Abstract:
This study sought to investigate the relationships among child labour, access to education, retention in school and academic achievement among secondary school students in Mukono District of Uganda. Based on the reviewed literature, five research questions were raised to guide the study while four hypotheses were tested. The study used a correlation research design. A sample of 600 secondary school students was composed through multistage sampling that involved both stratified random sampling and simple random sampling. Data collection was done using a validated, pre-tested and reliable questionnaire titled Child Labour, Access and Retention Questionnaire (CARQ) and an Academic Achievement Scores Table (AAST). Cronbach’s alpha statistic was used to compute the internal consistency reliability of the questionnaire, with an index of 0.82, 0.82 and 0.70 for Sections A, B, and C respectively, and an overall reliability index of 0.78. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used to present data for research question one while multiple linear regression and Pearson correlation were used to analyze data for research questions two, three, four and five respectively. Hypotheses were tested using the t-test statistic at p<0.05 level of significance. The key findings were as follows: the relationship between child labour and access to education was positive and significant, and child labour participation accounted for 18% of the variation in students’ access to education; the relationship between child labour and students’ retention in school was also positive and significant. Students’ participation in child labour activities accounted for 9% of the variation in students’ retention in school; the relationship between child labour and students’ academic achievement in their continuous assessment and end of term examinations was positive but not significant. Students’ participation in child labour accounted for 0.1% of the variation in students’ academic achievement (both Continuous assessment and end of term examination). The findings of the study were discussed in detail. The key conclusion is that Secondary school students in Mukono District were able to combine child labour with schooling. The findings also suggest that child labour may positively influence students’ access to education and students’ retention in secondary school though it may have no significant effect on academic achievement. A major educational implication of the study is that child labour may be mildly to moderately helpful in the education of secondary school students in poor communities in developing countries as exemplified by Mukono District in Uganda though elsewhere this may not be so. The study recommends that discourses on child labour should be contextualized, based on local, social and economic conditions, and that participation of students in child labour in Uganda (and similar settings) should be carefully regulated by the Government in order to protect children from exploitation and engaging in the worst forms of child labour. Suggestions for further research and limitations of the study were also provided.
