The Effect of Labor Exploitation on Children’s Psychological Wellbeing in Woldia Town Primary Schools: Implication for Intervention

Abstract

The main objective of the study aimed at assessing the effect of child exploitation on children psychological well-being Woldia town seven primary schools.  Qualitative and quantitative are employed. That is, descriptive survey used to the study. The study used questionnaire and interview as data gathering instruments. Hence, data gathered through questionnaire from students and teachers that are selected through comprehensive sampling. The data analyzed through percentage and one-sample t-test. Then, the finding of the study revealed that the major labor activities in which children are engaged in Woldia town  include shoe shining, selling lottery tickets, selling food/drinks/ kollo, and assisting taxi drivers (woyala). Most of the child labor exploitation in the study came from regions to look for job, due to conflicts at home, early marriage and divorce, Poverty, death of one or both parents, child trafficking, high repetition rates, drop out from school and lack of awareness about the consequence of being engaged in labor exploitation are key factors that push children to be involved in different work. The major problems that have been faced by children engaged in labor exploitation include among others: frustration, low self-esteem, self-perception, learning participation, attitude of the community and intimacy on parents. Lobbying and advocacy for the drafting and enactment of laws and policies for the prevention of child labor.

Keywords: Child exploitation; Consequence; Psychological well-being; Intervetion; primary schools

DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/10-15-02

Publication date:August 31^st 2020