VOLUNTEERING ACTIVITIES OF STUDENTS OF MAJORING “PHYSICAL CULTURE”

Abstract

The paper presents the findings on the attitude of the BA and MA undergraduate students of PE and sports faculty towards volunteering. The purpose of the study is to determine the line of volunteering activities of the students majoring in “Secondary Education (Physical Education)”, their attitude towards it and its impact on the development of their expertise. The study was grounded on the application of a complex of methods: analysis of literature, documentary materials; survey; methods of mathematical statistics. The experience of organizing volunteering activities of the students from different countries of the world, including those majoring in “Physical Fitness and Sports”, has been analyzed. BA and MA undergraduate students majoring in “Secondary Education (Physical Education)” have a positive attitude towards volunteering in general, but most of them are against providing benefits to volunteers when entering the universities, awarding scholarships and employment. All examinees had no previous experience in organizing preventive social work among children on suppression of harmful habits. There are more students who want to help animals. Among the masters, there is an increasing number of people ready to provide voluntary assistance to people with special needs, elderly people, children, to participate in the organization of various sports events. In both groups, most people are willing to do the same, provided they are paid, and a small amount of them is willing to work the same time for free. Self-assessment of the foreign language proficiency level demonstrates the distrust of the majority of the graduates to their own mastering of English and other European languages. There is a slight positive correlation between participation and willingness to volunteer and learning performance. Unfortunately, all BA and MA undergraduate students agreed that volunteering did not help them in any way in their professional training. Summing up the results of the study, we conclude that the use of opportunities for volunteering in the formation of professional and general cultural integrity of the students is insufficient