Am I Selfishly Selfless? The Roles of Altruism and Socio Demographic Factors on Volunteering Commitment Among Premier Public University Students

Abstract

Volunteers are the backbone of civil society and voluntary organizations. However, there is a considerable lack of scientific studies conducted on investigating why Malaysian university students involve themselves in volunteering activities. This study aims to determine the differences in the level of students’ commitment toward volunteerism across the demographic backgrounds of respondents who participate in volunteering activities. It also tries to examine the effect of altruism on the level of students volunteering activities by using a sample taken from one of the public universities in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study among students at the University of Malaya was employed. The analysis of data based on 375 collected and usable questionnaires. The results indicated that only the gender of respondents found to be significantly different in terms of their volunteering commitment. However, it discovered that no differences in terms of ethnicity and education level of the students affect the level of dedication towards volunteerism. Lastly, the present results also revealed that the influence of altruism found to be significant on the level of students’ volunteerism. To pave the way for a successful implementation of volunteering work, the university itself must set up efforts to integrate its students into the communities that surround them. One example is the growth in community service and service-learning programmes. It envisaged that the government must see that student volunteering is a core part of developing an engaged and civil society. Thus, it is safe to say that volunteering plays a vital role in the development and wellbeing of a community.