THE ECONOMIC ROLE OF CHILDREN IN SOUTH AFRICA
I. S.3 The School: The Study Site
The school, the site for this research study, was named after a local businessman who donated a site for the school. Part of the site is covered with reeds, as there are small rivers surrounding the school. According to the older members of the community, this was a spot where most of criminal activities took place during the 1970s. It is situated in K-section of Kwa Mashu Township. This is one of the three sections in this township with the highest number of abandoned houses (Urban Renewal Report, 1998). It was also one of the projects of the community aided by the Urban Foundation.It first opened its doors to learners in 1986.
The physical appearance of the school tells a story. Though it had a good design, it has been looted to such an extent that it is a shadow of its original plan and construction. A number of windows are broken and there are no doors in some of the classrooms. All electrical fittings were vandalised to such an extent that there is no electricity in the school. Ever since I joined the school in 1987, toilets have been out of order. The school had enough furniture when it was still a junior secondary school. No extra furniture was provided for, even though 7 new classrooms were added in 1991 when the school was upgraded to a senior secondary school. According to the 2001 records, there are only 123 desks for 1050 learners. In Grades 8 and 9, most learners spend their entire day standing.
They only get a chance to sit down when examinations are written. Examinations are written in the morning and afternoon with only 2 Grades writing per session.
Though school fees are very low when compared to other schools in the area, very few learners can afford to pay. According to school records, less than 30% of learners have managed to pay RI00 per annum school fees for the past 4 years.
Most learners are from the two surrounding informal settlements, and this puts
KwaZulu-Natal in the spotlight because of violence in the early 1990s. K-section was the home of the notorious Amasinyora group. The two informal settlements became the home of many people who ran away from KwaZulu-Natal's rural areas because of political unrest. A few kilometres away from the school is an orphanage founded by a community worker in the early 1990s. This was a sequel to political violence where breadwinners and parents were killed. Children were left on their own. This home now also caters for HIV/AIDS orphans. Some of the learners from this school were raised in this home.
Returning to the issue of violence, the first principal of the school was killed by a mob in December 1989. After his death, the school was taken over by SRC members who victimised both teachers and learners who were not politically active. Learners skipped classes and there was a"pass one pass alf'campaign by learners. This state of affairs remained in the school for 5 years. Mr. Mandela (the president of SA from 1994 to 1999) only restored order with the help of local ANC political activists in 1994 after the "back-to- school" campaign was initiated. The school inherited learners who were not equipped for the Grade they were enrolled for. The school has a history of poor Grade 12 results since it was upgraded in 1991. Results have been anything less than 30% up to 1995 when a 50% pass-rate was achieved. After that, results dropped again to a low of 23% in 2001. Most educators are from other areas of Durban and only 9 educators out of 30 are from Kwa Mashu. None of the teachers live in the area where the school is situated.
1.6 THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE STUDY
121 Grade 11 learners participated at the beginning of the study in 2001. This study used what I refer to as a funneling technique (beginning with a large number of participants which was gradually decreased) as a participant selection process. 61 working learners (42 girls and 19 boys) were identified through questionnaires. 36 of these were interviewed and 5 (2 boys and 3 girls) were
selected to relate their life histories. These learners were selected because of their gender, they mixed school and work, and because they work within the school premises, as well as outside the school.
Data collection was done through a multi-method approach. It was initiated by a survey questionnaire, followed by interviews (group and individual), life histories, and finally, my biography. The analysis was done in 3 stages. The first was data from surveys, letters, (14 learners had included letters when responding to the survey questionnaire) and individual interviews. The second was done with life histories, where each story was developed and analysed, and this was followed by a summative analysis of all 5 stories. The cross-analysis of all data collected, with all the different techniques, was done. Lastly the analysis of my biography was included.
1.'
REVIEW OF CHAPTER ONE AND PREVIEW OF FORTHCONmNGCHAPTERSChapter I orients the reader to aspects such as the intentions and rationale for the study, child labour, informal sector, children in the informal sector of the economy, school and child work, impact of child work on academic performance, the context of, and background to, the study. It deals with "THE ECONOMIC ROLE OF CHILDREN".
Chapter 2 outlines the literature related to both critical questions of the study.
Child work research is reviewed from both African and international perspectives.
A gap, which results in the exclusion of children in research, is identified and responded to. Learners' participation and the types of activities in which they are involved in the informal sector of the economy are revealed as a connection between "CHILD WORKERS AND SCHOOLING".
Different "PERSPECTIVES ON CHILD WORK" in the literature is explored in Chapter 3. This chapter provides the theoretical framework for the study.
Chapter 4 outlines the research "METHODOLOGY". This is a detailed account of the choices and their justification that informed the process of data generation and analysis.
The first part of the analysis usmg data produced through the use of questionnaires, letters, and short interviews commences in Chapter 5. Then the data is presented, analysed and discussed to respond to the question ARE CHILDREN "CONSUMER" OR "INVESTMENT GOODS"?
Chapter 6 reveals that working children are treated as if they do not exist in school. They are also not seen in the informal economic sector where they claim to be working. This chapter is aimed at letting "THE VOICES OF THE INVISIBLE" be heard through their life stories.
Chapter 7 develops themes from the cross-analysis undertaken of all data collected at different stages of the study, and is presented in this chapter called
"LEARNING FROM WORKING LEARNERS".
Chapter 8 theorises the experiences and explanations of working learners. Its focus is located "INSIDE THE LIVES OF WORKING LEARNERS".
Chapter 9 is titled "FORGOTTEN ROOTS". The invisibility of working learners has been very powerful, and even the researcher herself has been blind to her own early childhood as a working learner. This chapter presents my biography, which was awakened by learner's voices, remembered and entered into the analysis.
CHAPTER TWO