Employer Support for Library Studies Students: an Investigation into Levels of Support Offered by Employers of Library Studies Students in New Zealand and Associated Motivational Influences

Abstract

This research into Employer Support for Library Studies Students in New Zealand and associated motivational influences sought to investigate how support for study motivates students to achieve in their studies and in the workplace and if in fact there is a correlation between support and motivation. The theoretical framework for this research was Vroom's Expectancy Theory which informed whether support for study engenders motivation. The population for this research were students who are currently in the process of completing their Library and Information Studies (LIS) qualification at either Victoria University of Wellington or The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand and are employed in a part-time or full-time capacity, they were a self-selecting sample of 170 respondents who answered an anonymous web-based survey sent to the New Zealand Library discussion lists. There were 151 complete and valid survey responses and from this population size generalisations and conclusions were able to be drawn. The majority of respondents were from the tertiary library, school library and public library sectors. The most common forms of employer support were partial payment of fees for completed courses, time off for study and resources towards study. A large majority of respondents agreed that they were happy with the level of support offered by their employers, with many stating that the level of support was appropriate for their needs. However, there was a strong level of dissatisfaction among school librarians at the level of support they receive from the employers. Furthermore, over 90% of respondents answered that they were motivated by personal satisfaction gained through study. This, in light of a lack of workplace incentives, would suggest that although employees are usually happy with the support they receive there could be more mechanisms in place within the workplace to ease the study load and to engender motivation. A theme that ran through the open-ended questions was that employees would prefer more paid time off for study.