Abstract
PurposeBuilding on the self-efficacy theory and self-theories, the purpose of this paper is to investigate students working part-time whilst pursuing full-time higher education in Cambodia. It explores individuals’ part-time working activities, career aspirations and self-efficacy.Design/methodology/approachData were collected in a cross-sectional survey of 850 business and social sciences degree students, with 199 (23.4 per cent) usable responses, of which 129 (65.2 per cent of the sample) indicated they currently have a job.FindingsMultiple regression analysis confirmed part-time work as a significant predictor of self-efficacy. There was a positive recognition of the value of part-time work, particularly in informing career aspirations. Female students were significantly more positive about part-time work, demonstrating significantly higher career aspirations than males. Results also suggest that students recognise the value that work experience hold in identifying future career directions and securing the first graduate position.Practical implicationsThere are potential implications for approaches to curriculum design and learning, teaching and assessment for universities. There are also clear opportunities to integrate work-based and work-related learning experience into the curriculum and facilitate greater collaboration between higher education institutions and employers in Cambodia.Social implicationsThere are implications for recruitment practices amongst organisations seeking to maximise the benefits derived from an increasingly highly educated workforce, including skills acquisition and development, and self-efficacy.Originality/valueIt investigates the importance of income derived from part-time working to full-time university students in a developing South-East Asian country (Cambodia), where poverty levels and the need to contribute to family income potentially predominate the decision to work while studying.
Highlights
The incidence and value of part-time working to individuals, families and society has been subject to increasing focus, as a symptom of the recent global economic recession (Valletta and Bengali 2013)
The overriding purpose of this study is to examine the present state of students working parttime whilst in full-time higher education in Cambodia and explore individuals’ part-time working, career aspirations and self-efficacy
One of the questions we seek to answer in this study is the extent to which full-time students are engaged in part-time working and how important the income from such endeavour is to the students
Summary
The incidence and value of part-time working to individuals, families and society has been subject to increasing focus, as a symptom of the recent global economic recession (Valletta and Bengali 2013). It is apparent that university students often struggle to balance the range of conflicting demands on their time (Hall 2010; Moreau and Leathwood 2006; Ryan et al 2011), and as a consequence, the time dedicated to studies can be somewhat reduced (Harrison and Chudry 2011) Whilst this has led some to express concerns regarding the effect of students’ part-time working on academic performance (Curtis and Shani 2002; McVicar and McKee 2002; Neil et al 2004; Watts and Pickering 2000), agreement regarding any detrimental impact is not universal (see for example Green and Jacques 2001). This study contributes to this growing literature, by investigating the importance of income derived from part-time working to fulltime university students in a developing South-East Asian country, Cambodia
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