In this article, the author tells how her students researched every aspect of their own beloved stuffed animals, which led to an interview with a labor leader. When students learned that children in other countries played a role in manufacturing their stuffed animals, sometimes in unhealthy conditions, they decided to take action as citizens. As…

Globally, migration statistics indicate rising numbers of people who have for various reasons left their local community. Of these, a considerable proportion is below the age of 18 and often engaged in some kind of work. Yet, the phenomenon of children working beyond their localities receives little special attention in migration studies or child…

Despite the widespread condemnation of the practice of child labour, it remains a pervasive phenomenon in developing countries. In such contexts, labour and education often represent competing activities for children. Drawing on a study of child labour located within the critical social science tradition, this article explores insider accounts of…

This article analyses discontinuities between local, national and international discourse in the fields of education, protection of children, and child labor, using Benin, Namibia and Swaziland as case studies. In Benin, child abuse and child labor are related to poverty, whereas in Namibia and Swaziland they are also interrelated with HIV/AIDS.…

Two little known forms of child labour in Turkey are examined. The process through which these children are made to work has parallels with the experiences of slaves. First, a long-standing practice from Northwestern Turkey of parents hiring children to better-off farmers is examined. Further, a more recent problem is examined where children are…

The current debate on child labour focuses on developing countries. However, Portugal is an example of a relatively developed country where child labour is still a matter of concern as between 8% and 12% of Portuguese children may be classified as workers. This paper studies the patterns of child labour in Portugal and assesses the consequences of…

"The State of the World's Children 2014 In Numbers: Every Child Counts" highlights the critical role data and monitoring play in realizing children's rights. Credible data, disseminated effectively and used correctly, make it possible to target interventions that help right the wrong of exclusion. Data do not, of themselves, change the…

It is estimated that more than 12 million children in India under the age of 14 engage in paid labor at least part time, due mostly to economic reasons. Dominant discourses about childhood however conceptualize childhood labor not only as unethical but as exploitation. This article explored the tensions between Western notions of childhood…

Fosterage is an important cultural institution which serves to strengthen kinship solidarity among a range of other functions including meeting needs for child labour. Its effects on education are ambiguous. This study examines fostering as a possible contributor to the low levels of educational access and progress in the district using secondary…

In all societies, boys and girls are assigned different societal roles and experience different perspectives of life as a result of their being male or female. Such differences have a gigantic impact on their lives. The importance of gender perspective is very important in understanding the convolution of child labour. Gender, as opposed to sex,…

To date, research on the psychosocial consequences of mass trauma resulting from war and organized violence on children has primarily focused on the individual as the unit of treatment and analysis with particular focus on mental disorders caused by traumatic stress. This body of research has stimulated the development of promising…

This paper reports key findings from a study of young people's engagement in "atypical" activities in their families. The project focused on young caring and language brokering as two roles that are not assumed to be "normal" activities for children and young people. The findings presented are from a survey of 1002 young people…

The paper considers whether letting children combine work and school is a valid and effective approach in Cambodia. Policy makers' suggestions that child labour should be allowed to some extent due to household poverty appear ungrounded as no significant relation between children's work and household poverty is found while arranging school…

This article explores the role of children in household livelihoods among the Gedeo ethnic community in Ethiopia. Three themes are discussed--reproductive activities, entrepreneurial work in marketplaces and sociospatial mobility--in the context of recent theoretical debates over children's agency and social competence. With shifts in rural…

To mark the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, this edition of "The State of the World's Children" calls for brave and fresh thinking to address age-old problems that still affect the world's most disadvantaged children. The report is inspired by the work of innovators around the world--who are pushing…