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Chapter Eleven Part-time work and being enterprising

11.1 One aim of the research is to allow us to understand part-time employment within the context of education. One recent development within educational settings has been the attention paid to encouraging and developing enterprising attitudes amongst pupils. An obvious question is the extent to which part-time employment is linked to enterprising attitudes? For example, it could be hypothesised that it is the more enterprising pupils who may seek out part-time employment or that employers are more likely to employ individuals displaying such attitudes.

11.2 Before considering this issue we should recall that within the research pupils were asked to assess themselves on a series of statements. The statements were constructed to draw on a range of areas that have been associated with enterprising attitudes. In effect the pupils were providing a measure of their enterprising attitudes (see chapter 2). In this chapter we focus on this measure and its links to part-time employment. However, we will start by considering educationalists' views on the potential link between these two variables.

Educationalists' views

11.3 In the first chapter in this Section we considered the views of a number of stakeholders on the advantages and disadvantages of part-time work. A number of these stakeholders were asked about the potential part-time work-enterprise link.

11.4 In particular three groups of stakeholders were asked about the potential impact of part-time work on enterprising attitudes: Headteachers, a senior management representative responsible for enterprise in education within the school and Career Advisers (see Section G Appendix 7).

11.5 For at least one Headteacher the key issue regarding the potential impact of part-time work on enterprising attitudes and behaviour was the nature of the work activity. In general having a job has the potential to provide some insight into working environments. However, this Headteacher perceives some qualitative differences between the types of jobs which pupils have, that is, not all jobs were equal.

11.6 Another Headteacher saw a clear link between part-time employment and enterprising attitudes and behaviour. In this case their views may reflect the specific environment within which the school exists. There were many small businesses in the area and pupils often worked for them. The Headteacher stated that his/her perception of his pupils was that:

'Many [pupils] are getting exposure to small business environments and therefore seeing how the local entrepreneurs operate.'

11.7 He/she went on to add:

'I think local small businesses see us as a potential breeding ground for that … for both present and future jobs.'

11.8 One Headteacher expressed some very positive views about the Determined to Succeed strategy but did not draw any explicit link between part-time employment and enterprise. Another Headteacher stated that in his/her view pupils involved themselves in a wide range of potential enterprise relevant activities stating:

'There's a huge range of activities that are there but are not specifically curricular areas … how we do that in a curricular sense the challenge is getting teachers to embrace that.'

11.9 For some of the enterprise in education staff the potential impact of part-time work on enterprising attitudes/behaviours was something that they had clearly not considered. In part this might be related to existing attitudes towards part-time employment as the following comment suggests:

'To be honest, I've never thought about it, about that connection, my impression of the educator's point of view of part-time work was that it was a distraction, it's interesting to see the focus of this research is actually trying to bring that round.'

11.10 Other staff implied that part-time work would have little impact because of the motivation of the pupils:

'I would find it difficult to answer that … I wouldn't say we have a host of kids coming out saying that they want to be the next Richard Branson … they see either university, apprenticeship or tourist industry or the fish farm or something … they don't see a gap in the industry there … I would say they don't have much of an enterprising ….'

11.11 In contrast some of the interviewees were more positive about the potential impact of part-time work on enterprise attitudes and behaviours as the following quotes suggest:

'I think it's quite often looking at basic skills like working with others, sometimes it's literacy and numeracy, communications and working with others and it may even be things like problem solving … if they are working in a hotel and dealing with the public or waiting at tables. Tourism is so important in Scotland but yet some of the hotels are going out the way to employ Australians because we don't have the interpersonal skills, these things are difficult to measure but I think they are important.'

11.12 The same individual went on to add:

'It helps them in their own personal social development but also for employability.'

11.13 One interviewee appeared to be initially dismissive of the potential impact but then as he/she expanded his/her thoughts they began to suggest some potential links:

'No I don't think so … I don't think they bring it back in with them. What it might do is that the kids… say in S4… the kids who do have part-time jobs tend to be slightly more mature in their attitude towards certain things. That comes across quite often … just generally in the school, they are probably more used to dealing with adults in a different context so therefore their social skills will be a wee bit stronger and more relaxed about dealing with an adult member of staff for example.'

11.14 Expanding this idea he/she added:

'They are more used to being around adults … therefore that makes it much more easy for them to deal with teachers. A lot of them are much more likely to get involved in other aspects of the school … they do take a bit more social responsibility for example those that I know who do have part-time jobs or evening jobs and whether it's simply an ability to make best use of their time quite often they are able to get involved with younger pupils or charitable events.'

11.15 Amongst the Career Advisers some felt they had limited information and were unable to comment. Others were of the view that part-time work could have an impact on enterprising attitudes. For example, part-time work experience may provide ideas of running their own business. For others it was that part-time work could influence other personal attributes such as enthusiasm and confidence in a positive way. For at least one Adviser the important point was that part-time work would give pupils the confidence to see beyond short-term goals.

11.16 While they were not unanimous in their views it was clear that a number of the stakeholders viewed the potential link between part-time employment and enterprising attitudes in a positive way. There is another source of views on this issue. In chapter 8 we reviewed stakeholders' views on the possible advantages of part-time employment. A number of the advantages identified by pupils, parents, school staff, Scottish Councils Education Industry Network ( SCEIN) members and Career Adviser's overlap with attributes associated with enterprising attitudes. In particular many of the stakeholders identify advantages of part-time work that develop personal attributes which are associated with being enterprising. Based on these views it is conceivable that part-time work may have a direct or indirect effect on enterprising attitudes.

Pupils' perception of their enterprising attitudes

11.17 From the pupils' responses to the statements on enterprising attitudes we constructed a score which represents their self assessment. Depending on this score pupils were placed into one of four categories: 'low', 'quite low', 'quite high' and 'high'. We use these categories to describe the responses.

11.18 Across the whole sample of pupils a similar percentage of pupils viewed themselves as low/quite low compared to those who rated themselves as quite high/high. (53% vs 47%). Table 11.1 also shows that a slightly lower percentage of females were at the higher end of the scale (m: 49%; f: 45%).

Table 11.1: Extent to which pupils think themselves enterprising

11.19 There was some indication of variation across school stage. This is shown in Table 11.2.

Table 11.2: Extent to which pupils think themselves enterprising by school year

11.20 To what extent are background factors associated with pupils' enterprising attitudes? When we look at social class as defined by father and mother's social class there is some variation associated with these factors. Table 11.3 shows the distribution of enterprising attitude categories by father's occupation. A higher percentage of pupils whose father's were classified as working class, other and missing assess themselves as having low/quite low enterprising attitudes (56%, 56% and 61%). This pattern was repeated for mother's social class (see Table 11.4). In both cases the largest percentage of pupils viewing themselves as high in enterprising attitudes have parents in the managerial & professional category.

Table 11.3: Extent to which pupils think themselves enterprising by father's social class

Table 11.4: Extent to which pupils think themselves enterprising by mother's social class

11.21 We also considered whether there was any link between parental self employment and how pupils rated their enterprising attitudes. We found that more pupils whose parent(s) were self employment or had their own business rated themselves as quite high/high in enterprising attitudes than pupils whose parents were employed by someone else (50% vs 46%, table not shown).

11.22 Pupils with higher academic levels tended to perceive themselves as higher in enterprising attitudes. If we consider the two extreme categories of enterprising attitudes, low and high, then there is a clear trend. Those pupils who view their enterprising attitudes as low are more likely to have no SGs or 1-3 SGs. The trend is reversed for those viewing themselves as high in enterprising attitudes. Thirty-two percent of pupils with 8+ SGs classify themselves as high in this attitude compare to 17% of those with no SGs (Table 11.5).

Table 11.5: Extent to which pupils think themselves enterprising by Standard Grade level

11.23 Within the survey we ask a number of questions about future intentions. When we consider what pupils believe they will be doing at age 25 the majority respond that they will be in a full time job (Table 11.6). There is some difference in response between those who have low and high enterprising attitude scores (64% vs 68%). When we look at those who indicate that at 25 they will be running their own business, then those with low enterprising attitudes were less likely to indicate this option compare to those with high enterprise scores (6% vs 10%). We need to be cautious in interpreting this trend since the sample size is small.

Table 11.6: Pupils' expectation of what they will be doing at 25 by their enterprising level

*very small numbers

11.24 In the context of thinking about their future job by the age of 25, we asked pupils how important it was to them to have a job that provided opportunities to keep learning. Those with high enterprising attitudes were likely to rate the former as very important compared with those with low enterprising attitudes (28% vs 22%, Table 11.7).

Table 11.7: Pupils' attitude to their future employment by their enterprise level*

11.25 The majority of pupils indicate that having a job where they can continue learning is either quite or very important to them. However, when we look at those who indicate that this is very important to them a clear trend emerges. As enterprising attitudes increase more pupils perceive this aspect of their adult work as being very important for them.

Part-time employment and enterprising attitudes

11.26 What is the relationship between enterprising attitudes and a pupils' work status? Table 11.8 considers the work status of pupils at the time of the survey (current, former and never) and compares that with enterprising attitudes scores. Pupils who see themselves as high in enterprising attitudes are more likely to be currently working compare to those with a low score (43% vs 35%). This trend is reversed when we look at the never worked group. Pupils who have never worked are more likely to see themselves as low in enterprising attitudes while those with high scores are less likely to have never worked (45% vs 38%).

Table 11.8: Pupils' part-time work status by their enterprise score

11.27 When we consider the reasons that pupils provide for working we found that pupils who scored highest in enterprising attitudes were more likely to indicate that their reason for working was to gain independence (41% high score vs 21% low score).

11.28 These patterns suggest that there is some association between part-time employment and enterprising attitudes. The evidence that we have presented in earlier chapters indicates that this claim has some substance. For example in a number of the modelling exercises that underpin chapters 6, 7 and 9 enterprising attitudes emerged as a significant predictor.

11.29 In chapter 6 our modelling showed that enterprising attitudes are a significant predicator of work status. Pupils who perceive themselves as low in enterprising attitudes are less likely to be current workers when compared to those with high enterprising attitudes. The likelihood of being in work declined with the enterprising attitude score. Amongst current workers we identified that the hours committed to employment is an important factor. Once again enterprising attitudes are found to be a significant predictor of hours worked. In our model (see chapter 7) pupils who rated themselves higher than average on enterprising attitudes were likely to commit more hours to work each week. Pupils with high enterprising attitudes worked an additional 0.52 hours per week. While this may not be a large number of additional hours it reinforces the idea of the link between enterprising attitudes and part-time work.

Table 11.9: Reasons by enterprise (ever worked) (multi-response)

11.30 Enterprising attitudes are also important with respect to the type of job that is done. We considered what factors were likely to predict the type of job that a pupil does by focusing on four job categories; delivery, catering, retail and miscellaneous. Enterprising attitudes are not significant in predicting employment in catering, retail or miscellaneous categories. However, they are significant in predicting whether or not you are employed in the delivery sector. In this case pupils who rated themselves as having high enterprising attitudes were less likely to work in this sector. Pupils who saw themselves as being low in enterprising attitudes were more likely to work in this sector.

11.31 In addition to the type of job we postulated that it is important to consider the 'demandingness' of the job (see chapter 9). Enterprising attitudes are a significant predictor of pupils' employment in low or high demanding jobs. In this case pupils with high enterprising attitudes are more likely to work in jobs with higher levels of 'demandingness'.

11.32 Clearly there is some consistency in the pattern that is emerging. Further support comes from some of the findings from the focus groups that we carried out. As part of the activities within the focus groups pupils completed the Attitudes to Enterprise Test (Athayde, 2003). ¹⁴ We compared the test results for those who have part-time jobs with those who do not. There was no consistent variation between the Enterprise Test score for those who had worked compared to never worked. However, there are some significant findings on the Attitudes to Enterprise Test subscales. Pupils who are currently working or had worked have higher enterprising attitudes on some subscales when compared to their peers who have never worked. This reinforces the argument outlined above that there is some link between part-time work and enterprising attitudes.

11.33 What is the nature of this link? One interpretation that could be placed on this material is that those pupils who rate themselves as having enterprising attitudes are more likely to get a part-time job. In turn this job is less likely to be in the delivery sector and will be high in 'demandingness'. They will then commit more time to this job than pupils with low enterprising attitudes. While this interpretation is intuitively appealing we suggest that the picture is more complex than this.

Predicting enterprising attitudes

11.34 To consider the employment and enterprise link more fully we ran another modelling exercise. In this case our aim was to identify the factors that predict the level of enterprising attitudes. In this linear regression we follow the same procedures as in the earlier modelling exercises. The model is built up in a series of steps evaluating the impact of each new set of factors. All factors that proved to be significant in the prior model are retained in the subsequent model while non-significant factors were generally omitted. We report on the final model (Table 11.10). As with the previous models we will consider the factors under a series of sub-groupings: background, attitudinal, enterprise in education, other time commitments and career related factors.

11.35 Based on our previous discussion we would anticipate that part-time work should be a significant predictor of enterprising attitudes. This is supported by this model (Table 11.10). Compared to pupils who have never worked those who are currently working are likely to have higher enterprising scores. However, having had a part-time job in the past was not significant in predicting enterprising attitudes.

The effect of background factors

11.36 School stage is significant, with pupils in S4 having higher enterprising attitudes compared to their peers in S3. However, neither stage S5 nor S6 were found to be significant. The significance of the S4 stage may be related to the fact that at this stage a pupil may leave the school system. This means that in S5 and S6 we have a different type of cohort, those pupils who have decided to stay in school.

11.37 The statistical modelling confirms that academic level is a significant predictor of enterprising attitudes. The lower pupils' academic levels, the more likely to have lower enterprising attitudes. The model also showed that, after taking account all other factors, that gender was a significant predictor: compared with males females are likely to rate themselves as lower in enterprising attitudes.

11.38 A number of parental and family background factors emerge or are confirmed as significant in this model. Social class (both mother's and father's) is linked to enterprising attitudes. Those pupils from working class and the 'other' category were more likely to have lower enterprise scores compared to pupils whose parents are in the managerial & professional category. For pupils whose parents were self employed the model shows that this is linked to higher enterprising scores.

11.39 In general ethnicity was not a key factor in predicting enterprising scores with the exception of Asian pupils. Compared to Scottish pupils, Asian pupils were likely to rate themselves as having lower enterprising attitudes.

11.40 One other background factor was found to be a significant predictor of enterprising attitudes. This was in the area of family living arrangements. Compared to pupils who lived at home those pupils in boarding schools are likely to perceive themselves as having lower enterprising attitudes.

The effect of attitudinal factors

11.41 Pupils' responses to a number of statements about school were used to infer their attitude to school. These include whether they think school is giving them confidence to make decisions, that school work is worth doing and that their friends take school seriously. In all cases responses to these statements were found to be significant in predicting enterprising scores.

11.42 Pupils who agree that their school is giving them the confidence to make decisions are significantly more likely to view themselves as having high enterprising attitudes. A similar pattern emerges for those who believe school work is worth doing and that their friends take school seriously. In both cases the more pupils agreed with these ideas the higher they rate themselves in terms of enterprising attitudes. The pattern that emerges is one that suggests that pupils who have positive attitudes toward school are more likely to view themselves as having high enterprising attitudes. This finding is consistent with the fact that we find that academic level is positively linked to enterprising attitudes.

11.43 One indicator of a less positive attitude to school can be found in truanting behaviour. However while pupils who truant are more likely to rate themselves as having lower enterprising scores, it is not just the serious truants who are more likely to do so. Compared to those who never truant, pupils who truant for a lesson here and there were almost as likely to report lower enterprising attitudes as those who reported truanting for days or weeks at a time.

The effect of enterprise in education factors

11.44 As in the previous statistical modelling, we sub-divided the enterprise in education inputs into four types of inputs: work experience; work related learning; enterprise education and career education (see P 40, chapter 4) and examined their effect in predicting pupils' enterprising attitudes. Work experience was not a significant predictor and was therefore not included in the final model (Table 11.10). The lack of effect of work experience contrasts with that of part-time employment which does help to predict enterprising attitudes. The three other aspects of enterprise in education inputs each had a significant effect. The level of work-related learning, enterprise education and career education inputs that pupils had experienced each made a difference: the more experience pupils had of these activities, the higher they rated themselves in terms of enterprising attitudes. We might anticipate such a relationship given that many of these activities are designed to make pupils aware of enterprise related issues.

The effect of other time commitment factors

11.45 A number of pupils' 'out of school' responsibilities and activities are significant in predicting enterprising attitudes. Engagement in unpaid work, doing housework, socialising with friends and going to social events such as discos, clubs concerts etc. were all positively linked with enterprising attitudes. Pupils who are involved in each of these activities at an above average level are more likely to rate themselves as having a higher level of enterprising attitudes.

11.46 Some out of school activities are negatively associated with enterprising attitudes. Pupils who spent above average time watching TV or using their computer are likely to rate themselves as having low enterprising attitudes. The picture that emerges here is that pupils who are more engaged with their out of school environment and where that engagement is active rather than passive, are more likely to have higher enterprising scores.

The effect of career related factors

11.47 We considered two elements within this area, the extent of career focus and post school plans. In both cases the modelling shows that they are significant in predicting enterprising attitudes. In the case of career focus pupils who have a definite idea of their career plans are more likely to have higher enterprising scores.

11.48 Compared to pupils whose post school plans consist of going into HE, those pupils who plan to go to FE or leave education and find a job have significantly lower enterprising attitudes. However, it is those pupils who indicate that they do not know what they intend to do after school who rate themselves lowest on enterprising attitudes. With respect to these factors those pupils who do not have a clear career focus, and little idea of what they intend to do after school, view themselves as less enterprising than their peers.

Enterprising attitudes and part-time employment

11.49 Based on this modelling exercise we now have a new context within which to re-visit the link between part-time employment and enterprising attitudes. This model shows us that part-time work is only one amongst a number of factors which are significant in predicting enterprising attitudes.

11.50 If we view part-time employment as another out of school experience, this model suggests that pupils who are positively engaged with a range of activities outside of school are more likely to perceive themselves as high in enterprising attitudes. In this case part-time work is another indicator of a pupil engaging with their social environment.

11.51 In addition those pupils who have positive attitudes to school, who have a high academic level, a career focus and whose post school plans involve going on to HE are likely to have high enterprising attitudes. Not only is engagement with out of school activities significant but successful engagement with education and consideration of post-school plans is also linked to enterprising attitudes.

11.52 In contrast pupils who have never worked, who come from lower social class groups, have less positive attitudes to school, who truant and have lower academic levels are likely to have lower enterprising attitudes. They are also less likely to be engaged in out of school activity and spend more time watching TV or spend time on their computer. They are less likely to know their post school plans and to have less experience of enterprise in education activities.

11.53 In this model the link between part-time work and enterprise is placed in a wider context. This leads us to question any simple causal link between such employment experiences and enterprising attitudes.

Table 11.10: All pupils: predicting their level of enterprising attitudes

Overview

11.54 A number of educationalists perceive a potential link between part-time employment and enterprising attitudes. For some the link arises because of the exposure to enterprise and business that young people may gain through this type of experience. However, there is some recognition that not all jobs may have the same potential influence on enterprising attitudes.

11.55 For other stakeholders the link between work and enterprising attitudes may be more indirect. In an earlier chapter we reviewed the perceived advantages and disadvantages of part-time employment. In this context none of the stakeholders specifically linked employment and enterprising attitudes. However, an indirect link was made. Many of the attributes that some stakeholders thought young people might gain have been linked to being enterprising eg independence, confidence and communication skills.

11.56 Inspecting the evidence of the link between part-time employment and the enterprising attitude measure indicates that there is some basis for linking these two variables. However, the modelling exercise to identify the predictive factors explaining enterprising attitudes shows that a more complex process may be at work.

11.57 While part-time employment is a significant predictor of enterprise attitudes, it is one among many. Rather than assigning primary importance to part-time employment in predicting enterprising attitudes we offer an alternative interpretation. We propose that it is the pupil's wider profile that we need to attend to. Of particular importance is the link between a pupil's active engagement with school and a range of out of school activities in predicting enterprising attitudes. Part-time employment is only one of a number of out of school activities that reflect this active engagement.

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