Caring and Sharing Kids More Likely to Volunteer - Study
2 February 2012 at 10:05 am
Kids and teens who have more exposure to character-building skills such as sharing, being kind and helping others, are more likely to volunteer in their communities, and with greater frequency, according to new research.
The study also found that parents and teachers say that media (TV, film, books, magazines, games, apps and Internet) can play an important role in communicating the value of character education.
The study called “It Starts with Character: Inspiring Kids & Teens to Volunteer” was commissioned by global publishing group Scholastic Media and HandsOn Network – the volunteer enterprise of Points of Light in the U.S.
Among the study’s findings from parent, teacher, kid and teen respondents:
- Parents (84 percent), teachers (78 percent), kids age 6–11 (73 percent), and teens age 12–17 (64 percent) say character-building skills are among the most important skills to develop along with academic skills in order to be successful in life.
- The more kids and teens are exposed to character-building skills, the greater their level of interest in volunteering. Additionally, kids and teens who are more exposed to character-building skills volunteer more frequently.
- Eighty-eight percent of parents and 93 percent of teachers believe that volunteering provides opportunities for children to build character.
- Ninety-four percent of parents and 98 percent of teachers agree that media can play an important role in teaching kids the value of character education; 63 percent of teachers believe that kids would benefit from more media exposure to lessons about character-building skills.
“This study demonstrates the importance of having curriculum for the heart as well as the head,” said Francie Alexander, Senior Vice President of Scholastic Education and Chief Academic Officer of Scholastic Inc.
“This survey reinforces the importance of ensuring that kids are able to discover their power to make a difference in their communities at an early age,” said Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light.”
The survey results coincide with the launch of a national US volunteer competition to encourage young people into volunteering called BE BIG In Your Community’.
The study results can be viewed online at www.handsonnetwork.org/bebig.
For more information, visit www.PointsofLight.org.
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