Journal #5

Alyssa Massman                           Oct. 12

Kurosaki, Takashi, et al. "Child labor and school enrollment in rural India: Whose education matters?." The Developing Economies 44.4 (2006): 440-464.

               

This article is research article done to show the relationship between determinants of child labor and school enrollment in rural Andhra Pradesh, India. One of the first results found from the study is that children who are older and are female will work more and likely not be enrolled in schools. The research also suggests that parents who are educated are more likely to send their children to school rather than have them work. If both parents are literate they had a higher chance of being enrolled in school. Another interesting point found in the research is that educated mothers are more likely to instant on the education of her children. Also children are more likely to be educated if they have several elder siblings who are already working and trying to provide for the household. Of course it was also found that wealth matters. Most households who are not struggling to find money to support the household are more likely to send their children to school. Finally households that belong to medium and higher castes were more likely to have their children enrolled in school.

I think this article was necessary to my research because these factors for impacting education are also the factors that affect child labor. As this issue addresses education I think it would agree with the other articles that suggests that education is factor that can determine the amount of child labor. I found this article because I think it shows evidence that supports the claims of previous article that education statistics directly affect that of child labor.

This article has had no differencing effect on my thinking process about the issue of child labor. This article does educate me more about how education can directly influence child labor. These research findings are precisely what I was looking for in the fact that can support my research thoroughly when saying that educational opportunities effect whether a child is in enrolled in school. Also because the research shows the place of a household in the caste system is a huge determining factor of enrollment in school. My view point has shifted in the fact that education is a huge factor. I think this will become one of my contributing factors for higher child labor in India. I thin k argument that could stem from this research would that since India doesn’t have a large, public and accessible education system they preventing education and growth from lower caste families which prolongs child labor and essentially poverty. This article has helped be to discover a concrete contributing factor for child labor.

As I read through this article I am glad to identified education as a factor, but now I need to look more closely at potential other factors to rule if they are significant. The next factor that I hope to find research on would be poverty and access to resources. Does the families’ proximity to large modernized cities affect the amount of child labor? Do children living close stores and access to age-appropriate jobs have an effect? My next step is to somehow identify factors that may seem like common amenities to an average educated person but do children in areas of India all have the same access to maybe vital resources needed for the child to not have to work outside of the home? Next step is to find articles that show access to resources as a limiting factor that affects whether or not a child has to participate in child labor.