Students’ Attitude Towards Volunteering in Sport

Abstract

This article deals with the issue of volunteering in sport. Participating in sport volunteering is beneficial because it increases social integration, social participation, and social awareness. With the growing importance of volunteering for both the volunteer and society, sport volunteering is becoming a phenomenon that fosters and encourages volunteer initiative. In Lithuania, volunteering in sport is still developing, so it is important to research the motivation of volunteers and direct their energy to volunteering. The aim of the research is to reveal the attitude of students involved in sports towards sport volunteering from the gender point of view. The research was conducted in 2018–2019. The sample of research subjects was formed on the basis of criteria selection – 163 students of higher education institutions (102 from Klaipėda University and 61 from Lithuania Business University of Applied Sciences) participated in the research. The survey (written) was conducted by submitting questionnaires to the respondents in paper or electronic version. The research instrument consisted of 22 closed-ended questions aimed at revealing the attitudes and views of respondents towards volunteering in sport by gender. The methods of mathematical-statistical analysis were applied to data processing; statistical differences were evaluated using Chi-square (χ2) criterion. Main findings and value of the paper: research participants distinguished quite different psychological reasons that lead to volunteering. For male students it is more important to be part of the team (26.6%) and to feel valued, recognized (18.7%), whereas female students emphasize personal development (18.7%) and gaining self-confidence by participating in voluntary activities (12.5%), (p<0.001). It was revealed that there was a statistically significant (p <0.05) difference between the attitudes of male and female students towards the benefits of volunteering for the volunteer himself / herself. Most respondents, both male and female, see the benefits of volunteering in two areas: a way to try themselves in new activities and the opportunity to meet interesting people, share and obtain new ideas. However, male students find volunteering in those areas more beneficial than female students. It has been revealed that male students are ready to spend more time volunteering in sport than females, so this activity is more relevant for them (p<0.001). More than a quarter (28.1%) of the male students from the research could volunteer up to 18 hours a week, while female students (23.4%) could devote up to 12 hours a week. Male research participants indicate the following opportunities: participation in sport activities (18.7%), acquisition of new skills (14.1%), while female participants emphasize better employment opportunities (17.2%), and acquisition of new skills (10.9%). A small percentage of females (3.1%) consider volunteering as an opportunity to participate in sport activities (p<0.001).

Soft skills empowering for a successful career in tourism administration

“…In their responses, the employers stressed that specific soft skills, particularly teamwork and the ability to progress, were imperative due to the increased competitive pressure. Researchers also focused on examining the need for soft skills in specific areas of activity, such as engineering and information technology (Matturro, Raschetti, Fontán, 2019;Holtkamp, Jokinen, Pawlowski, 2015;Stewart, Yeom, Stewart, 2020), finance and bookkeeping (Rebele, Pierre, 2019;Dolce, Federica, Maurizio, Chiara, 2020), medicine (Sancho-Cantus, Cubero-Plazas, Botella Navas, Castellano-Rioja, Cañabate Ros, 2023;Goldman, Wong, 2020;Myren, van der Aa, Pula, Scheele, 2019), and sport management (Budreikaitė, Kontautienė, Tamoševičienė, Grigolienė, 2021). The research findings obtained demonstrated unequivocally that the soft skills acquired by employees set them apart from their peers, and were essential for excelling at performing direct duties in all areas of activity and at all levels.…”