Barriers to and Strategies for Engaging Child Labourers in Literacy Courses:A Phenomenological Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Instructor Department of Islamic Education, Farhangian University, P.O. Box 14665-889, Tehran, Iran

2 assistant professor Department of Islamic Education, Farhangian University, P.O. Box 14665-889, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background and Objectives:Education is one of the most important tools for the growth of individuals and societies. This study aimed to investigate the barriers preventing working children from participating in literacy courses and the strategies that facilitate their engagement.
Methodology:This study employed a qualitative approach with a descriptive phenomenological design. The participants were 18 street children in Kerman who had dropped out of school, selected through purposive sampling because of their direct lived experience of child labour and school dropout. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis. To ensure content validity, the interview questions were reviewed and confirmed by several educational specialists and university professors. To enhance the credibility of the findings, the initial coding results were shared with and verified by some of the participants and experts in education. To ensure reliability, the coded data were examined and compared multiple times by the researcher and an independent coder. The inter-coder agreement coefficient, based on Cohen's kappa, was calculated as 0.76. The analyses were also reviewed and confirmed by several other researchers and university professors.
Findings:Four key barriers were identified: educational exhaustion, educational hopelessness, loss of child agency, and weak family structure. Furthermore, six strategies facilitating working children's participation in literacy courses were identified: leveraging extended family support, educational networking, utilising digital capacities, providing financial support to families, offering individualised instruction, and making education compatible with children's living conditions.
Conclusion:The education of working children must be tailored to the specific needs and circumstances of their lives.

Keywords

Research and Innovation in Primary Education
Volume 8, Issue 2
May 2026
Pages 179-196

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