Our goal in this presentation is to examine the trends of volunteering of students in a Central Eastern European region. We intend to compare the occurrence and the type (traditional or new) of volunteering of students in teacher training and in other areas of higher education. We also want to examine as the motivations of students’ volunteering. Finally we examine what affects volunteering and the type of volunteering beside the field of training. We examine the effect of gender, social background of students, religiosity and value preferences on volunteering and on the type (motives) of volunteering. We want to find if the effect of the field of training exists after controlling the effect of other, above mentioned explanatory variables on volunteering and on the motivations of volunteering.Volunteering is a quite new activity of higher education students in Central-Eastern Europe. The common elements of volunteering are: it is a non-obligatory activity, it is carried out for the benefit of others (individuals, or specific organizations or society as a whole), it is unpaid and normally it takes place in an organized context (Wilson 2000, Chaan, Amrofell 1994, Handy et al. 2010, Dekker, Halman 2003). In the special literature the cross-cultural examinations have not dealt with Central-Eastern European tendencies of volunteering of higher education students yet.

The traditional motivations of volunteering are based on altruistic values (being useful for the society, doing something for others) and on the importance of social interactions and community. The modern motivations include career development, personal growth, work experience, professional improvement, gaining information, developing and practicing skills, getting a job more easily, enlarging human capital, making friends, meeting people with similar interest, useful leisure activity (learning and practicing sports and cultural activities). Among young generation the mixed motivation type is also frequent: e.g. helping others is also important for the students with modern motivations (Czike & Kuti 2006, Stefanescu & Osvat 2011, Handy et al. 2010). Inglehart (2003) showed that volunteering has not decreased these days in developed countries, only the traditional type of volunteering is less frequent. Based on Handy et al. (2010), the young generation today participates in new types of volunteering, in which their motivation is not dominantly altruistic.

Beside sociologists, social psychologists explore the motivations of volunteering as well. Clary et al. (1998) made a Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) scale based on the motivations of volunteering with 30 items, and made 6 factors from the items. In Hungary Bartal and Kmetty (2011) used a modified scale in an adult sample (59 items, 15 factors). Their results are more or less similar to that of the researchers gained in developed countries, but the effect of social values was larger and the effect of social norms and religiosity were smaller on volunteering in the Hungarian sample. Others sociologist (see Wilson 2000) have investigated the effect of parents on children’s volunteering (if the parents did voluntary activity or not, and they liked it or not), and the effect of community service in high schools on higher education students’ volunteering. (In Hungary in 2016 will be the first group, who will complete high school with community service practice, so its effect cannot be measured.)  

Volunteering of higher education students could be a measurement of higher education efficiency as well. It is an intermediate variable between the effects of higher education on students’ competences. Volunteering –as higher education as well - increases the students’ academic development, other life skill development factors, and finally the civic consciousness and responsibility (see Astin, Sax 1998, Hesser 1995, Eyler, Giles and Braxton 1997, Mabry 1998)

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