Precarity Before and During the Pandemic: International Student Employment and Personal Finances in Australia

There is mounting evidence of increased international student financial and work precarity over the last decade in Australia. Yet, there has been a little scholarly analysis of which students are most affected by precarity and its sources. Drawing on two surveys of international students in Australia's two largest cities, conducted before and during the pandemic, we investigate the financial and work vulnerabilities of international students. We demonstrate that vulnerability is related to characteristics which describe particular cohorts of students: being from low-income countries, working class families, seeking a low-level qualification, enrolled in a non-university institution, and being without a scholarship. The concepts of “noncitizenship” and “work precarity” are used to explain how the mechanisms of each characteristic heighten vulnerability, thereby contributing to a broader evidence-base about the causality of international student precarity.

Working and learning? Features of student employment during COVID-19

The literature contains ambivalent research findings on the impact of student employment on study careers. Previous findings also indicated that student employment plays a significant role in interrupting study (Kovács et al. 2019). In our exploratory research, we focused on exploring the employment characteristics of university students during COVID -19. The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of the epidemiological situation on young people's work. To what extent did the epidemic change students' attitudes towards work and study? The research involved university students who regularly work alongside their studies. The online survey was conducted between January and March 2021 (N=235). The majority of the students worked during the epidemiological situation. Contrary to our assumptions, they had no major, long-standing financial problems. An important question for educational research is the relationship between work and learning. A quarter of the respondents had work related to their studies. Some of the undivided student teachers may be considered an at-risk group because they had experiences during their employment that made them insecure about their degree. Our results also showed that students who have study-related work are more committed to a degree and less uncertain about finding a job in their chosen profession.

Evaluating changes in student health, wellbeing and social circumstances before and during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Australia

The impacts of COVID-19 have been felt on a global scale, with associated physical distancing restrictions and economic downturn having flow-on effects for mental health and wellbeing across the community, and for university students in particular. First-year pharmaceutical and medical science students completing a common introductory population health course at an Australian university are routinely surveyed at the beginning of the semester as part of the course. Survey data inform teaching approaches based on understanding the ‘real life’ commitments and health profiles of students, and deidentified data form part of the teaching material. The 2020 student cohort was invited to complete a second follow-up survey during COVID-19 physical distancing restrictions. A total of n = 126 students completed both the initial and follow-up surveys (50.6% response rate), and n = 99 (39.8% of the total cohort) consented for their data to be included in research. There was a non-significant decrease in student employment; however, 22% of all students reported loss of work due to COVID-19. There was a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of students undertaking sufficient levels of physical activity, and a statistically significant increase in reported family stressors associated with loss of employment or an inability to gain employment between March and May 2020. Two-thirds of respondents reported increased stress as an impact of the transition to online learning. Implementation of holistic strategies, incorporating attention to additional factors influencing students’ capacity to engage in study, and which may have long-term impacts across the life of the degree program, should be considered.

Student Employment and Education: A Meta-Analysis

Educational outcomes have many determinants, but one that most young people can readily control is choosing whether to work while in school. Sixty-nine studies have estimated the effect, but results vary from large negative to positive estimates. We show that the results are systematically driven by context, publication bias, and treatment of endogeneity. Studies ignoring endogeneity suffer from an upward bias, which is almost fully compensated by publication selection in favor of negative estimates. Net of the biases, the literature suggests a negative but economically inconsequential mean effect. The effect is more negative for high-intensity employment and educational outcomes measured as decisions to dropout, but it is positive in Germany. To derive these results we collect 861 previously reported estimates together with 32 variables reflecting estimation context, use recently developed nonlinear techniques to correct for publication bias, and employ Bayesian and frequentist model averaging to assign a pattern to the heterogeneity in the literature.

Features of Student Employment in the Hungarian-Romanian Cross Border Area

The aim of the research is to examine student employment, which plays an important role in the lives of university students. According to previous research results, paid work is characterized by an increasing tendency, with occasional and holiday work being characteristic of students, as well as regular work during the semester too. Current research focuses on the characteristics of gainful employment in the Hungarian-Romanian border region. The database PERSIST 2019 (N = 2199) was used, the research took place in higher education institutions in the eastern region of Hungary and in higher education institutions bordering the country. We investigate the differences between the demographic, social and institutional backgrounds of working students. We also analyze the relationships between effectiveness, engagement and student employment. According to our results there are differences between the institutions both in the frequency of employment and in the horizontal fit of work. Hungarian students take up work more often than Romanian students, but study-related work is more typical for Romanian students. However, paid work does not hinder the academic performance of the students and the building of relationships within the institution, it even has a positive impact on the students' university career.

A fizetett munkavállalás hatása a felsőoktatási hallgatók egyetemi pályafutására+

Összefoglaló. Az utóbbi évtizedek tapasztalatai szerint a nappali tagozatos felsőoktatási hallgatók fizetett munkavállalását növekvő tendencia jellemzi, azonban a kutatók nem jutottak konszenzusra az eredményességre gyakorolt hatásával kapcsolatban. Kutatásunk célja, hogy feltárjuk a hallgatói munkavállalás hatását az eredményességre és a tanulmányok iránti elköteleződésre. A Társadalmi és szervezeti tényezők szerepe a hallgatói lemorzsolódásban című NKFIH által támogatott kutatás (PERSIST 2019) adatai alapján (N = 2199) a rendszeresen dolgozó hallgatók eredményesebbek, mint a nem dolgozó társaik. Az elkötelezettség és az oktatókkal folytatott intenzív kommunikáció, kapcsolattartás terén nincs jelentős különbség a hallgatói csoportok között. Ebben a vonatkozásban azt láthatjuk, hogy a rendszeres munkavégzés nem gátolja az egyetemi pályafutásukat, s nem akadályozza meg az intézményen belüli kapcsolatok kialakítását. Summary. Research in recent decades has shown an increasing trend in paid employment for higher education students, but researchers have not reached a consensus on its impact on performance. The aim of our research is to explore the impact of student employment on academic performance and engagement to study. Based on data from PERSIST 2019 (N = 2199), students who work regularly are more successful than their non-working counterparts. Furthermore, there is no significant difference between the student groups in terms of engagement and intensive communication and contact with the lecturers. In this respect, we can see that regular work does not hinder their university careers, and nor does prevent the development of relationships within the institution.

Developing Prepared, Engaged Citizens Through High-Impact Student Employment Experiences

The rising cost of higher education has created a culture where student employment has become a necessity for students with unmet need. The institution itself often serves as the largest student employer annually on most college and university campuses. In addition to nurturing a student's intellectual breadth, campuses in today's competitive landscape must also prepare students for careers and civic life. Student employment programs help mitigate financial barriers to earning a college degree and, when reimagined, can help all students develop professional skills post-graduation, while also strengthening a student's sense of community and civic responsibility.

Co-Curricular Learning Across Campus

Prototyping is an essential part of the design thinking process and an important part of imagining the future of design thinking pedagogy. This chapter highlights prototypes of design thinking pedagogy that engage faculty, staff, and students at a liberal arts institution. The authors share the history of the social impact hub and various iterations of curricular and co-curricular collaboration connected to a social innovation pitch competition. The authors also highlight the value of collaboration between innovation spaces and career and life planning offices through meaningful student employment opportunities. Finally, the authors describe modules being piloted to infuse design thinking throughout the curriculum.