Multitasking,but for what benefit? The dilemma facing Nigerian university students regarding part-time working

Students working part-time while studying for a full-time university degree are commonplace in many Western countries. This paper, however, examines the historically uncommon part-time working activities and career aspirations among Nigerian university students. In particular, how working is perceived to contribute to developing employability skills, and whether it is influenced by their self-efficacy. Survey data from 324 questionnaires were collected from a federal university, although the data analysis used a mixed method. The findings indicate that despite low levels of part-time working generally among students, older, more experienced, higher level and female students place a premium on the skills that part-time work can develop. Moreover, self-efficacy and being female is a significant predictor in understanding part-time work and career aspirations. This study offers originality by focusing on students’ part-time work, the value working provides and its link with career aspirations, within a relatively unexplored context of Nigeria.     

The motivations and outcomes of studying for part-time mature students in higher education

This paper examines the motivations and outcomes for mature students who study part-time in higher education (HE) in the UK. Although many students in HE are mature part-time learners, they have not been the specific focus of much research or policy interest. In-depth narrative interviews were carried out with 18 graduates who had studied part-time at a university college specialising in part-time provision. The sample was drawn from a quantitative survey of 1539 graduates concerning their motivations for studying and the benefits derived. Researchers could therefore choose respondents on the basis of previously reported outcomes of study and on other life course information, which was included in the survey. The paper reports a wide range of motivations and outcomes, which are regarded as forms of capital, and illustrates how studying part-time as a mature student can have a profound effect on people’s lives.     

Working while studying: the impact of term-time employment on dropout rates

There are many possible reasons why students leave university prior to degree completion, and one of the more commonly cited is being employed while studying. This paper analyses the impact of employment status on dropout rates using survival analysis. It finds that employment status does have an impact on dropout rates; students who work full time alongside studying full time are less likely to complete their programme than students working short part-time or not working at all. However, it seems as if there is a threshold to how much students can work, as working more than 20?h a week (long part-time work) increase the risk of dropout as much as full-time work. Integrating employment status into the analysis does not change the effect of variables known to have an influence on dropout, such as grades, gender and social background, but it contributes to further explain who are at risk of dropout. This implies that models for dropout and retention must also take such external factors into account, not just consider what happens at university, as in model of student departure.     

‘The balancing act’ – Irish part-time undergraduate students in higher education

While the numbers of part-time students has increased in higher education in Ireland, little is known about these students or about how they balance their study and other commitments. Drawing on a larger study on Irish students’ experiences in higher education, this article attempts to address this gap in research and reports on Irish part-time undergraduate students’ socio-demographic and institutional characteristics. It further explores the balance between part-time students’ academic study and their life situations. The article proposes some recommendations with regard to policy concerning part-time students, particularly in the area of financial support available to part-time learners. It also calls for expanding opportunities for participation in part-time study in the light of changing demography and provision of resources to facilitate students’ participation in higher education. Although the findings of this article broadly agree with those of international studies, more research is needed into the experiences of part-time students in higher education.     

大学生兼职的现状调查与职业发展研究

大学生从事兼职现已成为大学校园里的普遍现象,且越来越受到教育理论界的关注。兼职不仅是大学生参加社会实践活动和勤工俭学的一种有效途径,同时也是大学生思想政治教育的重要抓手。本文采取抽样调查的实证研究方法,从大学生兼职的群体、兼职时间的长短、兼职的目的和种类,以及兼职工作与大学生经济状况的关系等几个方面,分析在校大学生从事兼职工作的现状,探讨大学生从事兼职对其学业状况、能力发展和职业发展的关联性影响,研究高校、教育行政主管部门等如何从提高大学生思想政治教育的实效性出发,在切实引导和保障大学生顺利完成学业的前提下,达到兼职工作需求和发展意愿之间的平衡,实现大学生个人的成长成才。     

Part-time students in transition: supporting a successful start to higher education

The transition into higher education is a critical time for all students. A positive early experience provides a strong foundation for future academic success whilst a negative experience can be destabilising for a new learner. To date, research has primarily focused on full-time undergraduates in order to explain the reasons for high attrition rates at the end of the first year. Less is known about the experiences of part-time undergraduates despite the fact that they make up over one quarter of the total student population (HESA, 2015). This article reports on a study to investigate the initial experiences of a group of part-time undergraduates who have chosen to undertake a degree at a small study centre run by one university. Using a mixed methods research approach, the research captured the lived reality of the experience and identified the contributing and negating factors that can influence a successful transition. Perceptions of the level and type of support provided for students during transition were gained from both staff and students. The findings confirm a heterogeneous group. Despite being highly motivated, the early transition period was generally characterised by a sense of trepidation and self-doubt as students took their first steps in higher education. The research highlights the complexity of the initial decision-making process for part-time students and the barriers they face. It concludes that a flexible but unified approach, involving tutors and the wider support services, is needed, as unique students require unique responses to their transition needs.     

Supporting families: a nurturing teacher education strategy in Nauru

There has been little recent documentation concerning Pacific family support for family members locally involved in university study in their Pacific home country and how such responses affect both parties. Some studies dealing with family support for student family members, including Pacific families residing in the USA, have been published. A New Zealand Ministry of Education report on Pasifika students’ educational success rates raised the need for effective family support contexts. Another study researched the family support negotiation patterns of mature-age part-time students in Australia, Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea. Only one University of the South Pacific research focused on Pacific family and community expectations of family members studying and residing with their families in their Pacific home countries. This Nauru-based study describes mixed support responses from Nauruan families towards their teacher education student family members and Nauru Department of Education student engagement and well-being development strategies.     

大学生兼职动因的社会学分析

大学生兼职的原因是多样而复杂的,它与社会现实直接相关,并且受多种因素的影响,总的来说,它是整个社会变迁大环境下的产物。社会经济的转型和高等教育制度的变革为大学生兼职提供了条件和动力,而家庭的低收入和家长的支持以及大学生自我意识的发展,对大学生走上兼职的道路产生了重大的影响。我们必须要理清兼职的深层社会动因,才能准确把握,正确引导。     

大学生兼职风险的成因及对策

大学生兼职已是大学校园里的一种普遍存在不可忽视的现象,兼职有助于大学生交际圈的突破,是大学生生活的润滑剂,也是大学教育在地域上的延伸。本文通过了解高校大学生的兼职状况,以期掌握大学生兼职风险的成因,进一步提出对策,从而为高校加强对大学生兼职工作的管理提供一定的参考。     

University student perceptions of the relationship between university education and the labour market in Egypt and Oman

How do university students perceive the key relationship between their university education and the labour market? This article describes the perceptions that 827 Egyptian and Omani seniors—both males and females, studying commerce, education, and engineering—hold about that relationship. For these students, a major motivation for attending university is their perception that it will help them get better and more secure employment. They are also confident it will help them enter appropriate careers. However, they are less satisfied with the way in which university curricula prepare them effectively for appropriate careers. In addition, an analysis by nationality, gender, and field of study revealed statistically significant differences among the participants. The Omani students are more confident about their education than the Egyptians—who call for more reform of their curricula to fit labour market requirements. Women are more motivated than men to enter a career after university. The field of study had only a small impact on students’ perceptions of this key relationship.     

Employers’ support for adult higher education students in liberal post-socialist contexts

In most European countries, the proportion of adult students among both full-time and part-time workers has increased significantly over recent decades. Undertaking paid work is also increasingly common among traditional students. The opportunities to work while studying depend largely on the role of employers in promoting learning. However, both theoretical frameworks and empirical studies typically focus on the behaviour of firms in providing training. The support of employers for formal adult education has remained a marginal topic. The aim of this article is to analyse the contributions of employers to the acquisition of higher education from the perspective of the adult learners; we investigated how employers support their staff in higher education studies. We also tried to identify which kinds of learners have a better chance of receiving various benefits. We used two different data-sets: quantitative data from a study of adult students in higher education and qualitative data from interviews with managers of small- and medium-sized enterprises and at least one employed participant in formal adult education, collected in the framework of the international research project Towards a Lifelong Learning Society in Europe: The Contribution of the Education System supported by the EU Sixth Framework Programme.     

高校勤工助学工作必须坚持育人为本

现实的勤工助学工作对勤工助学的育人目标、育人内涵、育人主体认识不足。勤工助学是高校教育人、教养人工作的重要组成部分。高校勤工助学工作的根本在于育人,必须坚持以育人为主导,实现思想扶助与经济扶助相统一;坚持以育人为内核,实现劳动实践与全面培养相统一;坚持以育人为原则,实现重点帮扶与全体教育相统一。从坚持德育要求,强化管理育人、加强心理引导、拓展育人内涵等发面加强其工作。     

河南省师范类院校大学生兼职情况的调查与分析

随着社会竞争日趋激烈,大学生就业形势日益严峻,面临着高校收费体制改革和用工单位对工作经历青睐的双重压力,越来越多的在校大学生利用课余时间走出校园,走入社会,从事兼职工作。调查发现,师范院校大学生参与兼职存在兼职大学生的正当权益得不到保障、兼职渠道较少、兼职种类单一、兼职的目的性不强、兼职与自身专业相关程度较低等问题。文章应用成因分析从国家、学校和学生自身三个层面寻找解决问题的对策,使每个兼职大学生都能在兼职过程中有所收获、提升自我。     

Commenting on Written Arguments as a Part of Argumentation Skills — comparison between students engaged in traditional vs on‐line study

The use of computer‐mediated communication (CMC) has increased in the area of education. This article reports a study whose aim was to improve the argumentation and scientific thinking skills of university students through argumentative on‐line studying. The research problems dealt on the one hand with learning outcomes in terms of subject content and on the other hand with argumentation skills. The results were compared between on‐line students and students who studied in a traditional way. The results indicated that the traditional group got better learning outcomes than the on‐line students who, by contrast, succeeded better in the tasks of argumentation skills. The findings suggest that the argumentative on‐line studying method would be suitable when trying to improve argumentation skills.     

Developing employability skills via extra-curricular activities in Vietnamese universities: student engagement and inhibitors of their engagement

This article reports a study that investigated student engagement and inhibitors of their engagement with developing employability skills via extra-curricular activities in Vietnamese universities. Content analysis of 18 interviews with students and statistical analysis of 423 students’ responses to a paper-based survey showed that despite a variety of extra-curricular activities being frequently organised, students engaged in these activities just above a moderate level. The analysis revealed that students with different motivations as well as students from different university types, disciplines, and university years engaged differently with developing employability skills via this channel. Five inhibitors of their engagement were identified, including students’ working part-time, a lack of information about extra-curricular activities, students’ beliefs about participating bringing no benefits, competition with curriculum-based activities, and unprofessional organisation of these activities. The article discusses ways to improve student engagement with developing employability skills via extra-curricular activities.     

Prokrastination bei Studierenden des Lehramts und der Erziehungswissenschaften

A common phenomenon among university students is procrastination, the dysfunctional postponing of tasks. Based on expectancy-value theory, the present study examined the relations between procrastination and some specific motivational characteristics of university students. A total of 881 German university students of teacher education and educational sciences completed a questionnaire. Results showed that procrastination while studying was negatively related to self-concept, study interest, mastery goal orientation and performance-approach goal orientation, while it was positively associated with work avoidance. Moreover, male students reported higher procrastination than female students. Study interest and work avoidance were the strongest predictors of procrastination. Thus, enhancing students’ positive motivational characteristics could reduce procrastination while studying.     

Relatedness between jobs and academic majors: its relationship to academic involvement of college students

The study considered 10,072 third-year college students in Taiwan who had paid jobs while studying and found that students who worked in jobs related to their academic majors scored significantly higher on the academic involvement scale than students working in unrelated jobs. In addition, the effect of relatedness between jobs and majors did not interact significantly with either the effect of working on/off campus or the effect of working part-time/full-time.     

Effects of Exposure to Part-time Faculty on Community College Transfer

Over the past several decades, one of the most significant changes in the delivery of postsecondary education involves the dramatic increase in the use of contingent or part-time faculty. Although the increased use of part-time faculty within higher education makes sense from an administrative point of view, its use does not come without criticism. With community colleges representing a more convenient, affordable, and flexible educational option for a number of students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, examining how exposure to part-time faculty relates to students’ academic goals represents an important area of inquiry. This study draws from social and human capital frameworks and uses hierarchical generalized linear modeling (HGLM) to examine how exposure to part-time faculty relates to community college students’ likelihood of transferring to a four-year college or university. Findings suggest that students tend to be significantly less likely to transfer as their exposure to part-time faculty increases.     

影响大学生职业生涯规划的心理因素调查

采用自编的大学生职业生涯规划心理影响因素调查问卷,对重庆某高校320名来自四个年级的学生进行问卷调查,发现：心理因素对男女大学生的职业生涯规划影响不是很大,但男生较女生成熟;心理因素对不同年级学生的影响较大,主要呈现出随年级增高而愈成熟的趋势;兼职经历对大学生的职业生涯规划产生很大的影响;父母对孩子的期望对学生的职业生涯规划影响差异不显著;家庭所在地的不同直接影响到学生的职业生涯规划。     

关于高职院校学生双休日生活的调查及思考

如何充分而合理地安排好高职学生的双休日生活,是当前高职院校学生管理工作所面临的一个全新的课题。通过对宁波城市职业技术学院300名大学生的问卷调查,分析了近年来高职学生对双休日的利用情况及其存在的问题,在此基础上分别从建立高素质的思政工作队伍;引导学生自觉调整学习生活计划;开展主题鲜明、形式多样的校园文化活动;加强管理,引导学生积极参加社会实践和勤工俭学活动;加强软硬件设施投入等五个方面提出建议。