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Chapter One Findings of the search and review - the outcomes of part-time employment
A search for literature dealing with part-time employment was undertaken between January and June 2004. The search was focused on links between part-time work undertaken by full-time school pupils, but also took account of systems which involved the pupils work placements of different kinds. It did not discover any initiatives designed to give formal recognition to the outcomes of part-time work undertaken by school pupils. On the other hand, the search did reveal a number of studies about the level of participation in part-time employment and some studies which looked at the effects of part-time employment on pupils' academic performance and/or on the pupils themselves. The review found a growing appreciation of the potential value of work-based learning and showed that a number of thinkers in the field see real work experience as the ideal way to incorporate vocational objectives into school learning. These findings were not, however, related specifically to part-time work.
All of these general observations must be offset by a reminder that the relationship between formal classroom learning and non-formal workplace learning within education systems varies considerably from country to country. 2 It is also worth recording at this point that the Scottish system is unusual in a global context in two important ways: firstly because it currently offers a single educational track for those still in compulsory secondary education 3; and secondly because it offers very diverse opportunities for gaining formal recognition of achievement within a single unified system - the Scottish Qualifications Certificate ( SQC) issued by the SQA. All of these factors affect the findings of this review.
A number of the studies examined in the review associate part-time work with positive and negative outcomes. In considering these studies, it is important to realise that: (i) research evidence substantiating such links is scarce; (ii) researchers in this area hypothesise a complex relationship between part-time work and any outcome, positive or negative; (iii) and the issue of causality has still to be fully addressed.
An OECD issues paper 'Combining learning at school and at work' (2000) gives a list of the positive aspects of workplace experience as experienced around the world. These are:
- making learning more applied and interesting for young people;
- contributing to improved educational attainment;
- helping to develop the specific occupational skills that employers actually want;
- developing important general work habits and attitudes such as punctuality and team skills;
- signalling these skills to employers when young people are seeking work;
- helping employers and young people to get to know one another and facilitate the recruitment process.
The studies reviewed suggest that, by and large, young people see part-time work in a positive light, offering them increased independence, new challenges, a more adult role, and a range of opportunities for different kinds of learning which increase effectiveness and improve employability. From the point of view of recognition and accreditation, the outcomes which are identified in the studies in the review may be grouped in three clusters:
A. Learning outcomes which are part of formal school or college programmes: part-time work can support the acquisition of basic literacy and numeracy where these are lacking; it can lead to the development of occupationally specific skills; and it can help with the development of more sophisticated generic skills such as communication and IT skills.
B. Outcomes linked to attitudes which result from socialisation in the work environment: part-time work can lead to the development of attitudes to work and the workplace, which are associated with generic skills such as time-management, team working, problem solving and leadership. These may also be included in school and college programmes, eg as core skills.
C. Outcomes contributing to personal growth: part-time work can create a positive attitude to life and work; it can support the development of attributes which define basic employability - promptness, dependability, etc; it can give young people the opportunity to develop social skills through involvement in out-of-work activities with adult workmates; and it can generate feelings of independence and enhance self-confidence and self-esteem.
In terms of the potential for formal recognition of these clusters of outcomes, the following observations can be made:
- The occupationally-specific skills included in cluster A are likely to be included somewhere in the SQA portfolio of awards, which has units accrediting skills in most sectors of the economy.
- The other outcomes in clusters A and B are basic and generic/transferable skills and these are already recognised to some extent in the Scottish education system (eg through core skills). On the one hand such outcomes are well represented in SQA's catalogues of units, and on the other topics such as personal organisation and interpersonal skills are already incorporated in the curriculum in a range of schools, with or without certification.
- The outcomes in cluster C might initially appear too personal or individual to lend themselves to straightforward accreditation or inclusion in the curriculum. However, there may be links to some of the generic outcomes in clusters A and B and this could merit further exploration. In terms of accreditation, it will be worth exploring the kinds of unit which have been used with learners who require provision to help them build confidence before going on to tackle more standard skills-related provision. In looking at other forms of recognition, it may also be worth considering guidance programmes designed to tackle related issues, in particular the basics of employability. These may be found in schools, colleges or community education.
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