Part Time Working

The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0040-0912.htm ET
47,7

Support for working undergraduates: the view of academic staff

496

Susan Curtis
Manchester Metropolitan University, Crewe, UK
Abstract
Purpose – To investigate the attitudes of academic staff towards providing practical support for full-time students working on a part-time basis during term-time.
Design/methodology/approach – A case study of a rural faculty of a large metropolitan university in the UK. In-depth semi-structured interviews were held with 22 members of staff, drawn from every department in the case study faculty.
Findings – Support for working students is arbitrary and accidental. The majority of staff are unaware of the extent of student employment and of the possibilities of providing support.
Research limitations/implications – Only a small proportion of the total university staff were interviewed, coupled with the fact that the faculty is rural and therefore the sample may not be representative of the majority of universities which have city centre campuses.
Practical implications – Improved awareness of students’ total university experience on the part of academics may encourage practical measures to assist the undergraduates to cope more effectively with their dual roles of student and worker. However, some forms of support, such as greater flexibility in the timetable, may be very difficult, if not impossible, to accommodate.
Originality/value – No other research appears to have been carried out in the UK on this topic.
Keywords Undergraduates, Students, Employment, Part time workers, Academic staff,
United Kingdom
Paper type Case study

Education + Training
Vol. 47 No. 7, 2005 pp. 496-505 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0040-0912
DOI 10.1108/00400910510626349

Introduction

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