In this study, I problematize child labor policies in Kenya through narratives of childrens work and schooling. I draw from the problematics implications for educational policy and practice. In December 2002, a new government was elected in Kenya. The National Rainbow Coalition Party (NARC) promised Free Primary Education to all Kenyan children if it were elected. It fulfilled its promise and FPE came into force in January 2003.
I carried out this study after the introduction of Free Primary Education in Kenya (2005) among working children in coffee farms in Nyeri, Kenya. I looked at child labor through the lens of Free Primary Education during a time when children are generally considered to have the ability to go to school. The Childrens Bill of 2002, aligned with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, prohibits the exploitation of children, including children being involved in work that will prevent them from schooling or be detrimental to their health. In this study, I look at the impact of policies on the lives of working children in Kenya.
In the narratives of childrens work and schooling, it is evident that there are tensions among different groups of people in the way they view child labor and schooling, and in the way they perceive children being served by the policy of Free Primary Education and/or the concerns of the Childrens Bill. It is the interplay between policies and the reality expressed in narratives of childrens work and schooling that give rise to the problematics.
I take the child labor phenomenon as a challenge that invites the people involved (policy makers, teachers, and education officers) to look at the situations and work towards transforming them. Through giving the context of child labor internationally and nationally and presenting details of the experiences surrounding it, I show the disconnect that exists between child labor policies and the reality of working children in Kenya and other third world countries. I hope that readers will envision multiple perspectives to deal with the complexities of child labor, which will in turn lead them to new paths of action.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-08152006-161704 |
| Date | 28 September 2006 |
| Creators | Anyango-Kivuva, Leonora |
| Contributors | Noreen Garman, PhD, Maria Piantanida, PhD, Paul Nelson, PhD, Ogle Duff, PhD |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-08152006-161704/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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