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

Taylor-Smith, Ella; Smith, Sally; Smith, Colin

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

Taylor-Smith, Ella; Smith, Sally; Smith, Colin

Authors

Dr Ella Taylor-Smith E.Taylor-Smith@napier.ac.uk
Senior Research Fellow

Prof Sally Smith S.Smith@napier.ac.uk
Head of Graduate Apprenticeships and Skills Development and Professor

Dr Colin Smith Cf.Smith@napier.ac.uk
Associate Professor

Abstract

Having relevant work experience, such as a placement or internship, is valued by employers in the technology sector and can improve employment outcomes for computing graduates (Shadbolt 2016). However, gaining good work experience positions is competitive; some applications are unsuccessful and some students do not apply; some students feel unable to do work placements due to personal or contextual constraints. This study explores the perspectives of computing students at two UK universities, in order to identify factors that might advantage some students over others. A qualitative approach focuses on students’ perceptions and circumstances, collected through free-text responses to a survey, combined with data relating to students’ ethnicity, social class, and their parents’ education. This approach highlights specific challenges faced by individual students. These individuals’ challenges are also instances of important factors influencing access to placement, with implications for institutions and policy makers interested in improving equality of opportunity.

Citation

Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., & Smith, C. (2017, December). Placement or practicalities? Barriers and disincentives to work experience, as reported by computing students. Paper presented at Society for Research Into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Conference

Presentation Conference Type	Conference Paper (unpublished)
Conference Name	Society for Research Into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Conference
Start Date	Dec 6, 2017
End Date	Dec 8, 2017
Deposit Date	Oct 10, 2017
Publicly Available Date	Oct 10, 2017
Keywords	placement, employability, work experience, capitals, diversity
Public URL	http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/995910
Additional Information	An output from the Work Experience Joint Study with University of Greenwich.
Contract Date	Oct 10, 2017