- Briefly identify and discuss the theoretical rationale / or background of the study selected.
Child labor was a very rampant practice in Nigeria. In fact, it was being questioned by some concerned experts that it has a negative impacts to physical, intellectual aspects of the child and even to their future jobs. Despite the concerns stated the practice was still widespread probably because there was a section in the legislation allowing the children to engage in light work. It is being a controversial issue between experts that sending children out to earn money is directly related to the financial status of the family and thus schooling decisions were affected. Some studies showed that it was not because of poverty that children were sent to work but just like a traditional way of helping their parents. Records also showed that the probability of child work is higher when the school fees were paid by the mother rather than the father because he has more other concerns and some fathers are also less educated.
However, it couldn’t be denied that children on the streets were there because of financial crisis and parents couldn’t pay the school and buy educational materials, either. Academic performance of the child was affected. Thus, this study will examine and clear the question of child labour. Will it affects schooling or not?
- Identify the question being asked by the investigator and state the hypothesis or hypotheses that were proposed.
The researcher wanted to answer the issue that child labour does negatively affects the academic performance of the child. It aimed to prove the hypothesis that economic profile of the family leads the children to work and thus affecting their schooling.
- Describe the research procedures used by the investigator to test his or her hypothesis.
The study was conducted to 330 primary four pupils in Ekiti State Nigeria, one of the states with high reputation for education which used to have good quality students. It is conducted with the assistance of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB). Demographic profile of the child (independent variables) and the students’ achievement in English Language and Mathematics (dependent variable) were collected to find out the influence of child work to academic performance. The quality assurance test conducted by the Ministry of Education every year to primary four pupils was used to test the assumption that there was a negative association between child work and academic performance.
Statistical analysis such pearson product moment correlation and multiple regression analysis to test the hypothesis.
- Briefly describe the results of the experiment or study.
The study revealed that there was a negative correlation between work status of children and the educational performance. The number of work hours has significant negative effects as well. Work status of children was influence by family size and family status. This means children from big and polygamous family are likely to work outside their homes. This further revealed that these negative effects to academic performance in English language and Mathematics were more prevalent to male than female students because of their work status. Usually females accompanied to their mother to market places and thus they were exposed to people, practical conversation and mathematical computation which helped their intellectual ability, whereas the males usually worked in the worksheds or manual wherein communication/conversation was limited.
- Identify the conclusions the author(s) drew from the results of the study.
The author concluded that similar to other studies in different countries, poverty and other factors that contributed to poverty drives the parents to send their children to work at an early age which negatively affects their studies/academic performance especially for males. It was believed that time and effort that should be supposedly spent for schooling was used for making money outside causing their academic performance to decline. Thus, the null hypotheses generated were rejected. Variables affecting the impacts of the situation caught the attention of the policy makers.
- Critique/evaluate (concerns, weaknesses, strengths, application, usefulness, practicality of findings and results, need for follow-up study, etc.) the results of the study and the author’s conclusions.
The study is very useful and relevant in protecting the rights of the children to education and from child labour. In most countries, sending children/minors to work is illegal. So, agency dealing with the social welfare and development can use the study as one of the bases for protecting these affected children. This can also be used by policy makers to set or make ordinances, legislations prohibiting parents from sending their children to work not beyond at home because it couldn’t be avoided that parents need help from their children of course, but it should have a minimum or limitation of work that couldn’t affect their studies or future.
The conclusion of the study still needs to be expounded or there will be a need of another section like “Implication and Recommendation”. I mean personally, I want to see the detailed or deeper implication of the results of the study to the future life of the children, to the community, and to the economic stability of the country. Because these children, though they came from lower class family, still they are the hope of the future, or could be the future leaders and economists thus academic performance of children affects indirectly to the country as a whole if majority will be doing like this. Although, it’s obvious in our understanding of what will be the implication of children having low academic performance but I think it needs to be expounded because it will help brighten up the mind of the readers, parents, teachers and policy makers, government and concerned agencies that this problem really needs an immediate action and it’s should not be taken for granted.
The author should also include his recommendations or actions to be taken to minimize the problem and address some right agencies to take the actions.
I’m not a politician making a speech to the public but the situation is true to many countries and I’m just expressing my concerns that make it a bit longer.
Source:
Popoola, A, Ayodele, J.B and Ajayi, I.A., (2009). Child Work, Child Schooling and Educational Achievement: An Emprerical Evidence for Nigeria(Volume 7, Issue 3). Retrieved from the web September 16, 2009.http://www.academicleadership.org/emprical_research/CHILD_WORK_CHILD_ SCHOOLING_AND_EDUCATIONAL_ACHIEVEMENT_AN_EMPERICAL_EVIDENCE_FOR_NIGERIA.shtml
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