Volunteers' learning through social and educational activity in non-governmental oganizations

Vykstant įvairiems socialiniams pokyčiams visuomenėje, kyla socialinės pagalbos poreikis. Nevyriausybinės organizacijos dažniausiai skatina ir aktyvina savanorišką pagalbą, teikia socialines paslaugas visuomenės nariams. Savanoriai kartu su specialistais profesionalais teikia socioedukacinę pagalbą. Asmenims, dalyvaujantiems šioje veikloje, kyla daug klausimų, kurių sprendimą gali palengvinti kompetencijos vystymas. Šiame straipsnyje siekama atsakyti į klausimą: kaip vyksta savanorių mokymas(sis) nevyriausybinėse organizacijose, rengiant juos savanoriškai socioedukacinei veiklai, kiek taikomi mokymo(si) metodai siejasi su savanorių motyvais?The aim of the article is to reveal the volunteers’ learning through social and educational activity in non-governmental organizations. Research methodology. To identify the specific features of volunteers’ learning in social-educational activities in non-governmental organizations, an empirical research was carried out. The method of written survey (using different types of questions in the questionnaire) was employed. The research sample consisted of 50 volunteers involved in training sessions organized by non-governmental organizations. They represented five non-governmental organizations engaged in volunteer training. The method of respondent selection was stochastic, criterion-based. It was not limited by respondents’ age, volunteering experience, duration of involvement into the training and their target group. The most important criterion of selection was involvement into social-educational activity. Descriptive analysis and content analysis were used to analyse the research data. The questionnaire consisted of eight open questions, seven closed questions and several mixed-type questions when respondents could choose one of multiple choice questions and add their opinion. Research results. The analysis of research results has shown that women are more inclined to take part in the activity of different non-governmental organisations: there were 88 percent of female and only 12 percent of male respondents. The mean age of respondents was 20,5 years. They had the following background: 24 percent had not completed their secondary education, at the time of the surve y they were secondary school students; 58 percent had completed their secondary education and 18 percent were graduates of higher education institutions (16 percent with bachelor’s and 2 percent with master’s diplomas). The analysis of research results has shown that the surveyed volunteers acquire relevant knowledge and skills in volunteer activity and they do not have preparation beforehand (62 percent of the respondents); 30 percent have noted that they were getting ready for specific activity in special programmes and were enrolled in courses; 8 percent have not indicated their preparation for volunteering. These data confirm that the tendencies of volunteers’ training and preparation for social activity prevalent in Lithuania are similar to those dominant in other countries of the European Union. Five major categories were distinguished in the content analysis of volunteers’ learning for social-educational activity. The first category – volunteering – shows that in training sessions the respondents have acquired knowledge about volunteer ing that will be helpful in their work for non-governmental organizations. The second category is counselling. It may be noted that counselling is one of the most important activities in the activity of different non-governmental organizations that work with different client groups. The respondents acquire counselling skills, simulate different situations and thus are able to realize themselves in social-educational activity which relies on counselling as one of the most important methods of work with clients. The third category is knowledge necessary for social educational activity. The respondents indicate that during the training they have acquired knowledge about dependences, knowledge in psychology and knowledge relevant for work with children. All this knowledge is important in terms of volunteering. As children and youngsters are those groups who are most frequently assisted by non-gove rnmental organizations, the volunteers have opportunities to employ knowledge in practice