Determinants of Child Labor and Schooling in Damot Gale Woreda, Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

Child labor becomes a usual problem in developing countries to affect the schooling performances of most of children as they miss important lessons and fall behind academically. The objective of this study was to examine the determinant factors of child labor and schooling in Damot Gale Woreda, Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia. The study employed both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data was collected from 203 respondent households through interview schedules. Various documents were reviewed to collect the secondary data in order to supplement primary data. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the sampled households. Data was analyzed using both descriptive statistics and econometric model analysis. Multinomial logistic regression model result revealed that the relative probability of a child being in child labor is significantly and positively determined by factors such as sex of a child being male, having larger number of pre-school-aged children in the household, larger family size, holding larger farm size, owning large number of livestock, and travelling long distance to fetch pipe water but it is negatively affected by having larger number of school-aged children in the household and higher level of household head education. So, the researchers recommend Government and Non-governmental organizations to play an important role on creating awareness on issues like promoting adult education through formal and informal means, developing programs that target poor households for elimination of child labor and empowering their economic status, and strengthening of social programs that help in fighting against child labor.

Keywords: Child labor, schooling, factors, Multinomial logistic model

DOI: 10.7176/DCS/10-10-01

Publication date:October 31^st 2020