are encouraged at the
meetings through announcements (and Zoom links during COVID-19 restrictions) to alert
parents to the meetings and serve as the invitation to participate. Beginning with the leadership
board already in place makes sense, as that is the most easily accessed group, and through
training, the leaders should be able to build skills and confidence to draw in new volunteers to
build volunteer engagement through the leadership development training.
The micro-trainings are hinged off the microlearning trend, where people can access
short snippets of single subject information, typically online (Perry, 2017) in approximately 10
minutes (Torgerson & Iannone, 2020). In MAVA’s case micro-training will be in-person to
address knowledge gaps, work needs, and areas where volunteers could use a boost in
information, guidance, or structure to increase their capacity to engage (Job & Ogalo, 2012).
Because the parents are so busy, the effort to streamline training to eliminate one more meeting
that requires their attendance is expected to meet the needs of parents as volunteers, the assumed
organizational model influence as well as the organizational culture influence indicating the need
for training.
The micro-trainings are a key part of the study recommendations as they will be used in
the context for MAVA. Using micro-training keeps the subject to one focused need, so that the
information is not lost in several learning goals to be addressed all at once. Additionally, the
learning goals should be tied to a known concept or idea, so that it makes sense and can be
retrieved. For example, training tied to the structure and goals of MAVA represented in the
bylaws could be introduced by asking parents if their children have their “dot books” yet. A dot
book for a marching arts student is their guide, telling the students where to move on the field or
performance floor in relation to all the other dots or performers. A dot book serves as a

172
framework within which the marching arts student must operate. Using the dot book visual
introduces the item to new parents then ties the bylaws in the parents’ memory and awareness by
associating it to a tangible object their child will use.
Additionally, a video component of the micro-training can be added to support those who
may not be able to attend a particular meeting where the training is addressed. The video can be
sent via email and will be one more mode where parents have access to the information. Using
micro-training within the meeting where parent leaders are already attending demonstrates value
of their time, not adding one more meeting for training to their busy schedule. The video
component acknowledges that life happens, and people are not always able to participate at the
same level to attend all meetings. Micro-trainings demonstrate flexibility and respect for parent
volunteers’ needs and video increases accessibility.
Following the successful implementation of leadership training, the new parent volunteer
training to inform and motivate new parents will be implemented. Brudney et al., (2019) created
a Volunteer Stewardship Framework which focused on volunteer recruitment whether through
membership organizations or shared pools, and “guiding the volunteers in activities that create
value for the major parties involved” (p.73). Their research underscores the need to access
volunteers and provide training so that volunteers can be effective in a mutually beneficial
relationship with the organization. MAVA’s new parent training carries the theme of mutually
beneficial relationship, training volunteers to be effective and to meet the volunteers’ needs. The
new parent training will involve one session presented at the beginning of each school year, to
assist parents in the knowledge related to marching arts participation and volunteer needs. The
meeting will begin with an introductory video produced to show rather than just tell new parents
what to expect as volunteers, in work and benefits for themselves and their children. The video
will also serve as a recruiting tool to generate interest in MAVA participation and can be

173
distributed to those parents who were not able to attend the training meeting. The video format
will allow an engaging demonstration of what MAVA participation looks like for the parents as
well as what marching arts looks like for their children and will save time with covering
information in a more entertaining format. It is assumed that several of the new parents will also
participate in the monthly meeting trainings, furthering their learning and development into
leadership positions within MAVA.
The training to address the KMO needs will begin with a rehearsal the first year, with
feedback for adjustment and improvement for instituting the training implementation for
subsequent years. The regular location for training will take place in the monthly meeting
agenda. By placing the short micro-training within a consistent list of items to cover, and the
annual new parent training, the regularity of the training should become expected. The training
needs to be addressed for the first years stem from this study and Chapter Five recommendations,
and content for subsequent years’ needs will arise from feedback and evaluation of the training
and MAVA observed needs.
Training Evaluation
Clark and Estes (2008) expressed the necessity of evaluation when closing performance
gaps in an organization. Evidence must indicate whether KMO needs are being met and
performance is improving or if needs remain. Evaluation must follow the training to provide
evidence of the training effectiveness for instilling confidence in parents that they can and want
to do the work, and that MAVA as an organization provides sufficient support to facilitate parent
volunteer involvement. Evaluation becomes even more crucial with microlearning, or in
MAVA’s case, micro-training, due to the concentrated content that requires a well-designed plan
in place before implementation, as the small snippets are usually designed to fit within the larger
context of organizational goals (Fennelly-Atkinson & Dyer, 2021). Each targeted individual

174
learning piece is able to adapt with a new focus or identified need, and the individual
microlearning content fits well into assessment with the New World Kirkpatrick Model
(Fennelly-Atkinson & Dyer, 2021).
In addition, The New World Kirkpatrick Model for training evaluation (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016) complements the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis for identifying needs in
KMO used in this study and may be an appropriate evaluation tool for MAVA to consider for the
following reasons: the benefit of evaluation is continuous program improvement; training is a
continuous process- it needs to be done regularly in order to maintain the standards and
expectations, and evaluation facilitates the determination of the training’s effectiveness by
reviewing the improvements in the performance of the volunteers to regularly determine if
additional training is needed and how to improve for the following year. The Kirkpatrick model
will fit well in the model of monthly micro-trainings at the MAVA meeting as the gaps in KMO
need to be continually reviewed so the training can be continually improved being built on
identified needs. Rather than annual evaluation alone, MAVA can employ monthly evaluations
of the micro-training sessions. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) identified three reasons to
evaluate training programs. Put simply in MAVA’s context, these include the following:
1. Improve MAVA’s performance in supporting the marching arts program at Bofie High
School.
2. To maximize the ability of parent volunteers to internalize learning and transfer to their
volunteering activities within MAVA, improving MAVA’s ability to support the
marching arts program.
3. To demonstrate the value of the training innovation to MAVA itself, the director, and
the school administration when advocacy for the program is needed.

175
It is crucial to find the training well received and useful to parents, as they are freely giving their
time and can easily withdraw their involvement with no repercussions. Therefore, evaluation of
the training innovation is essential to ensure maximum effectiveness.
The practical implementation of Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) training evaluation
includes four levels, Reaction, Learning, Behavior, and Results. The evaluation begins with the
final step, Results. This study has identified the overall organizational performance goal in
Chapter One as a new design for leadership development in MAVA. In this program, parent
volunteers will be educated and trained to accept future leadership roles and responsibilities. This
fulfills the desired results of increased volunteer engagement and leadership development. The
third evaluation level is Behavior, which involves applying new behaviors that were learned in
training to the roles and responsibilities at hand in the work for MAVA, leading to engaged
parent volunteers. The second level, defined as Learning, involves the part where knowledge and
skills are attained and internalized, and motivation to engage defined as attitude, confidence, and
commitment reside. Parent volunteers can articulate what they learned and identify their
motivation to volunteer. The first level, Reaction, applies to the initial individual satisfaction
with the training, whether the participants were engaged in the training, and identified the
information relevant to involvement with MAVA. A future evaluation should guide the internal
measurement and assessment of the MAVA implementation making Kirkpatrick a viable choice
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Conclusions

The Marching Arts Volunteer Association at Bofie High School is one of numerous
parent volunteer booster organizations nationwide. The study focused on MAVA specifically to
identify needs experienced in knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors limiting optimal

176
performance. The qualitative study analyzed interviews from 18 participants with different levels
of experience. Alumni participants were either no longer part of the program or were part of the
alumni committee to lend knowledge and experience to those parents in MAVA who were still
involved and still had children in high school. Current MAVA board members were interviewed
for their current perspective, as they serve as the leaders of MAVA and hold the responsibility to
pass their roles to the next group coming in to lead. Parent volunteers that are not in board
leadership roles were included for their perspective of involvement outside of the leadership
board of MAVA. Finally, two marching arts directors, one former and one current, were
interviewed for their perspective as the teacher at the school, the marching arts director, and the
official head of MAVA. All groups were included to gain a wide range of information from
multiple perspectives in this point-in-time study to meet the needs of MAVA’s performance over
a change in directors and the return from the unexpected COVID-19 shutdowns resulting from
the global pandemic.
The Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis was the guiding framework used for this study.
Ten influences in knowledge, motivation, and organizational culture served as the basis of the
interview questions to determine if and where needs manifested. Six of the ten influences
explored were validated or as needs to be addressed. Two influences in knowledge and two in
motivation were not validated as needs. Most of the needs were identified in the organization’s
cultural model and settings. The interview participants gave suggestions in many cases that were
incorporated into the recommendations for MAVA. The greatest need was in the structure of
MAVA for sustainability and training to inform and meet the rest of the needs identified.
Considering MAVA’s strength in motivation with the exclusion of self-efficacy influence, and
the ability to obtain needed knowledge without concrete informational structures in place,
MAVA has shown itself to be resilient. However, for optimal performance, MAVA as an

177
organization will need to address the issues in the cultural model and settings to benefit the
parent volunteers, the students, and the director. This study provides the background research,
MAVA specific analysis, and recommendations to facilitate the organization’s success.
Limitations and Delimitations

The limitations of a study involve weaknesses in the research that prevent further
discovery and can include suggestions for further research to avoid those limitations or to
advance the discoveries of the current research for future usefulness (Creswell & Creswell,
2018). Phelps et al. (2005) suggest that delimiting the research to an area within the researcher’s
purview can keep the research focused on the objectives, which could include discerning relevant
information to include and exclude. The delimitation of the study is identified by the researcher
covering the parent volunteer program that exists as a nonprofit formed to the benefit of the
marching music education for their students at Bofie High School. This organization was
selected for research because of the vocalized need from members of the organization over the
years of the researcher’s own involvement. While this study could have been conducted at a
number of similar schools who have also vocalized these concerns, MAVA at Bofie High School
was selected for convenience and because of the long-term association the researcher has
maintained with the organization. Due to the researcher’s familiarity with the organization,
questions for the participants will need to include information that goes beyond what the
researcher may already know, considering the individual experiences of other members who
have different backgrounds, concerns, and reasons for involvement. As there is a relationship
with some of the interviewees, the participants may feel it necessary to omit or alter relevant
information to maintain the positive perception, and that potential could limit the credibility of
the data.

178
The limitations of this study, the factors beyond the control of the researcher, included
the information the researcher was able to gather from the participants, whether given candidly
or with reservation considering potential bias from the researcher or participant. The possibility
exists that past participants may not have remembered enough to be helpful, or current
participants who are new may not have felt they knew enough about the organization to provide
information. Directors could have feared harm if information given showed in some way the
shortfalls in knowledge, motivation, or the organization structure fell to their blame. The
possibility of providing answers based on participant’s desire for social acceptability existed as
well. To mitigate these possibilities, the semi-structured interview protocol included numerous
questions and formats to help the participants recall information in a way that was not leading,
and the researcher engaged in reflection post-interview, documenting any potential bias there
may have been, and engaged in peer debriefing to check the accuracy of the interpretation
(Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Another limitation outside of the researcher’s control involved the impact on the
marching arts world from COVID-19, where all marching arts organizations put rehearsals and
performances on hold beginning March of 2020. With the subsequent winter, summer, and fall
2020, and winter 2021 marching seasons cancelled in-person, as well as the school-day classes
and practices, the work of the marching arts volunteer support organizations had also been
minimized, as was exemplified with MAVA’s focus was exclusively on fundraising instead of
the usual needs of logistics and support (MAVA board minutes, 2020). Marching arts programs
were expected to return in-person in fall 2021. During the shutdown, programs for virtual
competitive and noncompetitive opportunities were created as a way to continue programming
even if limited (Winter Guard International, 2020). If the potential exists in the future for a new
normal dictating a significant change in marching arts, the potential exists for the structure of

179
MAVA to adapt in some way that is not identified by the research conducted here. The need for
adaptation and return after prolonged shutdown emphasized the need to innovate training for
MAVA leaders who had not had consistent training and experience without having in-person
marching arts for the extended period.
Final Observations: Why Support of Marching Arts Matters

Some may wonder why an effort to study the effectiveness of volunteer engagement and
leadership development improvement is needed for a marching arts parent volunteer booster
organization. If there is limited research and information available, does that indicate the concept
of parent volunteer booster organizations that support marching arts programs at the high school
level is inconsequential? If there is limited availability, that may not be an indication that the
information is not needed. The best response is asking where we see music and movement,
entertainment, and storytelling in life. What significant event takes place without a band, a
drumline, dance, or visual representations of music and story? What do these events have in
common: Graduations, weddings, memorial and holiday parades, presidential inaugurations,
football games, sporting events? All these events have a marching arts music component. Parties,
gatherings with family and friends, road trips, study sessions, and fitness routines generally
include music playlists. Theatrical productions, musicals, ballet, wedding dances, movies, and
television shows carry the music and movement themes that are enjoyed by so many. Church and
worship music set the tone for Sunday services. The reality is: music brings people together.
Now, more than ever in the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Black Lives Matter
movement, and political polarization, our country, our community need something to bind us and
bring us together. Lautzenheiser said it best when they said: “Music is a place for everyone”

180
(Lautzenheiser, 2010, p. 2). In a world when words are failing us, music is there to bring us
together and support us, to remind us that we are a community.
Where does all the music originate? People learn, students learn. Parents support them in
their school music courses. Marching arts support students through high school, allowing them
an opportunity to attend college and further their study of music, or use music to get to know
their college colleagues the way they were able to do so in high school band camp. While not all
musicians learned through their involvement in school, so many have, and some have continued
their marching arts participation in Drum Corps performances where they had the opportunity to
travel the nation and perhaps the world as performers and often into coaching the art when they
have aged out. MAVA is salient only because music and its visual representation in movement
is important in life.
Therefore, innovating a process whereby MAVA can successfully support young
musicians is significant and holds benefits to both students and parents. The impact of music
booster group participation on one parent, and now grandparent volunteer was stated from a
long-time marching arts volunteer and leader (James, 2019):
So, 35 years later, I am still enjoying the program, still volunteering and have seen so
much. The accomplishments, dedication, friendships, the number of lives that have been
touched by music is beyond belief. Children’s lives reshaped and families brought
together all with music. An amazing transformation to some, for others a career, for most
a lifetime of friendships made, not only for the students but for their parents also...leaving
a legacy few can match. I never dreamed that this many years later the same driving force
is still the same. Music creates a bond few never have a chance to experience.
James’ statement encapsulates the experience shared by marching and volunteer organizations’
parents and alumni.

181
MAVA needs engaged parent volunteers to withstand constant changes within MAVA
and from outside with changes in directors, global pandemics, and administration decisions, for
example. Volunteers are an incredible resource; meeting the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational needs to close the gap between performance and goals enables MAVA parent
volunteers to do their part to assist their children in a positive educational pursuit. Volunteers
choose how to spend their time, and relationships and satisfaction in the activity encourage
engagement, where positive climate and positive relationships generate positive volunteers
(Nencini et al., 2016). Efficient volunteer engagement and leadership development in MAVA
create the opportunity for parents to be involved, and training is to encourage a positive climate.
Without MAVA and marching arts programs in schools the schools lose one of the most
important facilitators of education, as music education improves brain plasticity, memory
processing, synchronizes brain activity, rhythm of speech, reasoning skills, the ability to work
through background noise, and of course the social development aspect (Harvey, 2017).
Furthermore, music can be a form of play or expression of feeling and mood and of
communication (Levitin, 2007). The effect of music on the brain, learning, and social
communication are all beneficial and important in the education of students.

182
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Appendix A: Interview Protocol

The following interview protocols are for: (1) MAVA parent volunteer leaders and (2) Music
Directors.

(1) Introduction to the Interview for MAVA Parent Volunteer Leaders:
Thank you for responding to my email request to meet over Zoom and talk about marching arts
volunteer associations, or music boosters, we call MAVA at Bofie High School. I am researching
optimal performance and operations for program innovations in volunteer engagement and
leadership development at Bofie High School.
- Your input and experience will be valuable in determining opinions of volunteers
associated with marching arts organizations.
- Please be assured that your information will not be disclosed and pseudonyms
will be assigned to eliminate any identifying characteristics in the interview. Did
you review the information sheet for exempt research that I emailed to you
earlier? Do you have any questions about informed consent?
- Do you mind if I record our interaction so I can include your responses in my
research?
- You may skip any question you prefer not to answer, and may stop this interview
at any time you like.
Thank you, let’s get started:
Interview Questions Further inquiry
We will start with a few background questions:
Would you mind stating your occupation?

How long have you been (or has it been since you were)
involved with MAVA? How long were you involved?

Which performance or instructional group(s) are you most
familiar with?
What traditions do you know of that are a part of MAVA?

These first questions will be regarding your involvement
in marching arts programs and what you may know
about how MAVA works.

207
K-P 3. How do volunteers know what needs to be done?
b. How have you
handled a task that has
been asked of you
when you are unsure of
how to do it?
K-P
4. What resources are provided to help accomplish the
leadership tasks?
K-C
1. Describe how you learned the roles and responsibilities
for MAVA leadership.
a. What are the
mission and goals of
MAVA?
K-C 2. How did you find support if you needed it?
K-M
6. What have you found from your experience that might
help you understand the work of MAVA?
M-Ex
7. What do you see as the result of other parents
volunteering with MAVA leadership?
d. Do you see a benefit
for involvement as a
parent with MAVA?

e. How has your
involvement of MAVA
been beneficial to your
child?
M-TU
8. What are your reasons for not being involved in
volunteering for a leadership role with MAVA?
f. What aspects of the
work are most valuable
to you?

The next few questions will focus on the board and
leaders in MAVA
K-M
5. What level of effort do you see MAVA engage in to
involve all parents with diverse backgrounds, skills, and
occupations?
c. Have you ever
thought about how
your background and
experience benefits
MAVA?
M-SE
9. To what degree do you feel confident about your ability to
participate in a leadership role with MAVA if you decided to
volunteer?
g. How do you think
parents can gain
confidence in accepting
a leadership task?

The final set of questions covers the organization of
MAVA itself.

208
O-CM
10. In what way does MAVA consider the needs of the
parent volunteers?
h. How could you feel
more supported in
volunteering for
leadership
opportunities?
O-S1
11. How would you rate the succession planning in MAVA
leadership? Can you explain your rating?
i. How could
leadership transfer year
over year be improved?
O-S2
12. What prepared you for your leadership in MAVA? In
what ways were you not prepared for leadership? How could
MAVA have contributed to your preparation?
j. Describe how
volunteers know the
goals for MAVA.
O-S2
13. If a support or training program was to be created, what
should it look like?
k. What training did
you receive for your
volunteer involvement?
O-S3
14. Have you ever received feedback for the work you have
done with MAVA? given feedback? Describe how it was
received.
l. Describe how you
prefer to receive
feedback and
communication from
MAVA.
O-S3
15. How would you describe the communication within
MAVA?
O-CM
16. Describe a time when you did not participate as a
volunteer.
m. What could have
assisted you so that you
would have volunteered?
n. Why did you decide
as you did?

Conclusion to the Interview:
We are coming to the end of our time/questions.
- Is there anything you would like to add, clarify, or change?
- Is there anything I forgot to ask, or you would like to say?
- Is there anyone else you think I should talk to about MAVA?
- Would you like to read the transcript after our interview to be sure you feel comfortable
with the information you have shared?
- Thank you for your information. It will be helpful for this study of marching arts
volunteer organizations. Good-bye.

209
(2) Introduction to the Interview for Music Directors:
Thank you for responding to my email request to meet over Zoom and talk about marching arts
volunteer associations, or music boosters, we call MAVA at Bofie High School. I am researching
optimal performance and operations for program innovations in volunteer engagement and
leadership development at Bofie High School. I would like to get your input as the official head
of MAVA as to how you think MAVA operates and aspects of parent volunteer involvement.
- Your input and experience will be valuable in determining opinions of volunteers
associated with marching arts organizations.
- Please be assured that your information will not be disclosed and pseudonyms
will be assigned to eliminate any identifying characteristics in the interview. Did
you review the information sheet for exempt research that I emailed to you
earlier? Do you have any questions about informed consent?
- Do you mind if I record our interaction so I can include your responses in my
research?
- You may skip any question you prefer not to answer, and may stop this interview
at any time you like.
Thank you, let’s get started:
Interview Questions Further inquiry
We will start with a few background questions:
What is your marching arts background?

How long have you been involved in marching arts at Bofie
High School?

Which performance or instructional group(s) are you most
familiar with?
What traditions do you know of that are a part of MAVA?

These first questions will be regarding your involvement
in marching arts programs and what you may know
about how MAVA works.
K-P 3. How do volunteers know what needs to be done?
b. How have you
handled a task that has
been asked of you
when you are unsure of
how to do it?

210
K-P
4. What resources are provided to help volunteers
accomplish the leadership tasks?
K-C
1. Describe how you believe MAVA volunteers learned the
roles and responsibilities for MAVA leadership.
b. How do MAVA
volunteers know what
the mission and goals
of MAVA are?
K-C 2. How can volunteers find support if needed?
K-M
6. What have volunteers found from their experience that
helps them understand the work of MAVA?
M-Ex
7. What do you see as the result of parents volunteering
with MAVA leadership?
d. What benefit do you
see for parents’
involvement with
MAVA?

e. How has parents’
involvement been
beneficial to their
child?
M-TU
8. Describe what reasons you think parents may have for
being/ not being involved in volunteering for MAVA?
f. What aspects of the
work do you think are
most valuable to
parents? to MAVA?

The next few questions will focus on the board and
leaders in MAVA
K-M
5. What level of effort do you see MAVA engage in to
involve all parents with diverse backgrounds, skills, and
occupations?
c. How do volunteers’
experiences benefit
MAVA?
M-SE
9. To what degree do you feel parents are confident in their
ability to contribute to MAVA?
g. How can parents
gain confidence in
accepting a leadership
task?

The final set of questions covers the organization of
MAVA itself.
O-M1
10. In what way does MAVA consider the needs of the parent
volunteers?
h. How could parents
feel more supported in
leadership
opportunities?

211
O-S1
11. How would you rate the succession planning in MAVA
leadership? Can you explain your rating?
i. How could
leadership transfer year
over year be improved?
O-S2 12. How can parents be prepared for leadership in MAVA?
j. Describe how
volunteers gain
knowledge about the
goals and support
required for MAVA.
O-S2
13. If a support or training program was to be created, what
should it look like?
k. What training and
information do parents
receive for volunteer
involvement?
O-S3
14. Have you ever received feedback for the work you have
done with MAVA? given feedback? Describe how it was
received.
l. Describe how you
prefer to receive
feedback and
communication from
MAVA. Do you give
feedback? How do you
communicate with
MAVA so they know
what you need?
O-M1
15. How would you attempt to involve parents who have
not volunteered?

Conclusion to the Interview:
We are coming to the end of our time/questions.
- Is there anything you would like to add, clarify, or change?
- Is there anything I forgot to ask, or you would like to say?
- Is there anyone else you think I should talk to about MAVA?
- Would you like to read the transcript after our interview to be sure you feel comfortable
with the information you have shared?
- Thank you for your information. It will be helpful for this study of marching arts
volunteer organizations. Good-bye.

212
Appendix B: Data Collection Crosswalk - Interview

The following two interview data collection crosswalks cover the questions asked to: (1) MAVA
parent volunteer leaders and (2) Music Directors.

Assumed
Influence
Interview Questions
for MAVA Parent
Volunteer Leaders
Secondary
Questions
Research Question
K- Conceptual-
Parent volunteers
need to
understand roles
and
responsibilities of
MAVA
leadership
requirements and
be able to identify
support after
accepting their
leadership tasks.
1. Describe how you
learned the roles and
responsibilities for
MAVA leadership.

2. How did you find
support if you
needed it in
volunteer tasks?
a. What are the
mission and
goals of
MAVA?
RQ1.What are the knowledge and
skills, and motivational needs of
parent volunteers to be engaged in
the MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?
K- Procedural-
Parent volunteers
need to know
how to leverage
MAVA resources
in order to be able
to perform their
tasks
independently
and successfully
accomplish their
leadership task.
3.How do volunteers
know what needs to
be done?

4. What resources
are provided to help
you accomplish the
leadership tasks?
b. How have
you handled a
task that has
been asked of
you when you
are unsure how
to do it?
RQ1.What are the knowledge and
skills, and motivational needs of
parent volunteers to be engaged in
the MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

213
K-Metacognitive-
Parent volunteers
need to know that
their diverse
strengths in work
and experience
skills, knowledge,
and leadership
experiences are
beneficial to
MAVA.
5. What level of
effort do you see
MAVA engage in to
involve all parents
with diverse
backgrounds, skills,
and occupations?

6. What have you
found from your
experience that helps
you understand the
work of MAVA?
c. Have you
ever thought
about how your
background and
experience
benefits
MAVA? How
do you as a
parent reflect
on your own
diverse skills
and
experiences?
RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?
M-Expectancy-
Parent volunteers
need to see their
volunteering as
an asset to help
their child be
successful in
school.
7. What do you see
as the result of your
volunteering with
MAVA leadership?
d. Do you see
any benefits of
your
volunteering
with MAVA
leadership??

e. How has
your
involvement
been beneficial
to your child?

RQ1. What are the knowledge and
skills, and motivational needs of
parent volunteers to be engaged in
the MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?
M-Task Utility
Value- Parent
Volunteers need
to see the benefits
of their
involvement for
themselves and
their children.
8. What are your
reasons for being/
not being involved in
volunteering for
MAVA?
f. What aspects
of the work are
most valuable
to you? to
MAVA?
RQ1. What are the knowledge and
skills, and motivational needs of
parent volunteers to be engaged in
the MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?

214
M-Self-Efficacy-
Parent volunteers
need to believe in
their ability to
accept the
leadership tasks
in MAVA.
9. To what degree do
you feel confident
about your ability to
participate in a
leadership role with
MAVA?

g. How can
parents gain
confidence in
accepting a
leadership task?
RQ1. What are the knowledge and
skills, and motivational needs of
parent volunteers to be engaged in
the MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?
RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?

RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?
O-Cultural Model
1- MAVA needs
to prioritize the
needs of its
parent volunteers.
10. In what way does
MAVA consider the
needs of the parent
volunteers?
h. How would
you feel more
supported in
leadership
opportunities?
RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?

RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

215
16. Describe a time
when you did not
participate as a
volunteer.
m. What could
have assisted
you so that you
would have
volunteered?
n. Why did you
decide as you
did?
RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

O-Cultural
Setting 1- MAVA
must prepare
succession plans
for leadership,
recognizing the
constant
restructuring of
MAVA's
composition due
to parent
involvement only
through the four
years or fewer of
their child's
involvement.
11. How would you
rate the succession
planning in MAVA
leadership? Can you
explain your rating?
i. How could
leadership
transfer year
over year be
improved?
RQ1. What are the knowledge and
skills, and motivational needs of
parent volunteers to be engaged in
the MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?
O-Cultural
Setting 2-MAVA
needs to provide
training and
materials to
adequately
prepare
volunteers for
their successful
support of both
MAVA and the
marching arts
program.
12. What prepared
you for your
leadership in
MAVA? In what
ways were you not
prepared for
leadership and how
could MAVA have
contributed?
j. Describe how
volunteers
know the goals
for MAVA.
RQ1. What are the knowledge and
skills, and motivational needs of
parent volunteers to be engaged in
the MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?

RQ3. What are the

216
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

13. If a support or
training program was
to be created, what
should it look like?
k. What
training did you
receive for your
volunteer
involvement?
RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?

RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?
O-Cultural
Setting 3- MAVA
needs to provide
regular
communication
and feedback to
parent volunteers
to increase
engagement and
interest in
leadership
opportunities.
14. Have you ever
received feedback
for the work you
have done with
MAVA? given
feedback?

15. How would you
describe the
communication
within MAVA?
l. Describe how
you prefer to
receive
feedback and
communication
from MAVA.

o. Can you tell
me about a time
when you felt
communication
was good?
needed
improvement?
RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?

RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

217

Assumed
Influence
Interview Questions
for Marching Arts
Directors
Secondary
Questions
Research Question
K- Conceptual-
Parent volunteers
need to
understand roles
and
responsibilities of
MAVA
leadership
requirements and
be able to identify
support after
accepting their
leadership tasks.
1. Describe how you
believe MAVA
volunteers learned
the roles and
responsibilities for
MAVA leadership.

2. How can they find
support if needed?
a. What would
MAVA
volunteers state
what the
mission and
goals of
MAVA are?
RQ1.What are the knowledge and
skills, and motivational needs of
parent volunteers to be engaged in
the MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?
K- Procedural-
Parent volunteers
need to know
how to leverage
MAVA resources
in order to be able
to perform their
tasks
independently
and successfully
accomplish their
leadership task.
3.How do volunteers
know what needs to
be done?

4. What resources
are provided to help
volunteers
accomplish the
leadership tasks?
b. How have
volunteers
handled a task
that has been
asked of them
when they are
unsure how to
do it?
RQ1.What are the knowledge and
skills, and motivational needs of
parent volunteers to be engaged in
the MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?
K-Metacognitive-
Parent volunteers
need to know that
their diverse
strengths in work
and experience
skills, knowledge,
and leadership
5. What level of
effort do you see
MAVA engage in to
involve all parents
with diverse
backgrounds, skills,
and occupations?

c. How do
volunteers’
experiences
benefit
MAVA?
RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

218
experiences are
beneficial to
MAVA.
6. What have
volunteers found
from their
experience that helps
them understand the
work of MAVA?
M-Expectancy-
Parent volunteers
need to see their
volunteering as
an asset to help
their child be
successful in
school.
7. What do you see
as the result of
parents volunteering
in MAVA
leadership?
d. What benefit
do you see for
the parents’
involvement
with MAVA?

e. How has
parents’
involvement
been beneficial
to their child?

RQ1. What are the knowledge and
skills, and motivational needs of
parent volunteers to be engaged in
the MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?
M-Task Utility
Value- Parent
Volunteers need
to see the benefits
of their
involvement for
themselves and
their children.
8. What do you think
are parents’ reasons
for being/ not being
involved in
volunteering for
MAVA?
f. What aspects
of the work do
you think are
most valuable
to parents? to
MAVA?
RQ1. What are the knowledge and
skills, and motivational needs of
parent volunteers to be engaged in
the MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?
M-Self-Efficacy-
Parent volunteers
need to believe in
their ability to
accept the
leadership tasks
in MAVA.
9. To what degree do
you feel parents are
confident in their
ability to contribute
to MAVA?

g. How can
parents gain
confidence in
accepting a
leadership task?
RQ1. What are the knowledge and
skills, and motivational needs of
parent volunteers to be engaged in
the MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational

219
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?

RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?
O-Cultural Model
1- MAVA needs
to prioritize the
needs of its
parent volunteers.
10. In what way does
MAVA consider the
needs of the parent
volunteers?
h. How could
parents feel
more supported
in leadership
opportunities?
RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?

RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?
16. How would you
attempt to involve
parents who have not
volunteered?
RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

220
O-Cultural
Setting 1- MAVA
must prepare
succession plans
for leadership,
recognizing the
constant
restructuring of
MAVA's
composition due
to parent
involvement only
through the four
years or fewer of
their child's
involvement.
11. How would you
rate the succession
planning in MAVA
leadership? Can you
explain your rating?
i. How could
leadership
transfer year
over year be
improved?
RQ1. What are the knowledge and
skills, and motivational needs of
parent volunteers to be engaged in
the MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?
O-Cultural
Setting 2-MAVA
needs to provide
training and
materials to
adequately
prepare
volunteers for
their successful
support of both
MAVA and the
marching arts
program.
12. How can parents
be prepared for
leadership in
MAVA?
j. Describe how
volunteers gain
knowledge
about the goals
and support
required for
MAVA.
RQ1. What are the knowledge and
skills, and motivational needs of
parent volunteers to be engaged in
the MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?

RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

221

13. If a support or
training program was
to be created, what
should it look like?
k. What
training and
information do
parents receive
for volunteer
involvement?
RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?

RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?
O-Cultural
Setting 3- MAVA
needs to provide
regular feedback
to parent
volunteers to
increase
engagement and
interest in
leadership
opportunities.
14. Have you ever
received feedback
for the work you
have done with
MAVA? given
feedback?

15. How would you
describe
communication
within MAVA?
l. Describe how
you prefer to
receive
feedback and
communication
from MAVA.
Do you give
feedback? How
do you
communicate
with MAVA so
they know what
you need?
RQ2. What is the interaction
between MAVA organizational
culture and context and parent
volunteers’ knowledge and
motivation as it relates to increasing
engagement by accepting leadership
opportunities?

RQ3. What are the
recommendations for organizational
practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational
resources to favorably impact parent
volunteers’ engagement in the
MAVA program by accepting
leadership opportunities?

222
Appendix C: Document Analysis Protocol

Document Purpose
Meeting Agendas and Minutes To document how all parent volunteer
leadership board positions were filled, or
determine the number of vacancies year over
year.

To determine possible levels of knowledge
held by parent volunteers reflected in action
and communication of by-laws, mission, and
organizational goals.

To determine the level of communication and
feedback among parent volunteers that may
be observed through this public
communication avenue.

Band Handbook/ Drum Line and Color Guard
Handbooks
To document requests related to volunteering
and leadership.

Newsletters, emails, event communications
To document levels of communication and
needs in parent volunteering and leadership,
evidence of training new parent volunteers.

Budgets, monthly financial reports
To document financial effort and stability
over the years relating to the mission and
goals of MAVA.

223
Appendix D: Email to Request Participation for an Interview

Email to request participation for an interview:
Subject: USC doctoral study request to focus on MAVA.

As you may know, I am the current Alumni Liaison for the Marching Arts Volunteer
Association (MAVA) at Bofie High School, and have been in this role for three years. I assumed
this position after Sue James retired from this role, ending her amazing guidance and leadership
with MAVA after volunteering for 30+ years.
You may not know that I am also a doctoral student at University of Southern
California’s Rossier School of Education in the Organizational Change and Leadership program.
I am focusing my research on aspects of parent volunteers in the marching arts volunteer
organizations that serve high school marching arts, specifically MAVA at Bofie High School.
I have a background in education and parent involvement, and have been involved in
marching arts as a volunteer for fourteen years in seven different marching arts organizations. I
have observed similar needs across organizations and am working toward strategies to meet the
needs of parent volunteers and marching arts organizations for a most effective volunteer
engagement and leadership development training program. My research focus, however, will be
on MAVA alone.
As part of my research, I would like to interview you to gain your perspective on your
experience with MAVA. The focus of the interview will be your experience and opinions on
your MAVA and marching arts volunteer experience. The interview will last approximately one
hour. Due to the COVID pandemic restrictions on meeting in-person, I will be conducting the
interviews via Zoom (zoom.us) at a time that is convenient for you. If you are unfamiliar with
Zoom meetings, you may watch short video clips on how to use Zoom but don’t need extensive
knowledge. Just find the clip entitled “joining and configuring audio and video,” at

224
zoom.us/resources. You will not need to use any advanced features, only attend the Zoom
meeting. I will do the rest! I will email you a Zoom link to join the meeting at our prearranged
date and time, you only need to click and attend. Please let me know if you have any questions or
need additional information about the interview or Zoom.
If you are willing to participate in this research designed to optimize the volunteer
experience and organization contribution to Bofie High School through MAVA, please respond
to this email, as I will soon be assembling the participants for this study.
Thank you in advance for your consideration,
Gayle Yraceburu,
Doctoral Student at University of Southern California

225
Appendix E: Text or Social Media Message to Request Participation for an Interview
Text or social media message:
This is Gayle Yraceburu - I hope you have been well. I am asking you to participate in a study I
am conducting on MAVA through USC for my doctoral research. Since you were such an
integral part of MAVA in the past, I believe you have valuable experiences to share. I would like
to share more information with you about what is involved. Please respond and let me know if
you are available to assist by replying to this message or emailing me at yracebur@usc.edu with
“MAVA Study'' in the subject line. Thanks, I hope to hear from you soon!

226
Appendix F: Information Sheet for Exempt Research

The following Information Sheet for Exempt Research will be emailed as an attachment
to each prospective interview request for participation in the study. It includes information
regarding the study purpose, involvement details, and confidentiality.

University of Southern California

Information Sheet for Exempt Research

Study Title: Developing Parent Volunteer Leadership in Marching Arts Booster Organizations
Principal Investigator: Gayle Yraceburu
Faculty Advisor: Alexandra Wilcox, JD, MFA, EdD

You are invited to participate in a research study. Your participation is voluntary. This document
explains information about this study. You should ask questions about anything that is unclear to
you.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to determine optimal engagement of parent volunteers in the
Marching Arts Volunteer Association (MAVA). Parents whose children are in the marching arts
program at Bofie High School are part of MAVA, which supports the marching arts program.
Parents volunteer and participate to different degrees. We hope to learn what is needed to
innovate a leadership development program whereby all parent volunteers will be educated and
trained to accept future leadership roles and responsibilities in MAVA.
You are invited as a possible participant because of your child’s current or past involvement with
Bofie High School marching arts program, and your eligibility to participate as a parent
volunteer in the Marching Arts Volunteer Association (MAVA).

227
PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
Participation is voluntary. If you agree to participate you will be invited to be interviewed via
Zoom in consideration of the COVID social distancing requirements currently in place. Each
interview will last approximately 45 minutes to an hour, and will include questions about aspects
of volunteering with MAVA and your perceptions of the work and organization. You may
withdraw from the study at any time for any reason. Before the recording is started, the
researcher will remind you to change or remove the identifying name that may be displayed by
Zoom during the session. Then you will be asked permission to have the interview recorded over
Zoom. By using Zoom and the recording feature, the transcript will be readily available and will
not need to be manually transcribed. You will have the option to have video on or off for the
interview, and will be given the option to review the transcript upon completion of the interview
and give clarification or editing if needed.

If you decide to participate in the interview, the researcher, Gayle Yraceburu, will schedule an
interview appointment at a mutually convenient time, when the interview can take place as
distraction free as possible. You will be asked to respond to the best of your ability.
CONFIDENTIALITY
The members of the research team and the University of Southern California Institutional
Review Board (IRB) may access the data. The IRB reviews and monitors research studies to
protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.

When the results of the research are published or discussed in conferences, no identifiable
information will be used. After the Zoom interview has been completed, participants will have
the option to review the recording or transcript for clarification and edits. After the researcher

228
has completed the research using the interview transcripts, both the transcript will be shredded
and the Zoom recording will be erased. This should take place by the end of 2021. All
interviewees will be given a number unrelated to their identity so that their information is
maintained with strict confidentiality.

INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about this study, please contact Gayle Yraceburu at yracebur@usc.edu
or Dr. Alexandra Wilcox (Faculty Advisor) at amwilcox@usc.edu.
IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact the
University of Southern California Institutional Review Board at (323) 442-0114 or email at
irb@usc.edu.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Students benefit from marching arts and music education, but districts and schools may not allocate resources to programs outside of the school day. Instead, nonprofit booster organizations assume the support role, providing critical financial and logistical structure, assistance, and encouragement. Parent booster organizations are no exception to the general rule that when organizations lack volunteer leadership and engagement, achievement of the mission may be hampered. The focus of this qualitative study was to ascertain the needs of the parent booster organization for the marching arts at Bofie High SchoolㅡMarching Arts Volunteer Association (MAVA)ㅡthrough interviews of 18 subjects including parent alumni, volunteers, and leaders. The study used Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis to determine gaps in knowledge, motivation, and organizational culture to identify and inform training needs for new parents and leaders to improve volunteer engagement and leadership development. The study results informed the innovation of monthly micro-trainings for MAVA leadership delivered at regular MAVA board meetings open to all parents. The micro-trainings focus on one validated need per month, repeating the sequence annually to ensure continuity over annual leadership transitions.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Yraceburu, Gayle R. (author)

Core Title Supporting the marching arts: the salience of parent volunteer booster training

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Degree Conferral Date 2021-12

Publication Date 10/08/2021

Defense Date 09/07/2021

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag high school music,marching band and color guard,micro-training,OAI-PMH Harvest,parent booster,volunteer engagement,volunteer leadership development

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Wilcox, Alexandra (committee chair), Datta, Monique (committee member), Tobey, Patricia (committee member)

Creator Email gyraceburu@gmail.com,yracebur@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC16023059

Unique identifier UC16023059

Legacy Identifier etd-YraceburuG-10139

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Yraceburu, Gayle R.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given.

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu