Voluntary work: Education makes the difference
Voluntary work is popular mainly with young people from families who place a greater emphasis on education
Almost half of young people in Germany did some form of voluntary work last year. However, there are huge differences between the educational groups, in some cases with problematic consequences. This is the finding of a representative study by the University of Würzburg.
They organized religious services for children, joined the junior fire department, or led scout groups: last year, 44.9 percent of all 14 to 15-year-olds in Germany were involved in voluntary work. This figure is much higher than previously assumed. They each dedicated an average of 22 hours a month – and over a longer period of time as a rule: half of these young people have been volunteering for more than a year. However, the voluntary work is not spread around evenly: while every other grammar school student (Gymnasiast) volunteers (50.5 percent), only a third of those surveyed who were students at general secondary schools (Hauptschüler) were socially active. This contrasting picture is painted by the findings of the current study into “Youth. Engagement. Political Socialization.” (Jugend. Engagement. Politische Sozialisation.) by the University of Würzburg.
Social engagement fosters democratic awareness
“The difference between students from grammar schools and general secondary schools can be explained primarily by a greater affinity with voluntary work among families who place a greater emphasis on education,” is how Professor Heinz Reinders, who headed up the study, explains its findings. Reinders believes this result is a problem mainly for two reasons. Firstly: “We are able to show that social engagement increases an individual’s feeling of self-worth,” says the educational researcher. In this respect, too, general secondary school students are being left behind.
Secondly: “Anyone who works as a volunteer is also prepared to act in a democratic way,” according to Reinders. Compared to young people who do not engage in any voluntary work, those who do are much more likely to report that they will vote as adults in regional or parliamentary elections. 63.1 percent wanted to take part in regional elections, as against just 51 percent of non-volunteers. With parliamentary elections, the difference between volunteers and non-volunteers was still ten percent (69.4 compared to 59.4 percent).
It is only logical, therefore, that young people who engage in some kind of community service in their free time see themselves as helping to shape society. Three quarters of them have the feeling that they are filling their leisure time with something meaningful, whereas only roughly one quarter of non-volunteers find that their leisure time is in any way meaningful. Just under a quarter of volunteers also hold the view that they can change society in some small way in their free time. Only six percent of non-volunteers share this view.
Voluntary work opens the door to society – particularly for grammar school students
“Voluntary work is already a key point of access into society for young people,” is how Reinders sums up the results, adding: “Here is another way in which young people from general secondary schools are being cut adrift.” This is a development that he regrets since voluntary work, he says, encourages positive growth in adolescence.
Reinders is therefore calling for social engagement programs to focus much more heavily on this target group, because, as the study shows, general secondary school students are far less likely to seek out voluntary work on their own than their grammar school counterparts. They tend instead to be motivated by their friends.
What they also then need is a project that is as concrete as possible. And it has to be interesting – at least this is according to 45.4 percent of young people from general secondary schools. It is not the same for grammar school students: only one in three attaches importance to participating in an “interesting project.”
Among grammar school students, on the other hand, fun comes out on top, with 43.6 percent wanting this from their community work. This contrasts with general secondary school students, among whom only 38 percent value this aspect.
General secondary school students – if they volunteer at all – want to learn something that will be useful in life (36.5 percent); for grammar school students this point is not so important – it only plays a role for 24.9 percent of them.
Better networking between schools and associations
There remains the question of what organizations need to do if they want to attract young people as volunteer helpers. The ability of charitable organizations, at any rate, to do this through advertising leaves a lot to be desired. Just one in ten of those surveyed indicated that they began their voluntary work because of such advertisements.
Schools, on the other hand, play a key role. Alongside friends (15.5 percent) and parents (13.1 percent) they pave the way for the majority of young people (21.8 percent) to enter the world of voluntary work, whether through co-determination rights for students or through social projects implemented at school. Reinders believes that it therefore makes sense for schools and local clubs or associations to network much more closely when it comes to social engagement as well. “In an ideal situation the class teacher and the head of the junior fire department are the same person, but if not they should talk to one another as soon as possible,” says Reinders.
Voluntary work in the case of a professional army
The educational researcher from Würzburg predicts a further consequence that, although beyond the concrete findings of the study, is alluded to in the data. The abolition of compulsory military service would presumably mean that it would mainly be young people who have been educated to a higher level who would opt for a voluntary service year after finishing school, while the financial incentives of the German armed forces would tend to attract the less educated. “The socially disadvantaged would then be more likely to risk their lives in war zones, a situation that has already arisen in other countries, such as the USA.”
For this reason, it is all the more important to inspire general secondary school students to engage in voluntary work. According to Reinders, international studies show that a high proportion of young people who volunteer also go on to do the same in adulthood.
The study
2,408 young people aged between 14 and 15 were surveyed by educational researchers for their study in the period from October 2010 to January 2011. 84.6 percent of them were of German origin. The sample included an almost equal number of girls (46.9 percent) and boys (53.1 percent). A large number of those surveyed were grammar school students (48.1 percent); 26.3 percent attended intermediate secondary schools; general secondary school students represented a share of 20.4 percent. The majority of the young people were in classes 8 to 10 (96 percent) at the time of the survey.
Contact
Prof. Dr. Heinz Reinders, T: +49 (0)931 31-85563, e-mail: 
heinz.reinders@uni-wuerzburg.de
13.07.2011, 15:00 Uhr