Impact of Paid Employment on Students' Performance - Report Example

IMPACT OF PAID EMPLOYMENT ON PERFORMANCE The idea to integrate work and study in universities is not new. Initially, it was designed and targeted towards helping students from poor backgrounds to augment their finances and at the same time offer them an opportunity to gain experience that was extremely demanded in workplaces. However, with time the motivations that have informed this decision have multiplied. The difficult economic circumstances and a desire for financial independence on the part of some students have ensured that working while studying nowadays is not an exception, but a rule (Applegate & Daly, 2006). The program has become a free for all, and as such its effects on performance and the overall university experience are becoming the focus of ever increasing attention. This paper shall seek to study the motivations that inform the decision of many students to go into work while still attending to their classroom activities. The paper shall also explore the financial and performance implications of that decision. Lastly, it shall suggest alternatives through which both work and study can be harmonized so as to maximize the benefits derived from both. In doing this the paper, information shall rely heavily on research previously done on the same topic. Their constant revision and the variety of experiences they cover make them the most reliable sources. The drive to find paid employment is sparked by financial needs that present themselves in various guises. Most students are driven with the urge to provide for their families. Furthermore, the number of individuals who value education is also steadily increasing because of its promise later in life. With family commitments setting, the need to study while one works makes great economic sense. Individuals who belong to this category of people work long hours and studies part- time. They are at the sharp end since they dedicate only a small fraction of their time to study. Young students’ forms part of those seeking paid employment. Their financial need can be derived from the need to augment their own incomes or pay their tuition fee. They are also exposed to numerous academic challenges if they dedicate too much of their time working instead of studying (Wijewardena & Rudkin, 1999). There are several ways in which paid employment relates to academic performance in the university. The number of hours a student has to work, the nature of employment (full time or part time) and the distance of workplace from institution are some of the factors that influences the academic performance of a student who works while studying. Indeed, it is not correct to draw conclusions that doubling paid employment with studying automatically lead to poor academic performance. However, conventional wisdom states that work study may lead to poor grades if not carefully checked. This may not be the case across the board for all students. Those students who work part time may not fail at all since they will only dedicate their free time to work instead of engaging in unfruitful activities. As long as they do their job for only a few hours a day, they are not likely to drop in grades. Problems may only arise when students work more than 20 hours a week. In this instances, they get fatigued they get lose focus that should be directed to study (Wijewardena & Rudkin, 1999). The location of work place, whether it is off campus or within the university, also plays a significant role in influencing students’ performance and influence in the university. Lederman (2009) says that if a student works within the university, then their academic and social life is not disturbed to extreme lengths. However, when they work off campus, then they have to devote massive amounts of time to their job, and this affects performance. The aspect of “travelling commitment” may also come up because lots of time must be reserved for travelling from the university to the workplace (Robert & Alison, 2005). This might compel the student to miss some of his lectures as well as lack time to consult lecturers and other university teaching staff. Eventually, this may lead to academic failure on the part of the student since studies conducted has proved that those students who attend lectures get higher grades compared to those who do not (Greenberger & Steinberg, 2005). The nature of the employment also determines whether a student does well in academics or not. For most students, part time paid employment should be the most adaptable. This is because time can be better apportioned between when to attend work and when to be in class. In the absence of such predictable times, they can have a hard time attending class since the urge to make money is always stronger. For those who work fulltime and attend to classes’ part time, the performance levels are predictably low. There is another notion that claims that students who work part time always have inconsistent learning. This could be true since they do not always attend all the lectures when duty calls for them. To some extent, the students may call off or defer their studies when the work study balance can no longer be sustained (Lederman, 2009). This normally affects young students more because they always lack the knowledge to balance these competing demands on their time. To solve this, it is advised that lecturers and other university staff be more ready to tailor course requirements’ so as to fit well within the timelines of the affected students. Course requirements such as CAT’s and even class hours should fit their schedules (Robert & Alison, 2005). Better still, students who have to work for financial reasons should benefit from financial aid such as bursaries. This eliminates the need to work overtime in order to make more money, since working extra hours may lead to poor performances. If the conditions above are not fully met and there is no proper work-study balance, poor grades are usually the result. The students also fail to participate fully in social life as well as the collaborative study that is very common in universities. As already seen, and in contrast to conventional wisdom, the impact of integrating work and study is not entirely detrimental to performance. Applegate & Daly (2006) asserts that there are lots of benefits obtained from such a scheme. However, the necessary pre requisite is the establishment of harmony between the two. The benefits be derived from the scheme includes; the acquisition of necessary work experience, development of excellent time management skills, nurturing an excellent disposition towards work and the development of exposure and organizational skills. In conclusion, extra attention needs to be paid towards integrating work and study better than is currently the case. Faculty need for example to find ways to work better with students who are part of such schemes. However, all parties involved need to realize that education is the main goal. After all, they are working to finance their education. References Applegate, C. & Daly, A (2006). The Impact of Paid work on the academic performance of students: A case study from the University of Canberra. Bruce: University of Canberra. Greenberger, E. & Steinberg, L. (2005). When Teenagers Work: The Psychological and Social Costs of Adolescents’ Employment. New York: Basic Books. Lederman, D. (2009). “The Impact of Employment.” In Inside Higher ED. Accessed from http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/08/work Robert, J. M. & Alison, G. (2005) "The effect of paid employment on university students lives", Education + Training, Vol. 47 (3), p.201 – 216 Wijewardena, H. & Rudkin, K. (1999). “An Empirical Investigation of Some Factors Affecting Student Performance in Introductory Accounting.” The International Journal of Accounting and Business Society, 7 (1), pp. 39–53 Read More