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Journal of Education, 2021

Issue 85, http://journals.ukzn.ac.za/index.php/joe doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2520-9868/i85a02

Online ISSN 2520-9868 Print ISSN 0259-479X

Child labour is a matter of national concern: What is the

curriculum doing about it?

Anja Visser

Education and Human Rights in Diversity Research, Faculty of Education, North-West University,

Potchefstroom, South Africa

anja.visser@nwu.ac.za

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9636-2326

(Received: 25 September 2020; accepted: 25 October 2021)

Abstract

Child labour has been of national and international concern since as early as the 1860s. In 2019 the United

Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution that 2021 would be the year by which child labour

would be eliminated. However, much must still be done to effect this. By studying legislation and literature, I

identified different forms of child labour that I go on to discuss in this article. When I explored the notion of

child labour from three perspectives on childhood, namely the romanticised view of childhood, the view that

children must participate in child labour, and the belief that children need to be protected from the abuse and

exploitation seen to be inherent in their working, I came to understand the tensions in conceptualising this

concept. I further problematise child labour as an educational issue. One of the purposes of the South African

compulsory school curriculum as articulated in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) is to

facilitate the transition of learners from education institutions to their future workplaces. I argue that CAPS

should provide in-depth knowledge on the meaning of child labour in its different forms. For the purposes of

this research, I analysed all the compulsory school curricula documents for Grades 1 to 9 by means of document

analysis. My main finding is that CAPS does address some forms of child labour, but it does not address those

forms (child work and illegal labour) with which most children would likely be confronted. Also, it does not

address hazardous forms of child labour nor trafficking in child labour. More research is needed to determine if

there are correlations between the results of this explorative document analysis and the received curriculum so

that a curriculum response to address child labour can be articulated.

Keywords: child, curriculum, child labour, child work, trafficking

Introduction

Child
1
labour is a multilayered complex concept and takes on different forms in legislation

and literature. The term ranges from work that is beneficial to children (Bourdillon et al.,

2009; Fyfe, 1988; Nsamenang, 2008) to what is defined as child labour (Gallinetti, 2008;

1 A child is defined as any person younger than 18 years of age in South Africa.

30 Journal of Education, No. 85, 2021

South African Human Rights Commission, 2017). It includes legal and illegal labour (South

African Government, 1997), along with hazardous forms of child labour (International

Labour Organization, 1999), and trafficking for child labour (South African Government,

2013). Child labour is a matter of national concern and has been an international issue from

as early as the 1860s (Fyfe, 2007).

Since 1919, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has tried to abolish child labour

(International Labour Organization, 1919). However, Fyfe (2007) argued that it was only in

the 1980s that the global movement against child labour began. Between 2000 and 2016,

there was a global decrease of 38% in child labour cases. In 2016, it is estimated that 152

million children between the ages of 5 and 17 years were involved in child labour, with half

of them (73 million) involved in hazardous practices and that these were more common in the

15 to 17 age group, but that still left 19 million children under the age of 12 involved in them

(International Labour Organization, 2019a).

In 2019 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution and declared

that 2021 would be the international year for the elimination of child labour. UNGA adopted

Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (United Nations,

2015). In this agenda, the Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 specifically and explicitly

focusses on child labour (United Nations, 2015, p. 24)

Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern

slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst

forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025

end child labour in all its forms.

According to the United States of America Department of Labor (2020, para. 1), South Africa

has made “minimal advancement in efforts to eliminate worst forms of child labor.” In this

country, children are involved in the worst forms of child labour. The South African

government did not include its elimination nor any prevention strategies in either the South

African Education Plan or in the National Development Plan after this recommendation was

made by the United States of America Department of Labor in 2019.

Apart from South Africa having to deal with illegal child labour, there is a need for

“innovation in education to make youths better prepared for a society and labour market

which has in many respects changed” (Department of Basic Education, 2019, p. 16). Other

than learners being prepared to effectively transition from schools to other educational

institutions, there should “also be clear linkages between education and training and the

world of work” (National Planning Commission, 2011, p. 296).

One way in which education plays a role in addressing child labour is through the delivery of

Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (hereafter CAPS). CAPS has several purposes.

One of them that is directly related to the concerns of this article is that, overall, CAPS

should be “facilitating the transition of learners from education institutions to the workplace”

(Department of Basic Education, 2021). This transitioning could assume many forms such as,

Visser: Child labour is a matter of national concern 31

for example, a learner having the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to adjust to a workplace

after having gained at school in-depth knowledge of the meaning of child labour in its

different forms.

My aim in this article is to explore the extent to which the explicit South African Grade 1 to 9

school curriculum helps learners to transition from school to the workplace through

addressing child labour. My assumption (and more empirical research is needed to test this) is

that if learners were made aware of the different forms of child labour, it would help them in

the process of transitioning from school (as an educational institution) to different

workplaces. Child labour cannot be made to disappear just by addressing it in passing in the

school curriculum; learners need to be made aware of the complexity of this issue if they are

to be adequately protected against exploitation.

This was an exploratory study that aimed to provide some groundwork for further research. I

employed document analysis as the research methodology, and this is the first time, to my

knowledge, that the CAPS documents have been analysed in this way.

In the following sections, I trouble the conceptualisation of child labour by looking more

closely at its different forms. Thereafter, I discuss this concept from different perspectives on

childhood. I then look at education in relation to curriculum as a response to child labour.

This is followed by a consideration of the research design. Finally, I discuss the findings and

draw conclusions.

Troubling the conceptualisation of child labour

The conceptualisation of child labour is troubling given that this phenomenon has many

different forms. As pointed out earlier, child labour refers to child work, child labour, legal

and illegal child labour, hazardous forms of child labour, and trafficking for child labour.

Child work involves “virtually all economic activities, paid or unpaid, in or outside the home,

including many chores traditional for children and generally considered part of acceptable

child-rearing practice” (Bourdillon et al., 2009, p. 107). Child work is regarded as positive as

long as it does not affect children’s health, personal development, or school attendance

(International Labour Organization, 2019b). Types of work can include helping with tasks at

home, assisting in a family business, or earning pocket money after school and during school

holidays. These types of work are beneficial to children’s development, provide them with

skills and experience, and prepare them for adult life (International Labour Organization,

2019b). Not every type of work done by children should be eliminated (Gallinetti, 2008)

because children need to mature during childhood and should acquire all the skills and the

capacity needed to be adults by the age of 18 (Sloth-Nielsen & Mezmur, 2008).

Child labour is seen to be any work that “affects the child’s enjoyment of his or her

fundamental rights: civil, political or economic, social and cultural—particularly the broad

right to survival and development of the child” (Gallinetti, 2008, p. 323), but child work can

32 Journal of Education, No. 85, 2021

become child labour. The South African Human Rights Commission (2017, para. 4) defines

child labour as

. . . work that is inappropriate with respect to the number of hours, and the conditions

under which it is performed; work which deprives children of their livelihood,

potential and dignity; and which interferes with or deprives children of education.

Referring specifically to the increasing suicide rate among Japanese children, Bourdillon

(2000) questioned whether too much schoolwork is also exploitative and could be considered

as harmful to children. Similarly, some household chores and other non-economic activities

might be harmful to children and may violate their rights (Bourdillon, 2014) like, for

example, when a child must do so much work at home that their schoolwork suffers, and they

eventually have to drop out of school (Gallinetti, 2008).

Legal child labour has to do with the age group and the conditions under which children of

this age work. Internationally and nationally, there is consensus that children aged 15 to 17

may be employed to do age-appropriate work that does not put them at risk (International

Labour Organization, 1973; South African Government 1997). However, employers are

legally prohibited from employing children under the age of 15 (this counts as illegal child

labour), except for those involved in the performance of advertising, sports, artistic, or

cultural activities (South African Government, 1997).

There are also hazardous forms of child labour. Article 3 of the Worst forms of child labour

convention no 182 lists the following worst forms (International Labour Organization, 1999,

para. 3):

a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of

children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including

forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;

b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of

pornography or for pornographic performances;

c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the

production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;

d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to

harm the health, safety or morals of children.

In legislation and literature, trafficking for child labour is defined as “[t]he recruitment,

transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation”

(United Nations, 2000, p. 2). In this case, exploitation involves forced labour or child labour,

and sexual exploitation. This definition differs from others possibly because, in 2000, the

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and

Children (the Palermo Protocol) was the first international instrument to define trafficking in

persons (United States Department of State, 2019). When children are involved, this act is

considered to be exploitative and is classified as child trafficking (Conteh, 2009; United

Visser: Child labour is a matter of national concern 33

Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2007). This means that if a child is

exploited for child labour, the said child is a victim of child trafficking for labour purposes.

Both the Palermo Protocol (United Nations, 2000) and South African legislation (South

African Government, 2013) make a distinction between sexual exploitation on the one hand

and child labour or forced labour for the purposes of exploitation for which children might be

trafficked, on the other. However, as I highlighted earlier, the worst forms of child labour

include trafficking and sexual exploitation.

As can be seen above, there are different interpretations that can be used when child labour is

mentioned. The concept of child labour could be understood from different childhood

perspectives, too.

Conceptualising child labour from different perspectives on

childhood

The concept of childhood is constructed in different ways, depending on the nation, context,

cultural group, and historical background (Louw & Louw, 2014; Nsamenang, 2008). It was

believed for many years that child development “follow[s] the same pattern of development

in all countries and cultures” (Louw & Louw, 2014, p. 13). Western researchers focussed

almost exclusively on their own cultures and made conclusions about their research having

implications for all children around the globe. However, recently researchers started to realise

that the cultural context is important to the study of childhood. According to Louw and Louw

(2014, p. 14), “[h]uman development is . . . a cultural process. In every society, children are

exposed to mostly cultural, not universal, influences.” In this article, I focus on three views

that cause tension in the interpretation of what child labour means.

The romanticised view of childhood

Romanticised ideas about childhood exist among societies with high-average incomes,

developed infrastructure, and advanced technology. Work for children in this context is

regarded as “strenuous learning” (Bourdillon, 2017, p. 93). Children spend much of their time

in school, and they cannot participate in adult workplace activities. Since the late 18th

century, romanticised childhood ideals have fostered an image of carefree, happy children

playing, fantasising, being innocent, learning, being free from responsibility, properly

protected, and dependent on their caregivers (Bourdillon, 2017; Cunningham & Viazzo,

1985; Stephens, 1995). From this perspective, children need to be protected and segregated

from the harsh realities of adulthood (Stephens, 1995), and they are economic dependents

rather than productive participants in the economy (Nsamenang, 2008).

Bourdillon (2017) argued that the wealthy can afford to provide this childhood for their

children, but this has come to be seen as ideal for all. In addition, according to Nsamenang

(2011, p. 235), not only the ideal of a romanticised childhood but also developmental

indicators developed in the Global North have been “forced” on the rest of the world. The

34 Journal of Education, No. 85, 2021

romanticised view of childhood has inspired campaigners and advocates against child labour

(Bourdillon, 2014; Cunningham & Viazzo, 1985). From this viewpoint, “productive work by

children is perceived as inhibiting schooling and hindering development and therefore should

be abolished” (Bourdillon, 2017, p. 93). According to Nsamenang (2008, p. 211), the active

productive participation of African children in the economic activities of their families and

communities “has been stigmatized as child labour by international advocacy and children's

rights interveners.” However, Louw and Louw (2014) argued that, since children were being

exploited, sold into slavery, and subjected to abuse, the Convention on the Rights of the Child

and many other movements were born. Clearly, there is a tension in the literature, and in

reality, regarding what kind of child labour is positive for children's development and should

not be abolished and what kind should indeed be eliminated.

Children participating in child labour

As underscored earlier, child labour can be beneficial to children; this form of child labour is

known as child work. Bourdillon (2014, p. 3) disparages child labour discourse since it

“focuses only on harmful aspects of work and ignores the benefits that children may derive

from it.” In other words, when the benefits of child work are appreciated, one would not

assume that all work is exploitative. When children are viewed with romanticised ideals in

mind, they are protected from adulthood, and this creates an artificial dichotomy between

adults and children as Bourdillon (2017) pointed out.

In South Africa, as has already been noted, the minimum age of employment is 15 years

(South African Government 1997). Bourdillon et al. (2009, p. 107) urged “re-thinking the

‘minimum-age’ approach” to child work and labour. They make this argument because there

is no scientific research to determine the real impact of age-restriction policies on children. In

their view, the minimum-age approach is based on romanticised views of childhood and does

not take due account of realities: child work that does not restrain children from going to

school could help them to finance the cost of their and their siblings’ school attendance.

Anthropological and child development studies demonstrate that children thrive in a

great diversity of childhoods, including many that carry important work

responsibilities. The unsupported idea that work itself distorts and corrupts children’s

development nonetheless remains popular among both the public and policymakers.

In most of the world, children’s participation in work is a common way of learning

essential life skills, such as parenting, and major occupational skills such as farming.

(Bourdillon et al., 2009, p. 110)

In Africa, the division between adults and children is not that straightforward. Children

participate in family enterprises, and it is a natural part of their growing up and learning how

to live in their social context. According to Bourdillon (2017, p. 92), an essential feature of

“good-quality child rearing” is to require children to work to contribute to the household and

community. Not only African children work; many children in high-income countries obtain

part-time work like, for example, delivering newspapers or goods or working at food outlets.

This broadens children’s experience; they gain an income, they have more social contacts,

Visser: Child labour is a matter of national concern 35

and they learn to deal with the world in which they are growing up. These children value the

life skills they acquire through working, and they claim that work teaches them skills and

knowledge they cannot learn in a classroom (Bourdillon, 2014).

Some societies consider work to be integral to bringing up a child and even complementary

to their schooling (Bourdillon et al., 2009). In the African context, children are given the

opportunity to engage in tasks, chores, and traditions of adulthood before the age of 18.

Engaging in these practices is viewed as part of growing up to learn how to assume

responsibility and acquire skills to prepare them for life (Sloth-Nielsen & Mezmur, 2008).

Child work is seen as essential to preparing the next generation, and it is seen to be necessary

for their developmental learning (Nsamenang, 2011). Bourdillon (2014, p. 1) further pointed

out that “[m]any African societies run their affairs on the ingrained notion that children must

work as part of their process of growing up.”

Children need to be protected from abuse and exploitation

In Africa, children have been sold into slavery during inter-tribal raids since the earliest times

(Louw & Louw, 2014). From the 15th to the 17th century, slavery was a lucrative business,

and children, men, and women were shipped to various countries. Although slavery or human

trafficking is illegal today, it is still practised in many countries (Louw & Louw, 2014).

The African continent has the highest proportion of children involved in child labour.

Approximately 72.1 million children in Africa are involved in child labour, and 31.5 million

African children are involved in hazardous work (Alliance 8.7, 2017). Nsamenang (2008, p.

217) stated that “various forms of child labor, child abuse and child enslavement are also

increasingly present in the African context.” Since children cannot willingly participate in

exploitation and are often coerced or manipulated into situations from which they are

trafficked and the economic conditions in which they find themselves often lead them to

make an unfree choice to participate in trafficked child labour (Visser, 2018). It is not only

criminals who target children; disease, poverty, civil strife, the complexities of globalisation,

and the world trading system all make children susceptible to exploitation (Gallinetti, 2008).

Some child labours are hazardous and hinder children’s development (Bourdillon, 2014). In

some cases, children are abused in their workplaces, but it is not always clear when child

labour can be regarded as hazardous (Bourdillon, 2014). Some lists identifying hazardous

child labour have been compiled and Bourdillon (2014) argued that these lists focus on some

particularly hazardous work, ignoring situations in which children are abused and do not

focus as much on the kind of work they do. Furthermore, exploitation is not defined in the

context of child labour although, for adult labour, this refers to a wide variety of factors, such

as unfair remuneration, harmful working conditions, and so on. When children are employed,

the employment itself is defined as exploitation, so, “instead of attending to conditions of

work, authorities stop children from working” (Bourdillon, 2014, p. 10).

The first view I discussed above emphasises an ideal childhood in which children are

protected from the harsh realities of adulthood, are not exposed to work and live happy lives,

36 Journal of Education, No. 85, 2021

whereas the second view focusses on the realities some children face. By participating in

child work, they create better futures for themselves and their communities. The third view

shows us that children need protection from child labour when such labour is exploitative and

abusive. The reality of many South African children is that they will most likely work from a

young age, and they might not have the knowledge to identify exploitative and abusive

labouring conditions. Some children can work and be in school without this being harmful to

their development. In fact, this could be good for them and for their future employability but

they need to know what counts as being exploitative. In this regard, CAPS has a

responsibility to address the necessity for knowledge about child labour. The following

questions can be raised: How does the curriculum prepare children to identify normal versus

exploitative and abusive labouring conditions? And how does CAPS prepare children to

know when child work is not abusive and a good opportunity in which to participate?

Education and curriculum as a response to child labour

In South Africa, school attendance is compulsory and a human right for all children between

the ages of 7 and 15 (South African Government 1996a, 1996b). Despite it being mandatory

for children aged 7 to 15 to attend school, South African schools have a drop-out crisis.

Nearly half of the learners enrolled in Grade 1 drop out of the schooling system before they

reach Grade 12 (Smillie & Mobotja, 2019; South African Government, 2011). South Africa

should ensure that all children of compulsory school-going age attend school, drop-outs

should be monitored more closely, and individual cases must be followed up (Department of

Basic Education 2019).

When children leave school, it is often to find a job to support their families (Gallinetti,

2008). In 2015, almost 600,000 South African children were engaged in child labour.

Children in the age group of 16 to 17 are more likely than others to be involved in child

labour (South African Human Rights Commission, 2017).

Although legislation such as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

(Organization of African Unity, 1990), the South African Constitution (South African

Government 1996a), the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act (South

African Government, 2013), among others is in place to protect children against child labour,

children are still exploited in a number of working environments. Root causes of child labour

are poverty, a poor education system, and cultural influences. To combat child labour, direct

interventions such as raising awareness and sound education are needed (International Labour

Organization, 2017). Since child labour and education are “inextricably” (International

Labour Organization, 2017, p. 9) linked, support from the education sector is imperative. This

is reflected in Article 7.2 of Worst forms of child labour convention no 182 that clearly

stipulates that each member state should take “into account the importance of education in

eliminating child labour” (International Labour Organization, 1999, para. 12). In addition,

these member states should ensure access to free basic education (International Labour

Organization, 1999). What is more, one of the four pillars of anti-trafficking interventions is

prevention since this is a key component in the reduction of factors that allow trafficking to

Visser: Child labour is a matter of national concern 37

happen. One of the ways of preventing trafficking is to raise awareness through education

(Department of Basic Education 2019).

Given the educational focus on the analysis of CAPS, more clarity on what is meant by

curriculum is needed. Curriculum Studies can be viewed from a narrow or a broad

perspective according to Graham-Jolly (2003). A narrow view of curriculum defines it only

as a syllabus concerned with the selection and revision of content and does not consider other

aspects that contribute to learning, whereas a broad perspective takes into consideration a

comprehensive understanding of what curriculum is including what happens in the classroom

as well as the actual experiences of learners. Curriculum, in its broadest sense, should help

prepare children to confront many challenges in adulthood (Soudien & Chisholm, 2021).

In Curriculum Studies, there are two major schools of thought about how to interpret

curriculum (Du Preez, 2017), namely curriculum as knowledge, and curriculum as policy

(Chisholm, 2005). These schools of thought have different origins and stress different

features of a curriculum.

The first school of thought, curriculum as knowledge, according to Chisholm (2005) stresses

knowledge construction and the role of the school in teaching and learning. At its heart is

constructivism and outcomes-based education with its learner-centred focus. This approach

brings to the surface the “local, hidden, silenced knowledge, and everyday realities of

learners” (p. 194). Learner-centred education enables the validation of hidden knowledge and

everyday realities so that real learning can take place (Chisholm, 2005). Du Preez (2017)

argued that curriculum as knowledge can be associated with the conceptual-empiricist

paradigm as discussed by Pinar (2009). Critics of this school of thought indicate that it

focusses on the “local, known, and everyday” that is not seen as education, because at the

heart of an educational endeavour is “a leading away from the known, familiar, and everyday

into universal processes” (Chisholm, 2005, p. 194). Conceptual empiricism is inclined to

make curriculum too context-specific, just as the social construction of knowledge is the

focus in the view of curriculum as knowledge (Du Preez, 2017).

The second school of thought, curriculum as policy, places emphasis on the symbolic aspect

of policy and on curriculum’s political character, on the history of policy, on the conflicts

between curriculum in theory and practice, and on the relationship between curriculum and

identity (Chisholm, 2005). Du Preez (2017, p. 107) describes curriculum as policy since the

“politicisation of curriculum matters, and the unfolding of symbolic notions embedded in a

curriculum.” For curriculum-as-policy scholars, “curriculum is a fundamentally political

statement that reflects the struggles of opposing groups to have their interests, values,

histories, and politics dominate the school curriculum” (Chisholm, 2005, p. 194). According

to Du Preez (2017), curriculum as policy can be associated with the reconceptualist

paradigm, as discussed by Pinar (2009). Reconceptualist scholars are concerned with the

political character of education and its historical legacy (Du Preez, 2017). According to Du

Preez (2017, p. 107), “This movement is less concerned with empirical means to justify

curriculum development and quality and more orientated towards metatheory and philosophy

of curriculum-related knowledge in larger growth of social science episteme.”

38 Journal of Education, No. 85, 2021

CAPS can be interpreted from both schools of thought. South Africa is faced with economic

inequalities, and therefore schools and the schooling system must continually “make a

conscious effort to heal the divisions of the past, foster a sense of South African nationhood

and, above all, provide education opportunities that will break down the deep inequalities that

still pervade South African society” (Department of Basic Education 2019, p. 4). According

to the World Bank (cited in Department of Basic Education, 2019, p. 10), “[e]conomic

development is recognised as critical for fighting poverty, and in this fight education plays a

central role.”

CAPS can also be positioned in a bigger discourse. Colonisers developed school systems in

Africa to model education on the countries of their origin. In doing so, they ignored the needs

of the social development of the colonised societies (Bourdillon, 2017). Throughout the 20th

century, schools were viewed as representative of the most, and often the only, legitimate site

of learning (Bessel, 2017). Furthermore, Bourdillon (2017, p. 92) argued that “[g]lobal policy

on children’s work and education is dominated by two assumptions.” The first of these is that

schooling is the best way to secure a future for all children, and the second is that work in

general hinders schooling and should therefore be avoided during childhood. Local

communities are not taken into consideration in these global assumptions that might be true

for high-income societies where caregivers take economic responsibility. However, in the

African context, these assumptions are not always valid, since African children actively

participate in economic activities (Bourdillon, 2017). Nsamenang (2011, p. 243) stated that,

in African cultures, “responsibility is more valued than cognition, per se, in that a child or

adolescent cannot be responsible without being cognitive.” According to Bourdillon (2014, p.

16), policies have been dominated by “the norms that have been established in the West and

are assumed to be ideal for all children everywhere, with little attention to the precise

contexts and needs of children in other situations, nor to outcomes in children’s lives.”

Research design, methodology, and main findings

This study involved me in document analysis situated within an interpretivist paradigm. I

downloaded all CAPS for Grades 1 to 9 compulsory subjects from the Department of Basic

Education’s website. Table 1 presents a list of the CAPS documents that I analysed. The data

was generated by a limited set of information; only the explicit curriculum was analysed and

neither teachers’ lesson plans nor prescribed textbooks were included. The purpose of the

study was to describe how the Grade 1 to 9 school curriculum helps learners transition from

school to the workplace through addressing child labour.

Visser: Child labour is a matter of national concern 39

Table 1

South Africa’s compulsory Grade 1 to 9 explicit curriculum

Phase Grades Subject Department of

Basic Education

Foundation phase

Grades 1-3 English First Additional Language (2011a)

Grades 1-3 English Home Language (2011b)

Grades R-3 Life Skills (2011c)

Grades 1-3 Mathematics (2011d)

Intermediate phase

Grades 4-6 English First Additional Language (2011e)

Grades 4-6 English Home Language (2011f)

Grades 4-6 Life Skills (2011g)

Grades 4-6 Mathematics (2011h)

Grades 4-6 Natural Sciences and Technology (2011i)

Grades 4-6 Social Sciences (2011j)

Senior phase

Grades 7-9 Creative Arts (2011k)

Grades 7-9 Economic and Management Sciences (2011l)

Grades 7-9 English First Additional Language (2011m)

Grades 7-9 English Home Language (2011n)

Grades 7-9 Life Orientation (2011o)

Grades 7-9 Mathematics (2011p)

Grades 7-9 Natural Sciences (2011q)

Grades 7-9 Social Sciences (2011r)

Grades 7-9 Technology (2011s)

I carefully analysed all the curriculum documents presented in Table 1 and present the

findings below.

Main Findings

A search for the key term child labour in all the CAPS documents produced a poor result.

Inductive identification of concepts discussed in CAPS that can be related to labour and/or

child labour resulted in “career”, “employment”, “job”, “labour”, “occupation”, “slavery”,

“slave(s)”, and “work.” I decided to search deductively for these specific concepts by making

use of content analysis. Table 2 below displays the frequency of concepts related to child

labour in the Grade 1 to 9 explicit curriculum.

40 Journal of Education, No. 85, 2021

Table 2

Frequency of explicit mentions of concepts related to child labour in the compulsory Grade 1 to 9 explicit curriculum

Subject

D
e
p

a
r
tm

e
n

t
o

B
a

si
c
E

d
u

c
a

ti
o

C
a

r
e
e
r

E
m

p
lo

y
m

e
n

J
o

L
a

b
o
u

O
c
c
u

p
a

ti
o

S
la

v
e
r
y
a

n
d

/o
r

sl
a

v
e
(s

)

W
o

r
k

Foundation phase

Grades 1-3 English First Additional Language 2011a 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Grades 1-3 English Home Language 2011b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Grades R-3 Life Skills 2011c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Grades 1-3 Mathematics 2011d 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Intermediate phase

Grades 4-6 English First Additional Language 2011e 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Grades 4-6 English Home Language 2011f 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Grades 4-6 Life Skills 2011g 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Grades 4-6 Mathematics SA 2011h 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Grades 4-6 Natural Sciences and Technology 2011i 1 0 1 0 0 0 0

Grades 4-6 Social Sciences 2011j 0 0 1 2 1 0 4

Senior phase

Grades 7-9 English First Additional Language 2011m 1 1 3 0 0 0 0

Grades 7-9 English Home Language 2011n 1 1 3 0 0 0 0

Grades 7-9 Life Orientation 2011o 46 1 0 0 0 0 27

Grades 7-9 Mathematics 2011p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Grades 7-9 Natural Sciences 2011q 10 0 0 0 0 0 0

Grades 7-9 Technology 2011s 7 0 9 0 0 0 0

Grades 7-9 Social Sciences 2011r 0 0 0 8 0 35 6

Grades 7-9 Creative Arts 2011k 22 0 0 0 0 0 0

Grades 7-9 Economic and Management Sciences 2011l 0 1 2 3 0 0 0

Below, I discuss the subjects that address the concept of child labour.

Creative Arts

Creative Arts (CA) explicitly mentions the concept of career (Department of Basic

Education, 2011k) with regard to different career paths that learners can take. One of the

specific aims of CA “is to expose learners to the range of careers in the arts” (p. 8). Table 3

gives the overview of media and careers, one of the topics covered in CA during the senior

phase (Grade 7 to 9), as it is set out in the CAPS document for CA.

Visser: Child labour is a matter of national concern 41

Table 3

Topic 5 – Media and careers in CA (Department of Basic Education, 2011k, p. 16)

Topic Grade 7 Drama Grade 8 Drama Grade 9 Drama

Topic 5

Media and

careers

Exploration:

Performers

The creative team

The support team

Related fields of study

Accessible and relevant

media

Media forms such as film,

television, radio,

documentaries and the

internet

Drama elements in the

selected media form

Positive and negative effects

of media

Stereotyping (including

typecasting, labelling, stock

characters) in stories, theatre,

film, television and radio

Stereotyping according to

age, gender, class/status and

culture, etc.

During the second term, Grade 7 learners are expected to write a test on careers and basic

drama elements and, in the fourth term, to write an examination on careers and elements of

drama. In Grade 7, learners are expected to explore:

• performing careers, including actors (theatre, film), dancers, singers, clowns, stand-up

comedians, etc. (the support team, including the stage manager, stage hands, make-up

artists, costume mistress, props mistress, lighting and sound technicians and front of

house staff (p. 37).

• the related fields of study, including the drama teacher, drama therapist, drama life

coach, voice and speech therapist, movement therapist, radio and television

presenters, master-of-ceremonies and agents (p. 38).

Grade 8 learners are expected to learn about dance and related careers, fashion design careers

in the arts, and careers in the arts and design fields. In Grade 8, learners are expected to

“[e]xpress, identify/name, question and reflect through researching careers in visual arts and

design using various sources, e.g. books, libraries, internet; formal written response or class

presentation (could be group work)” (p. 72). In the third term, they are expected to write an

essay or do a presentation on “Visual Literacy: Careers in the arts” (p. 86). In the fourth term,

learners are expected to write an examination that includes the topic of careers.

In Grade 9, the teacher is expected to make use of books on careers.

Economic and Management Sciences

Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) explicitly refers to the concepts of employment,

job, and labour (Department of Basic Education 2011l). In this subject, learners study labour,

financial markets, and the creation of sustainable job opportunities (p. 14). When learners

study the factors of production, they learn about unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled labour, as

well as fair employment practices. For one hour a week, during weeks 4 to 6 in term 2 of

Grade 8, learners are expected to learn about “Capital – borrowed and own capital; labour –

skilled, semi-skilled and skilled labour; role of workers in the business; fair employment

practices; natural resources, entrepreneurship, remuneration of the factors of production” (p.

17).

42 Journal of Education, No. 85, 2021

Languages

In Intermediate Phase English First Additional Language and English Home Language, the

term “job” is used as part of a list of the text types that should be used to enable all learners to

learn how to write an official letter for various purposes, such as “to apply for a job or

bursary; to complain, request, etc.” (Department of Basic Education, 2011e, p. 25;

Department of Basic Education, 2011f, p. 27).

In Senior Phase First Additional Language and Home Language, the words “career”,

“employment” and “job” are explicitly mentioned. The first sentence of section 3 that

specifically deals with teaching plans states, “The Senior Phase is, to most unfortunate

learners, the end of compulsory education. After Grade 9, most learners either go looking for

a job or follow vocational careers” (Department of Basic Education, 2011m, p. 55; 2011n, p.

55). Employment is used in the context of setting up a curriculum vitae (CV), and one of the

elements of a CV is to “address the post for which the candidate seeks employment” (2011m,

p. 44; 2011n, p. 44). “Job” is also mentioned in the context of setting up a CV: “It is useful to

note that every CV must address a situation, e.g., a CV for a particular job should speak

mainly of the writer’s involvement in that particular area” (2011m, p. 44; 2011n, p. 44). In

addition, “job” is used in the context of filling in a form for various reasons, such as applying

for a job, among others (2011m; 2011n).

Life Orientation

Life Orientation (LO) explicitly mentions “career”, “employment”, and “work.” In LO,

learners are “guided to develop their full potential and are provided with opportunities to

make informed choices regarding personal and environmental health, study opportunities and

future careers” (Department of Basic Education, 2011o, p. 8). Specific aim 4 of LO is to

“guide learners to make informed and responsible decisions about their health, environment,

subject choices, further studies and careers” (p. 9). In Grade 7, learners are expected to learn

about “place or institution of employment” (p. 14). Topic 5 in LO is dedicated to the “world

of work” (SA, p. 8). In Table 2, an overview of the content addressed in Topic 5, “world of

work”, is provided.

Visser: Child labour is a matter of national concern 43

Table 4

Topic 5 (“world of work”) in LO (SA, 2011o, pp. 10, 12–14, 16–18, 2023)

Grade 7 (8 Hours) Grade 8 (9 Hours) Grade 9 (11 Hours)

Term 1: Weeks 9–10 (2 hours) Term 1: Week 10 (1 hour) Term 1: Week 8–10 (3 hours)

• Importance of reading and studying

o Reading for enjoyment and reading with

understanding

o Skills to develop memory: ability to recall

• Different learning styles: visual aural, kinaesthetic,

reading and writing

o Identify own learning style

• Time-management skills

o How to organise one’s work

o How to use time effectively and efficiently

• Reading and writing for different purposes

o Keeping a journal; summarising and improving

reading and writing skills

Term 2: Weeks 6–8 (3 hours) Term 2: Week 1 (1 hour) Term 2: Weeks 6–8 (3 hours)

• Career fields:

o Qualities relating to each field: interests and

abilities

o School subjects related to each career field

o Work environment and activities in each career

field

o Opportunities within each career field

o Challenges within each career field

o Level of schooling – requirements for each

career field

o Duration of study for each career field

o Services and sources for career fields and study

information

• Identify and apply own learning style • Options available after completing Grade 9: National

Senior Certificate (NSC – Grades 10 – 12) and

National Certificate Vocational (NCV – FET

Colleges) qualifications

o Implications of choices: choices between NSC

and NCV

• Knowledge of the world of work: rights

responsibilities and opportunities in the workplace

Term 2: Weeks 2-5 (4 hours)

• Six career categories: investigative, enterprising,

realistic, artistic, conventional and social

o Interests and abilities related to each career