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The costs and benefits of part-time work for ‘young’ undergraduate students at a post-1992 University

The costs and benefits of part-time work for ‘young’ undergraduate students at a post-1992 University . Anna Round Research Associate Student Services Centre Northumbria University anna.round@northumbria.ac.uk. Potential benefits of part-time work. Debt minimisation/avoidance

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The costs and benefits of part-time work for ‘young’ undergraduate students at a post-1992 University

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  1. The costs and benefits of part-time work for ‘young’ undergraduate students at a post-1992 University Anna Round Research Associate Student Services Centre Northumbria University anna.round@northumbria.ac.uk

  2. Potential benefits of part-time work • Debt minimisation/avoidance • Reduction in stress due to financial issues • Enhanced lifestyle • Financial independence from parents • Work & employment experience • Enhanced skills

  3. Potential costs of part-time work • Reduction in time for studies • Reduction in time for other activities • Conflict with student role • Poor working conditions

  4. Student employment in the UK Full-time undergraduate students in employment during term • Over 50% in 2003 – 2005 (UUK 2005, Callender & Wilkinson 2003) • Just under 50% in 2000 (Metcalf 2003) • UNITE/MORI suggest 41% (2005) • Mean working week during term rising: several studies suggest that > 15 hpw is the average • Higher rate of employment at post-1992 institutions and among students from working-class backgrounds

  5. Institutional findings • Rate of student employment has risen: 77.2% of current first years 69.6% of final year students in 06/07 58.1% of final year students in 05/06 • Mean working week has fallen: 11½ hours per week for current first years 13¾ hours per week for final year students 06/07 15½ hours per week for final year students 05/06

  6. Employment trends • Rates of pay higher in final year • This relates to final year trend towards course-related employment • Stronger for students in Health/ Social work disciplines and for male students in other fields • Employment & spending patterns indicate three roles for part-time work; debt minimisation, ‘balancing the budget’, and money for fun

  7. Student employment & attainment Several possible views: • Students in term-time employment have lower attainment because of reduced time/conditions for study • Students in term-time employment have lower attainment because of lower commitment to studies/other issues • Some students in term-time employment have lower attainment: ‘safe limit’ on working hours • No direct relationship between student employment and attainment

  8. Independent study & term-time employment

  9. Working patterns in term-time employment

  10. Impact on studies? • Similar responses for first and final year students • More than 80% state that their attendance was ‘never’ affected by their job; under 5% state that their attendance was affected ‘frequently’ • Around 90% have ‘never’ missed a coursework deadline due to part-time work; under 2% have done so ‘frequently’ • Around 75% feel that the quality of their work has ‘never’ been reduced because of their job; none feel that the quality of their work has been reduced ‘frequently’ • Around 75% have ‘never’ felt that they are ‘not really part of’ their course because of their job; around 12% have felt this ‘frequently’ and a similar proportion have felt this ‘occasionally’

  11. Patterns of employment & impact on studies • Impact on attendance, quality of assignments and ‘feeling part of’ one’s course is significantly related to length of working week in employment in both first and final year • No relationship to mean length of time spent in independent study • Students who felt studies were affected ‘frequently’ had a mean working week well in excess of ‘safe’ 15 hour limit • Students who felt studies were affected ‘occasionally’ had a mean working week close to ‘safe’ 15 hour limit • Students who felt their studies were unaffected had a mean working week of less than 15 hours

  12. Impact on course-related activities Independent study Around 10% felt the time they spend on independent study was affected ‘a lot’ by their job Around 60% felt the time they spend on independent study was affected ‘a little’ by their job Reading Around 25% felt the time they spend reading was affected ‘a lot’ by their job Around 50% felt the time they spend reading was affected ‘a little’ by their job

  13. Impact on course-related activities Assignments and coursework Around 10% felt the time they spend on assignments & coursework was affected ‘a lot’ by their job Around 33% felt the time they spend on assignments & coursework was affected ‘a little’ by their job Using learning resources Around 10% felt the time they spend using learning resources was affected ‘a lot’ by their job Around 33% felt the time they spend using learning resources was affected ‘a little’ by their job

  14. Impact on other activities

  15. Patterns of employment & impact on activities • Significant relationship between hours in term-time employment and reported impact on time spent reading, studying, writing assignments, using learning resources, and sleeping • NO relationship between hours in independent study and any of these factors • NO relationship between hours in term-time employment and time spent in social activities

  16. Academic reasons for not working

  17. Other reasons for not working • Reasons such as alternative resources, family pressure to ‘do well’ in one’s studies and inability to find a [suitable] job were cited by fewer than 50% of students • Around 25% stated that they ‘would rather borrow money than work during term’ • Over 50% feel that ‘juggling’ employment, study and other commitments would be a problem • Around 1/3 of first year students and 2/5 of final year students stated that they ‘can rely on savings’

  18. Reasons for working • ‘Debt minimisation’ is ‘very important’ for just under 50% and ‘quite important’ for c. 25% • Working students in the final year have lower mean debt but use commercial credit products more heavily than non-working students • Around 60% of all working students state that they ‘can’t manage on just loans/grants’ • Around 48% of working first years ‘need the money for basic essentials’ compared to almost 60% of working final year students

  19. Work experience • ‘Work experience’ is a factor for around 40% of students, in particular final year students with a ‘course/field relevant’ job • The ‘social experience’ of part-time work is important to over 40% of final year students and over 50% of first year students

  20. ‘My job has helped me develop useful skills’

  21. ‘Overload’? • Under 30% of first years complain of ‘overload’ • Around 50% of final years complain of ‘overload’ • Experience of ‘overload’ is closely related to mean length of working week in employment and also to independent study • Those in course/field relevant jobs are less likely to complain of overload

  22. Conclusions • Majority of working students feel that their job has had a positive effect on their time at university • Mean length of working week in employment is a key factor in experience of part-time work for students • Part-time working plays a different role for different student groups, in conjunction with other aspects of financial experience

  23. ReferencesReferences Bradley, G. (2006). Work participation and academic performance: a test of alternative propositions. Journal of Education and Work 19 (5), 481 – 501 Callender, C & Kemp, M (2000). Changing student finances: Income, expenditure and the take-up of student loans among full- and part-time higher education students in 1998/9. London: DfES Callender, C. & Wilkinson, D. (2003). 2002/03 Student Income and Expenditure Survey: Students' Income, Expenditure and Debt in 2002/03 and changes since 1998/99. DfES Research Report No. 487. London: DfES Carney, C., McNeish, S. & McColl, J. (2005). The impact of part-time employment on students’ health and academic performance: A Scottish perspective. Journal of Further and Higher Education 29 (4), 307 – 319 Christie, H., Munro, M. & Rettig, H. (2001). Making ends meet: student incomes and debt. Studies in Higher Education, 26 (3), 363 – 383 Cooke, R., Barkham, M., Audin, K., Bradley, M. & Davy, J. (2004). Student debt and its relation to student mental health. Journal of Further and Higher Education 28 (1), 53 – 66 Curtis, S. & Shani, N. (2002). The effect of taking paid employment during term-time on students’ academic studies. Journal of Further and Higher Education 26 (2), 129 – 138 Curtis, S. & Williams, J. (2002). The reluctant workforce: Undergraduates’ part-time employment. Education and Training 44 (1), 5 – 10 Finch, S., Jones, A., Parfrement, J. & Cebulla, A. (2005). Student Income and Expenditure Survey 2004/05. London: Stationery Office Ford, J., Bosworth, D. & Wilson, R. (1995). Part-time work and full-time education. Studies in Higher Education 20 (2), 187 – 207 Hammer, L.B., Grigsby, T. D. & Woods, S. (1998). The conflicting demands of work, family and school among students at an urban university. Journal of Psychology 132 (2), 220 – 226 Hodgson, A. & Spours, K. (2001). Part-time work and full-time education in the UK: The emergence of a curriculum and policy issue. Journal of Education and Work 14 (3), 373 – 388 Hodgson, A. & Spours, K. (2000). Earning to learn? Guardian 4 July. Hunt, A., Lincoln, I. & Walker, A. (2004). Term-time employment and academic attainment: Evidence from a large-scale survey of undergraduates at Northumbria University. Journal of Further and Higher Education 28 (1), 3 - 18 Metcalf, H. (2003). Increasing inequality in higher education: The role of term-time working. Oxford Review of Education29 (3), 315 – 329 Moreau, M-P., & Leathwood, C. (2006). Balancing paid work and studies: working (-class) students in higher education. Studies in Higher Education 31 (1), 23 – 42 Neill, N., Mulholland, G., Ross, V. & Leckey, J. (2004). The influence of part time work on student placement. Journal of Further and Higher Education 28 (2), 123 – 137 Payne, J. (2003). The impact of part-time jobs in Years 12 and 13 on qualification achievement. British Educational Research Journal 29 (4), 599 – 611 Reay, D., Davies, J., David, M. & Ball, S. J. (2001). Choices of degree or degrees of choice? Class, ‘race’ and the higher education choice process. Sociology35 (4). 855 – 874 Robotham, D. & Julian, C. (2006)/ Stress and the higher education student. Journal of Further and Higher Education 30 (2), 107 – 117 UUK, 2005. Survey of higher education students’ attitudes to debt and term-time working and their impact on attainment. A report to Universities UK and HEFCE by the Centre for Higher Education Research and Information (CHERI) and London South Bank University. London: Universities UK Watts, C. (2002). The effects of term-time employment on academic performance. Education and Training 44 (2), 67 – 76 Watts, C. & Pickering, A. (2000). Pay as you learn: Student employment and academic progress. Education and Training 42 (3), 129 – 134

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