CES

It is increasingly recognised that education should make use of the variety of contexts in which young people learn and against this background the Scottish Executive commissioned research to investigate school students’ part-time employment.

The research aimed to examine the extent, nature and implications of school pupils’ part-time employment and to consider whether pupils’ part-time work might be linked to their formal schooling.

The research had a number of inter-connected activities:
• survey of school students (nationally representative 10% sample of S3, S4, S5 and S6 students (Yrs 10- 13) n = 18,430)
• focused studies in four local authority areas involving young people, parents, schools and other stakeholders (46 teachers and 376 students and 360 parents )
• a survey of local authorities and review of legislation (all 32 Scottish LAs)
• a survey of employers (42)
• interviews with members of the Scottish Councils Education Industry Network (32)
• individual case studies of students in part-time employment (12) ;
• a review of enterprise research and initiatives in the UK and internationally;
• review of the literature and practice relating to the use of part-time employment in an educational context and development of models to recognise part-time work
• a review of literature and relevant initiatives relating to enterprise and the development of measures to assess pupils’ enterprising attitudes and behaviours.

Literature reviews; surveys of students, parents and employers; focus groups; interviews; observation; and event recording.

Part-time employment is a majority experience among secondary school pupils but many educationalists underestimated the extent of participation. There was no evidence that pupils who are disenchanted by school turn to part-time work as an alternative. The working hours of the majority of pupils were at the level unlikely to have a negative impact on their attainment but a substantial minority were working hours associated with a detrimental effect.

The research shows that students’ part-time employment provides opportunities for learning and attaining skills, especially certain core and employability skills. While the research showed that pupils’ part-time work could, in principle, contribute to some of the wider goals set for Scottish education, there are a number of issues to be considered as to whether it should, in practice, be used in a recognised way. The study developed different models for the recognition of part-time work and identified a number of key points for policy makers to consider.

The research identified a positive relationship between a high degree of enterprising attitudes and part-time employment but it is not possible to assume a causal relationship between the two.

The current legislative system is ineffective in monitoring the part-time employment of children aged under 16. The extent of part-time employment raises questions for other forms of vocationally-related experiences, including work experience and enterprise activities.

Published and working papers from this project are posted on this site as they become available.