International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

search-icon

Implications of Constraints towards Students’ Involvement in Volunteer Activities

Open access
Volunteerism is a global issue that is increasingly gaining attention due to its importance to individuals, society and country. Even though the volunteerism sector contributes largely to individuals, society and country, the decline in volunteerism and lack of participation in the activities is becoming a worrying issue for many parties, especially those involving university students. The declining participation of university students in volunteer activities can be associated with the existence of constraints, caused either by individuals or their surroundings. These constraints mean that there is something that hinders or limits university students from being involved in volunteer activities. This study will look at three aspects, namely intrapersonal constraints, interpersonal constraints and structural constraints. The aim of this study is to identify the types of constraints faced by university students and the effects of these constraints towards the participation of university students in volunteer activities. This study uses the survey method and the quantitative approach. Around 400 students from three public universities, namely Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) that are involved in volunteer activities were selected as respondents. The study results show that the main constraints hindering respondents from being active in volunteer activities is structural constraints that recorded the highest mean value of 4.98 and standard deviation of 1.1, followed by interpersonal constraints with a mean value of 4.05 and standard deviation of 1.5, and finally intrapersonal constraints with a mean value of 3.23 and standard deviation of 1.5. In terms of the effects of these constraints on the involvement of university students in volunteer activities, it is shown that these have a significant influence (?=0.14, p<0.05). This proves that the presence of constraints greatly affects the involvement of university students in volunteer activities.
Bringle, R. G., & Hatcher, J. A. (1996). Implementing service learning in higher education. Journal of Higher Education, 67(2), 221-239.Retrieved from
http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/slcehighered/186
Cheng, A., & Djita, R. R. (2021). Volunteering and charitable giving among Australian young adults and the mediating role of community service emphasis in secondary schools. Education reform faculty and graduate students’ publications. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/edrepub/120.
Chua, Y. P. (2006). Kaedah dan statistik penyelidikan. (2nd ed.). Kuala Lumpur: McGraw Hill.
Crowford, D. W., Jackson, E. L., & Godbey, G. (1991). A hierarchical model of leisure constraints. Leisure Sciences, 13(4), 309-320.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01490409109513147.
Fenyes, H., Markos, V., & Mohacsi, M. (2021). Volunteering among higher education student as part of individual career management. Corvinus Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 12 (2), 3-22. https://doi.org/10.14267/CJSSP.2021.2.1
Gage III, R. L. (2009). Volunteer motivations and constraints among undergraduate college students. (Unpublished Doctoral dissertation) University of Florida.
Gage III, R. L., & Thapa, B. (2011). Volunteer motivations and constraints among college students: Analysis of the volunteer function inventory and leisure constrains models. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 41(3), 405-430.
Gombe, S. K., Turiman, S., Ismi Arif, I., & Zohara, O. (2015). Empowering youth through volunteerism: The importance of global motivating factors. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), 20(11), 35-39.
Hall, M., Lasby, D., Gumulka, G., & Tryon, C. (2006). Caring canadians, involved canadians. Highlights from the 2004 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.
Haski-leventhal, D. (2009). Addressing social disadvantage through volunteering. The Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet Report. Australia: Centre for Social Impact.
Institut Penyelidikan Pembangunan Belia Malaysia. (2012). Masa lapang belia mengikut aktiviti. Teks Fakta Belia. Retrieved from http://www. Ippbm.gov.my.index.php/ms/masa-lapang-belia-mengikut-aktiviti.
Institut Penyelidikan Pembangunan Belia Malaysia. (2016). Penglibatan belia dalam kesukarelawanan. Retrieved from http://www. Ippbm.gov.my.
Konidari, S. (2010). Exploring impacts of volunteering on university students. Reach, student development and activities services.
Lee, S., Saito, T., Takahashi, M., & Kai, I. (2007). Volunteer participation among older adults in Japan. An analysis of the determinants of participation and reason for non-participation. Archieves of Gerontol and Geriatrics, 47(2),173-187. 10.1016/j.archger.2007.08.004
Lee, Y. J., & Won, D. (2011). Attributes influencing college students’ participation in volunteering: A conjoint analysis. Public Nonprofit Mark, 8(2), 149-162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-011-0074-9
Levine, A., & Hirsch, D. (1991). Undergraduates in transition: A new wave of activism on american college campus. Higher Education, 22(2), 119-128. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00137471
Llenares, I. I., & Deocaris, C. (2015). Motivations for volunteerism among Filipino college students. International Journal of Education and Research, 3(2), 599-610.
Mardhiyyah, S., Khairudin, M., Asmidar, A., & Dasuqkhi, M. S. (2013). Empowering youth volunteerism: The importance and global motivating factors. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 3(7), 502–507.
Neuman, W. L. (2011). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. London: Pearson.
Ockenden, N. (2007). Volunteering works: Volunteering and social policy. England: Institute for Volunteering England.
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Raymore, L., Godbey, G., Crawford, D., & Von Eye, A. (1993). Nature and process of leisure constraints: An empirical test. Leisure Sciences, 15(2), 99-113. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490409309513191
Rehberg, W. (2005). Altruistic individualists: Motivations for international volunteering among young adults in Switzerland. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations,16(2),109-122. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-005-5693-5
Rochester, C. (2006). Making sense of volunteering: A literature review. London: The Commission on the Future of Volunteering.
Salamon, L. M., Sokolowski, S. W., & Haddock, M. A. (2011). Measuring the economic value of volunteer work globally: Concepts, estimates, and a roadmap to the future. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 82(3): 217-252. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8292.2011.00437
Samnegard, E. (2011). Involving a new generation: The motives why student volunteer or not. (Unpublished Doctoral dissertation), Malmo University.
Shier, M. L., Larsen-Halikowski, J., & Gouthro, S. (2020). Characteristics of volunteer motivation to mentor youth. Children and Youth Services Review, 111, 104885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104885
Simha, A., Topuzova, L. N., & Albert, J. F. (2011). V for volunteering - the journeys of undergraduate volunteers. Journal of Academic Ethics, 9, 107–126. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-011-9136-1
Smith, K. A., Kirsten, H., Haski-Leventhal, D., Cnaan, R. A., Handy, F., & Brudney, J. L. (2010). Motivations and benefits of student volunteering: Comparing regular, occasional and non-volunteers in five countries. Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research, 1(1), 65-81. Retrieved from https://repository.upenn.edu/spp_papers/153
Sundeen, R. A., Raskoff, S. A., & Garcia, M. C. (2007). Differences in perceived barriers to volunteering to formal organizations: Lack of time versus lack of interest. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 17, 279-300. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.150
United Nations Volunteer (UNV). (2011). State of the world’s volunteerism report. United Nations.
In-Text Citation: (Normah et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Normah, A. N., Lukman, Z. M., & Fazil, M. A. (2022). Implications of Constraints towards Students’ Involvement in Volunteer Activities. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 12(6), 1009– 1018.