Volunteering of Czech College Students – Experience and Motivation

Abstract

Volunteering is an activity that enables the development of an individual’s competency and is also an area of interest both of society and the academic community. This article aims to compare the motivation for volunteering and the experience of volunteering with students within helping professions and economics. For the purpose of this research, a questionnaire about volunteering was compiled. The article presents the research results into volunteering of Czech students of economic and non-economic study programmes of the College of Polytechnics Jihlava (n = 282). According to the results, the field of study and the frequency of volunteering depend on each other. Students’ gender and the frequency of volunteering do not depend on each other; neither do the study field and the volunteering experience. The biggest motivations for volunteering are feeling useful, gaining new experience and skills. On the other hand, the lack of time and information (ignorance) are perceived as limitations. The study provides an opportunity for developing more guidelines in promoting volunteering activities within the young population and society as a whole.