Liminality and Child Labour: Experiences of School Aged Working Children with Implications for Community Education in Africa

Okechukwu Stephen Chukwudeh and Akpovire Oduaran
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Okechukwu Stephen Chukwudeh: Community-Based Educational Research (COMBER), Faculty of Education, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
Akpovire Oduaran: Community-Based Educational Research (COMBER), Faculty of Education, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa

Social Sciences, 2021, vol. 10, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: Background: Liminality brings confusion among children as they cannot progress to the next stage of life, neither could they regress to their previous state of events. The situation is precarious for socioeconomic deprived children in Africa as it cast aspersion on their career, health and well-being. The study, therefore, examines the experiences’ of children who were supposed to be in school but were observed working at the informal market space in Africa. Methods: Qualitative data was collected through referral and non-discriminative snowballing. Fourty-eight participants (48-KII 2, IDI 10, FGD 6–6 person per group, total 36) from Aleshinloye and Bodija markets in Southwest Nigeria were included in the study. Results: Parental poverty, poor education facilities, peer influence, and the frequent strike by education institutions (pre-tertiary and tertiary) were implicated for the prevalence of child labour in the informal market space in Southwest Nigeria. Conclusions: The negative consequences of the liminality stage far outweigh the positive. Therefore, there is a need for conscientious efforts by community leaders, parents, and relevant stakeholders in the society to eradicate snags within the liminality of children’s education in order to curb child labour. This is necessary to achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030.

Keywords: Africa; child labour; education; liminality; out-of-school children (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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