Abstract:
The objectives of this study were to investigate the role of educational institutions
and family upbringing on ingraining the culture of volunteer work among university
students. A random sample of 1450 students of both genders was interviewed
individually via an oral questionnaire.
The investigation revealed that 62% of students participated in volunteer work, of
which 32% participated consistently while the rest participated occasionally. 41% of
consistent participants were males versus 59% females. Consistent participants active
for 5 years or more were only 10.5% (2.1% females, 8.4% males). This highlights the
weak trends towards volunteer work among students. Results indicate that schools
had the highest impact on students (54%), followed by the university (22%), then
family (21%). The impact of schools was higher on females than males, while the
impact of family and university was higher on males. A number of recommendations
were drawn to promote volunteer work among university students.