Introduction. The relevance of the study is determined by the growing demand for specialists who possess not only professional knowledge but also developed soft skills. In the highly competitive labor market, volunteering activities may become one of the significant factors enhancing the competitiveness of graduates from law and economics programs.
While the impact of volunteering on students’ professional development has been the subject of many studies, they predominantly focus on medical and social specializations. The role of volunteering in shaping future medical and social workers is evident and well-researched; however, its significance for the professional growth of future lawyers and economists remains understudied.
The aim was to identify which professional qualities are influenced by students’ volunteering activities.
Materials and methods. The survey involved 200 economics and law students from the 2nd to 4th years of study, divided into four groups based on their volunteering experience. Participants were students from three Russian universities: K.G. Razumovsky Moscow State University of Technologies and Management, Kuban State Agrarian University named after I.T. Trubilin, and Southern Federal University. Qualitative data were gathered through 20 semi-structured interviews (five interviews per group). Statistical methods employed in this study included the Mann-Whitney U-test, Chi-squared test, Spearman’s correlation analysis, and factor analysis.
Results. The primary motives for participating in volunteering activities were gaining new experiences, opportunities for personal growth, and the desire to contribute to socially important projects, with female students expressing these motives significantly more strongly. Statistically significant differences were found in the self-assessment of professional competencies and soft skills between students with and without volunteering experience (p < 0.05). Qualitative analysis revealed that the most common effects of volunteering were the development of communication skills (reported by 90% of respondents) and increased self-confidence (reported by 80% of respondents).
Conclusion. The findings regarding the influence of volunteering on students’ professional and personal qualities can be utilized to enhance extracurricular programs and increase student engagement in professional activities, especially in the context of qualified workforce shortages.
Keywords: social project, professional development, professional qualities
For Citation: Shafazhinskaya, N. E., Bugayenko, Yu. Yu., & Dzhaneryan, S. T., & Kim, A. E. (2025). Influence of volunteering on the professional development of economics and law students. Perspektivy nauki i obrazovania = Perspectives of Science and Education, (5), 168–182. https://doi.org/10.32744/pse.2025.5.11
Authors:
Natalia E. Shafazhinskaya (Russian Federation, Moscow) — Dr. Sci. (Culture), Cand. Sci. (Psychology), Professor. K.G. Razumovsky Moscow State University of Technologies and Management (the First Cossack University). E-mail: n.shafazhinskaya@mymail.academy
Yulia Yu. Bugayenko (Russian Federation, Krasnodar) — Cand. Sci. (Agriculture), Associate Professor. Kuban State Agrarian University named after I.T. Trubilin
Svetlana T. Dzhaneryan (Russian Federation, Rostov-on-Don) — Cand. Sci. (Psychology). Academy of Psychology and Pedagogy. Southern Federal University
Alina E. Kim (Russian Federation, Rostov-on-Don) — Senior lecturer, Cand. Sci. (Psychology). Academy of Psychology and Pedagogy. Southern Federal University
Оставить комментарий