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Some further reflections on the effect of employment on attendance

Document Cited in Related
Published date01 February 2025
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/02633957221148068
AuthorJames Strong
Date01 February 2025
https://doi.org/10.1177/02633957221148068
Politics
2025, Vol. 45(1) 90 –94
© The Author(s) 2023
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/02633957221148068
journals.sagepub.com/home/pol
Some further reflections on
the effect of employment on
attendance
James Strong
Queen Mary University of London, UK
Abstract
I offer some further reflections on the relationship between student employment and classroom
engagement, in response to Hanretty’s discussion of my original article on the topic. First, I
note that the data we’d ideally need to study this relationship properly doesn’t exist. Second, I
suggest that Hanretty and I are pursuing subtly differing goals – he seeks the best estimate of a
statistical relationship, while I am trying to make practical policy recommendations at the level of
an academic department. Third, I gently push back against Hanretty’s injunction against the use
of a post-treatment variable in my original paper, noting that there are good theoretical reasons
for thinking my original argument – that not all hours of employment affect attendance equally
– should work. Finally, I conclude that while it is true that students who work more hours are
less likely to engage well with their studies, this relationship is conditional in part on factors that
academic departments might realistically be able to influence.
Keywords
pedagogy, student employment, student engagement
Received: 28th November 2022; Revised version received: 2nd December 2022; Accepted: 2nd December
2022
I’d like to start by thanking Hanretty (2022) for engaging seriously with my original piece
(Strong, 2022). As a former editor of Politics, I’m aware that pedagogic work doesn’t
always attract the kind of sustained, thoughtful response that he offers here. I’m grateful
both for the work he has put in and for the way he went about putting together his response,
which was eminently constructive and collegial. I’m also grateful to the current editors
for the opportunity to offer a few further reflections.
Corresponding author:
James Strong, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK.
Email: j.strong@qmul.ac.uk
1148068POL0010.1177/02633957221148068PoliticsStrong
research-article2023
Learning and Teaching in Politics
and International Studies

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