Leaving School - Results From a National Survey Comparing School Leavers and High School Graduates 18 to 20 Years of Age - January 1995

Introduction

Since the 1970s, educators and analysts have been concerned about the transition from school to work, and the relevance of the school curriculum for employment. Part-time work was once considered a positive experience for students since it provided valuable job exposure and eased the entry into the labour force. Students with part-time jobs were commended for their initiative and industrious behaviour.

In fact, there has been a substantial increase in the proportion of high school students who hold part-time jobs during the school term. In 1976, 37% of high school students aged 17-19 were employed (monthly average). By 1991, this rate had risen to almost 50% and an even greater proportion, about two-thirds, worked at some time during the school year.

In recent years, educators have become concerned that having a part-time job may detract from academic success, in particular, it may increase the likelihood of leaving school before a certificate or diploma is earned. Research results have been contradictory. One study found that hours worked during the school year were an important predictor of dropping out, with the risk of non-completion increasing as hours of work increased.⁴² However, an earlier study found that students who worked less than twenty hours per week were more likely to remain in school than students who were not employed. ⁴³

Part-Time Work During The School Year

A majority of all students in the SLS held jobs during their final year of school, with employment slightly more common among graduates (66%) than school leavers (59%). This overall distribution, however, masks marked differences in the relationship between employment and school outcomes by gender and the amount of time worked.

Male leavers were much more likely than graduates to have worked twenty or more hours per week and half as likely to have worked less than twenty hours (Chart 6-1). Female leavers were only slightly more likely than graduates to have worked twenty hours or more per week but were much less likely to have jobs with moderate time demands, 16% compared with 40%. Unlike males, many more female leavers than graduates (54% versus 35%) had no job at all (Chart 6-1).

Chart 6-1
Part-Time Employment of Leavers and Graduates by Gender

Chart 6-1 Part-Time Employment of Leavers and Graduates by Gender

Statistics Canada School Leavers Survey

Work Involvement and School Leaving⁴⁴

The likelihood of high school non-completion appears to be influenced by the number of hours a student works. For both males and females, working moderate hours (less than 20 hours per week) was associated with the lowest school leaver rates. The effect of working many hours (20 or more hours per week), however, varied for males and females. Men who worked long hours had a higher leaver rate than men not working at all (33% versus 25%) whereas women working long hours had a somewhat lower rate than women not working (18% versus 22%). (Chart 6-2).

Chart 6-2
School Leaver Rates of 18-20-Year-Olds, by Number of Hours Worked and Gender

Chart 6-2 School Leaver Rates of 18-20-Year-Olds, by Number of Hours Worked and Gender

Statistics Canada School Leavers Survey

Work Involvement, School Experiences, Academic Performance and School Leaving

Academic performance, school experiences and school completion all appear to be closely related. Leavers were less likely than graduates to have had an A or B average in their final high school term (see Chapter 5). Leavers were far more likely than graduates to have had negative school experiences such as a lack of enjoyment or interest (see Chapter 4). Given the complex set of factors involved in determining the likelihood of non-completion, questions arise about the effect of work on the risk of school leaving.

For example, the lower risk of school-leaving associated with moderate work involvement among both men and women may indicate that a self-selection process is operating. That is, students who perform well academically, have positive school experiences, and participate in classroom and extracurricular activities may also have the extra energy for a job, and the motivation to keep part-time hours manageable. In contrast, students with lower school performance and negative school experiences may lack the necessary skills or the interest in employment, or may take on jobs with extensive time commitments as they begin to disengage from school in favour of work.

From Table 6-1 it would appear that a relationship exists between work involvement, school experiences and academic performance. Working moderate hours tended to be associated with positive school experiences and academic success. Given the apparent relationship between work involvement and school experiences and performance, the latter were held constant to determine whether or not working during the school term had any independent impact on school-leaving.

The reduced risk of dropping out associated with moderate part-time hours is not completely due to the larger proportions of motivated and successful students attracted to this kind of employment. When the effects of school experience and performance were removed, short hours were still associated with the lowest school-leaving rates for both men and women. Generally, the highest leaver rates for men were among those who worked long hours, while not having any job during the school year was associated with the highest leaver rates for women (Table 6-2).

Summary

It appears that part-time employment involving a moderate number of hours per week during the school year may promote behaviours and attitudes that lead to perseverance in school, regardless of students' academic performance levels and school experiences. Limited work involvement may serve to increase a student's self-esteem, and foster success-oriented behaviours such as punctuality, initiative, and hard work. In addition, most working students have low-level, low-paying jobs that hold little promise of future, full-time employment at a decent income level. This experience may convince many students that high school graduation is a necessary condition to access interesting positions with good earning potential.

**Table 6-1 Percent of Students With Positive School Experience or High Performance, by Work Status and Gender**
Experiences	Males			Females
Experiences	No Job %	Short Hours %	Long Hours %	No Job %	Short Hours %	Long Hours %
A or B Average	69	76	58	78	84	74
Enjoyed School	80	86	78	85	93	80
Found Classes Interesting	70	73	67	79	83	76
Participated in Class as Much or More Than Others	86	89	85	88	91	87
Participated in Extracurricular Activities	69	78	71	67	71	62

**Table 6-2 School Leaver Rates Associated With Work Status and Selected Characteristics, by Gender**
Selected Characteristics	Males			Females
Selected Characteristics	No Job	Short Hours	Long Hours	No Job	Short Hours	Long Hours
Enjoyed School % Yes	16	10*	25	16	6*	13
Found Courses Interesting % Yes	20	12	25	19	6*	16
Participated in Class % Average or Greater	21	14	30	19	6*	16
Participated in Extracurricular Activities % Yes	15	10	29	15	6*	15
School Grades % A/B	11	7*	21	9	-	12*

It seems likely, however, that intensive work involvement increases the risk of school-leaving for many students, particularly males, either because the balance between the time demands of school and work can no longer be maintained, or because long work hours are indicative of an underlying process of disengagement from school. Long hours may then reinforce the school-leaving process by providing tangible and immediate psychic and monetary rewards that outweigh the more abstract and long-term benefits of graduation.

⁴² Herbert W. Marsh. "Employment during high school: character building or a subversion of academic goals? ", Sociology of Education, Vol. 64, July 1991.

⁴³ Ronald D'Amico."Does employment during school impair academic progress?", Sociology of Education, Vol. 57, July, 1984.

⁴⁴ The leaver rates cited in this chapter are based on those persons aged 18 to 20 who were not in high school at the time of the survey. Excluded from the calculation were the approximately 241,000 18-to-20-year-olds who were still in high school at the time of the survey (continuers). For further information on this topic see Deborah Sunter, "School, work, and dropping out" , Perspectives on Labor and Income, Statistics Canada, Catologue 75-001, Summer 1993.

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