Performance Considerations for Students’ Volunteering

Volunteering is often seen as a desirable activity for students, not only as a builder of an altruistic disposition but also as a conveyor of useful workplace experiences. Yet, the motives behind volunteering, either self-serving or altruistic, have been examined primarily in populations of the Global North where individualism prevails. Largely unknown are the motives of students from countries of the Global South, where globalization has inserted individualism into formerly collectivistic cultures. Within these underrepresented student populations, it is also unclear whether volunteering is linked to particular academic outcomes. This field study examined the relationship between volunteering (self-reported behavior and its motives) and academic performance. Its relationship with prosocial dispositions was also examined. A sample of 425 female undergraduate students of Saudi Arabian descent reported whether they had recently volunteered, as well as their intentions to volunteer and to engage in prosocial behavior. Female students were selected for being at the center of their country’s neoliberal economic plan, which promotes individualism, while their nuclear and extended families foster collectivism. Selected motives for volunteering were uncovered. There were no differences in academic performance between students who volunteered and students who did not. In contrast, the presence of a role model was linked to higher first-year GPA. These findings suggest that for Saudi Arabian undergraduate students, desirable academic outcomes are not related to volunteering per se, but rather to a supportive social environment. Cultural differences in the conceptualization of voluntarism are discussed.