Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University

Bhavan’s Leelavati Munshi College of Education

Submitted To: SUBMITTED BY:

Childhood, Work and Schooling: Some Reflections

D. Vasanta's research interests are Special Education, History and

INTRODUCTION-
In the context of universalising elementary education, where children
from diverse socio-cultural milieus are being drawn into the ambit of
schooling, it is imperative to rethink received notions on this issue.
Triggered by a study of government schools in Andhra Pradesh, this
paper reviews the literature and argues that there is a dominance of
middle-class, white, male urban childhood as the ‘norm’ in
developmental psychology, education, welfare policy and legislation
for children, influencing not only expert opinions, but also cultural
practices and attitudes. School is seen as that safe space which
safeguards the other life worlds childhood which is often ignored.
Summary--
The changing nature of how we have defined and understood
‘childhood’ over many centuries’ highlights that it is not a constant but
an ever-shifting construct. Childhood today is universally acknowledged
as a precious and vital stage within the lifespan of a human – It is an
important period of physical growth, mental and emotional learning and
development. The concept of an ‘ideal’ childhood is a broad term that
can mean many things to many people, across different times and
places. Making an assessment of what makes a ‘ideal’ childhood for
individual children, and for all children more generally, is a difficult
task.
Based on a review of select literature on childhood and a study of
government schools in Andhra Pradesh, this paper discusses the notion
of 'ideal childhood' and its impact on schooling and children's work.
Several studies have found the existence of plurality of childhoods in
India, varying with family structure, socio-cultural, economic and
political setting, birth order, gender etc.
One, since not everyone can attain ideal childhood, the state would have
to think of other shortcuts to the educational process for those who don't
fit in.
Children from poor families themselves feel that 'work' is part of their
daily life and that they should share the burden of earning for that day's
meal.
Of the 300 children that were interviewed, only 40 said they do not do
any work outside school hours. A majority of them did not work for
wages. What they did was to share the family responsibilities, both
economic and familial.

REFLECTION-
The text is an important contemporary example which raises a debate
between curriculum and curriculum reforms and its relationship with the
agency of student and teacher that has emerged. Scholars have raised
questions of multiple childhoods and the need to address the social
context of learning while framing the curriculum and critically
transforming the teacher education in India.
According to D.Vasanta, the power dynamics between student, teachers
and parents are often overlooked because it is considered natural.
The lives of these children are very different from middle-class
children's lives with which I was familiar. The most striking of these
differences seems to lie in the fact that it is only the children of the poor
who participate in the adult world of 'work' — even though it is often
household work for which they receive no wages. The accounts of their
daily lives also deviated considerably from the descriptions of lifespan
development in general, and childhood in particular.
The paper focuses on the life experiences of children and their
definitions and perceptions of childhood. She observes that the concept
of childhood does not exist in the form of a simple word. Most of the
children are aware of a lack of autonomy in their lives. For them,
marriage is a rite of passage out of childhood. They spoke of the need to
support their families, the need to learn and the need to play. Children
from poor families themselves feel that 'work' is part of their daily life
and that they should share the burden of earning for that day's meal.
As children are involved in work outside school, there is no such
distinction between hazardous and non-hazardous work often shuffling
between child work and child labour.
Lieten (2003) argues that an efficient Public Distribution System (PDS)
that can provide appropriate food grains to targeted families at
affordable prices can contribute to minimising the problem of child
labour. Apart from that, they need to address the institutions responsible
for household deprivations as well.
It is clearly evident that there is no universal definition of childhood and
that the reasons for dropping out of school go beyond the 'forced' child
labour issue.
But sometimes, the concerned authorities tends to ignore reasons such
as dysfunctional schools, corporal punishment, migration, inability to
pay the minimum fees or buy notebooks and pens, the community's
sense of betrayal, disability and curriculum that makes little sense. By
projecting the educated middle classes as the universalizable section of
society, we cannot accept no class divisions in our society.
The text focuses all different types of childhood and what actually
makes them different. Thus, Vasanta states that “ideal childhood” is to
be seen in schools with the belief that children should play but never do
work, with work being loosely defined as the activity of adults.
Overall, the text gives an insight to the childhood level which is often
ignored. Even though in an area where all the facilities are provided,
there seems to be a lack of determination on the part of children since
they are so much focused about sharing their family’s responsibilities
that their education tends to suffer. Hence, in such a case apart from the
concerned authorities both parents and the teachers carry the
responsibility of providing education.
There is a thin line between child work and child labour and parents
should make sure that it is not crossed. Education i.e Schooling is the
only way to break this chain of poverty.

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS-
 It is imperative to study the local conditions affecting homes and
schools for both boys and girls in order to understand the core
reason of lower rates of children in schools.
 Measures and policies that are dealing with the overall decline in
the poverty status, reduction in the conditions of poverty that are
focused upon children, establishment of the Anganwadi centres,
and implementation of elementary education laws that would need
commitment.
 These states would also require major inputs of financial,
organisational and institutional resources for significant
implementation of the new elementary education law.
 In elementary schools, children are young, it is vital for them to
acquire proper diet and nutrition. The conditions of poverty do not
make provision of a healthy and a nutritious diet to the children
and in this way, their learning abilities and skills get effected.
There has been development of mid-day meal scheme that will
provide to the children, healthy and nutritious meals in schools so
that they are able to get the needed energy to concentrate on their
studies.