Part-Time Work During Post-Compulsory Education and Examination Performance: Help or Hindrance?

This paper examines the effects on examination performance of having a part-time job whilst in full-time post-sixteen education, using new data on young people in Northern Ireland. Around 35% engaged in part time employment during their education spell, compared to over 60% found by recent GB studies. This may be related to Northern Ireland's comparatively slack youth labour market and might reflect part-time employment levels in other peripheral regions. Our estimations suggest working part-time per se is not detrimental to examination performance, although working long hours is. Policy makers might improve educational performance by reducing incentives to work long hours. Copyright 2002 by Scottish Economic Society.

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