Placement or practicalities? Barriers and disincentives to work experience, as reported by computing students

Dr Ella Taylor-Smith, Dr Sally Smith, Dr Colin F Smith

@EllaTasm, @ComputingNapier

SRHE, Newport, 7th December 2017

Placement or

practicalities?


Work Experience Joint Study (WEJS)Edinburgh Napier University and University of Greenwich, Spring 2017

Placement or practicalities? Barriers and disincentives

to work experience, as reported by computing students

Background

• Shadbolt Review (2016) emphasises importance of work experience for

computing students.

• Also our own research –computing graduates with work experience moved

more quickly into graduate employment and earned more (Graduate Outcomes

project, article in preparation).

• Not all students can do work placements: limited positions and personal

constraints.

• Worry that access mirrors inequality in employment, e.g. according to ethnicity

and socio-economic background (Social Mobility Advisory Group, 2016).


Bourdieu: habitus, capitals, and playing the game

After Pierre Bourdieu (1977)

• Capitals —students’ background and the related resources available to them at

university (e.g. additional finance, contacts, support).

• Or lack of capitals —e.g. need to prioritise part-time job.

• Playing the game: importance of university activities beyond coursework,

including employability initiatives, placements, voluntary work, societies.

• Inspired by, e.g., the Paired Peers projects (Bathmaker, Ingram, & Waller,

2013)


Method

• F2f survey at 2 modern universities;

• N=140 undergrad computing students (70 in each university).

• Questions explore perspectives on and experience of work experience

(internships, placements, course-relevant paid and voluntary work).

• Includes open questions about:

– Potential drawbacks of doing work experience;

– Why the student has not done work experience in practice.

• Survey also includes some socio-economic questions.


Can you see any drawbacks to you of doing

work experience / a placement?None/ N/A (35%)

Loss of time (graduate out of sync with cohort; delay career & independence)

“Not graduating with fellow coursemates” (2nd year, University E)

“I'm living with my parents and keen to be independent” (3rd year, University S)

Money (give up PT job; delay well-paid career)

“Takes up time I could be working my way up a business and pay not as good”

(4th year, University S)

“Would have to leave PT job, which pays for my rent” (2nd year, University S)


Can you see any drawbacks to you of doing

work experience / a placement?Lose focus on studies

“I might struggle in the third year as I might forget some of the modules” (2nd year,

University E)

“Longer time away from studies. Lose the mindset” (3rd year, University E)

Lack of confidence in self

“May not meet the expectations of the company” (2nd year, University E)

“May be looked down on in the workplace if I don't know how to do something”

(2nd year, University E)

Problems with the placement

“Could potentially be a waste of time. In my case the drawback was not being

given enough work / responsibility at times” (4th year, University E)


If you haven’t applied for work experience,

please let us know why not?More concerned with specific constraints than disincentives.

Time to deal with application process

“Did not fit in with life (current job, as domestic within NHS, 15 hours a week). Got

emails about placements but didn't get round to responding” (4th year, University S)

“Already working and studying full-time, no time” (3rd year, University S)

Lack of confidence/ health

“Not confident enough. Don't think I have what people want me to have” (2nd year,

University S)

“Scared to apply. Worried about not having the ability” (2nd year, University S)

“Uncertainty and fear that it will negatively affect my health” (2nd year, University E)


If you haven’t applied for work experience,

please let us know why not?

Logistics/ responsibilities

“Couldn't do summer placement as wanted to go back to [home island] for the

summer” (2nd year, University S)

“I've got 2 small children and it wasn't flexible enough for me” (4th year, University S)

“Complicated family/ work” (4th year, University S)


Some quantitative results from the study


White, middle class students, whose parents had attended university, were a little

more likely to be offered placements.

A bit more context


Of these 140 students,

43 Uni E students and 41 Uni S students had applied for a placement.

Of these, 23/43 Uni E students and 2/41 Uni S students were non-white.

Uni E

Uni S

Conclusions / implications

• Students understand importance and benefits of placements;

• But their specific circumstances can make the following difficult:

– Application process (while busy with paid work, family and course-work);

– Finding a placement that fits their constraints;

– Finding good, paid placements in certain subject areas (e.g. games).

• Plus practical needs/ preferences to finish course asap.

• Plus bias in processes re background and ethnicity.


Current and further research

• Deeper and wider research to understand these issues in more detail,

especially biases and constraints.

• Extend survey to other universities.

• Qualitative research focusing on details and possible solutions.

• Need to work on specific suggestions to tackle these issues, if we want to

meaningfully widen participation, for our students, through university and

into successful careers.


References

• Bathmaker, A. M., Ingram, N., & Waller, R. (2013). Higher education, social

class and the mobilisation of capitals: Recognising and playing the game.

British Journal of Sociology of Education, 34(5–6), 723–743.

• Bourdieu, P. (1977). Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

• Shadbolt, N. (2016). Shadbolt Review of Computer Sciences Degree

Accreditation and Graduate Employability. London: BIS.

• Social Mobility Advisory Group (2016). Working in partnership: enabling social

mobility in higher education – the final report of the Social Mobility Advisory

Group. Universities UK.


Questions?

Dr Ella Taylor-Smith

Dr Sally Smith

Dr Colin F. Smith

School of Computing

Edinburgh Napier University

@ComputingNapier
