June 2023
Canadian Sociological Association Meeting, Toronto, Ontario.
See recordings of:
1. Alison Taylor & Robyn Taylor-Neu, ‘Chronologics and working students.’
2. Wesal Abu Qaddum & Kiran Mirchandani, ‘Undergraduate working students: seeking mobility yet receiving a wage.’
3. Sameena Karim Jamal, ‘International undergraduate students and the employability game.’
4. Jonathan Ku, ‘Jobs working students value.’
1. Kalli McIver & Jacob Sablan, ‘Creative research dissemination and working students.’
2. Milosh Raykov, ‘Student participation, outcomes, and experiences in paid and unpaid work.’
3. Kiran Mirchandani & Hongxia Shan, ‘Working students and the political economy of hostile work.’
February 2023
Workers’ Wednesday — Presentation to the Worker Solidarity Network, British Columbia
On Wednesday, February 22, our two Research Assistants, Kalli McIver and Jacob Sablan attended Worker’s Wednesday, a meeting organized by the Worker Solidarity Network. This organization discusses ongoing efforts to combat worker exploitation in BC and improve labour standards for all. The presentation focused on the Guide for Working Students and discussed the potential for policy changes across university institutions and issues such as unionizing teaching assistants and research assistants.
July 2022
12th Researching Work and Learning Conference, July 13-15, 2022, University of Toronto, Canada
Panel – University Work-Study Programs: Evidence and Issues in the Canadian Context
For papers: See Proceedings
- Taylor, A., Bobadilla Sandoval, C. (2022). “Wanted: Hospitable and Flexible Work”: Student Perceptions of a Work Study Program. pp. 439-448.
- Sweet, R., & Roberts, A. & Raykov, M. (2022). A Balancing Act: Locating Work Satisfaction in the University Experience, pp. 448-453.
- Raykov, M. (2022). Student Term-time Work and Professional Learning, pp. 454-457.
May 2022
Abu Qaddum, W. (2022, May). Forging futures in pandemic times: The social mobility of working university students in Ontario. Paper presented at the Canadian Sociological Association (CSA) Conference at Congress 2022, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC. https://www.federationhss.ca/sites/default/files/association_programs/1787918-627aa18cc799c.pdf
May 2022
Shan, H., Jamal, S., Raykov, M., & Sweet, R. (2022, May). Towards subjectification: International students as emerging adults – a mixed methods study. Paper presented at the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE) Conference at Congress 2022, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC. https://csse-scee.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CSSE-SCEE-Programme-May-9-mai.pdf
March 2022
Paskalitsa, Ellysa. (2022). Becoming a reflexive researcher: A reflexive thematic analysis of the hard working students study. Poster presented at the Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference, UBC.
Click on poster for full size.
November 2021
Taylor, A. (2021, November 18). “Being there”: rhythmic diversity and working students. Webinar presentation to Canadian Association of Sociology of Education (CASE) and Canadian Sociological (CSA) Sociology of Education Research Cluster. Webinar series, 2021-22.
See recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMk4BuOhrXI
September 2021
Raykov, M., Taylor, A., Jamal, S., & Wu, S. (2021, September). University students’ perceptions of the outcomes of unpaid term-time work. Paper presented at the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER). https://eera-ecer.de/ecer-programmes/conference/26/contribution/51120/
June 2021
Jamal, S., Taylor, A., & Shan, H. (2021, June). Responses and responsibilities: Complexity of international students’ work and learning experiences. Paper presented at the Canadian Sociological Association (CSA) Conference at Congress 2021, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB.
The experiences of international undergraduate students are complex. The intricacies of the social, cultural, financial, and acclimatization challenges that they navigate in seeking to adapt to the Canadian context are sometimes cloaked by stereotypes that portray them as a largely homogeneous and privileged group. Furthermore, some of the pressures faced by international students, including those around policy constraints as well as employability, familial, and immigration issues add layers of complexity to their lived experiences. International students also do not always have access to the same benefits that Canadian citizens and permanent residents do, and this contributes to the burden that they bear as they navigate challenges with varying levels of familial, social and professional support. Based on preliminary findings of a SSHRC funded longitudinal mixed methods study taking place at the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto, this presentation will begin to unpack some of the complexities of international undergraduate students’ experiences in Canada. In doing so, it will aim to reconstruct some of the erroneous stereotypes about international students that are prevalent in mainstream society.
May 2021
Abu Qaddum, W. & Mirchandani, K. (2021, May). The impact of COVID-19 on university students in Ontario. Paper presented at the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education (CSSHE) Conference at Congress 2021, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB. https://csshescees.files.wordpress.com/2021/05/2021_csshe_prog_20210522-1.pdf
May 2021
Bobadilla Sandoval, C. & Parlatore, V. (2021, May). Meaning-Making: How Canadian undergraduate students build bridges between work and study experiences. Paper presentation at the Canadian Society for Studies in Higher Education Association meeting at Congress 2021, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB.
Ever-rising tuition costs and the perceived need to graduate with job experience has placed significant pressure on Canadian university students to engage in work during their studies (Zeidler 2017). Despite this, there has been little attention given to the ways students make sense of their term-time work experiences (Smith & Patton, 2013) and what discourses influence their work and study decisions. This presentation focuses on how students define and understand the notion of meaningful work and how students’ understandings of meaningful work reflect or challenge influential societal discourses. We draw from the preliminary analysis of qualitative data from the Hard Working Student (HWS) study to critically discuss the relationship between students and their work, in particular, the meanings they attribute to these activities. For this we use discourse analysis, as outlined in James Paul Gee’s work, which offers a set of tools and thinking devices to engage language in use. From the HWS study, we chose two participants that work in the service industry and used data collected through audio diaries (self-recorded interviews). This presentation offers an analysis of the participants’ responses to their work experiences and views on meaningful work. We also expand on the salient discourses that are present in their responses, identifying aspects of their identities that emerge as significant and valuable when they navigate decisions about their work and studies.
Mirchandani, K. & Shan, H. (2021). The impact of hostile work environments on working university students in Canada. Paper presented at the Canadian Sociological Association (CSA) Conference at Congress 2021, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB.
A recent study reports that young people in Canada are being asked to “dive into the workforce without a parachute” (Canadian Labour Congress, 2016:4). A “parachute” is deemed necessary because more than half of young people are employed in service sector jobs, many of which are poorly paid, ununionized, temporary and part time. Many young peoples’ first exposure to experiential learning in the workforce occurs in the context of poor quality, hazardous jobs. This paper explores the experiences of students who have worked in hostile environments, often in retail, sales and the services sector. Full time university students engaged in substantial amounts of term-time work participated in focus groups and life map sessions during which they shared their experiences of the hostile working conditions they faced. The analysis highlights the gendered and racialized nature of workplace discrimination faced by the mostly 19 and 20 year olds in the sample, and the ways in which these experiences negatively impacts their studies and well-being. Overall the analysis in this paper suggests the need for strong and directed workplace protection in order to facilitate positive work-integrated learning and prevent employment scarring of teen and young workers.
July 2019
Taylor, A., Raykov, M. & Sweet, R. (2019, July 24). Balancing work and university studies. 11th International Researching Work and Learning Conference, Giessen, Germany.
April 2019
American Educational Research Association Conference, Toronto, April 2019