Students forced to work during term time can gain considerable benefits, such as enhanced management skills and increased confidence, and the negative effects on their academic work are marginal, according to new research, writes Phil Baty.
Researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University suggest that universities should recognise term-time employment as an often valuable experience that should be an accepted and integrated part of the curriculum.
Susan Curtis, a senior lecturer, found that the adverse effects on academic work were "tiny".
The survey of 359 full-time undergraduates at Manchester's business school found that 55 per cent were working, mainly in bars and restaurants. Only 4 per cent thought they had failed assignments because they were diverted from their studies by employment and 8 per cent missed lectures as a result of working. Only 2 per cent said they had failed to hand in assignments because of work.
The paper, published in the Journal of Further and Higher Education , says that "the routinisation of work may mean that students are used to coping with working and studying simultaneously. Students who felt that working had either a helpful effect or no effect formed 65 per cent of the total."
The paper concludes: "Working (is) beneficial to students in the enhancement of skills and confidence, and an increased understanding of how businesses are run. If the benefits of working are more widely accepted and understood, the work could be integrated into the (student's) course."