Developmental significance of part-time employment for Irish adolescents

Abstract

Research in both Britian and the United States has established that paid employment is part of the normal experience of most adolescents in the middle and later years of schooling. Evidence is also available suggesting that such work may have an impact, sometimes beneficial and sometimes harmful, on the education of those who work, as well as on their social and cognitive development. Interpretation of research data is complicated by the fact that those doing least well at school may be most inclined to seek employment. Research on adolescent employment in Ireland has so far been limited, but it would appear that Irish children are about as likely to have part-time jobs as children in Britain. Since the possiblity of cultural differences makes generalization between societies problematic, it is proposed that research is needed on both the extent of adolescent employment in Ireland and on its educational and psychological impact.