SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC AND OTHER CORRELATES OF TERMINAL VALUES AMONG SOCIAL PEDAGOGY STUDENTS

Abstract

The research included a suitable sample of students at the Department of Social Pedagogy in Zenica (N= 81), who completed a short socio-demographic survey and a Rokeach's Terminal Values Survey. Terminal values represent the goals of human existence, among which the following values might be distinguished: individual, collective, humane, and altruistic. Bearing in mind practical implications of knowing the values as such, the values which represent sources and guides for attitudes and behavior, and which have been shown to correlate significantly with numerous variables (cognitive functioning, free time, risk behavior, addiction), we considered it important to examine the most prominent terminal values among our students, and compare the results to the results of the available studies involving comparable groups of participants. Based on the findings, we derived six subscales of grouped terminal values: social harmony, self-actualization, personal gratification, security, love and affection, and personal satisfaction. Only the personal gratification variable showed normal distribution, while all other were negatively asymmetric, indicating, thus, an insufficient discrimination of Rokeach’s Terminal Values Scale. Generally, the participants deemed all terminal values significant. In the overall sample, the lowest ranked individual terminal values were exciting life, the world of beauty and money, while the highest ranked were family security, self-esteem, and personal happiness. The gender variable was statistically significantly correlated with the subscale of personal gratification. A Mann-Whitney’s test showed that personal gratification, measured by the items of comfortable life, exciting life, satisfaction and social recognition, statistically significantly correlated with the gender variable (U=237, p<0.01), so that the female participants considered these items more important (median 4.2) than the male participants (3.8). The birthplace was significantly positively correlated with wisdom evaluation (U=556; p<0.05), as well as the evaluation of freedom in non-cigarette consumers compared to their colleagues who consumed them regularly or occasionally (χ2=8.77, p=0.012).