Child Labor among Grades V and VI Pupils in Various Elementary Schools in Lian District: Input to an Action Plan

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Child labor refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives children of their childhood and interferes with their ability to attend regular school. It is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful. In Western Batangas, the 1st District has been blessed with wide agricultural lands and fields extending across its towns and municipalities ready to produce immeasurable amounts of sugar. But it is rather heartbreaking to know that most children are the ones who take part in the jobs of laborers. This study aimed to investigate the incidences of child labor among Grades V and VI Pupils in various elementary schools in Lian District. It specifically sought to uncover how the teachers of Lian District perceive the incidences of child labor in schools and how rampant are the incidences of child labor in selected schools in Lian District.

METHODS

The researcher enlisted the help of ten (10) teachers who teach in schools in Lian District at the time this study was undertaken. A non-random sampling technique called purposive sampling was used to reach teachers of schools where child labor had been observed. The purposive sampling technique had been ideal to use since the schools in Lian District were situated much apart from one another. The method used by the researcher in this study was the descriptive design. Twenty (20) teachers were selected using the purposive sampling technique with the questionnaire as the main data gathering tool. It was constructed and was checked by experts in the field of research. The ethical issue addressed in this action research was the confidentiality involved in answering the questionnaires.

RESULTS

It was found that the teachers have been aware of how hazardous working in sugar cane plantations, the sea as fishermen, and other manual labors were. There have been rampant to minimally rampant cases of child labor among schools in Lian District.

DISCUSSIONS

Disadvantages of child labor included its violation of the nation's minimum wage laws and that it threatens children's physical, mental, or emotional well-being. It also involved intolerable abuse, such as child slavery, child trafficking, debt bondage, forced labor, or illicit activities. Furthermore, it uses children to undermine labor standards and, thus, prevents children from going to school. This finding only reveals that there have been cases of child labor among schools in Lian District.