Motivations of volunteer overseas and what have we learned – The experience of Taiwanese students

The study explores motives for Taiwanese students to volunteer overseas and what they have learned from the trip. Their motivations are classified into pull and push factors. Pull factors include expecting challenge, validating personal perceptions of the place, and getting to know local residents and experiencing the life in a foreign culture. Push factors identified as underlying themes include escaping from daily life to reorganize and relax, look for new ways of life and self exploration, a desire to give back, to make friends who share a common interest, a less expensive way of traveling, encouragement by others, and parental compulsion. The students gain several benefits from this trip, including a better attitude to learning, better communication skills, better stress management, an appreciation of what they have, being more active, becoming more generous and developing empathetic skills, be willing to hear and respect different voices, having trust in co-workers and be willing to admit deficiencies, appreciating a slower life pace, having an open mind, and learning to control material desire.

► Motives to volunteer overseas classified into three pull and seven push factors. ► Gain from the trip included six egoistic aspects and five are both egoistic and altruistic aspects. ► The study found little difference between Asian students and Western volunteers regarding motivations to volunteer overseas.