Synopsis
Should teenagers have jobs while they're in high school? Doesn't working distract them from schoolwork, cause long-term problem behaviors, and precipitate a "precocious" transition to adulthood?
This report from a remarkable longitudinal study of 1,000 students, followed from the beginning of high school through their mid-twenties, answers, resoundingly, no. Examining a broad range of teenagers, Jeylan Mortimer concludes that high school students who work even as much as half-time are in fact better off in many ways than students who don't have jobs at all. Having part-time jobs can increase confidence and time management skills, promote vocational exploration, and enhance subsequent academic success. The wider social circle of adults they meet through their jobs can also buffer strains at home, and some of what young people learn on the job—not least responsibility and confidence—gives them an advantage in later work life.
Melissa Potter - VOYA
The Youth Development Study began in 1987/88 with close to 1,000 freshmen high school students in Saint Paul, Minnesota. These students were surveyed annually, through 1998, in an attempt to determine if being employed as a teenager had a positive or negative effect in various arenas, such as level of educational attainment and future careers. The author traces historical arguments against teenage work, including detrimental effects on school performance and precocity, and interweaves them with results of this particular analysis. Details such as hours of work performed by the teens, parents' perceptions of their own teen work experiences, parents' levels of education, gender, teens' school performance, and a host of other factors are all figured into this study. Quite similar to a dissertation, this book covers the subject in exhaustive detail, including twenty-one pages of references alone. Although of possible use to students who are completing an AP study of teen work, the primary audience for this book will be professionals who manage multiple teen workers or those attempting to write grant proposals looking to fund programs for teen volunteers. Paid workers might use this book to gain a better understanding of the rewards of "youthwork" and which work situations are most beneficial to teens. Index. Charts. Source Notes. Appendix. 2003, Harvard University Press, 283p,