Abstract
In increasingly diverse cultural contexts, the intercultural perspective favors an enriching coexistence between cultures, with volunteering being an exercise that allows for a critical transformation of reality in order to achieve a more supportive and equitable society. This article aims to find out how university students conceive of volunteering, as well as their level of participation. The sample was made up of 208 students from the Pedagogy and Social Education degrees of the University of Granada during the 2019/2020 academic year. An ad hoc questionnaire was applied, which incorporated a standardised instrument (Adapted Values Test), as well as questions designed by the authors. The results underline the positive axiological perception of volunteering. The participants understand volunteering as a helping role that depends on the social, personal, and professional motivations of the students. However, this positive perception is not transformed into active participation and continuous links with voluntary organisations. The conclusions indicate that university students value volunteering as a necessary task for the social good, although their participation is low, and it is necessary to transform the pro-social awareness of university students into real participation.
Highlights
The current global context, in which technologies and advances allow us to interact with any subject, physically or virtually, has blurred the boundaries between people [1], exponentially multiplying the relational and coexistence processes between different cultures
Several studies have corroborated that volunteering promotes both the understanding of cultural diversity [4] and the development of intercultural competence [5,6]
To verify whether there are significant differences linked to gender and degree variables with respect to the perception of volunteering. This objective allows us to know if factors such as gender or education influence the opinion of university students about the values related to volunteering
Summary
The current global context, in which technologies and advances allow us to interact with any subject, physically or virtually, has blurred the boundaries between people [1], exponentially multiplying the relational and coexistence processes between different cultures. In this context, the awareness and visibility of cultural difference becomes insufficient in a context in which inequalities must be resolved through action. Volunteering can favor intercultural interaction, in addition to a more human and realistic vision of cultural diversity In this sense, several studies have corroborated that volunteering promotes both the understanding of cultural diversity [4] and the development of intercultural competence [5,6]. We are interested in knowing the perception of volunteering and the degree of participation in this type of activity in future education professionals
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