Possibilities for Pre-School Education Students to Combine Studies and Work: Employers’ Position

Practice of higher education institutions reveals that many students start working during their studies and some of them enter higher education institutions already being employed. The vast majority of pre-school education students who study in part-time studies have been already working since the first year of their studies or are already in practice. In the process of combining studies with the work there is a need to find out the problems that students face while entering the world of work trying to combine studies and work, and to determine the employers’ attitude towards the studying employees revealing the essential characteristics of working students. The research was carried out in two stages. In the first stage of the research the studying conditions in higher education system of Lithuania, the experience of students in the labor market and good practices of applying student-friendly measures in combining studies and work in the European Union were discussed. The second part of the work presents the data and the results. The study revealed that half of the students who participated in the study were employed and that most of the students start working in the first year of their studies. Research problem – what is employers’ attitude towards the pre-school education students’ ability to combine studies and work? Research aim – to reveal employers’ attitude towards students’ possibilities to combine studies and work. Research objectives: to determine employers’ attitude towards studying employees. To substantiate possibilities of combining studies and work. To reveal the essential employees’ characteristics required for a working student. Research methods: document analysis and a questionnaire/ survey. The results of the research revealed that the employers’ attitude towards studying employees is favorable.