TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page                                                                                                        i

Approval                                                                                                         ii

Dedication                                                                                                      iii

Acknowledgement                                                                                          iv

Table of Contents                                                                                           vi

List of Tables                                                                                                  ix

Abstract                                                                                                          x

CHAPTER ONE:     INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study                                                                               1

Statement of the Problem                                                                               17

Purpose of the Study                                                                                      18

Research Questions                                                                                         18

Research Hypothesis                                                                                       19

Significance of the Study                                                                               19

Scope of the Study                                                                                         20

Operational Definition of Terms                                                                     20

CHAPTER TWO:    REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Preamble                                                                                                         22

Influence of Domestic Labour on Secondary School Students Performance            22

Influence of Absenteeism on Secondary School Students Performance       25

Influence of Commercial Child Labour on Secondary School Students

Performance                                                                                                    26

Influence of Household Poverty on Secondary School Students

Performance                                                                                                    27

Influence of Social Roles in Child Labour on Secondary School Students

Performance                                                                                                    30

Theoretical Framework                                                                                   32

Conceptual Framework                                                                                   33

Summary of the Review of Related Literature                                              34

CHAPTER THREE:                        METHODOLOGY

Preamble                                                                                                         36

Research Design                                                                                             36

Population, Sample and Sampling Techniques                                               37

Instrumentation                                                                                               37

Validity                                                                                                           38

Reliability                                                                                                        38

Procedure for Data Administration and Collection                                        39

Data Analysis Techniques                                                                               39

CHAPTER FOUR:              RESULTS

Preamble                                                                                                         40

Demographic Data                                                                                          40

Hypotheses Testing                                                                                         43

Summary of Findings                                                                                47

CHAPTER FIVE:    DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATION

Preamble                                                                                                         49

Discussion                                                                                                       49

Conclusion                                                                                                      51

Recommendations                                                                                          51

Suggestions for Further Studies                                                                     52

Reference                                                                                                        53

Appendix                                                                                                        58

LIST OF TABLES

Table1:            Distribution of Respondents on the basis of Gender, School

Type, Class taught and Teaching Experience.                        40

Table 2:           Mean and Rank order of respondents on the influence of

child labour on academic performance on secondary school

students.                                                                                  42

Table 3:           Mean, Standard Deviation and t-value of Respondents

on the influence of child labour on students performance on

the basis of genders                                                                44

Table 4:           Mean, standard deviation and t-test of Respondents on

influence of child labour on students’ academic

performance on the basis of school type.                                44

Table 5:           Mean, Standard Decision and t-value of Respondents on

the influence of child labour on students academic

performance on the basis of class taught.                               45

Table 6:           ANOVA of Respondents on the influence of child labour

on student’s academic performance on the basis of teaching

experience.                                                                              46

Table 7:           Duncan Multiple Range Test on Teacher’s Teaching

Experience.                                                                             47

ABSTRACT

Child Labour is a working child who is under the age of 18 years specified by law. Any child who is involved in gainful employment, feed self and augments family income at the experience of learning for the purpose of school examination success is being subjected to child labour. Influence is the power to make other people agree with your opinions or do what you want. Agents this background, the study examined the influence of child labour on academic performance of secondary school students as perceived by teachers in Ila Local Government.

Data collected were from Ten (10) Secondary Schools in Ila Local Government. Two Hundred (200) respondents were engaged in the study. The percentages t-test and ANOVA statistical method were used for analysis of data collected. The result derived from the analysis revealed that child labour influence academic performance of students as perceived by teachers in Ila Local Government among others. In the hypothesis for influence of child labour on students’ academic performance on the basis of gender, there was no significant different.

In hypothesis for influence child labour on academic performance of students on the basis school types, there was no significant difference. In the hypothesis for influence of child labour on academic performance of students on the basis of class taught, there was no significant difference. In the hypothesis for influence of child labour on academic performance of students on the basis of teaching experience, there was no significant difference.

Based on this findings, it was recommended that parent should be sensitized by the teachers on the importance of their student academics so as to understand their role and involvement in their children’s academic performance. This will make them minimize the child labour at home and make them concentrate in their school work. It was also recommended that, there should be enforcement of law by the Ministry of Education and other education stakeholder to guide the children against child labour that affect their academic performance.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

According to Pinzo and Hofferth (2008), child labour is a far reaching and complex problem in developing countries. It has existed in various forms (force labour, trafficking and street trading) in different parts of the world since ancient time. The types of child labour vary according to the country’s culture, and family culture, rural or urban residency, socio-economic condition and existing level of development among other factors.

 A survey by Global March (2008) stated that child labour emerged as an issue during the industrial revolution when children were forced to work in dangerous conditions for well up to 12 hours in a day. In 1860, 50% of children in England between the ages of 5 and 15 were said to be working. However, 1919 saw the world systematically begin to address the issue of child labour and the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted standards to eliminate it. Throughout the 20th century, a number of legally binding agreements and international conventions were adopted but despite all this, child labour continues to this day. The highest number of child labourers are said to be in the Asia-pacific region, but the largest percentage of children,  as proportion of the child population, is evidently found in sub-Saharan Africa with Nigeria (Ila Local Government, Osun  State) having a fair share.

The word child labour is any form of physical, psychological, social, emotional and sexual maltreatment of a child whereby the survival, safety, self-esteem, growth and development of the child are endangered. Herrenkohl (2005) and Psachropoulo (2007), viewed child labour as a disinvestment of social and human capital, a compromising of the development of the individual, and a hindering of the development of skills, abilities, and knowledge necessary to make significant contribution to society, Convention on the Rights of the Child CRC, (2002) described child labour as paid and unpaid work that occurs in any sector, including domestic, and agricultural sectors, that are harmful to children’s mental, physical, social or moral development of the child in the modern society; any work that deprives children opportunity to attend school, obliges them to leave school permanently or requires them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work is categorized as child labour.

The Article I of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child, defines a child as any one below the age of 18. Child labour does not only exist in the impoverished areas of developing countries, but also flourish in other developed nations. Though, it is a complex problem in developing countries.

Child labour remains a major source of concern in Nigeria, in spite of legislative measure taken by the government at various levels. In 1998, a report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that 24.6% of children between the ages 10-14 in Nigeria were working (World Development Indicator 2000). Earlier before that time in 1994, the United Nations children’s Emergency Fund (