This descriptive study aimed to investigate causes and impact of part-time employment on the academic performance of students at secondary level. It was conducted in 105 High and Higher Secondary schools of district Peshawar. The part-time employed 378 students were taken from schools as sample. Questionnaire was designed to get the opinions of the students. The collected data was analyzed by using percentages. The analysis of data revealed that that most of the students started their paid part-time employment at secondary level at adolescence age with their parents, family members and others. More than seventy percent students were engaged in their part-time employment for 5 to 8 hours after their school hours. Burden of work at work place, absence of father/brother or boss from the work place were reasons for missing their school.
The students had no time for completing their class room assignment, performing their class room activities easily and for participating in co-curricular activities. Although the students did not repeat any grade but only few students got 1st division with their part-time employment. Majority of the students believed that their part-time employment would be beneficial for them in future.
Key Words: Part-time employment, academic performance, apprentices, absenteeism, child Labour
Introduction
Education is the process of beliefs, values, skills, knowledge, learning, and transfer of habits. It is the most proficient and effective way of acquiring the fundamental and highly developed knowledge and skills.
The chronologically graded and structured Educational System, running from elementary school through the university and including, a variety of specialized programs, general academic studies, and institutions for full-time technical and professional training is called formal education.
Formal education is a process in a prearranged situation having purpose to teach learners. It occurs in a school setting with classrooms of various students learning together with a trained and certified teacher. School systems are planned around a set of values and ideals that administer all educational activities in that organization. It includes student-teacher interactions, curriculum, class size, physical classroom, methods of assessment and educational activities etc.
In contrast informal education is a constant process whereby every individual acquires skills, values, attitudes, and the educative influences and knowledge from daily experience and resources in his or her environment-from neighbors and family, from the marketplace, from work and play, and the mass media and libraryA1. It takes place in a range of situations, such as work through shared relationships and daily interactions among members of society and at home. For many learners this includes manners language acquisition and cultural norms.1
Employment
Employment is defined as the association involving two parties, generally based on a declaration and effort is remunerated for, where one party is the employee and the other may be a co-operative or other unit".2
Part Time Employment
Part-time employment is generally considered as a minimum a half-day of work in a week under the number of working days full-time. In a five-day week, part-time work should be...
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Abstract
Objective: During the university studies, students not only acquire knowledge but are actively involved in various activities and part-time employment. Students employment may have effects on their physical or mental health as well as learning performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between part-time working, health and academic performance.
Method: An analytic cross-sectional study was conducted in Caucasus University [Georgia].
Results: The majority of the undergraduate students [61%] had part-time jobs. The average duration of the working hours was 18 hours in a week. Most of the students [76%] believed that the main reason for employment was financial necessity to earn additional income to support their families and payment of expenses incurred. Most students have chosen simple part-time jobs that did not relevance for future career. According to the students, their sleep disturbance reasons was the difficulty of combining work and study, which has a negative effect on their physical and mental health, and therefore on academic performance [44%].
Conclusion: Universities must implement flexible, accessible and targeted supporting activities in achieving their educational and career goals. Increasing awareness of mental and physical health issues could also be delivered to students to enhance their experience.
During the university studies, students acquire not only knowledge but are actively involved in part-time employment. Part-time employment means any additionally work, besides major activities and learning. The scale of the part-time employment of students is characterized by a growth trend. By the mid-2000s almost 50% of students in the US were employed, while in the 1970s they were only a third [34%].1 A similar situation is observed in Europe, where the share of such students varies from 48% [in France] to 77% [in the Netherlands].2 Studies in British universities have revealed that 70-80% of students have a paid job.3 In Russia, according to various studies, the number of employed students is 65-85%.4
The part-time employment of students depends on the teaching course, the specialty, the territorial location of the higher education institution [in the capital and large cities the employment market is bigger]. Students have different motives for part-time employment.5-7 The primary motivation for part-time employment is pragmatic and is meant to satisfy their material needs. It is particularly seen in developing countries, where families have limited financial aid for students, as a result of the socio-economic crisis.8-9 Most students work because they want to get additional resources for their own needs. In some low-income countries the main motivation of student’s part-time employment is family support.10 Part-time employment of students in European countries is mainly related to the need to get funding for higher education.11
By taking on occasional jobs, students which strive for career growth, recognition, prestige may gain valuable work experience and enhance their future opportunities in the labour market.12 If related to their field of study, student employment has even a larger positive impact on labour market outcomes in the form of lower risk of unemployment, shorter job search duration, and higher wage.13 The job gives opportunities for expanding relationships and business contacts, accumulating experience, acquiring new friends and development of communication, teamwork and time management skills.14
Combining academic studies with paid work also has negative consequences. According to researchers, employed students have problems with balancing the workload they take on and obligations related to their studies.15 Employment at full-time students hinder their academic achievement and limits the time for studying.16 They are less likely to study successfully at university because their work takes too much time and energy.17 Secondary jobs have a negative effect on the quality of teaching, especially those students who work over 35 hours,18 or more than 15 hours in a week.19
According to studies, students work-related problems affect health, cause constant stress, anxiety and social integration deficit.20 This includes changes in energy, lack of sleep, appetite, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, difficulty concentrating, and feeling sad, empty, hopeless, worthless, or guilty.21 Student population have significantly lower levels of mental health,22,23,24,25 which was related to working part-time and working longer hours.26
The aim of the research is to analyze the student part-time employment in three aspects: demand and reason of part-time employment, health status of student in part-time employment, effects of part-time employment on students, especially on students' health and learning process.
Materials and Methods
An analytic cross-sectional study was conducted. In November 2019, the questionnaire was emailed to a representative sample of Year 2 full-time undergraduate students [n=700] from Caucasus University[Georgia].
The survey instrument was a semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was based on a combination of literature review and specificities of students at Caucasus University. In order to access the difficulty of the questionnaire, 15 pilot interviews were initially conducted.
Survey instrument was trying to assess socio demographic profile of students [such as: age, gender, employment status, working position & working hours per week]. In addition, survey instrument was constructed in a way to evaluate student’s demand and reasons of part-time employment, attitude of students regarding employment. Results are summarized.
Data Collection and Analysis. After the questionnaire had been established, the information of students was collected by a convenient sampling method. Data entry and analysis were done using Microsoft Excel and SPSS.
Ethics. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Health Policy Institute of Caucasus University. The protocol was in accordance with the declaration of Helsinki. Students were informed of the purpose of the study prior to administration of the questionnaire. An informed consent was taken from each participant. Those participants who did not agree to participate in the study were also excluded from the study.
Results
Three hundred twenty-two students [46%] returned questionnaires. The mean ages of the respondents are 20 for males and 19.3 for the females [range 18 years to 25 years]. Fifty-six per cent [n=112] of respondents were female and 44% [n=88] were male.
Sixty-one per cent [n=200] of the respondents had part-time jobs, and of these 16% had more than one job. Thirty-nine percent [n=122] of students without a job were trying to get a job.
The duration of the working hours varied from 2 to 50 hours in a week, and the average duration was 18 hours in a week. Majority of students [57%] were working at least part-time, from 10 hours to 20 hours a week [Table 1].
Table 1:Demographic profile, employment and working position & working hours per week of students
n=200 % Gender female 112 56% male 88 44% Age 18-19 36 18% 20-21 48 24% 22-23 52 26% 24-25 64 32% Working hours per week 10 50 25% 20 65 32.5% 30 44 22 40 36 18% 50 5 2.5%
Students were asked to indicate where they were working. Of those that have part-time jobs [n=200], the majority worked in the retail [48%] and food and drink industry [45%]. A small number worked in call centres and the University [7%] [Table 2].
Table 2:Where are students working?
Retail % Food and drink % Other % Supermarket 18% Bar/pub 13% Call centre 5% Shop 11% Restaurant 12% University 2% Clothes shop 8% Catering 6% Department store 5% Hotel 3% Retail other 3% Fast food 9% Petrol station 3% Club 2% Total 48% Total 45% Total 7%
Students were asked to assess their reasons for working. Financial necessity [n=152, 76%], free for extra cash for fun [46%, n=92], improving personal and social skills [n=72, 36%] were cited as most important. Professional studies and relevance of job for future career was cited least [Table 3].
According to the majority of students, part-time work affected their academic performance [44%, n=88] and some had to work a night shift 3-4 times a week [n=144, 72%]. Only 32% of students studied more than 3 hours in a day [n=64]. Nearly a third of respondents say that they did not have enough sleep or in other words have a sleep deprivation [n=168, 84%]. Majority of respondents agreed that their sleep disturbance reasons was the difficulty of combining work and study [n=88, 44%]. According to study, employed students believed that sleep deprivation had a negative effect on their physical and mental health. Health problems, which are caused by sleep deprivation are: irritation and bad temper [46%], decrease concentration [52%], headache [38%], fatigue [44%], deterioration and unpleasant feelings [32%], chronic fatigue syndrome [48%], memory impairment [40%], nervous system disorder [32%], stress [56%], pressure increase [12%], fainting [6%], lost productivity [46%] [Table 3].
Table 3:The effect of part-time employment according to student reporting
The reasons for the part-time employment: N=200 yes % Financial necessity 152 76% Raising social connections 64 32% Improving personal and social skills [soft-skills] 72 36% Professional studies 44 22% The job is relevant to my future career 42 21% Free time use for extra cash for fun, going out, etc. 92 46% Other 2 1% Results of Part-time employment I work night 144 72% I have less time for learning 132 66% If you'll give more attention to the studies I have learned well 100 25% I spend for learn more than 3 hours a day 64 32% I can not complete all homework 104 52% The reasons of employed students’ sleep deprivation Sleeps 4-5 hours a day 64 32% Sleeping in 6-7 hours a day 88 44% Not enough sleep 168 84% sleep disturbance reason is difficulty of combining work and learning 88 44% sleep disturbance reason is work 76 38% sleep disturbance reason is study 24 12% do not have a similar problem 12 6% Health problems, which are caused by sleep deprivation Irritation and bad temper 92 46% Decrease concentration 104 52% Headache 76 38% Fatigue 88 44% Deterioration and unpleasant feelings 64 32% Chronic fatigue syndrome 96 48% Memory impairment 80 40% Nervous system disorder 64 32% Stress 112 56% Pressure increase 24 12% Fainting 12 6% Lost productivity 92 46%
Discussion
Part-time employment appears to be an essential element of the overall student experience. According to the survey, more than half of the respondents have a part-time job and the mean number of hours that students spend working per week is 18 hours. Experts recommend that students work no more than maximum of 10 hours per week,27 which is reasonable balance between the need of students to supplement their basic income and the interests of their educations. According to these survey students are clearly working more than this recommendation. In this respect, it is more important to educate students how to manage time, to help balance both their studies and part-time work.
According to the survey, most of the students believed that the main reason for employment was financial necessity to earn additional income to support their families and payment of expenses incurred. These are similar to findings reported by other authors.28 The survey indicated that most students have chosen simple part-time jobs [in the retail and food and drink industry] that did not relevance for future career. They do not pay adequate attention to factors such as improving professional education and soft-skills. Consequently, these types of work do not require specialized skills gained by the students at the university, and conversely, do not offer them any particular experience which could increase their employability after graduation. Lack of correspondence between the study programmes and the types of work performed by students were consistent with the results of other studies.29-31
Research has shown that the majority of students are very busy with part-time employment and difficulties constitute work and learning combinations. Large loading of non-teaching activities disturbs students from engaging in the learning process. Most of the respondents work in night shifts, which affects their sleep. Sleep deprivation have caused serious health problems [Irritation and bad temper, decrease concentration, headache], which has a negative impact on the learning process. Because of busy schedule, they cannot intensive relationships with friends and family. These results are consistent with the results of other studies.32-33
Our findings noted that part-time working have a significant detrimental effect on both mental and physical health of students. Working more hours increases the probability that a student perceives a negative effect on academic performance.
Conclusion
Universities must have an effective policy of employment and must implementing flexible, accessible and targeted supporting activities in achieving their educational and career goals. It is recommended that several measures be implemented to help students, to organize study and part-time work to best effect. This needs to be supported by training in time management skills. Increasing awareness of mental and physical health issues could also be delivered to students to enhance their experience.
The results of the research will be an important source of information for universities, governmental and non-governmental organizations which are involved in the development of employment support policies for students. Further investigation is needed to conclusively establish whether the relationships between part-time working and health exist in the wider university population.
What is the best description of a part time job?
A part-time job definition is a type of employment where an employee works for fewer hours a week than a full-time employee. Part-time employees are commonly referred to as part-timers and usually work between 20-30 hours per week.
What is review of related literature?
The Review of related literature involves the systematic identification, location, and analysis of documents containing information related to the research problem. The term is also used to describe the written component of a research plan or report that discusses the reviewed documents.
What are the challenges encountered by working students that affect their academic performance?
Working students face various challenges in balancing their work and studies. These challenges include time constraints, limited in-person connection and mobilization, emotional and physical limitations, and complaints from friends and family about spending less time together .
What is kind of lived experiences of on campus working students?
Working students experienced varied feelings. They experienced happiness because their needs were provided; they could help their parents and family; they became responsible and independent; and they met more friends; they learned a lot of things, they could earn extra money.