Students’ perspectives on term-time employment: an exploratory qualitative study

Abstract

The number of full-time students engaging in part-time employment during their studies at university continues to rise, both in the UK and in other countries. The majority of previous studies in this area have adopted a quantitative research design, using a survey. Findings from such studies have tended to focus on demonstrating what students are doing, rather than why they are doing it. This study seeks to address that weakness in the existing literature through the use of qualitative data to provide a clearer understanding of students’ views and experiences of part-time employment. The study also examines the impact of working upon students’ academic studies and seeks to enhance our understanding of the implications of combining study and employment. Students at a large university in the UK completed an online survey which required more discursive answers than most previous surveys had. The findings indicate that part-time employment continues to be a majority experience for those students. The data also indicates that while there are negative consequences from combining study and part-time employment, there are also perceived benefits.

Acknowledgements

I would like to offer my thanks to the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback.