Study Program Selection Factors: Analysis of Social Sensitive Professions

Abstract

Nowadays situation requires professionals, who are open-minded, flexible, sensitive to other people and the environment, tolerant, able to establish contacts, and to improve these competences. This can be expressed by socially sensitive and attentive, ethically and responsibly behaving professionals. Thus, the selection of study programs of police officers and social educators as representatives of social sensitive professions is becoming critical important. This leads to the aim of this research: to analyse the study program selection factors of social sensitive professions. The research was based on systematic and comparative scientific literature analysis and statistical data analysis. The study was conducted in 2015 in two Lithuanian universities, where future police officers and future social educators are educated. 109 recipients of the study program “Law and Police Activities” and 40 students of the study program “Social pedagogics” have participated in the survey. Performed analysis has indicated the following main reasons determining students joining to the study program “Law and Police Activities”: the desire to serve and help people (71%), good employment opportunities (52%), the chance to reveal their best features (44%), the desire to acquire the status of a police officer (39%). The respondents of “Social pedagogics” study program revealed their desire to gain the status of a social educator (56%), to serve and help people (51%) and to reveal their best features (36%) as the most important reasons for the selection of this study program.