Are Students Who Work and Workers Who Go To School Different? Comparing Organizational Commitment
Kathleen L. Pereles
DOI: 10.2190/IE.12.4.f
Abstract
The escalating costs of postsecondary education for college students have resulted in a situation in which more than 50 percent of the students currently enrolled in colleges and universities are also working. While the educational literature reveals that there has been ongoing research on whether working affects academic attitudes and performance, there is little research on the consequences of studying on work attitudes and performance. The research project reported here uses an Organizational Commitment scale to compare the work attitudes of full-time students who work part-time and full-time workers who attend school part-time. The results reveal that although the Moral Commitment of full-time employees who are attending school is higher than the Moral Commitment of full-time students who are working, the absolute levels of both Moral Commitment and Alienative Commitment are indicative of a lack of commitment to the organization for both groups. The implications for research and practice are discussed.
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