Because of publicity given to volunteerism by the Reagan administration, increasing attention is being paid to the role of voluntary programs in human services. National volunteer agencies have become critical of professional social workers' resistance to dealing with volunteers. Social work schools are being urged to include more courses on volunteerism and volunteer administration in their curricula. According to a 1979 report, not a single college offered an academic degree in volunteer administration. A recent project, Voluntarism and Social Work Practice, sponsored largely by volunteer agencies, focused on developing teaching materials on volunteerism and making recommendations for curriculum development regarding volunteerism. Six social work schools--the Universities of Atlanta, Texas (at Austin), Maryland (at Baltimore), California (at Berkeley), Toronto, and Case Western Reserve--participated in the project, in which networks of faculty and local volunteer association representatives met to discuss mutual concerns. Results indicated that schools provided few opportunities for students to do field work with volunteers or study the role of the volunteer. Findings also indicated that social workers do resist using volunteers, probably out of job insecurity. As a result of this project, several schools have instituted courses related to volunteerism in social work. (LP)