Būsimųjų pedagogų požiūris į savanoriškos veiklos bei „minkštųjų“ gebėjimų ugdymo(si) sąsajas: Lietuvos ir Latvijos aukštųjų mokyklų atvejis

In Lithuania, 2022 was announced as the Year of Volunteering. This was one of the reasons for conducting this research and delving into the phenomenon of volunteering, the skills developed during volunteering activities, and the relevance of these skills in pedagogical activities. The role of the educator in contributing to the education of the future generation is extremely important; therefore, educators themselves should not only have extensive professional knowledge but also reinforce personal and interpersonal skills, known as “soft” skills, which help to become a mature person capable of solving personal problems, be active in a working environment, be ready to work both independently and in a group, take the initiative, etc. The article raises a problematic question - what are the connections between voluntary activities and the development of students’ “soft” skills? The research aims to reveal future educators’ attitudes to the links between voluntary activities and developing “soft” skills. The research applied the methods of scientific literature and document analysis, a written survey, and statistical analysis of the obtained data. The analysis of scientific literature revealed that volunteering could take very different forms – volunteering activities and volunteering services; local, national and international volunteering; specialised activities; activities of the representatives of specific age groups; and short-term and long-term volunteering. Each form has its own advantages, so it is very important to choose not only the topic but also the form that meets the volunteer’s needs. The study results showed that the participation of both Lithuanian and Latvian students in voluntary activities is not systematic. They reveal that the level of enhanced “soft” skills acquired by Lithuanian students during volunteering is greater compared to Latvian students. The future pedagogues of both countries positively assess both the volunteering phenomenon itself and the “soft” skills acquired during volunteering, which are especially important for developing specialists’ competencies, pedagogical professional and social activities. Both Lithuanian and Latvian students highly value the importance of volunteering and believe that they gained important experience and developed and reinforced “soft” skills, which are very important in their future professional activities - the abilities to work in a team, communicate and cooperate, make decisions, organise, and plan.