STUDIES IN PHYSICAL CULTURE AND TOURISM

Vol. 12, No. 2, 2005

It is generally accepted that education is strongly related to the structures, functions and needs of society. The purpose of the current study was to investigate opinions of students regarding the influence of education in developing the concept of Olympic volunteerism in different geographical areas of Greece, according of various levels of urbanisation (urban, semi-urban, and rural). The results of the survey indicate a strong relationship between the level of urbanization and the students’ opinions regarding the impact of education on the awareness of volunteerism.

Education, along with learning and guidance, is closely associated with the structures, functions and needs of society. It is, therefore, of prime importance to look into the necessary and feasible conditions for achieving equilibrium between all these components [3, p. 81].

It is generally accepted that school is a reflection of the society to which it belongs. The structures and relations of the people coexisting within the school environment reflect the interactions in society. What takes place within the school environment is a miniature of everything that a young person will experience as a citizen. According to Parsons society assigns to education the essential functions of socialization and choice, without which there can be no harmony and order.

Urbanization is a very important factor that can have a significant effect on the development of social characteristics and attitudes, due to various possibilities it offers. Since inhabitants of areas featuring a low level of urbanisation demonstrate differentiated cultural and educational characteristics, it is an indication that the demographic development affects the social status of a region. The same influence is also observed in education, which based on the level of urbanization, displays inequalities due to the social structure, cultural stimuli as well as the learning potential received by the young people from their family environment [7, p. 107]. School environment and education in general constitute another – after family – institution responsible for the child’s socialization, which in a way acknowledges and certifies these differentiations, judging not by the child’s biological but social status.

The present study refers more specifically to the Greek society, its relation to the educational system and the influence that it wishes to play in education of the future generations of Greeks.

Today, the values of altruism, human contribution and collectiveness are continuously falling behind, since individuality, personal interest and social acceptance are promoted as social patterns that have no relation to the Greek cultural heritage and do not contribute to the development of character in young people [4, p. 4, 2002].

Volunteerism is, therefore, considered to be an important parameter and ideological foundation of the real society of citizens. Volunteerism is defined as “the type of activity of individual citizens or through organizations, in a manner, which is individual, spontaneous, free, unprofitable, and aims at the benefit of a team, a third party, a local state or the international community, exclusively for the altruistic purposes of solidarity” [1, p. 67].

In this respect we realize that the core of the concept of volunteerism involves the formed awareness of “I want”, which means that I do something that will obligatorily result in a social benefit, without any assumed prerequisites such as deliberation or expected returns of performed actions [4, p. 5]. On the other hand, volunteerism is a parameter of participation in a community, which should have a greater appeal to young people, being this part of population which is more sensitive and susceptible to social changes and usually initiate changes to social concepts and attitudes.

Volunteerism today is a complex phenomenon with a much more different form as compared with volunteerism of earlier years. It involves an active brotherhood, which is more efficient and positively develops the knowledge and dexterities emanating from education [6, p. 32]. At the same time, possibilities of volunteer work during the Olympic Games of 2004 promoted by the media and through the Program of Olympic Education, have provided a new perspective into the concept of volunteerism.

787 male and female first-grade high school students took part in the study. We formed the research sample by way of random sampling, according to the level of urbanization in different prefectures in Greece. The cities and the respective schools in urban, semi urban and rural areas were selected at random. The sample, although not representative of all Greek prefectures, featured a satisfactory geographical dispersion. More specifically, the areas under study included Attica (273 students), Fthiotida (54 students from Sperhiada and 17 students from Stilida), Kalamata (68 students), Larissa (82 students), Kilkis (81 students), Lakonia (17 students from Kastori, 9 from Xirokabo, 26 from Monemvasia and 32 from Skala), Crete (50 students from Hania), Mitilini (51 students), and Siros (27 students). The distribution according to the level urbanisation level was as follows: urban (273 students), semi-urban (278 students) and rural (236 students).

The subjects were given a closed-ended questionnaire with 12 general questions. The subjects’ answers were analyzed statistically. In their answers the students were to mark their agreement or disagreement on a five-point Likert scale (very much, a lot, little, not at all, I don’t know/ I don’t respond).

For the purpose of the questionnaire a pilot study was carried out on a random sample, which took into account the level of urbanization, the school and the students. The questionnaires were handed out by teachers following the provided instructions. After collecting the questionnaires the data was encoded and analyzed statistically with SPSS.

More specifically, the analysis included:

a) frequency distribution,

b) Spearman’s non-parametric correlation coefficient,

c) Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric analysis for location of statistical differences.

In order to demonstrate the existence of differences according to the level of urbanization the data was analyzed according to a) overall distribution of the sample, and b) geographical distribution of the schools.

Whole sample analysis (Figure 1 and 2)

The analysis of data collected from the sample of students from all over Greece, regardless of the level of urbanization, yielded the following results:

Geographical distribution analysis (Table 1)

The collected data from the questionnaires, involving the level of urbanization (geographical area, urban/semi-urban/rural) yielded the following results:

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Table 1

In order to interpret the data from the study, the questions have been classified according to the following aspects:

Educational conditions

Educational conditions, also known as the educational system, have been formed by the state in its effort to educate young people. In this study the students were required to express their opinions regarding the dynamic influence that these conditions have, both at the level of concepts and character formation.

All three groups of students have responded positively to the question: To what degree does education in general influence the formation of concepts and characters?, with the urban group featuring the highest percentage. The percentage distribution demonstrates the belief of the students that education can provide the necessary constituents which will assist them in formation of attitudes and personality traits. However, it has to be noted that the percentage of negative answers along with the number of students that did not respond add up to 32-35% in each of the three groups. This fact demonstrates disappointment towards the educational system by a significant proportion of the students. However, this disappointment could be differentiated, if we take into account results of studies regarding alteration in the attitudes of students as they progress to senior years, where a change in their personal interests is noted [8, p. 96].

As for the next question regarding the opinion of students about the content of education and its contribution to the formation of values and ideals, a high percentage of negative responses from the urban and rural areas can be noticed; whereas the semi-urban areas responded in a positive manner. The negative responses from the rural students along with the number of students who did not respond exceed 62% of the total distribution.

School environment conditions

Another factor having an impact on the social course of the students is their educational experience in the school environment. Teaching staff, planning as well as systematic and methodical offer of education as cognizant knowledge, not as dry facts, determine the ethical and intellectual development of the students.

The students’ opinions regarding their teachers and the teaching methods used in promotion of volunteerism are negative. It has to be mentioned that in the rural areas the percentage of negative answers is higher as compared with other areas. Urban students also demonstrate a negative attitude; however, the percentage of negative answers is lower. Similarly, the students from all the areas responded negatively to the question regarding the participation of students in school activities, with the rural areas demonstrating the highest percentage of negative responses regarding the participation in programs and actions promoting volunteerism within the school curriculum.

Social behaviour

Volunteerism is a social parameter that can appeal to many young people. As it has been shown, a great percentage of the total sample wish to be active members in volunteer organisations. However, if we examine each area separately, we can observe that in the semi-urban areas the percentage of those wishing to participate exceeds the average distribution; while in the urban and rural areas the percentage is significantly lower, with rural areas demonstrating the lowest percentage.

On the other hand, we can observe that the students’ participation in volunteer programs and organisations is considerably lower. There is a general tendency to express support towards volunteerism, without, however, translation of this tendency into actions. As for the differences between the areas under study, they can be explained by the feeling of economic insecurity experienced by young people in the urban areas, which is not conducive to volunteer activities, and/or by different cultural influences that young urban people are exposed to due to the multicultural social environment [9, p. 191-193].

Olympic Games

The opinion of the students regarding Olympic volunteerism derives from acceptance of the relation between the Olympic ideal and volunteerism. It is remarkable that in the rural areas the percentage of approval of this relation is almost 94.4%. Certainly, we have to take into account the decisive and significant role of the Program of Olympic Education targeted at strengthening volunteer donations and the performance of volunteer actions through the educational process. Additionally, it may be possible that the awareness of the students in these areas is still susceptible to values and ideals.

All the students agree that the Olympic Games constitute a perfect chance both for stimulation and action, i.e. realization of programs targeted at their motivation. Similarly, the underlying causes of students’ responses should be sought in educational programs and the Olympic Committee promotion of Olympic volunteerism, as well as in the media. With regard to the attitudes concerning this particular subject we conclude that the responses of the urban areas are close to the average value. However, this value is 14%-17% lower than in the other areas.

Finally, in their responses to the question regarding determination to participate in Olympic volunteer projects, the urban areas once more demonstrate their differences with a marginal positive opinion, as opposed to the other areas that demonstrate a significantly higher positive opinion.

Summarizing the data we can see that the students believe that although education has the means of influencing their attitudes and characters, its content, however, is not useful in teaching values and ideals promoting the awareness of volunteerism. At the same time, although a great proportion of subjects know of the purposes of volunteerism (72.2%), they do not derive this knowledge either from their tutors, or from the content of their school courses. This demonstrates an incapacity and immobility of the educational authorities to promote and develop the students’ awareness and ideals [5, p. 75]. The lack of volunteerism awareness results in a lack of volunteer actions.

Statistical differences according to the level of urbanization

The obtained results demonstrate a variation in the influence that the habitat has on the students’ perceptions of the value of volunteerism.

A significant statistical difference exists between the opinions of students from urban and semi-urban areas about the influence of the content of education (p=007, urban < semi-urban). Additionally, a significant statistical difference was also recoded between the opinions of students from urban and rural areas about the curriculum activities (p=021, urban > rural).

As for the stimuli provided by the educational system, there was a significant difference between the students’ opinions from the urban and rural areas (p=003 urban > rural) and between those from semi-urban and rural areas (p=000, semi-urban > rural). Finally, among the answers to the question regarding the relation between the Olympic ideal and volunteerism a significant statistical difference was recorded between urban and semi-urban areas (p=026, urban < semi-urban).

These collected data indicates that the rural environment exhibits a differentiated negative attitude towards the role of school and education in issues such as volunteerism, mainly due to geographical isolation and limited access to cultural stimuli. The semi-urban environment seems to be more comfortable in comparison with others, as it gathers the most positive responses regarding the content of education, stimuli from the school environment and the relation between the Olympic ideal and volunteerism.

Literature review

To understand better the students’ responses and the formation of an overall picture with regard to the concept of volunteerism beyond education, we have reviewed the relevant literature.

In the review of literature we have used studies that have taken place within the last 8 years and had two objectives: 1. recording of developments in the field of volunteer organizations; and 2. presentation of characteristics (opinions, attitudes) of those individuals who were or wished to be volunteers.

The first group of sources on the subject included a study (1996) within the VOLMED research program, which aimed to record non-governmental organizations and compare its findings with other European countries and a study by S. Tsakraklidou, aiming at activation of volunteer organizations for the disabled in the region of Attica [11, pp. 71-77].

Additionally, in 1997 study completed in 1999 E. Panagiotidou tried a more detailed recording of non-governmental organizations and their members. At the same time there some studies were carried out by the General Secretariat of Youth and the V-PRC institute on the values and opinions of the Greek youth. From these studies we obtained the initial data regarding the students’ views of volunteerism [2, p. 148].

The opinions and attitudes of non-governmental organizations were also recorded in 2000 by ΕΤΕΒΑ in a study titled “Volunteerism and the Greek Experience”; the study was conducted on a sample of population from all over Greece [7, pp. 5-6].

Finally, in 2002, a nation-wide study was conducted by KAPA Research aiming at investigation of attitudes and opinions of participants regarding their volunteer participation in the 2004 Olympic Games.

Comparison with other studies on volunteerism in Greece

A Kapa Research study carried out in the region of Attica, i.e. an urban area, we observe a similarity to our data regarding participation in volunteer programs and students’ determination to participate in such programs, which does not, however, translate into actual volunteer actions. In the same study, in which the will to participate in the 2004 Olympic Games was investigated, we observed significant willingness to offer volunteer services among young people aged under 25.

Similar findings were also recorded by the same organization (Kapa Research) in 2002, in a telephone study conducted among young people aged over 18 in the region of Attica. A similar trend was also noticed in two other V-PRC studies on adolescents, conducted in 1997 and 1999, in which 55.1% of respondents admitted that they had thought about offering some time for volunteer services, while 72.5% reported that they were willing to offer volunteer work [2, p. 148].

Conclusions

The findings of our study show that the hypothesis about the potential of education to perform a catalytic role in the development of values can be confirmed. On the other hand, the students’ assessment of the educational system, its resources, and conditions regarding a specific topic (volunteerism) is negative. The results of the present study allow us to accept the hypothesis regarding the influence of the social environment. It has also been demonstrated that the stimuli provided by the 2004 Olympic Games are considerable and could offer an ideal opportunity to raise the awareness of volunteerism among young people.