Sponsor
Portland State University. Department of Educational Leadership and Policy
First Advisor
Christine Cress
Term of Graduation
Spring 2020
Date of Publication
5-29-2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership: Postsecondary Education
Department
Educational Leadership
Language
English
Subjects
Experiential learning, Cooperative education, College students -- Employment
DOI
10.15760/etd.7345
Physical Description
1 online resource (vii, 204 pages)
Abstract
Student employees spend a significant amount of time at work. Prior research has primarily focused on the deleterious academic impacts on students, with little consideration of how student employment could be effectively framed as an educationally purposeful activity. This qualitative study explored how individual, social, and organizational factors influence learning while working on campus. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with undergraduate student employees who work within student affairs units. The findings indicate that on-campus employment is a site for learning; particularly competency development in communication, professionalism, problem solving, and leadership skills. Interdependent personal, interpersonal, and environmental factors of campus employment were identified as positively influencing these student learning outcomes. Further, four mediating factors were identified which intensified learning when experienced by student employees: work/life balance, applied learning, sense of belonging, and self-efficacy. A Campus Employment Reciprocal Learning Model is proposed to both explain the conditions that facilitate learning experiences in campus workplaces and offer a framework for practitioners to provide campus employment experiences that facilitate learning while working for undergraduate student employees.
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/33288
Recommended Citation
Dorman, Patricia Ann, "Where's the Learning in On-Campus Student Employment? An Inquiry into the Experiences of Undergraduate Student Employees" (2020). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 5473.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.7345