IJASOS- International E-journal of Advances in Social Sciences

Abstract

This article analyzes the survey’s results of
University students in the Sverdlovsk region. It compares the data of the sixth
(2012) and seventh (2016) stages of sociological monitoring. Volunteering in
this study is explored as part of the civic engagement of Ural youth. The poll
was conducted by questioning students from 14 universities of Sverdlovsk region
(N=1802; type of sample is random-stratified). The sample included 34% men and
66% women. The sample included students who receive education on humanitarian
(40%), socio-economic (26%), science (11%), and technical (28%) specialty.

In the questionnaires of 2012 and 2016, respondents
were asked: “Did you take part in volunteer activities in the last year?” It
has allowed to distinguish among the students of 4 groups: students without
experience in volunteer activities; students who accidentally took part in
volunteer projects 1-2 times; the students working as volunteers from time to
time (4-5 times in year); students who worked as volunteer constantly (1-2
times per month).

The respondents' answers help to assess the regularity
of students’ volunteer activities from different areas of training. Monitoring data
allowed to fix the increase in the share of regular working volunteers students
humanitarians (29% in 2012 against 35% in 2016) and reduction among them those
1 or 2 times participated in volunteer projects. These changes are evaluated as
positive as global experience shows that for a variety of professional specialties social
sector, volunteering plays an important role in the professionalization of
young specialists. Technology of “learning by action” is implemented in Russian
universities recently. This is a very important issue, because such changes
characterize the tendency of cooperation between higher educational
institutions, organizations of the social sphere and non-profit organizations.

Significantly increased the number of those who have
never been involved in volunteer projects among students of science and
engineering (10% and 6% respectively). In our opinion, such changes have a
direct relationship with the transformation of the educational and upbringing
activities in Russian universities. The main way of higher education’s
development focuses primarily on the scientific development and international
cooperation of universities. This trend may indicate a consequence of
underestimating the educational and training functions of the University’s
environment.

To evaluate the motives and incentives of students’
volunteer activity in the questionnaire were asked: “Under what conditions
would you agree to become a volunteer?” Respondents could choose no more than
three of the nine alternatives.

The monitoring results have allowed to record changes
in the motivation of students receiving education in different areas of training.

The comparison of survey data of 2012 and 2016 years
demonstrated a reduction in the number of students in humanitarian,
socio-economic and natural science
specialties, which under no circumstances will deal with volunteering in the
future. For 4 years not only the number of engineering students (one in five) who
are not interested in volunteering has changed,

Communications volunteer activities with educational
activities would motivate more humanities students and techies.

We recorded an increased importance of career
motivation for volunteering among all students of the Middle Ural, with 7% in
2012 to 19% in 2016. Alternative to “If I helped it make a successful career”
was important to 23% of engineering students (2012 – 10%), increased by 10% the
number of students among the humanities (2012 - 7%, 2016 – 17%). The
relationship of volunteering with career development seems to be less important
for students receiving education in natural science: in 2012 it was 9%, and in
2016 – 12%.

External incentives – “good organization of volunteer
activities and special education” – are the least important motives for technical specialties
and students of natural-science direction.