Empirical Study On The Influence Of Volunteering On Career Decision-making Self-efficacy Of Staying In Xinjiang

“The Project of University Students Serving the West Voluntarily”(“Western Project” for short)，as a key measure of the Chinese government， caters for the strategies of the Development of China’sWest， relieves the situation of talents shortage in the west， and contributes to implement the strategyof rejuvenating the nation through talents. Western Project was initiated in2003， under the charge ofCentral Communist Youth League. Each year， volunteers are chosen from fresh graduates ininstitutions of higher learning based on principles of open recruitment， voluntary registration，organizational selection， and centralized distribution. They are supposed to do one to three years ofvoluntary service in poverty-stricken cities or counties in western China. Besides， seven specificservice items are included in the project in2011， covering basic education， agricultural science andtechnology，health care，grassroots youth work，grassroots social management，service in Xinjiang，and service in Tibet.Western Project is the first project that the Chinese government has encouraged college graduatesto find work or start a business at the grassroots. Many graduates have benefited from it. Over the pastdecade，Western Projects volunteers in Xinjiang accounted for9.68%of the total; those decided to rootin Xinjiang upon completion of service took up16.36%of all rooted in the grassroots nationwide; and26.56%of Western Project volunteers in Xinjiang stayed there after completing their service，11percentage points higher than national average.Given that more volunteers in Xinjiang have chosen to work and root there than in otherprovinces， the present paper， from the perspective of career decision making efficacy， investigateshow voluntary experience has influenced Western Project volunteers in Xinjiang in their self-efficacy ofworking there. Data has been collected from questionnaires and collective interviews， and then studiedby means of multiple linear regression analysis. The study finds that:1. Volunteers took part in the Western Project mostly out of individual development and socialresponsibility. Most of them experienced social practice and gained honors and awards at school，contributing to a relatively high level of overall quality of volunteers.2. It is commonplace that jobs volunteers do are not in accordance with their majors in college.And they are burdened with large amount of work and high pressure. However they get along withcolleagues and are guaranteed with good living conditions.3. In terms of social support， family members， relatives， friends， and the volunteer group areof great help. Communicating with family members is not the most important way to relieve pressure，although volunteers contact them more frequently.4. Three variables namely performance at school， working environment and support from friendsare the most influential in volunteers’ self-efficacy of deciding to work in Xinjiang. It can thus concludethat quiet a number of volunteers have joined in Western Project and later made up their mind to root in local areas for the sake of constructions in western China.5. Excellent interpersonal relationship in the units they serve contributes a lot in enhancingvolunteers’ self-efficacy of Career Decision-making of staying in Xinjiang. Approval and care fromleaders in particular boost their working confidence and initiative.6. The group of Western Project volunteers and their classmates and friends are major socialsupport. The network of social support is the driven force that encourages them to move forward， andassists volunteers to adjust themselves quickly so as to get ready to perform voluntary duties.