Scottish Government

Chapter Two Methodology

2.1 The scope of this research is ambitious; it has involved a number of different elements and collected data from a wide range of sources. These included school pupils, parents, teaching staff, senior school managers, employers, local authorities, Careers Scotland staff and members of the Scottish Councils Education Industry Network ( SCEIN).

2.2 This chapter provides an overview of the various elements of the research, outlining each of the data sources, giving an explanation of the methodology adopted, the participants in the study and the contribution of the data source to the overall research. In a number of instances the material collected from the different data sources resulted in the production of a report. We draw on these reports in later chapters and the reports themselves are included as Appendices.

The sources

2.3 The key elements of the research were:

• a survey of school pupils across Scotland
• a survey of all local authorities in Scotland with respect to a review of legislation
• a survey of all local authorities in Scotland, through the members of the Scottish Councils Education Industry Network, with respect to views on the use of pupils' part-time work in schooling
• a survey of employers
• a set of Focus Studies in four local authority areas involving:
  • interviews and group work with a range of teachers
  • pupil focus groups
  • survey of parents/carers
  • interviews with Careers Scotland staff
• interviews with members of the Scottish Councils Education Industry Network across Scotland
• individual case studies of pupils in their part-time employment
• study of the use and recognition of part-time employment in an educational context
• study of enterprise research and initiatives

The survey of school pupils across Scotland

2.4 A primary aim of the research was to establish a national picture of the nature and extent of school pupils' part-time employment. This information was provided by means of a survey of pupils. The survey involved a random 10% sample of S3, S4, S5 and S6 pupils in secondary schools (both local authority and independent) across Scotland, providing a nationally representative sample. All local authorities in Scotland were involved in the survey and within each authority, 20% of schools were selected on a random basis. Within the independent sector 20% of the schools in Scotland were selected. The intention was to select a total of 88 schools and within each selected school to survey a random 50% sample of each of S3, S4, S5 and S6 pupils. Working from the school rolls for the previous academic year (2002-03), it was calculated that this approach would give a potential sample of approximately 20,700 pupils.

2.5 The research team was responsible for the design and piloting of the questionnaires and NFO Social Research had responsibility for their administration to pupils. The survey was administered on school premises and within the school day. This was viewed as the most practical way to ensure a high completion rate.

2.6 The survey asked pupils a range of questions about their part-time employment exploring such issues as the type of job, hours worked, the tasks they carried out and the training they received. Pupils were also asked about their reasons for working, or not working, and their views on their jobs. The survey covered a range of additional topics including: details of their curriculum and academic attainment; participation in enterprise in education activities; involvement in voluntary work; attitudes and skills in respect of enterprise career aspirations and plans and family background information.

2.7 The target sample of 88 schools was achieved. This comprised of 76 local authority and 12 independent schools. One of the local authority schools was a junior secondary and had no S5 or S6. In two of the independent schools not all the year groups were surveyed. In one school only S6 pupils were involved while the reverse was the case in the other school where all but S6s were surveyed.

2.8 The potential sample for this research was 20,700. The total number of usable questionnaires achieved was 18,430, providing a coverage of 89% of the predicted sample.

2.9 In summary, the pupil survey covered:

2.10 To ensure that the sample is geographically representative the data was weighted on the basis of the school rolls in each of the local authorities.

Survey of all local authorities in Scotland

2.11 As outlined in the introduction employment regulations vary according to the age of the school pupil. For those pupils aged 16-18 years of age the employment regulations define them as adult employees and as such they are covered by the relevant adult legislation in this area. Pupils aged sixteen or under are covered by a different set of regulations relating to child employment. Government legislation outlines the parameters within which this age group can be employed. Local Authorities are charged with implementing this legislation.

2.12 One of the aims of the research was to consider the views of significant factors regarding the principles and practices involved in recognising part-time employment. Since local authorities have a central role with regards to pre-16 year olds part-time employment a survey of their policies and practice was considered a necessary element within this research.

2.13 The 32 local authorities in Scotland were invited to provide copies of their existing bye-laws on child employment and to name a key person(s) who dealt with this issue within the authority. A questionnaire was forwarded to each named person. The questionnaire asked for detailed information such as the number of permits issued within different periods, and all participants were asked to complete and return the form within an agreed timeframe. Following receipt of the questionnaire a telephone interview was arranged. This interview reviewed the content of the original questionnaire but more importantly allowed for the collection of additional information on the opinions and views of the interviewees regarding their experience on policy and practice.

2.14 The questionnaire covered a range of issues including: systems used to monitor child employment, information available to the public, prosecutions and warnings, record keeping and staffing levels. The telephone interview included open-ended questions covering perceived effectiveness, changes that participants would propose and implications of formally recognising part-time employment. Requests were also made to supply the researchers with copies of any publicity material or information packs that their authority used with regard to child employment. However, not all local authorities had supplementary material which they could forward to us.

2.15 All 32 local authorities in Scotland agreed to participate in this part of the research and all provided information to the research team. While this constitutes a 100% return rate it is worth noting that there was some variation in the responses. In some cases the local authority had allocated the administration of child employment policy to the school level. It was not possible for the research team to survey all of the secondary schools within an area where local authorities had no central records. In such cases there may be missing information or only partial records available.

2.16 Independently of the above process, the researchers carried out a search of each local authority web site to explore the extent to which child employment related material was accessible, eg information on procedures, copies of byelaws, registration forms.

2.17 See Section G: Appendix 9: Child Employment: Policy and Practice in Scotland

The survey of employers

2.18 Traditionally research into school pupils' part-time employment has focused upon the supply side. The aims of this research required an understanding of the demand side of the equation. Specifically it was necessary to gain some awareness of employer's motivation for recruiting this group of employees, their employment practices, links with schools and their views on the value of part-time employment.

2.19 In the main survey pupils were requested to identify their employers but no contact details were requested. Based on this information business and telephone directories were used to identify the location and contact details of employers. A sample of employers was contacted to request their participation in a study about young people's part-time employment. The sample reflected the range and type of employment undertaken by school pupils.

2.20 A telephone interview was carried out with all employers who agreed to participate. The interview was based upon a standardised interview schedule. The schedule consisted of open and closed questions which covered the extent of their employment of school pupils; recruitment methods; induction and training; use of contracts; their involvement with local schools in work experience and other enterprising activities; their views on part-time work; and their opinion on the idea of recognising part-time employment.

2.21 The target sample was to interview 40 employers. In total 42 employers were interviewed, 40 were currently employing school pupils while the additional two employers had recently employed school pupils but were not doing so at the time they were interviewed. Table 2.1 provides a summary of the number of employers interviewed within four main employment categories. Employment such as babysitting was excluded from this element of the research given the rather unique nature of the employer-employee relationship.

Table 2.1: Employer Participation and Job Sector

2.22 The sectors are self explanatory with the exception of Miscellaneous. Research has shown that young people work in a wide range of jobs and some of these share common features allowing them to be grouped together, eg Retail. However, some pupils are employed in relatively unique jobs and we have grouped these under the Miscellaneous heading. In the present study this category includes nursing homes, leisure facilities such as swimming pools, a cycle maintenance business and a golf range.

2.23 To achieve the required sample a total of 110 employers were contacted. From this group 21 employers refused to participate in the study. A number of reasons were given for non-participation including not having the time and that they did not employ school pupils. In some cases the latter statement was clarified by indicating that they had employed school pupils in the past but were not currently doing so and were unwilling to participate in the research. In the case of the larger chain stores some managers indicated that they could not consider participation without clearance from their Head Office. The researchers contacted the relevant Head Offices but found it difficult to gain approval while others simply refused permission. As a result these larger stores are not represented in the sample.

2.24 One other group of employers is not represented in the sample. While a number of hairdressers were identified by pupils as employers all attempts to recruit them failed. This may be in part due to the nature of the business. The employers were typically busy with customers when contacted and could not stop to take part in the research.

2.25 See Section G: Appendix 10: School Pupils' Part-Time Employment: The Employer's Perspective.

Focus Studies in four local authority areas

2.26 To achieve the aims of the research there was a clear need to capture the views and opinions of teachers, senior school staff and parents, while allowing for a more in-depth exploration of the views of school pupils about part-time work. To achieve these goals the research design incorporated a set of Focus Studies involving teaching staff, senior school management, school pupils and their parents

2.27 The Focus Studies covered four local authorities. The selection of the four local authorities was based on a preliminary analysis of the pupil survey data. The authorities were selected to reflect: geography (urban, suburban, rural, remote rural), pupils' profile in respect of part-time work and enterprising attitudes identified from their survey responses; the nature of the local labour market; the presence of relevant initiatives; and socio-economic profile . Within each of these authorities, two of the schools that had been involved in the main pupil survey were invited to participate, giving a total of eight schools.

2.28 The focused studies had four distinct elements: (i) the school perspective; (ii) pupil focus groups; (iii) a survey of parents; and (iv) interviews with Careers Scotland staff.

(i) The school perspective

• Interviews were carried out with the Headteacher and the member of senior management staff responsible for enterprise in education. A small group discussion was carried out with Principal teachers.
• In total seven Headteachers and seven management staff responsible for enterprise in education were interviewed. A total of eight small discussion groups, comprising of 2-4 staff, were carried out with Principal Teachers.

2.29 The interviews covered a range of issues including dealing with pupils' part-time employment, the present and potential use of such experiences, the views on models of recognition, attitudes towards part-time employment. In the majority of cases interviews and group discussions were carried out by two members of the research team and where permission was granted the interviews/discussions were recorded. In cases where recording was not possible contemporaneous notes were taken by one of the research team.

(ii) Pupil focus groups

2.30 In total 48 focus groups were planned, two per year group for S4, S5 and S6. Pupils were invited to participate based upon their survey responses in the previous academic year (hence there was no S3 focus group). Within each year group two focus groups were convened, the Ever Worked Pupils and the Never Worked Pupils. The Ever Worked groups consisted of pupils who had indicated on their survey responses that they were currently employed or had worked at some time in the past. The Never Worked groups consisted of pupils who had never had a part-time job.

2.31 In constructing the focus groups two practical problems emerged. First there was a problem in recruiting S6 pupils to the Never Worked group, since many of them were either employed or had been employed. Second, since the focus groups took place a few months after the survey had been carried out a number of pupils had changed their work status. A total of 376 pupils participated in the focus groups. Table 2.2 provides information on the number of pupils participating in the focus groups and indicates the work status of the participants at the time of the survey and at the time of the focus groups. For example amongst the S6 pupils we identified 57 who had never worked at the time of the survey, however, when the focus groups were convened a number of these pupils had started part-time employment. The net result was that we were left with only 21 S6 pupils who had never worked.

Table 2.2: Changing work status: comparison of pupils' part-time work status at time of survey and focus group

2.32 The focus group materials were similar for each group and in addition to discussing a range of issues around part-time employment, pupils completed a short workbook to provide the researchers with additional material about their views on recognition and enterprise attitudes.

(iii) Survey of parents/carers

2.33 Within the focus groups each pupil was requested to provide contact details for one parent ² and give their permission for us to send this person a questionnaire. The bulk of pupils agreed to this (360 out of 376). Based on this information a short questionnaire was forwarded to the named carers with the aim of gathering their views on part-time work, recognition and the impact of part-time employment.

2.34 A total of 275 completed survey forms were returned providing a completion rate of 76% from this postal survey. This high return rate may be attributed to a number of factors. The initial; contact letters and also the questionnaires sent to parents were personalised by naming their son or daughter, secondly, all returned survey forms were entered into a prize draw and, finally, a series of telephone calls were made to parents to encourage them to complete and return their questionnaires.

(iv) Careers Scotland staff:

2.35 Within each local authority area the specific Careers Scotland staff linked to each of the eight schools was contacted to gather their views on part-time employment. A structured telephone interview was carried out with each career adviser. In total seven out of a possible eight career advisers were interviewed.

2.36 This element of the research is reported in:

Section G: Appendix 7: The Focus Studies: Pupil and Teacher Comments
Section G: Appendix 8: The Parent's Survey

Interviews with members of SCEIN

2.37 Each of the 32 local authorities in Scotland can nominate an individual to be a member of SCEIN. This network draws together a group of individuals who have been involved in education-industry work over a number of years including experience of the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative ( TVEI) and Education and Business Partnerships ( EBPs). All of the SCEIN members have enterprise in education within their remit.

2.38 The research team were of the opinion that it would be valuable to consider the views of this group with respect to the potential link between school pupils' part-time work and education.

2.39 In total 34 interviews were carried out. In a number of cases individual interviewees felt unable to respond to specific questions and referred the interviewer to another colleague. While all of these referrals could not be followed up a small number were.

2.40 Participants were approached with a request to be interviewed. If they agreed they were sent a copy of the survey tool along with some supplementary information. Interviews were then carried out by phone with the interviewer taking contemporaneous notes. The notes were later collated and analysed thematically.

2.41 See Section G: Appendix 11: School Pupils' Part-Time Employment: The Perspective of the Scottish Councils Education Industry Network Members.

The case studies

2.42 A series of case studies were undertaken with the aim of providing a greater level of insight into the experiences of young workers. A specific goal was to provide information on what they do in the workplace, the scope of their work and the skills that they use. Traditional methods of research, such as surveys, are not suited to accessing this type of information so a range of other methods were adopted for the case studies.

2.43 Each case study consisted of a number of discreet elements. These were:

Interview 1: This involved a semi-structured interview with a number of themes explored. Pupils were asked to provide information about the tasks they did at work, their views about the job and their workplace contacts and relationships. The interview was recorded.

Event Recording: Pupils were supplied with a mobile phone with the alarm function programmed to ring five times within a one hour period. At each of these time periods they completed a short form indicating what they were doing, who they were with and to indicate their level of satisfaction on a scale ranging from 1 (extremely unsatisfied) through to 10 (extremely satisfied).

Interview 2: This semi-structured interview was carried out to clarify the content of the event recording stage and to ask participants to indicate whether it had been a typical or atypical day at work. During this interview pupils were also asked about the skills they thought they may have gained from their work. The interview was recorded and transcribed.

Observation: With the agreement of the employer and employee an observer accompanied the pupil to their workplace. The observation lasted one hour. During this time the observer, using a digital recorder, described in detail the tasks that the pupil employee carried out. The observer contextualised the activities by recording the extent to which other people were working with the individual and the type of interactions involved eg serving a customer. The observer's narrative was then transcribed.

Employer interview: A structured employer's interview was carried out. This followed the template that had been used in the Employer's Survey regarding part-time employment. The aim was to interview employers in person, however, in some cases telephone interviews were used.

2.44 The target was to carry out 10 case studies, however, a total of 12 case studies were completed. The case study participants were recruited from one of the schools that had participated in the original survey. For practical reasons the school had to be in close proximity to the research team. The participants represented the dominant job categories identified in the survey findings and the table below provides a summary.

Table 2.3: Case Study Participants

2.45 All participants were thanked for their involvement and in recognition of the time committed to this part of the research participants were sent a voucher for a store of their choice.

2.46 See Section G: Appendix 12: School Pupils' Part-Time Employment: The Case Studies

Study of the use and recognition of part-time employment in an educational context

2.47 The research has been informed, not only by the backgrounds of the lead researchers, but by reviews and draft papers addressing key issues. The key elements of this study were:

• a review of the literature and practice on the usage and recognition of part-time work in educational settings nationally and internationally
• the development of models that might be used to recognise part-time employment.

2.48 See Section G: Appendix 13: Discussion Paper on Curriculum, Progression and Recognition.

2.49 See Section G: Appendix 14: Giving recognition to the outcomes of part-time employment undertaken by school pupils - a review of practice in the UK and internationally

Study of enterprise research and initiatives

2.50 There were two elements to this study:

• a review of the literature and of relevant initiatives relating to enterprise within an educational context
• a review of measures to assess enterprising attitudes, skills and behaviours; this then fed into the development of the measures used in the research to allow pupils to assess their enterprising attitudes.

2.51 See Section G: Appendix 14: Review of Measuring Enterprising Skills and Attitudes.

Definitions and variables

2.52 We provide an explanation of key terms and variables used in the research as they occur in the report but for convenience we include them in this final section of chapter 2.

Part-time work

2.53 Research on part-time employment has varied in its definition of the term (Hobbs and McKechnie 1997). For many, employment is paid employment in the formal economy. However, such definitions exclude a range of economic activities undertaken by young people. For example previous research has shown that 'babysitting' is an activity that many young girls undertake and failing to recognise this form of activity would underestimate the extent of part-time 'employment' of females. For this reason we include activities such as 'babysitting' and in this research; we define part-time work as 'any paid employment including family-based work'.

2.54 In the pupil survey, respondents were given the following instruction in the questionnaire about what to count as paid part-time work:

'When we ask about any part-time jobs we mean any paid part-time employment that you have, or have had, outside of school. This includes such things as newspaper delivery jobs, shop-work, selling goods door-to-door, babysitting and office or factory work etc. Please do not include work experience.'

2.55 Pupils were asked if they had a paid part-time job at present and, if not, whether they had ever had paid part-time employment since starting secondary school. When we refer to 'pupils currently in part-time work' or 'current worker', this means those who were in employment at the time the survey was administered; 'former workers' are those who did not have a part-time job when they were surveyed but have had one (or more) jobs during their time at school. 'Never workers' are those who have never had a paid part-time job at any time during their secondary schooling. We also use the term 'Ever worked' pupils. This category consists of the current workers and former workers combined and represents all pupils who have experience of part-time employment.

Certification/accreditation/recognition

2.56 In the research we use the term 'recognition' to include both the recognition of achievement through certification and also other kinds of recognition such as the use of part-time work to provide evidence of core skills or recording skills from part-time work in Progress Files and Personal Learning Plans. The term 'certification' is used to refer specifically to mean inclusion in the catalogue of awards made by an awarding body (normally, in this context, the SQA). We have tried to avoid the term 'accreditation' as far as possible in this research because it has so many meanings. One meaning covers the same ground as certification; a broader use would also include the formal awarding of credit for some outcome(s) of learning; and a third, more technical, use implies a process of quality assurance. In those instances where we do refer to 'accreditation', it should be understood to accord with the everyday meaning of giving formal recognition through discrete certification.

Enterprise

2.57 In this research we have followed the approach taken to enterprise adopted in Determined To Succeed which defined enterprise learning as intended to develop skills such as:

'problem-solving, independent and collaborative decision-making, evaluating risk and risk taking, using initiative and working with others. It is seen as encouraging positive attitudes towards creativity, confidence, self-esteem, self-reliance and respect for others.' (Scottish Executive, 2002a, p25)

2.58 While documents such as 'A Smart, Successful Scotland' (2001) recognise the need for more successful entrepreneurs in Scotland, being entrepreneurial is understood as showing in ways other than starting a profitable business and the associated skills have a wider application. The Evidence Report for Determined to Succeed acknowledged that there is a degree of overlap between the concepts of 'enterprise' and entrepreneurship' but entrepreneurship is seen as a subset of 'the broader matter of being enterprising' (Scottish Executive, 2002b).

Enterprising attitudes

2.59 As part of the research, we wanted to have some assessment of the extent of pupils' enterprising attitudes and skills. Given the nature of the research (for example, that this was only one small part if it), it was necessary to approach this via pupil self assessment. A key element of our review of enterprising measures was to investigate existing measures that we might use in the national survey of pupils. But the limited availability of suitable measures, in particular, ones able to be used in a self-completion questionnaire, meant that we had to develop questions ourselves based on our review of relevant literature and initiatives (see Appendix 15).

2.60 In the survey pupils were asked to respond to the following series of questions:

2.61 In most of the analyses we used an overall score which summarised how enterprising pupils thought themselves to be. From their responses to each of the 13 questions, we calculated a score as a way of summarizing how enterprising they thought themselves to be. A response of 'all the time' to a question was given a score of 3; 'some of the time' was given 2; 'not very often' was given 1; and 'never' was not given a value. We then examined the distribution of the total score to all 13 questions and divided it into quartiles to represent 'low'; 'quite low'; 'quite high' and 'high' levels of enterprising attitudes. This is the variable that we refer to as 'enterprising attitudes' and which we generally use in the analyses presented in the report.

Enterprise in education inputs

2.62 We use this term to cover a range of relatively discrete inputs that form part of enterprise in education. This covers activities in enterprise education, work-related learning and career education, and work experience, and is an adaptation of a measure which the research team has used in previous work ³. It should be noted that this does not cover all possible elements of enterprise in education (particularly those elements such as enterprising teaching and learning which might be embedded in the school curriculum) but reflects those areas that young people might be able to recognise and respond to in a self-administered questionnaire. In addition to considering each input in our analysis, we have created a total score (of 'enterprise in education inputs') and sub-scores (for example 'career-related enterprise in education inputs'). The questionnaire item is:

Social class

2.63 The measure of social class that we have used in the research is the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification ( NS- SEC); this replaced the Registrar General's Social Class and Socio-economic Groups and is the classification now used for all official statistics and surveys (National Statistics, 2005).

Ethnicity

2.64 The question on ethnicity that we used in the pupil survey was the question on ethnic group asked in the 2001 Census with the addition, at the request of the Scottish Executive, of the 'Gypsy/Traveller' group.

Disability

2.65 The question on disability in the pupil survey was based on the question used in the 2001 Census. This asked ' Do you have any long-term illness, health problems or disability which limits your daily activities or the work you can do?' We asked ' Do you have any disability which limits your daily activities or the work you can do now or after you leave school?' It should be noted that the pupil survey did not include special schools. However, it did include pupils with additional support needs who were attending mainstream schools, or who were in special units attached to mainstream schools into which they were integrated for part of their schooling.

Statistical significance

2.66 In both the descriptive analysis and the statistical modelling, we report results as statistically significant if they reach the 95% level of significance.