Motives of volunteering and values of work among higher education students

Abstract

In this article, the motives for voluntary work and work values in higher education contexts are examined in a cross-border region in Central Eastern Europe. Our goal is to find out what kind of relationship exists between different types of volunteering and work values among young people. In the theoretical section, we deal with the definition of volunteering in the education system, the types of and motives for students’ volunteering, and finally, the relationship between the work values and voluntary work of students. In the empirical section, we created cluster groups based on students’ motives for volunteering, and we examined differences among countries. Then we revealed the factor structure of the work values of students and analyzed the relationship between cluster groups and factors with variance analysis. Five cluster groups were identified: “careerists with postmodern features,” “unmotivated,” “highly motivated,” “volunteers in an anti-volunteering climate,” and a “helping new type volunteers” group. There were only slight differences among countries, as most respondents are characterized by mixed motivations. An interesting result is that the most frequent group is “the volunteers in an anti-volunteering climate” in all the countries examined, especially in Ukraine, so the culture of volunteering is not popular enough in this region of Central Eastern Europe. Regarding the relationship between work values and volunteering, we have found that these two fields (work values and volunteering) are closely related.

Young People Engaging in Volunteering: Questioning a Generational Trend in an Individualized Society

“…Such motives can be also a response to the rhetoric of the lifelong learning paradigm that emphasizes the importance for citizens to continuously update and enhance their skills, in order to quickly respond and adjust to fast changing labour market. Moreover, the career-building motives found among young people can be a message to the employers that the individual is career conscious and more suitable for the position than others who have not done volunteer work [33].…”

“…Corroborating this perspective, several studies report instrumental motivations to join a volunteer experience; that is, volunteers are not necessarily altruistic and are rarely willing to offer their services for no personal gain [27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. For instance, Bocsi and other researchers [33] argue that while the traditional motivations of volunteering are based on altruistic values and on the importance of helping the community, nowadays volunteers are prompted by multiple "modern" motivations.…”

“…For instance, Bocsi and other researchers [33] argue that while the traditional motivations of volunteering are based on altruistic values and on the importance of helping the community, nowadays volunteers are prompted by multiple "modern" motivations. These motivations include career development, personal growth, work experience, developing skills, getting a job more easily, making friends, meeting people with similar interests, and taking part in a useful leisure activity.…”

Different Forms of Civil Activity and Employment in Hungary and Abroad, and the Development of Student Drop-out

“…Student employment can also be interpreted as a 'double-edged sword', as employment during higher educational studies can have positive effects in the long run, while on the other hand it can reduce the academic achievement of the student and increase the chances of dropout. The main advantage of student employment is that besides earning an income and acquiring work experience, young people can also experience the structure of the labour market which gives them an advantage after graduating (Bocsi et al, 2017;Markos, 2014;Riggert et. al., 2006;Roshchin & Rudakov, 2015).…”

“…The motivation for work is usually related to the familial and financial background of student and the relationship between the student's job and their studies. Previous research shows that most students work to finance their living costs and to gain work experience, while the motivation of financing their entertainment appears to a lesser degree (Bocsi et al, 2017;Kocsis, 2017;Kóródi, 2007). In the Balkan countries, the main motivation for students to work is to pay tuition fees and to cover their daily expenses.…”