COUNSELING CENTER

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND AT COLLEGE PARK

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND

Different Students for Different Types of Volunteering

William E. Sedlacek and Victoria J. Balenger

Research Report #12-91

Computer time for this research has been supported in full through the facilities at the Computer Science Center, University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, Maryland. Data were collected with the cooperation of the orientation office, Division of Student Affairs, University of Maryland at College, College Park.

COUNSELING CENTER

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND AT COLLEGE PARK

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND

Different Students for Different Types

of Volunteering

William E. Sedlacek and Victoria J. Balenger

Research Report #12-91

Summary

Multiple regression equations predicting freshman student interest in volunteering were developed for eight different types of campus volunteer activities. Students interested in campus recruiting were social and were highly involved in social and other extracurricular activities, while those interested in homecoming were "Team Players" low on nonconformity. The student union programming council generated interest from students with an "Academic" focus who felt that course content was more important than grades, while students interested in the campus hotline had an intellectual focus enjoying pursuit of knowledge and intellectual discussion. Students interested in the counseling center were similar to the campus hotline group but had a broader based interest in counseling. Those interested in the health center were financially independent and not interested in recreation and fitness while those interested in athletic department tutoring followed University athletic teams and were focused on recreation and fitness. Finally, those interested in volunteering in a service fraternity were the most community oriented.

More details and comparisons of the profiles as well as implications of results are discussed.

Volunteering has been a vital tradition in the United States throughout its history (Ellis, 1985). Volunteering has also been recognized for many years as an important part of student development (Ellis, 1978; Henderson, 1985). In colleges and universities, student affairs programming has long incorporated a wide variety of volunteer opportunities in activities, functions and services (Parker, 1988). Recently there has been an interest in attempting to identify varying motives for student volunteerism (Altman and Sedlacek, in press; Balenger and Sedlacek, 1991; Balenger, Sedlacek, and Guenzler, 1989; Sergent and Sedlacek, 1990).

Balenger, Sedlacek and Guenzler (1989) studied a campus program board and concluded that volunteers were most often motivated by achievement and affiliation needs as opposed to power needs (Atkinson, 1964; McClelland 1955; 1962). Since power motivated volunteers are needed to perform leadership functions in any organization, it may be necessary to gear recruitment or training efforts toward achieving balance in volunteer motivations.

Sergent and Sedlacek (1990) studied volunteer motivations across different student organizations. They found that volunteers varied by Holland (1985) type and Murray's (1938) needs. For instance, they found Holland's Social types to be most attracted to a campus crisis hotline, enterprising types to be attracted to a university recruitment organization and

Investigative types to be most interested in a co-ed service fraternity.

Fitch (1987) concluded that altruism and self-interest seemed to be the primary motives for student volunteerism in the community. While career interests were not rated highly by students, Altman and Sedlacek (in press) took the Fitch study a step further and found that students interested in personal development were most interested in volunteering, career-oriented students were less interested, and students undecided on a career were least interested in volunteering.

In an attempt to identify key areas of volunteer interest among first year students, Balenger and Sedlacek (1991) found that students were most interested in high visibility activities associated with meeting new people and promoting the university. Thus, while the literature suggests that there are differences in motivation for students to volunteer, these differences are probably specific to certain types of volunteer activities.

The purpose of this study was to develop profiles of incoming students who were be most interested in different campus volunteer opportunities. This information should be particularly useful for those interested in recruiting volunteers. First year students are studied. to provide information at the earliest possible time so that students can be appropriately matched with activities.

Method

A questionnaire assessing student interests, background and expectations of college (The University New Student Census) and a questionnaire assessing interest in eight campus volunteer activities was administered to a random sample of 917 first year students entering a large eastern university during summer orientation. More than 900 of all first year students attended orientation. The sample was 52% male, 80% White and 14% Black.

Step-wise multiple regression was employed using 35 items

from the Student Census to predict interest in each of the eight

volunteer activities, which was measured on a five point Likert

Scale (5 = very interested; 1 = not interested).

Results and Discussion

Table 1 shows the items that best predicted interest in each of eight volunteer activities. The profiles of students interested in each activity will be presented and discussed, followed by a section discussing similarities and differences across the profiles.

Campus Recruiting

These students might be called "social" since they endorsed the Collegiate philosophy of Clark and Trow (1966). Collegiates are defined as being highly involved in social and other extracurricular activities, such as attending plays. These students also consider learning from social relationships to be an important part of the college experience, and tend to believe the university should actively recruit Black students. Students

in this category are interested in both educational/vocational counseling and emotional/social counseling.

Homecoming Committee

Students with interest in the Homecoming committee here seem to be "team players," endorsing the Collegiate philosophy of education and are also low on the Nonconformist philosophy. This indicates they are not concerned with individual styles and projects, are not critical or detached from the faculty or administration, and expect channels for expressing complaints to be available (Clark & Trow, 1966). However, they would like to design their own majors and they expressed an interest in emotional/social counseling.

Student Union Programming Council

Students with an interest in this organization seem to have an "academic" focus. They expect courses to stimulating and exciting, and feel that course content is more important than grades. They score low on a Vocational philosophy of education, indicating that they are not in college primarily to prepare for a career, and that they place a high value on intellectual discussion and extracurricular activities (Clark and Trow, 1966). While they do not follow school athletic teams, they do attend plays in their leisure time. They feel the university should actively recruit Blacks and improve social conditions in the state, and believe that financial aid should be based on need. Finally, these students expressed interest in emotional/social counseling.

Campus "Hotline"

The students interested in this volunteer activity might be called "intellectual," since they tend to endorse the Academic educational philosophy. Clark and Trow (1966) described such students as attaching the greatest importance to ideas and the pursuit of knowledge, engagement in intellectual discussion, and reading books not required for class. Also, students interested in the hotline tend to do their homework at the same time each day, to feel that course content is more important than grades, and to indicate that they would not drop out of school temporarily for any reason. Tracey and Sedlacek (1985, 1987) found that students who did not cite a possible reason why they might leave school were more likely to stay in school and graduate. These students also like to attend plays, feel the university should actively recruit Blacks, and have an interest in emotional/social counseling.

Counseling Center

We might call this group "intellectual helpers," for although they have many similarities to the Campus Hotline group, they show some differences. They tend to endorse the Academic educational philosophy, emphasize course content over grades, and do their homework at the same time each day. They are also like the hotline group in that they feel the university should actively recruit Blacks, they attend plays, and they are interested in emotional/social counseling.

In addition, these students are also interested in educational/vocational counseling, and they feel the university should improve social conditions in the state.

Health Center

These students share some of the interests of students in the last two groups, such as interest in emotional/social and educational/vocational counseling, doing homework at the same time each day, and feeling the university should recruit Blacks. These students were also not characterized by a nonconformist educational style, and were interested in improving their reading skills.

Two items which distinguish these students from others are their lack of need for a financial aid to stay in school, and their lack of interest in recreational sports or fitness programs. The first indicates that they may not be constrained by financial considerations in deciding whether or not to volunteer. Also, their interest in the Health Center apparently does not arise from an interest in fitness. This distinguishes them from the group below.

Athletic Department

An "athletic" or active type might be a good term to describe students with interests here. These students are interested in recreation and fitness programs, and tend to follow school athletic teams. They find it difficult to write term papers, but feel course content is more important than grades, and did not cite any reason why they might drop out temporarily.

Thus, they tend to be focused on issues pertaining to tutoring which is how the activity was described.

Service Fraternity

A "community" focus might describe these students. They feel the university should work to improve social conditions in the state and they closely follow school athletic teams. Also, they tend to feel that most instructors care about students. They do not espouse individualistic or career educational philosophies and do like to attend plays. Also they expressed interest in emotional/social counseling.

Overall Comparisons

Responses to the two surveys yielded profiles of unique characteristics of students interested in each of eight campus volunteer activities. Some interesting and useful points can be made by comparing and contrasting the profiles. One striking finding shown in Table 1 was that an interest in seeking emotional/social counseling was associated with an interest in seven of the eight volunteer activities. Only those interested in tutoring for the athletic department were not also interested in counseling. This supports the findings of Fitch (1987) and Altman and Sedlacek (in press), who concluded that an interest in self development was associated with volunteering.

Some of the differences between students interested in apparently similar activities were notable. For instance, students interested in the counseling center appear to have a broader interest in counseling and in addressing social problems

than do those interested in the counseling hotline. In turn, students interested in the service fraternity tend to be more community, perhaps campus community, focused than the other students.

Another difference was that students interested in tutoring athletes were also interested in recreation/fitness programs, while those interested in volunteering for the health center were not. Those interested in the athletic department looked most different compared to the other groups, in that they were not interested in emotional/social counseling.

Clark and Trow's (1966) educational philosophies provide some interesting ways to distinguish among the groups. A Collegiate or Social educational philosophy was characteristic of students interested in campus recruitment and the homecoming committee, while those interested in the campus hotline and counseling center had Academic philosophies. Lack of identification with a Vocational philosophy was characteristic of students interested in the student union program council. Also, students interested in the service fraternity and the health center were low on the Nonconformist philosophy. Again, those interested in the athletic department looked different from the others, in that no particular educational philosophy described them.

The results also suggest a need for future studies following up on students interested in each volunteer activity to assess actual levels of volunteer involvement. Also, further

clarification of some of the profiles would appear to be in order. For instance, it may be useful to explore the apparent lack of interest in fitness and recreation by those interested in volunteering for the health center.

It is hoped that the results of this study can be used to better identify types of students interested in particular activities. Additionally, an appreciation of some of the similarities and differences among students expressing interest in different volunteer opportunities may help facilitate the planning and implementation of more successful volunteer programs.

References

Altman, J. H., & Sedlacek, W. E. (in press). Differences in volunteer interest by level of career orientation. Journal of Employment Counseling.

Atkinson, J. W. (1964). An introduction to motivation. Van Nostrand.

Balenger, V. J., Sedlacek, W. E., & Guenzler, M. A. (1989). Volunteer activities and their relationship to motivational needs: A study of the Stamp Union Program Council. Counseling Center Research Report #18-89. University of Maryland, College Park.

Balenger, V. J., & Sedlacek, W. E. (1991). The volunteer potential of first-time entering students: Interest areas and incentives. Journal of the Freshman Year Experience, 3 (1), 59-69.

Clark, B. R., & Trow, M. (1966). The Organizational Context. In T. M. Newcomb and E. R. Wilson (Eds.). College Peer Groups. Chicago, I11.: Aldine.

Ellis, S. J. (1985). Research on volunteerism: What needs to be done. Journal of Voluntary Action Research, 14 (2-3), 11-14.

Ellis, S. J. (1978, Spring). American traditions of volunteerism and service-learning. The twentieth century. Synergist, pp. 37-39.

Fitch, R. T. (1987). Characteristics and motivation of college students volunteering for community service. Journal of College Student Personnel, 28, 424-431.

Henderson, K. A. (1985). Issues and trends in volunteerism. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 56, 30-32.

Holland, J. L. (1985). The Self-Directed Search Professional Manual, Odessa FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.

MCClelland, D. (1955). Comments on Professor Maslow's paper. In M. R. Jones (Ed.) Nebraska Symposium on Motivation III. University of Nebraska Press.

Murray, H. A. (1938). Explorations in personality. New York: Oxford University Press.

Parker, M. A. (1988, March). Student volunteers: An endangered species? Programming, pp. 49-51.

Sergent, M. T., & Sedlacek, W. E. (1990). Volunteer motivations across student organizations: A test of person-environment fit theory. Journal of College Student Development, 31, 255-261.

Tracey, T. J., & Sedlacek, W. E. (1985). The relationship of noncognitive variables to academic success: A longitudinal comparison by race. Journal of College Student Personnel, 26, 405-410.

Table 1

Profiles of Students Interested in Volunteering for Eight

Different Activities

Campus Recruiting Group: (.26b) - Social Type` - provide campus tours for visitors and prospective UMCP students.

*interested in seeking educational/vocational counseling attends plays often feels *the university should recruit Black students interested in seeking *emotional/social counseling highly involved in social/extracurricular activities (Clark and Trow; 1966, Collegiate type)

Homecoming Committee: (.31) - Team Player - help to plan and coordinate various activities related to the celebration of homecoming.

*highly involved in social/extracurricular activities (Clark and Trow; 1966; Collegiate type).

*interested in seeking emotional/social counseling expects channels for expressing complaints available

*interested in improving writing skills feels they understand human sexuality

*does not often attend musical concerts/recitals

*would like to design own major

*not critical of, or detached from school (Clark and Trow, 1976 Nonconformity type)

Student Union Program Council: (.35) - Academic Type - help to plan, implement, and evaluate social and cultural programs for members of the campus community.

*interested in seeking emotional/social counseling

*expects courses to be stimulating and exciting

*feels the university should improve social conditions in

state

*does not follow university athletic teams

*feels the university should recruit Black students

*attends plays often

*feels course content more important than grades

*feels financial aid should be based on need rather than

merit

*not in school primarily to prepare for a career (Clark and

Trow, 1966 - Vocational type)

Counseling "Hotline": (.30) - Intellectual - provide distressed callers with support and information/referral assistance as a counselor on the campus "hotline".

*interested in seeking emotional/social counseling feels course content more *important than grades attends plays often does not intend to drop out of school temporarily

*feels the university should recruit Black students interested in ideas and pursuit of knowledge (Clark and Trow, 1966, Academic type)

*does homework at the same time each day

Counseling Center: (.38) - Intellectual Helper - provide support in one of the Center's services for student with special needs (e.g., learning assistance service, disabled student services) or participate in research projects related to student development.

*interested in seeking emotional/social counseling

*feels the university should recruit Black students interested in ideas and pursuit of knowledge (Clark and Tow, 1966 - Academic Type)

*feels course content more important than grades

*interested in improving spelling does homework at the same time each day

*attends plays often does not attend art exhibits often

*interested in seeking educational/vocational counseling

*feels the university should improve social condition in state

Health Center: (.34) - Financially Independent - work in the Health Center as a peer educator, or provide administrative or clerical support.

*interested in emotional/social counseling

*feels the university should recruit Black students

*expects to find parking on campus

*interested in seeking educational/vocational counseling

*does not need to work to stay in school

*does homework at the same time each day

*interested in improving reading skills

*not interested in participating in recreation/fitness

program

*not critical of or detached from school (Clark and Trow,

1966, Nonconformity type)

Athletic Department: (.36) - Athletic Type - provide tutoring services to student athletes in your "area of expertise."

*interested in participating in recreation/fitness program

*closely follows university athletic teams

*feels course content more important than grades

*finds it difficult to write papers

*does not expect to drop out of school temporarily

*expects channels for expressing complaints available

Service Fraternity: (.36) - Community Oriented - a national coed service fraternity which sponsors community service projects on and off campus.

*not critical of, or detached from school (Clark and Trow, 1966, Nonconformity type)

*feels most instructors care about students

*interested in seeking emotional/social counseling

*attends plays often feels the university should improve social conditions in state *closely follows university athletic teams

* not in school primarily to prepare for a career (Clark and Trow - Vocational Type)

Characteristics are listed in the order they appeared in a step-wise multiple regression equation.

Size of multiple correlation. All values shown in parenthesis are significant at p < .05.

Type of student interested in the activity based on results of this study.