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Chapter Four Work status and the attitudes to Enterprise Test

Within each focus group pupils were provided with a workbook. At various points in the focus group pupils were asked to complete various sections of this workbook. The final task at the end of the focus group was for all pupils to complete a series of questions which comprise the Attitude to Enterprise Test ( ATE).

This test has been developed by Athyde (2003) and at the start of this research into pupils part-time employment was undergoing development. We received permission from the author to use the test. Given the length of the test we were unable to include it within the main survey tool and opted to use it within the focus groups.

The Attitude to Enterprise Test consists of 30 statements to which respondents indicate their strength of agreement on a scale from 1= strongly disagree through to 7= strongly agree. Following the scoring guidelines produce a global test score, the ATE score, and scores for a number of sub-scales. These are; perception about creativity at school; self perception of ability to lead others; intuition in problem solving; achievement orientation in project work and perceived personal control over career.

In the present context we were interested in the extent to which variations in test scores were linked to part-time employment status. Based on pupils work status at the time of the focus groups we constructed two groups, Ever Worked pupils ( EWP) and Never Worked Pupils ( NWP). The main analysis compared test performances for these two groups. In addition we considered potential variations based upon school year, ie within S4, S5 and S6 groups.

The relatively small sample size meant that we were unable to look at between school variations. Similarly we were unable to compare pupils investing different amounts of time to their part-time jobs. To provide some insight into potential links between intensity of employment and test scores a series of correlations were run for the EWP group looking at the potential link between hours worked, ATE score and the sub-scale scores.

The ATE scores

The table below provides a summary of the mean scores on the ATE for EWP and NWP groups and for each year group. There is some variation in the mean scores with the EWP group having a slightly higher mean compared to the NWP group. However, there is also some evidence of within group variation linked to year group.

Table 16: Mean scores for the Attitude to Enterprise Test

Analysis of between group differences showed that there was no significant differences for Work Status (F (1,338) = 0.126, p> 0.05) or for Year Group (F (2,338) = 0.648, p> 0.05). There was no significant interaction between these variables ((F (2,338) = 2.67, p> 0.05). Further exploration of the work status groups within each year group also failed to find any significant differences in ATE scores. These findings suggest that there is no relationship between part-time employment and ATE scores.

It can be argued that a key variable with respect to work is the number of hours that pupils commit to their employment. A series of correlations were carried out to consider the possible link between ATE scores and hours worked. Unfortunately a number of the EWP group failed to provide detailed information on the number of hours they were working at the time of the focus groups and this reduced the sample sizes that we could work with.

All the correlations between hours worked and ATE scores were not significant with one exception. Amongst the S4 pupils a significant positive correlation was found (r= 0.45, n = 22, p<0.05) indicating that pupils working a higher number of hours is associated with a higher ATE score.

The ATE sub-scales

The above analysis was repeated for each of the five sub-scales.

(i) Perception about creativity in school

The analysis showed that there was a significant difference when comparing the EWP and NWP groups across the whole sample (F (1,350) = 4.13, p< 0.05). The mean scores indicate that the EWP group had a higher mean score on this scale ( EWP = 31.25; NWP = 30.13).

Further exploration of the variation between EWP and NWP within each year group found that this relationship was strongest within the S4 year group.

The correlation analysis failed to show any link between hours worked and pupils scores on this sub-scale.

(ii) Self perception about the ability to lead others

The main analysis found no significant differences between EWP and NWP groups on this sub-scale (F (1,352) = 0.34, p> 0.05). Further investigation of potential variation between Work Status groups within each year group did produce one significant finding. Within S5 the EWP group had a significantly higher mean score compared to NWP group (26.1 and 23.9, respectively).

Investigation of the link between hours worked and this sub-scale also highlighted the S5 year group. A significant correlation was found between hours worked and scores on the ability to lead sub-scale (r= 0.32, n=44, p < 0.05).

(iii) Intuition in problem solving

Between group comparisons on this sub-scale failed to find any significant effect for Work Status or Year Group. However, a significant interaction effect was found (F (2,349) = 4.41, p< 0.05). On inspection it was evident that amongst S4 pupils the EWP group had a higher mean score compared to S4 NWP (31.94 vs. 30.64). In contrast for both S5 and S6 this pattern was reversed with the NWP groups having the higher mean scores (S5: NWP 31.67 vs. EWP 31.23; S6 NWP 33.11 vs. 30.46).

These findings suggest that where there is a relationship between the test scores and work status any effect may be mediated by year group.

The correlation analyses failed to show any link between hours worked and the scores attained on this subscale.

(iv) Achievement orientation in project work

On this sub-scale there were no significant differences between the Work Status groups (F (1,352) = 0.151, p> 0.05), However, significant differences were found between Year Groups (F (2,352) = 3.22, p< 0.05) with the mean scores indicating that S5 pupils had the highest scores on this sub-scale (S4: 34.59; S5: 35.56; S6: 34.83).

A significant interaction between Work Status and Year Group emerged ( F(2, 352) = 4.97, p< 0.01). Closer inspection showed that this interaction was due to the fact that amongst S4 pupils the EWP groups had the highest scores on this sub-scale, while for the S5 and S6 pupils the NWP group had the highest scores.

Further analysis within each year group showed that while the score variation between EWP and NWP groups in S5 and S6 were not significant, amongst the S4 group they were. For this year group pupils who had ever worked were likely to have higher scores than their non-working peers.

The correlation analysis found no link between hours worked and scores on this sub-scale.

(v) Perceived personal control over career

Investigation of between group differences on this sub-scale showed that there were no significant findings for Work Status, Year Group or any indication of interaction effects. Similarly the correlation analysis did not suggest any significant link between hours worked and pupils perceived control over career.

In reviewing this set of findings there is some support for the argument that there is a relationship between this particular enterprise measure and pupils part-time employment. While the global ATE score did not vary significantly according to Work Status some sub-scales did (perception about creativity in school; intuition in problem solving). Closer inspection of the sub-scales indicates that Year Group was an important mediating variable (for example, achievement orientation in project work).

In a number of cases there is some support for the argument that the link between work stats and test scores is most evident amongst S4 pupils. A number of alternative explanations may be offered for this. For example it is conceivable that the experience of part-time employment has a greater impact on S4 pupils' enterprising attitudes. Alternatively it may be that S4 pupils have had a greater exposure to enterprise experiences within educational settings and this explains the test scores rather than the influence of part-time employment.

To explore the possible link between enterprise attitudes and part-time employment experiences we need to use multivariate analysis techniques. We adopt this strategy within the Final Report utilising the survey data and pupils self rating of their enterprising attitudes. The present findings should be considered alongside this additional analysis.

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