Researching New Zealand Polytechnic Degree Students’ Semester-time Paid Work and Study

Authors:
Edgar Burns, La Trobe University
Noel Yahanpath, Eastern Institute of Technology

Abstract: This study of part-time paid semester employment by undergraduate students at the Eastern Institute of Technology New Zealand  finds a high proportion of students in part-time paid employment,  62 percent compared to 81 percent in Manthei and Gilmore’s (2005) earlier study at Canterbury University. Replicating their work in a non-university tertiary setting adds another instance to the New Zealand evidence. The findings are discussed relative to policy frameworks in New Zealand and elsewhere that ignore such student employment changes and the consequences semester-time paid employment may have for tertiary engagement, retention and success.