Benefits to University Students Through Volunteering in a Health Context: A New Model

Abstract

Student volunteering is increasingly part of the zeitgeist of modern Universities as they seek to demonstrate their commitment to ensuring the health, well-being and employability of their students, and contributing to the public good. However, research in this field remains limited. In this study individual interviews were used to explore 50 British University students' experiences of volunteering within a health setting. Forty-five participants reported positive experiences of sustained volunteering whilst five were recruited specifically because they had stopped volunteering earlier than they had intended. Using grounded theory, a three phase model was developed which comprises five themes capturing key elements of the development and maintenance of student volunteering. Phase one-'Getting involved' outlines the 'motives and catalysts' for students starting to volunteer. Phase two-'Maintaining commitment' includes three components ('Making connections' 'Developing resilience' and 'Keeping the balance'), which represent important ingredients in sustained volunteering participation. Phase three-'Reaping the rewards' focuses on the benefits of volunteering identified by participants in relation to employability and self-development. We discuss our findings in relation to how successful volunteering enhances key components of psychological well-being: and facilitates 'flourishing' among student volunteers. The findings provide valuable insight into the motivations, behaviours and rewards that contribute to the initiation and sustaining of student volunteering. Further, they have implications for Universities involved in initiatives which include the training, mentoring and support of student volunteers.

Exploring long‐term volunteerism in a community family service centre in Singapore: A Focused Ethnographic Study

“…Furthermore, given the concomitant presence of family commitments, volunteers tended to struggle in juggling volunteering and such commitments. This situation has been echoed in the literature (Craig‐Lees, Harris, & Lau, 2008; Tang et al., 2010; Williamson et al., 2018), where volunteers have been found to discontinue their volunteering activities. According to the role conflict theory, having multiple social roles competing for the limited time and energy may result in role conflict, in turn leading to distress, decreased physical and emotional well‐being, and ultimately physical or psychological withdrawal from the role (Li et al., 2013).…”

“…The findings further supported that volunteering brought about higher satisfaction, since it led to personal development which, in turn, encouraged the volunteers to engage in long‐term volunteerism (Binder, 2015; Elias, Sudhir, & Mehrotra, 2016; Nencini et al., 2016; Sundram, Corattur, Dong, & Zhong, 2018). The participants added that acquiring new knowledge and skills was beneficial to their personal life (Williamson, Wildbur, Bell, Tanner, & Matthews, 2018). However, in contrast to insights from our literature review, the volunteers in this study did not perceive the acquisition of new knowledge and skills to be beneficial for their employability as they were retirees and housewives who were no longer in the workforce.…”

Volunteering Of University Students As A Resource For The Development Of Higher Education

“…In scientific research, student volunteering is seen in the context of young volunteers' self-development (Rusu, 2016;Williamson, 2017) and in studying the contradictory motivation of student volunteers and its dynamics Holdsworth, 2010;Rusu, 2017). A number of researchers analyze volunteer activity as a specific stage in the professional development of the individual , as a resource capable of activating the initiatives of young people (Leko-Šimić, 2018).…”

“…Students' volunteering does not merely represent response to the different social needs and problems, but it also develops skills, competencies and self-awareness of the individual who volunteers (Leko-Šimić, 2018). One more of the benefits of the students' volunteering is self-development (Williamson et al, 2017).…”

Differential Acmeological Approach to The Design of Psychological Support for Professional and Personal Development of Pedagogical University Students

“…The above-mentioned determines the relevance of the design and implementation of effective models of psychological assistance for self-development and self-realization of youth in the educational environment of universities [5][6][7].…”