Tài liệu A study of impact of part time jobs on student''s performance(nghiên cứu về những ảnh hưởng của công việc bán thời gian đến quá trình học tập của sinh viên)

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHỆ ĐỒNG NAI BÁO CÁO TỔNG KẾT ĐỀ TÀI NGHIÊN CỨU KHOA HỌC CẤP TRƯỜNG A STUDY OF IMPACT OF PART-TIME JOBS ON STUDENT'S PERFORMANCE (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ NHỮNG ẢNH HƯỞNG CỦA CÔNG VIỆC BÁN THỜI GIAN ĐẾN QUÁ TRÌNH HỌC TẬP CỦA SINH VIÊN) Mã số: TR:2020-01/NN Chủ nhiệm đề tài: ThS. Huỳnh Như Yến Nhi Đồng Nai, Tháng 3, 2021 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHỆ ĐỒNG NAI BÁO CÁO TỔNG KẾT ĐỀ TÀI NGHIÊN CỨU KHOA HỌC CẤP TRƯỜNG A STUDY OF IMPACT OF PART-TIME JOBS ON STUDENT'S PERFORMANCE (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ NHỮNG ẢNH HƯỞNG CỦA CÔNG VIỆC BÁN THỜI GIAN ĐẾN QUÁ TRÌNH HỌC TẬP CỦA SINH VIÊN) Mã số: TR:2020-01/NN Chủ nhiệm đề tài (ký, họ tên) Đồng Nai, Tháng 3, 2021 DANH SÁCH THÀNH VIÊN THAM GIA NGHIÊN CỨU ĐỀ TÀI STT Họ tên Vai trò 1 Huỳnh Như Yến Nhi Chủ nhiệm đề tài 2 Nguyễn Ngọc Lynh Đan Thành viên 3 Vũ Công Tài Thành viên 4 Nguyễn Văn Tú Thành viên MỤC LỤC THÔNG TIN KẾT QUẢ NGHIÊN CỨU ĐỀ TÀI NGHIÊN CỨU KHOA HỌC CẤP TRƯỜNG ................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Thông tin chung: ..................................................................................................................... 1 2. Mục tiêu: ................................................................................................................................. 1 3. Nội dung chính: ...................................................................................................................... 1 4. Kết quả chính đạt được: .......................................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 3 1.1. Background of the study .................................................................................................. 3 1.2. Aim of the study .............................................................................................................. 4 1.3. Research questions .......................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................... 6 2.1. Definitions of terms ......................................................................................................... 6 2.2. Review of related literature ............................................................................................. 6 2.3. Conceptual framework of the study ................................................................................ 8 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...................................................................... 11 3.1. Context of the study....................................................................................................... 11 3.2. Research design ............................................................................................................. 11 3.3 Research tool .................................................................................................................. 12 3.4 Data collection procedure ............................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ...................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 18 References ................................................................................................................................ 19 THÔNG TIN KẾT QUẢ NGHIÊN CỨU ĐỀ TÀI NGHIÊN CỨU KHOA HỌC CẤP TRƯỜNG 1. Thông tin chung: - Tên đề tài: A Study of Impact of Part-Time Jobs on Student's Performance (Nghiên cứu về những ảnh hưởng của công việc bán thời gian đến quá trình học tập của sinh viên) - Mã số: TR:2020-01/NN - Chủ nhiệm đề tài: Huỳnh Như Yến Nhi Điện thoại: 0933055089 Email: [email protected] - Đơn vị quản lý về chuyên môn: Khoa Ngoại ngữ - Thời gian thực hiện: Tháng 07/2020 đến tháng 03/2021 2. Mục tiêu: Mục đích của đề tài này là tìm hiểu những ảnh hưởng tác động của việc sinh viên làm công việc bán thời gian. Đối tượng nghiên cứu là sinh viên của trường Đại học Công nghệ Đồng Nai. Từ các nghiên cứu trước đây, có thể thấy rằng việc làm bán thời gian rất phổ biến ở nước ngoài, nhưng khi bắt đầu xu hướng này ở Việt nam, hầu hết sinh viên làm thêm chiếm quá nhiều thời gian học tập và phần lớn sinh viên đều làm công việc bán thời gian trái với ngành nghề được đào tạo ở trường đại học, điều này có thể ảnh hưởng tiêu cực đến kết quả học tập của sinh viên. Chính vì vậy, đề tài NCKH của nhóm tác giả mong muốn tìm hiểu và cung cấp cái nhìn sâu sắc về tác động của công việc bán thời gian đối với kết quả học tập của sinh viên bằng cách tìm hiểu những lý do vì sao nhiều sinh viên chọn đi làm thêm; Những tác động tích cực đến kết quả học tập của sinh viên khi họ có một công việc làm thêm; và Những ảnh hưởng tiêu cực đến kết quả học tập của sinh viên khi đi làm thêm. 3. Nội dung chính: Đề tài đã sử dụng dữ liệu từ cả nguồn thứ cấp và sơ cấp. Dữ liệu thứ cấp đã được sử dụng để chuẩn bị khung khái niệm của nghiên cứu. Để thu thập dữ liệu sơ cấp, một cuộc khảo sát đã được thực hiện giữa các sinh viên trường Đại học Công nghệ Đồng Nai (n = 50). Đề tài nghiên cứu đã đặt ra 20 câu hỏi cho những người được hỏi, bao gồm thông tin cá nhân, chuyên ngành, hoạt động việc làm, kế hoạch nghề nghiệp tương lai, v.v. Nhóm nghiên cứu chỉ khảo sát những sinh viên đã tham gia làm việc bán thời gian trong thời gian khảo sát. Tổng số 50 bảng câu hỏi cuối cùng đã được 1 chấp nhận sử dụng. Chi tiết về các câu hỏi và câu trả lời đã được trình bày trong phần kết quả. Đề tài nghiên cứu đã cố gắng tìm hiểu xem sinh viên có nhận thức được tác động của việc làm thêm hay không. Khi làm như vậy, chúng tôi đã hỏi những người được hỏi rằng công việc ảnh hưởng đến kết quả học tập của họ như thế nào. Chúng tôi nhận thấy rằng hầu hết những người được hỏi đều biết rằng vì công việc họ sẽ không có đủ thời gian để học. Dữ liệu khảo sát chỉ ra rằng sinh viên cảm thấy mệt mỏi và không có đủ thời gian để học trong khi làm công việc bán thời gian. Tuy nhiên, nếu xét về nghề nghiệp của họ sau khi tốt nghiệp, làm công việc bán thời gian trong quá trình học tập dường như là cách duy nhất để có được kinh nghiệm làm việc và phát triển các kỹ năng cho việc làm trong tương lai. Các khóa học đại học yêu cầu đủ thời gian để lĩnh hội những kiến thức phức tạp để vượt qua các bài tập và kỳ thi. Vì vậy, việc quản lý thời gian và cân bằng giữa công việc và học tập là rất cần thiết đối với sinh viên. 4. Kết quả chính đạt được: Đề tài nghiên cứu này nhằm xem xét tác động của việc làm thêm trong quá trình học đối với sinh viên trường Đại học Công nghệ Đồng Nai. Một cuộc khảo sát đã được thực hiện để thu thập dữ liệu sơ cấp và nhóm nghiên cứu nhận thấy rằng sinh viên hầu hết làm việc trong ngành dịch vụ với mức lương thấp hơn. Đa số sinh viên làm việc tại các nhà hàng, trung tâm tiếng Anh hoặc các cửa hàng có mức thu nhập nhân viên cao hơn. Hầu hết công việc không liên quan đến chuyên ngành đào tạo của họ. Nhiều sinh viên làm việc nhiều giờ hơn thời khóa biểu chính khóa trên trường. Tình trạng này không chỉ làm giảm thời gian học tập mà còn khiến các em cảm thấy quá mệt mỏi, khó tập trung vào việc học. Sinh viên có kế hoạch học tập sẽ biết cách quản lý thời gian như thời gian học, thời gian đi làm và sẽ giúp sinh viên có được những kỹ năng công việc và kỹ năng giao tiếp xã hội cần thiết. Một số sinh viên phản ánh cảm thấy tự tin hơn trong giao tiếp khi có các công việc làm thêm. Kế hoạch học tập có thể giúp sinh viên quản lý tốt việc học và làm việc của mình. Các nhà quản trị giáo dục bậc đại học có thể xem xét lồng ghép những khóa học về quản lý thời gian, thực hành kế hoạch học tập để sinh viên ý thức hơn và thực hành cách cân bằng hiệu quả giữa công việc làm bán thời gian và việc học của mình. 2 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the study Part-time employment is becoming quite popular among young generations, especially among college and university students of Viet Nam. Youth is the time of working and youth represented by students. Part-time job works as a first step of starting to work, dream and leads one towards a better life. Working alongside studies is beneficial for students. In the article “Importance of Part-time employment” Paul Hubert Casselman asserts that students are one of the major parts of part-time employment and it also helps students to be experienced. Money is a major factor working part-time but experiences which students gather through the job cannot be ignored (Casselman, 2014). Part-time job means people do not need to occupy themselves for the whole day but more or less they will enjoy the benefits of having a job. In the broad sense, part-time employment includes all paid work performed in addition to a full-time job or occupation; it generally excludes seasonal employment or employment which recurs at certain times of the year, such as summer or Christmas holiday work by students or teachers (Casselman, 2014). Basically, part-time job is just the thing for students. It is very much popular among students. Generally, a person started to learn after his birth, but lesson and experience of youth is the main pillar of one’s career and life. The trend of employment among university students has been increasing rapidly in the last decade. Some suggest that economic reasons are mainly the factor for this trend. With an increase in the number of students taking part-time job outside campus, its effect on students’ academic performance of students has been questioned by many researchers. Issues such as the number of hours worked, whether the student’s jobs pertain to their majors, and student’s workloads have been discussed and scrutinized to see the relation between taking part-time jobs and academic achievement (Watanabe, 2005). Furr & Elling, (2000) suggest that there are many reasons why students take a part time job. First, financial problems become mostly reasons for some of students forced to take part time jobs. The average yearly costs of education and living continue to increase in Vietnam. Secondly, students’ involvement in employment has positive 3 impact to develop career-related skills. It is hands-on experience that cannot be gained in the classroom alone. Whatever the reasons the students have in taking part time job, there is a popular belief that students with part-time job do not tend to have higher academic achievement, because their focus time of study has been divided with their working time. Better academic achievement only can be achieved by students who spend more time on academic related activities outside of class; e.g., reading the text, completing assignment, studying, and preparing reports. The trend of part-time job is very common in abroad, especially in Vietnam. There are two opinions regarding the impact of part-time work on students’ academic performance. While one group of researchers claims that students gain work skills and experience from job, other group believes that spending too much time on job distracts students from study which contributes to poor academic performance in school. But whether the impact of part-time work would be positive or negative on the students’ academic performance depends on the balance of time between work and study. So far, researches on the involvement of students taking part-time jobs have largely been conducted at universities in developed countries. Little, if any, has been reported on this issue when it comes to university students in developing countries like Vietnam. Therefore, the researcher sees the need to explore the issue of students’ involvement in part-time jobs at Dong Nai Technology University. It is located in the Dong Nai province, one of Viet Nam’s main manufacturing centers. 1.2. Aim of the study The aim of this study is to explore the consequence of students getting engaged in part-time work alongside their studies. From previous studies, the researcher found that part-time employment is very common in abroad, but at the very beginning of this trend in our country most of the part-time employees were full-time graduates. The survey and data shows at present maximum number of the students are fond of spending longer time in their jobs rather than studying. Moreover, this paper will try to give an idea about the outcome of combining studies and part-time job together. 4 1.3. Research questions The study aims at providing insight to impact of part-time job on students’ academic performance by considering the following questions: 1. Why do many students choose to have a part-time job? 2. What are the positive effects on students’ academic performance when they have a part-time job? 3. What are the negative effects on students’ academic performance when they have a part-time job? 5 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Definitions of terms According to International Labour Organization (2003) part-time job is a form of employment that carries fewer hours per week than full-time job. Workers are considered to be part-time if they commonly work fewer than 30 or 35 hours per week. When it comes to the length of time spent in part time job, different countries have different amount of working hours. In Australia, (2007) part-time employment is employees that work fewer hours than the full time counterparts within a specific industry, and mostly the time worked is less than 32 hours per weeks. In Canada (2007), employee that is considered as part-time is the one who usually works fewer than 30 hours per week at their main or only job. Almost the same, according to the Statistic of Labor Bureau, working part time is defined as working between 1 and 34 hours per week. Unlike full-time employees, part time employees may not have the entitlement given to those working full time. For example, in the United States (2009) part time employees are not entitled to employee benefits, such as health insurance. From the definitions mentioned earlier, it can be concluded that students with part-time job can be defined as students working during semesters, with less than 20 working hours per week. Despite the variation of the amount of working hours, it is common to see students work full time during semester break. 2.2. Review of related literature Many students have part-time jobs during their academic years. Both the positive and negative impacts on students’ course performance from their term-time works have presented by many researches. Derous & Ryan, A.M, (2008) assert that part-time work also has advantages for students’ academic outcomes and preparation for the future career when the job relevant for students’ major and ran in a balanced way. Both students’ study attitudes and performance benefited more when working hours was combined with high autonomous motivation to perform the job, more specific, most positive effects would from the combination of low working hours and high job demands. Their research 6 found plenty of information to illustrate the impact of employment and leisure activities on students’ study attitude and well-being, while fewer significant effects on the aspects of academic performance. Also, sample chosen there were psychology students, mostly white and female, therefore limit the general covering for other group of students. On the contrary, part-time jobs can destroy one’s career and study. Some environment of working places is not friendly for students. Job in bar, pub or places like these are harmful for students. Sometimes they got bad company here and rather than investing their time in productive work, they kill their time and also get involved in illegal works. In addition, money is the major factor in par-time job; this is why some students tend to think if they can make money without having any degree then what is the point of working hard for study? Ultimately, after getting a degree people start working for money, which anyone can do without a degree. That is why gradually they lose the desire of studying. Researchers Herbert Marsh and Sabina found that working part-time declines students’ grades, their academic and career goals get lower and most importantly they likely to miss the classes (Anderson & Demand, 2014). Furthermore, high school students who work part-time became unsocial and sometimes they felt left out and isolated from friends; found in another study (Anderson & Demand, 2014). As has been stated earlier that it depends on the person how one balanced both study and job together. Mccoy & et al. (2009) also agreed to this that if one wants to do job then that person will definitely manage time job without hampering study. Concerns on the effect of part-time jobs towards students’ academic performance do not come out of thin air. Most researches indicate that there is a detrimental effect on academic achievement if secondary students work for over 15 hours a week (Stern, 1997). Such students have lower grades, do less homework, are more likely to drop out, and are less likely to enter post-secondary education. Those students who work fewer hours suffer several negative consequences. These finding are supported by a Toronto study showing that students working more than 20 hours had a 16% dropout rate, and those who worked longer than 20 hours has even bigger drop-out rate of 33% (Cheng, 1995). 7 Sighn, (1998) in his study which factored in socio-economic status and previous achievement states that the more hours worked the greater negative effects on student achievement. The consequences for young students working longer hours could be more severe than for older students (Barone, 1993). Many students who work find some problems balancing school and work demands (Worley, 1995). Many who work part-time have limited participation in extra-curricular activities (Hope, 1990). Many researches indicating that employment have negatively affected students’ academic achievement stated that an increase in the amount of hours worked of the most influence factors (Watanabe, 2005). Intriguing findings have been put forward by The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 1994), which is run by the U.S. Department of Education and Marx and Dundes (2006). NCES found that students working 1-15 hours weekly have a significantly higher GPA than both students working 16 or more hours and students who do not work at all. The NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education. Many sources concluded that working less than 15 hours per week had little or no effect on students’ academic achievement. Following an in-depth study of the topic, included in the journal of human resources, (Ehrenberg & Sherman, 1987) stated, “We do not find any strong evidence… that hours of work during the academic year in the range that student worked significantly reduced grade point averages.” Dundes & Marx (2006) reported that 74% of student-workers believed that employment forced them to become more efficient. Despite this fact, it is also reported that 64% of students working part-time also have a higher of stress level. The positive effects of on-campus employment are due to enhanced integration with the institution, including involvement with other students and with faculty (Furr & Elling, 2000). In addition, on campus jobs often include responsibilities with academic components. 2.3. Conceptual framework of the study According to above mentioned studies, there are several reasons which drive students to have part time employment. Most of the students think that their study costs are higher than that they expected. Parents feel stressful to pay the expensive 8 tuition fees and other living costs. Thus, they try to find ways to finance their own studies and to save money. They are mainly employed in the hospitality or retail industries which have high staff turnover. Part time work for students has advantages as well as disadvantages. Understanding the positive and negative consequences of taking a part time job is important for students. Studies show that students who have study time employment do better in study and score better academic results than other students who do not work. Part time job could bring extra income and help university students to gain working experience. The most important part is skillset, such as working in an industry is a good way to improve communication skills, teamwork skills and learn about time management. Students also have chance to meet new friends. But students may feel sleepy and reduce time from study, thus it is a real challenge to balance between part time job and study. Some students may feel hard to complete assessment and be absent from class. It is essential that students should have a reasonable number of working hours and try their best to balance between work and study related responsibilities. The above studies further reveal that students from different backgrounds have different perspective and attitudes towards part time employment. There is an opinion that there are several reasons drive students to do part time work and it does affect academic performance to some extent. First, expensive university tuition fee becomes an economic burden to many families, especially more expensive for international students. Students earn money through hard work from part time job to reduce financial pressure of their family. And second, it is a fact that the university is a bridge links to future of a professional career but the reality of employment is that job seekers receive preference with past working experience. It is even harder to find jobs for international students whose mother tongue is not English. To consider about the career after graduation, doing part time job after school seems the only way to obtain work experience and to develop job skills. University courses require enough time to comprehend complex knowledge to pass assignments and examinations. Thus, it is a severe test for students to manage time and balance between work and study. Students who do part time job generally have the following arguments in favor of their benefits. First, to achieve self-worth. In school, not every college student is brilliant, sometimes face the loss of self-worth and mental anguish. For this reason, some college students find another way to select the 9 right road to rediscover the share of feeling in this area. Second, earning money. Money is not everything but no money not acceptable in life. This concept is applicable to college students to pursue practical psychology and emphasizing selfreliance. Especially students from poor families do not want to meet tuition fee and living cost from their parents. Therefore, choose to become a part-time tertiary student which is an important way to solve the huge expenditure. Third, exercise self. Currently, a prominent issue is the employment of college students’ face. This is an unavoidable choice. For this reason, college students will exercise their space is not limited to the campus and increasingly plunge into the colorful social life. Part-time college students in order to exercise the ability to obtain social experience for future job increase eligibility. Experience is the second qualification in the market and as the market matures and business managers are increasingly employing the concept of rational, this education of gold be gradually increased. Part-time work has some more advantages for students such as it helps to solve the economic difficulties of many tertiary international students, to improve the viability of the self; but at the same time, the downside is very obvious, such as the employer's too harsh, so that students and career and income is not hard to pay proportional, and some even cheap labor. And part of normal academic impact on students’ performance cannot be ignored. Then the simple question is why are so many students choose to work part time? Existing literature further suggest that while some people claim that students gain work skills and experience from job, others believe that spend too much time on part time job distracts them from study and results in poor school performance. Whether students could balance between work and study, will impact on their academic performance. There is a difference on the results between domestic students and International students. The Vietnamese government allows an international student to work maximum 20 hours per week. This situation demands to examine the benefits and costs of part time work, and how the students balance the time between work and study. This study aims to answer this question. 10 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1. Context of the study Dong Nai Technology University (DNTU) is the research context for this study. Dong Nai Technology University was founded on June 16, 2011 as a result of the upgrading of Dong Nai Technology College in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam. Overcoming the difficulties and problems of its early years, Dong Nai University of Technology continues to develop new facilities and equipment, as well as adequate training programs and is frequently upgraded, with highly trained management and technical personnel serving the transformation and industrialization of Dong Nai province and its environs. Dong Nai Technology University has enrolled 17 majors for Bachelor’s Degree and 2 majors for Master’s Degree. Per year, the number of students grows in both quantity and consistency. Those numbers accurately represent the DNTU's efficacy and potential for preparation. Since Vietnam is now in the process of merging with its neighbors and other countries around the world, the English language has become increasingly important in a world where cultures and languages are diverse. As a result, the Faculty of Foreign Languages (FFL) in DNTU is considered as one of the top destinations because it offers students good training programs and great learning opportunities for English majors. FFL has currently about 800 students from year 1 to year 4. The students come from many regions in Vietnam and choose English language as their major. 3.2. Research design The study has used data from both secondary and primary sources. Secondary data have been used to prepare the conceptual framework of the study. To collect primary data, a survey was conducted among the students at Dong Nai Technology University (n = 50). The study has asked 20 questions to respondents which included their personal profile, study area, employment activities, future career plan, etc. The researchers have interviewed only who were involved in part time work during survey time. Total 50 questionnaires were finally accepted to use. Details of questions and responses have been presented in findings section. 11 3.3 Research tool To answer research questions, the researchers used survey questionnaire. The main purpose of the questionnaire is to extract data from the respondents. It's a relatively inexpensive, quick, and efficient way of collecting large amounts of data even when the researcher is not present to collect those responses first hand. In this research, the author intended to use the questionnaire for collecting quantitative data. The structure of the questionnaire is as follows: Part one: Personal information of the respondents This questionnaire covered the background to the respondents ' personal information. Demographic details include male, female, gender, age, grade. Part two: Questions for survey The aim of this section is, in particular, to answer the research questions of this research, by using 10 questions on the problems of English communication skills, using the Five-Point Likert Scale to measure 100 participants’ replies, consisting of five choices: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree. 3.4 Data collection procedure The researchers posted the questionnaire onto Google docs, and sent it to students to get the answers from them, and the time to complete the questionnaire is in 3 weeks (30/1/2021 to 20/2/2021). After 3 weeks to complete the survey, the researchers transcribed all the results of each participant. Excel was used to help the author analyze the research data in this study. 12 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION This chapter presents findings of the study. About 60% of respondents was male and 40% was female. This ratio is consistent with the real picture of Dong Nai Technology University. The study found that the most common job that available for students to do as part time are sales, waiter/ waitress, tutor, cashier, teacher and assistant. Many of them work in restaurants, takeaway outlets, English center and shops. The turnover of those kind of jobs are quite high. Many companies would like to hire the students as a part time worker due to the low wage payment. As the purpose of the study is to examine the impact of part time work on the students’ academic performance and, generally they work in industries such as hospitality and tourism, the study intended to know whether the work was related to students’ career interest. Only 24% of the respondents said that the work was related to their study discipline. The rest 76% respondents informed that the work was either partly related to the study discipline or not at all related to it. This scenario tells us that income is the priority for most of the international students while they study to meet their study related costs. The researcher tried to understand the students’ level of satisfaction they get from their work. Figure 1 presents the degree of satisfaction level. It shows that most of the students are satisfied with their work irrespective of whether the work relates to their career path or not. The reason may be that the students work mostly in restaurants or shops that have high employee turnover. Managers may not pay much attention at management level of part time employees’ intentions to work. Only 4% of the respondents indicated that they were not happy with their work. 13 Figure 1: How do students evaluate their part time job? Source: Survey data Whether part time work affects students’ academic performance or not is presented in Figure 2 Figure 2: Does the part time job affect the study hours? Source: Survey data 14 Figure 2 shows that only 10 per cent of the students think that part time jobs reduce their study time. Whereas a majority, ninety per cent of the students think that part time jobs do not affect their study time. Experience says that if students could balance the study time and part time work, it would not affect the study seriously. Another reason might be that some students work over the allocated or planned time. That additional work load does not only reduce the study time but also makes them feel too tired to concentrate on studies. Studies found that 40% of the respondents are paid wages lower than the minimum wage. Forty-two per cent are paid wages equal to the minimum wage. Only 18% of the students get paid wages higher than the minimum wage. Ironically, many students do hard work but get the minimum or lower than minimum wage. Their income and work load is not balanced. One of the survey questions was whether the students had any study plan while they worked. We found that there were 21 (42%) students out of 50 who had a study plan while 29 (58%) students did not have any study plan. If students have study plan, they know clearly what time to study and what time to work. The study plan can help them manage their study and work well. Educational institutions can play a vital role teaching learners about time management by practicing work plan. Figure 3 presents how many hours students work per week. Figure 3: The work hours during the week Source: Survey data 15 Figure 3 shows that 20% of the students work five to ten hours per week. 60% students work ten to fifteen hours per week. 10% students work over twenty hours per week. According to Vietnamese law, a student can work maximum 20 hours per week during study time. If students work more than 20 hours per week it reduces the study time which may have negative influence on their academic performance. The study also found that there are several reasons that drive students to do part time work and it does affect academic performance to some extent. Firstly, expensive university tuition fee becomes an economic burden to many families, particularly for international students. Students acquire money through hard work from part time job to reduce financial pressure of their parents. Second, university is a bridge that links to future career. The reality of employment is that applicants receive preference with past working experience. It is even harder to find jobs for international students whose English is a second language. It indicates that findings of this study is consistent with the existing literature of this field. The study further wanted to know the main purpose of students’ involvement in part time work during their study time. Respondents’ purpose of work is presented in Table 1. Table1: The purpose of working The purpose of working Numbers Money 32 (64%) Gain working experience 33 (66%) Make new friends 16 (32%) Make use of leisure time 26 (52%) Get to know society and practice yourself 24 (48%) Source: Survey data. Note: Respondents’ responses reflect frequency only, not necessarily be equal to 100%. Table 1 shows that most students work to gain experience (66%) followed by 64% for raising disposable income. Combining these two categories, it appears that about two third of students work part time during their study time for reducing the burden of cost of education on parents and also to be familiar with new work 16