Sink or Swim: Employed First-Year Students and Persistence

• In Event: AERA Graduate Student Research in Progress Roundtable Session One
  In Roundtable Session: Understanding the Experiences of University Newcomers: Student Employment and Community College Transfers (Table 18)

Abstract

There is a consistent upward trend of undergraduate students who are working alongside their studies in higher education due to the rising cost of tuition and living expenses. However, it is yet to be determined whether student employment is beneficial or detrimental to a student's ability to persist toward graduation.

This study examines how employment impacts first-year student persistence at the University of Toronto as they go through this critical period of transition in their first semester. The researcher employed a narrative inquiry approach, conducting one-on-one interviews with first-year students to delve into the following research questions: 1. How does employment impact the first-year student transition into higher education? 2. What contributes to a first-year student's choice to participate in student employment? 3. What factors impact a first-year student's type of employment, purpose, and work intensity? 4. How do first-year students navigate time constraints related to concurrent employment?

Author

• Margaret Constance de Leon, University of Toronto
  Presenting Author