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Education Sciences
Special Issues
Working Students in Higher Education
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Working Students in Higher Education

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "Higher Education".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 May 2024) | Viewed by 9326

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Claudia Andrade

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Guest Editor
1. Coimbra Education School, Polytechnic of Coimbra, 3030-033 Coimbra, Portugal
2. Center of Psychology, University of Porto, 4150-564 Porto, Portugal
Interests: work–family relations; gender; emerging adulthood; work and career
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Joana Lobo Fernandes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Coimbra Education School, Polytechnic of Coimbra, 3030-033 Coimbra, Portugal
2. Research Center for Natural Resources, Environment and Society, 3040-316 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: social responsibility; HEIs; organizational communication; applied ethics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Working students comprise a diverse and large portion of today’s Higher Education student population. The strategies that these students use for success (degree completion) involve individual, institutional, and structural factors. While research has found that work can have detrimental effects on students’ learning experiences, academic attainment, and social integration in Higher Education, other studies have found that work while studying can be an enriching experience that fosters students’ learning capabilities and promotes academic self-efficacy. The mixed results from previous research can only be analyzed if we consider that working students are a growing heterogeneous group and their experiences can vary across different groups and cultural contexts.

For this Special Issue, we welcome both theoretical and empirical papers drawing from quantitative and qualitative research, but not excluding mixed methods approaches that focus on how personal, institutional, and structural factors can affect working students’ ability to succeed in Higher Education.

Examples of relevant topics include but are not limited to:

  • Mature working students and academic learning;
  • Gender differences in combining work and study;
  • Age differences in combining work and study;
  • Combining work and study in different Higher Education levels (e.g., Bachelor, Master. and PhD);
  • Combining different types of work (e.g., full-time/part-time, in/off campus) with study;
  • COVID-19 impacts in combining work and study;
  • Working student parents and multiple role reconciliation;
  • Working student from under-represented groups (e.g., racial/ethnic minorities, immigrants);
  • Working students with disabilities;
  • Student unions and working students;
  • Support mechanisms implemented by HEIs to support working students (including strategies to make studies more flexible, e.g., institutional and teaching strategies);
  • Teaching using hybrid solutions (face-to-face/off-site) and their adequacy to working students.

Prof. Dr. Claudia Andrade
Prof. Dr. Joana Lobo Fernandes
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • working students
  • institutional support mechanisms
  • social support
  • strategies for academic attainment
  • diverse and under-represented groups

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 261 KiB  
Article
Mature Working Student Parents Navigating Multiple Roles: A Qualitative Analysis
by Cláudia Andrade, Joana Lobo Fernandes and Leandro S. Almeida
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(7), 786; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14070786 - 19 Jul 2024
Viewed by 439
Abstract
Managing multiple roles is considered a major challenge that mature working student parents face when they embrace the educational pursuit of enrolling in higher education. Limited research exists on mature working student parents that identify the strategies that concur for a successful journey [...] Read more.
Managing multiple roles is considered a major challenge that mature working student parents face when they embrace the educational pursuit of enrolling in higher education. Limited research exists on mature working student parents that identify the strategies that concur for a successful journey through their educational paths. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of mature working student parents balancing studies, work, and family. We conducted 11 semi-structured interviews with mature students enrolled in first- and second-cycle degrees in a higher education institution in Portugal. Thematic analysis was used, and findings demonstrated that working student parents develop diverse strategies to combine work, family, and studies and these strategies are shaped by the needs they have in each role and interconnect with the activation of social support. Recommendations for researchers and institutions to support the educational pursuits of mature working student parents to best suit their needs are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Working Students in Higher Education)
12 pages, 466 KiB  
Article
Faculty Support as Part of Faculty Strategy on the Academic Motivation of the Working Students
by Horia Mihai Raboca and Florin Cărbunărean
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(7), 746; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14070746 - 9 Jul 2024
Viewed by 423
Abstract
Working students are an important and diverse category within today’s higher education institutions. Part of the strategies necessary for the academic motivation of working students and implicitly the increase of their performance concerns a series of strategies that involve individual, institutional and structural [...] Read more.
Working students are an important and diverse category within today’s higher education institutions. Part of the strategies necessary for the academic motivation of working students and implicitly the increase of their performance concerns a series of strategies that involve individual, institutional and structural factors. This study investigates the relationship between working students perceptions of faculty support and their overall level of academic motivation (intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation or amotivation) grounded in self-determination theory. The findings indicated that there is a significant positive correlation between faculty support and the overall level of students’ academic motivation. At the same time, the results show that both psychological and functional support, as indicators of faculty support, have strong relationships with different types of academic motivation. In this sense, our results indicate that faculty support for working students has a strong positive relationship with students’ intrinsic academic motivation and respectively a weaker relationship with academic amotivation. These results show that any policy or strategy adopted by faculty decision-makers to help working students improve their academic motivation (performance) must include the provision of support on different dimensions (social, psychological and functional). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Working Students in Higher Education)
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19 pages, 273 KiB  
Article
Ensuring Equal Opportunities in an English-for-Specific-Purposes Course for Working-While-Studying Technical Students
by Irina Sergeevna Oblova and Irina Gennadyevna Gerasimova
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(7), 685; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14070685 - 23 Jun 2024
Viewed by 681
Abstract
The number of technical students combining work and studies has increased recently. More and more students decide to gain professional experience as early as possible, resulting in a lower attendance rate. This is highly relevant to master’s degree students who struggle to succeed [...] Read more.
The number of technical students combining work and studies has increased recently. More and more students decide to gain professional experience as early as possible, resulting in a lower attendance rate. This is highly relevant to master’s degree students who struggle to succeed in both academic and professional activities, necessitating research into academic attainment strategies. The paper describes the types of working students, their needs in English, and proposes a way to improve their academic achievement, including English proficiency. A series of tests and an interview were administered to a sample of 363 master’s degree students learning technical English. The chi-square test, Fisher’s test and the Mann–Whitney Z-test were employed in order to assess the language skills acquired by students in blended learning and offline classes, and to validate the designed blended ESP course featuring an e-course and classroom lessons. The findings of the research indicated that working-while-studying students enrolled in the blended course made more significant progress in their English skills, particularly in reading and writing, compared to non-working students who had only traditional offline lessons. The results provide insights concerning the benefits of blended learning to ensure equal opportunities for working-while-studying students and their ways of adapting to a changing learning environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Working Students in Higher Education)
11 pages, 241 KiB  
Article
“You’re a Mature Student and You’re a Tiny, Tiny Little Fish in a Big Massive Pond of Students”: A Thematic Analysis Investigating the Institutional Support Needs of Partnered Mature Students in Postsecondary Study
by Tricia van Rhijn, Caitlyn Osborne, Deborah Gores, Amiah Keresturi, Ruth Neustifter, Amy Muise and Victoria Fritz
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(11), 1069; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13111069 - 24 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2013
Abstract
Mature students in postsecondary education—those over 25 years of age, also known as nontraditional students or adult learners—make up a significant minority population on Canadian postsecondary campuses. Despite academic performance that tends to be higher than that of traditional students, the retention of [...] Read more.
Mature students in postsecondary education—those over 25 years of age, also known as nontraditional students or adult learners—make up a significant minority population on Canadian postsecondary campuses. Despite academic performance that tends to be higher than that of traditional students, the retention of mature students is lower due to the stressors they face in their home and school roles. This paper examines the insights of mature students and their intimate partners on how higher education institutions can provide better supports to make postsecondary programs and campuses more accessible to adult learners and enable their success. A sample of 25 mature postsecondary students enrolled in Canadian higher education institutions and their partners participated in dyadic interviews that explored the connections between their relationship and school experiences. A data-driven, inductive thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews found three themes that focused on the institutional support needs of partnered mature students, highlighting the need to (1) increase institutional knowledge and awareness of mature students’ needs, (2) offer flexible study options to complete courses and program requirements, and (3) provide relevant supports and programs. Mature students felt marginalized at their institutions related to the programs, instructors, staff, resources, and supports that are strongly focused on traditional-aged and circumstanced students. Recommendations are provided for higher education institutions to provide resources and supports that meet mature students’ unique needs to both access and be successful in their pursuit of postsecondary education. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Working Students in Higher Education)
9 pages, 278 KiB  
Article
School-Family and Family-School Enrichment: A Study with Portuguese Working Student Parents
by Cláudia Andrade and Joana Lobo Fernandes
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(10), 1024; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13101024 - 11 Oct 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1374
Abstract
In recent years, higher education institutions have progressively undertaken efforts to attract more diversified populations to their programs, both in the first and second cycles. These new groups include students who work professionally and who are parents. The literature that aims to address [...] Read more.
In recent years, higher education institutions have progressively undertaken efforts to attract more diversified populations to their programs, both in the first and second cycles. These new groups include students who work professionally and who are parents. The literature that aims to address the management of multiple roles of higher education students has mainly devoted its attention to the potential conflict of roles, with a scarcity of studies focused on the positive aspects that may result from this articulation. The present study aims to analyze the relationships between satisfaction with social support (in the academic/school, work, and family domain), satisfaction with role management and academic performance and school-family and family-school enrichment experiences. The study was carried out using a questionnaire, with 155 students working fathers/mothers allowed to identify predictors of school-family and family-school enrichment. The results provide a better understanding of the factors that contribute to a student role having a positive impact on other life roles, namely the professional role and the role of father/mother. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Working Students in Higher Education)
14 pages, 1457 KiB  
Article
Adapting as I Go: An Analysis of the Relationship between Academic Expectations, Self-Efficacy, and Adaptation to Higher Education
by Mafalda Campos, Francisco Peixoto, Rui Bártolo-Ribeiro and Leandro S. Almeida
Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(10), 658; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12100658 - 28 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3024
Abstract
Transition to higher education is increasingly becoming a common stage in young adulthood, which highlights the importance of studying what could contribute for a better adaptation to higher education. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between academic expectations, self-efficacy, [...] Read more.
Transition to higher education is increasingly becoming a common stage in young adulthood, which highlights the importance of studying what could contribute for a better adaptation to higher education. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between academic expectations, self-efficacy, and adaptation to higher education during the first two years of college (i.e., the first two years of a higher education degree). Portuguese college students participated in a longitudinal data collection resorting to the Academic Expectations Questionnaire (T1 and T3), the Self-Efficacy in Higher Education Scale (T2 and T3), and the Questionnaire for Higher Education Adaptation (T2 and T3). Structural equation modeling analysis was conducted to test a model correlating academic expectations, self-efficacy, and adaptation, as well as a mediation model where a full mediation of self-efficacy was observed between the relationship between academic expectations and higher education expectations. This study delivers a unique longitudinal view on the experience of the first two years of college, showing a significant role of expectations and self-efficacy in order to achieve a better adaptation process. Results are useful for institutions to adapt the way they present themselves and manage students’ expectations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Working Students in Higher Education)
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