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- Title
Savanorių mokymasis vykdant socioedukacinę veiklą nevyriausybinėse organizacijose.
- Authors
Štuopytė, Edita
- Abstract
When social changes take place in the society, different social problems as well as the need for providing individuals with social and educational assistance emerge. Volunteers, together with specialists, take part in the provision of this kind of assistance in non-governmental organizations. Those involved in this activity encounter different challenges; overcoming them may be facilitated by the development of volunteers' competence. This article addresses the following questions: how volunteers' teaching/ learning takes place in non-governmental organizations when they are trained for volunteer social-educational activity, to what extent the teaching/ learning methods correspond to volunteers' motives? The aim of the article is to reveal the volunteers' learning through social and educational activity in non-governmental organizations. Research methodology. To identify the specific features of volunteers' learning in social-educational activities in non-governmental organizations, an empirical research was carried out. The method of written survey (using different types of questions in the questionnaire) was employed. The research sample consisted of 50 volunteers involved in training sessions organized by non-governmental organizations. They represented five non-governmental organizations engaged in volunteer training. The method of respondent selection was stochastic, criterion-based. It was not limited by respondents' age, volunteering experience, duration of involvement into the training and their target group. The most important criterion of selection was involvement into social-educational activity. Descriptive analysis and content analysis were used to analyse the research data. The questionnaire consisted of eight open questions, seven closed questions and several mixed-type questions when respondents could choose one of multiple choice questions and add their opinion. The questionnaire involved the introductory part which explains the research aim and three blocks of questions: • questions to elicit the general information about the respondents and their volunteering; • questions on the process of volunteers' teaching, volunteers' attitudes to learning; • questions on learning for social-educational activity and their evaluation. Research results. The analysis of research results has shown that women are more inclined to take part in the activity of different nongovernmental organisations: there were 88 percent of female and only 12 percent of male respondents. The mean age of respondents was 20,5 years. They had the following background: 24 percent had not completed their secondary education, at the time of the survey they were secondary school students; 58 percent had completed their secondary education and 18 percent were graduates of higher education institutions (16 percent with bachelor's and 2 percent with master's diplomas). The analysis of research results has shown that the surveyed volunteers acquire relevant knowledge and skills in volunteer activity and they do not have preparation beforehand (62 percent of the respondents); 30 percent have noted that they were getting ready for specific activity in special programmes and were enrolled in courses; 8 percent have not indicated their preparation for volunteering. These data confirm that the tendencies of volunteers' training and preparation for social activity prevalent in Lithuania are similar to those dominant in other countries of the European Union. Five major categories were distinguished in the content analysis of volunteers' learning for social-educational activity. The first category - volunteering - shows that in training sessions the respondents have acquired knowledge about volunteering that will be helpful in their work for non-governmental organizations. psychology and knowledge relevant for work with children. All this knowledge is important in terms of volunteering. As children and youngsters are those groups who are most frequently assisted by non-governmental organizations, the volunteers have opportunities to employ knowledge in practice. Another two categories are search for solutions and decision-making and group work. They point out that volunteers acquire generic (transferable) skills that are necessary not only for volunteering but also other activities. The research results show that professional assistance of volunteers in social-educational activity may be obtained if their teaching/ learning process is oriented towards meeting their expectations, application of activity-based methods that help volunteers not only acquire knowledge and skills relevant for social-educational activity but also express and develop themselves. Conclusions • Volunteering is based on the will to help others but volunteers need to develop their competence and acquire specific knowledge and skills relevant for social-educational activity; for this reason nongovernmental organizations are obliged to carry out volunteer training. • Training for social-educational activity highlights the potential of non-formal education. Non-governmental organizations not only recruit volunteers but also provide opportunities for development and education. Mutual benefit manifests itself in this process: volunteers acquire knowledge and acknowledgement, whereas organizations get volunteers' assistance; volunteers also are effective representatives of NGOs' aims. • Volunteering is dominated by female youth (20-year-olds) who have completed secondary education. On average, five weekly hours are allocated for volunteering. Their target groups are children and youth. The main motive and incentive for learning in non-governmental organizations is seeking new experience; they acquire knowledge relevant for volunteering only when they get involved into volunteering in practice. • The research results have confirmed the importance of training provided by non-governmental organisations in the process of preparing volunteers for practice. The training sessions have met volunteers' expectations: acquisition of knowledge and skills, work satisfaction, professional development, self-actualization and developing understanding of other people. • The respondents have distinguished not only advantages of teaching/ learning: personal and professional development, development of communication and collaboration skills, meeting their own needs. The most important drawbacks identified in the teaching process: insufficient analysis of theoretical topics, inadequate time and duration of the training, irrelevant aim, discrepancy in work relations and difficulties in adaptation.
- Subjects
SOCIAL problems; FOREIGN aid to education; NONGOVERNMENTAL organizations; TRAINING of volunteers; INDUSTRIAL relations
- Publication
Social Sciences (1392-0758), 2010, Vol 68, Issue 3, p123
- ISSN
1392-0758
- Publication type
Article