How much work can students take on along with full-time study?
Teachers may offer advice to help students determine a healthy balance between work and study.
You may find some students feel tired and inattentive in class as a result of working too many hours. Find out what the recommended work-hours are for students in different year groups.
Just how many hours a student can work depends on a number of factors:
- School year
- Family responsibilities
- Outside school interests
Independent research conducted for the NSW Teachers Federation (Think: Insight & Advice, "You're Gold If You're Fifteen Years Old", 2007) showed that half of all students in Years 10 - 12 work more than ten hours per week. These levels of part-time work are mirrored in overseas research.
The same research also showed that students who work the most hours are most likely to go to school feeling tired, fail to hand in assignments and to say that part-time work negatively impacts their overall school performance.
As a result of this research, the Teachers Federation advises that full-time high school students and their parents/carers should monitor their academic performance carefully if they work more than fifteen hours per week. The time of day at which the hours are worked can also impact on school performance. Late night shifts, combined with long hours spent at work are the most corrosive to school performance, according to the research. The most at-risk students according to the table below are the 23% of Year 12, 14% of Year 11 and 17% of Year Ten students who work more than 16 hours per week because they are also the ones most likely to work late night shifts.
The Teachers Federation advises that high school students and their parents/carers should monitor their academic performance if they work more than two shifts after 9 p.m. on Sunday to Thursday evenings.
Teachers can help students maintain solid school performance by encouraging them to monitor both the number of hours and number of late shifts students work.
Students can use the "Time Tamer" to help them keep track of how many hours they have worked, and when. This is useful from the perspective of both working students and teachers. Students need to keep a record of the hours they have worked to check against pay slips. For those students who may be struggling at school, the Time Tamer provides a way of monitoring the amount of hours worked and comparing that against academic performance. If you have a student you believe is working too much, the Time Tamer may be a useful tool in opening up a discussion.
Take a look at the Time Tamer.