Child Labour and School Attendance: Evidence from Bangladesh

Literature Review
Notwithstanding a very high child labour participation rate in Bangladesh, this issue has attracted
academic attention only recently after the implementation of the Child Labour Deterrence Act
(Harkin Bill 1993) in 1995. After the mid-nineties a small number of papers have focussed on
the issue of child labour in Bangladesh. Among these, Rahman, et al. (1999), Ravallion and
Wodon (2000), Delap (2001), Amin, Quayes and Rives (2004, 2006a and 2006b), Salmon
(2005), Khanam (2004and 2006) and Khanam and Rahman (2007) are notable. However, not all
of these papers have focussed on the determinants of child labour in Bangladesh. For example,
Rahman et al.(1999) evaluated the impact of Harkin‟s Bill on Bangladesh. Ravallion and Wodon
(2000) examined the effectiveness of a targeted enrolment subsidy (Food-For-Education
Programme) to increase school attendance and to reduce child labour in rural Bangladesh.
Khanam (2004) explored the linkages between child work and both school attendance and school
attainment of children aged 5–17 years using data from a survey based in rural Bangladesh. The
central message from this study is that child labour adversely affects the child‟s schooling,
which is reflected in lower school attendance and lower grade attainment.Amin et al (2006b) also
looked at the impact of market work and household work on a child‟s continuous school
attendance and found that child labour reduces the probability of continuous schooling of
Bangladeshi children. Amin et al (2006a) investigated whether a child and a parent are
substitutes or complements in the family labour supply decision. They found that for market
work, fathers and children are substitutes or complements whereas mothers and children are
complements in the family labour supply decision. Khanam (2006) focussed on the trends,
patterns and policy options of child labour in Bangladesh particularly during the 1990s.3For
example, a high child labour participation rate from the South Asian average and the world
average. A small number of papers have focussed on the determinants of child labour. For
example, using the 1995-96 Household Expenditure Survey (HES) of Bangladesh, Amin et al.
(2004) examined the role of poverty as a determining factor of child labour in Bangladesh. Their
result found that household poverty is an important factor in explaining child labour in
Bangladesh. Subsequently, using the 2000 Bangladesh Labour Force Survey, Salmon (2005)
found support of Amin et al.‟s finding that poverty compels children to work in Bangladesh and
children are the last economic resources of the household. Using data collected from Dhaka
Slums, Delap (2001) however argued that socio-cultural factors are more important than
economic rationality in explaining child work in urban Bangladesh. Khanam and Rahman (2007)
examined the role of birth position of a child in explaining child workand schoolingin
Bangladesh and found that being a first-born child increases the probability of work. The present
study contributes to this small but growing literature that explains the determinants of child
labour in Bangladesh. As previously discussed, good understanding of the key determinants of
child labour is essential for formulating appropriate policies that will reduce child labour.
 The Effects of Social Media on College Students

Review of the Literature

College students have great interest in social media. For the purpose of this study, social media
was defined as Facebook, YouTube, Blogs, Twitter, MySpace or LinkedIn (Martin, 2008).
Although, providing a detailed perspective on social media use among university students and
underscoring that such use can produce both positive and negative consequences, according to a
Nielsen Media Research study, in June 2010, almost 25 percent of students’ time on the Internet
is now spent on social networking websites (Jacobsen, & Forste, 2011). Facebook is the most
used social network by college students, followed by YouTube and Twitter. Moreover, Facebook
alone reports that it now has 500 active million users, 50% of whom log on every day. In
addition, according to a study by Online PhD, students spend roughly 100 minutes per day on
Facebook. In 2007, the number of students who used Facebook was already enormous: 92
percent of college students had an account. By 2008, 99 percent of students had an account on
Facebook. That is quite a large amount considering the service was only opened in 2006 to
everyone.
On one hand, the positive aspect of online communities is that youths can utilize them for
academic assistance and support (Lusk, 2010). Due to the ability of social media to enhance
connections by making them easily accessible, social media can yield many benefits for the
young, including providing a virtual space for them to explore their interests or problems with
similar individuals, academic support, while strengthening online communication skills and
knowledge. “Students who may be reluctant to speak up in class are participating in book
discussion blogs and writing for real audiences. There are new Web tools emerging all the time
that are enhancing learning (Brydolf, 2007).”
On the other hand, “Our findings indicate that electronic media use is negatively associated with
grades. We also find that about two-thirds of the students reported using electronic media while
in class, studying, or doing homework (Jacobsen, & Forste, 2011).” This multitasking likely
increases distraction, something prior research has shown to be detrimental to student
performance. As social media websites, such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter gain popularity,
they are also are becoming increasingly dangerous as they create modes to procrastinate while
trying to complete homework. Hence, in a survey of 102 students, 57% stated that social media
hasmade them less productive.
As to the relationship between social media and grades, a study released by Ohio State
University reveals that college students who utilize Facebook spend less time on studying and
have lower grades than students who do not use the popular social networking sites (Kalpidou,
Costin, & Morris, 2011). Moreover, according toa new study by doctoral candidate Aryn
Karpinski of Ohio State Universityand her co-author, Adam Duberstein of Ohio Dominican
University, college students who usethe 500 million member social network have significantly
lower grade-point averages (GPAs) than those who do not. Nevertheless, another study found no
correlation between heavy social media usage and grades. There was no significant differencein
grades between those considered to be heavy users of social media and those considered to be
light users. Additionally, there was no correlation between grades and the social media platform
used. For example, almost the same number of heavy and light users of both Facebook and
YouTube received the same percentage high and low grades.
Regarding the relationship betweenusing social media with the grades of college students,
concurrent with past studies that find that online communication is linked to time spent in offline
relationships, “our findings indicate that Social Networking Site (SNS) use and cellular-phone
communication facilitates offline social interaction, rather than replace it (Jacobsen & Forste,
2011)”. Students commonly commented that connect should be invaluable for making friends
and supporting each other, especially within the first few weeks after arriving at the University
(Oradini &Saunders, 2007).
Furthermore, “The relationship between Facebook and well-being appears to become positive
over the college years, possibly because upper-class students use Facebook to connect socially
with their peers and participate in college life (Kalpidou, Costin, & Morris, 2011).” Therefore,
“we need to keep in mind that the benefits of this interactive technology far outweigh the risks,”
says Leri. “When it’s used in a positive way, it can be an extraordinary tool (Brydolf, 2007).”
 A Study on the Use of ICT in Teaching in Secondary Schools in Kuwait

Literature Review

This thesis will assess and evaluate the level and nature of ICT use in secondary school
classrooms in the State of Kuwait. This chapter will review the literature related to the use and
impact of ICT on learning in Kuwaiti secondary schools. Due to the central role oflearning in
this thesis, the chapter will begin with a discussion of the most prominenttheories of learning
from the last two centuries. It will then consider the new models ofinteractive teaching being
used in many schools in order to integrate ICT into thecurriculum and then finally relate these
theories and new ideas to the use of ICT in Kuwaiti secondary schools.
Even though some schools are wary of introducing too much ICT teaching into theirpractice, this
study aims to prove that embedding ICT into the teaching and learningprocess is extremely
valuable. While there has been some innovation in pedagogicalstrategy, including notable
successes through the use of ICT, most secondary schools still have a long way to go because an
old teacher-centred paradigm still exists in schools theworld over, as opposed to more modern
approaches which focus on student-centred principles.
In the literature review, the thesis considers the areas most pertinent to the five researchquestions
already specified, and considers the role of ICT ininteractive teaching, the link between various
learning theories and ICT and thereafter the use of ICT by subjects, internationally and studies
which have examined the role of gender in determining ICT use.

Interactive Teaching

Different definitions have been introduced regarding „interactivity‟ as a concept in the study of
teaching and learning. In this regard, significant importance is placed on theories of learning,
their discussion and the studies based on the language of discourse in the classroom between the
teacher and the students (Burns & Myhill, 2004).
Part of the rationale for this study is to highlight interactive teaching as a means of enhancing
students‟ learning. The learning theories discussed by Vygotsky (1972) and Bruner (1986) in
relation to the importance of the development of thinking and learning,use the term „interaction‟
to refer to the different exchanges thought to be capable of broadening thinking and enhancing
learning. Learners, according to their suggestions, develop understanding inside interactive
social situations backed up with knowledge through collaboration with others, who receive
knowledge of cultural value and seek new learning (Burns & Myhill, 2004).
In a study that addressed the effects of providing „procedural ‟ opportunities for learning,
Cooper & McIntyre (1994) discussed a model involving a continuum, starting from a discourse
and extending through interactivity and interactive reaction, to a self-Centred learning.
According to them "interactive" teaching exists where teachers integrate with their plans as well
as with knowing their students, provided that "teachers believe that the correct use of students‟
inputs will take place only within a framework of specific criteria based on the plans that precede
the lesson they intend to provide" (Cooper & McIntyre, 1994: 639).
Interactive learning is achieved through maintaining a balance between direction, command,
presentation, explanation, illustration, questions, discussion, exploration, confirmation, profound
thinking, evaluation and summarising (DFES, 2002: 39-40). Accordingly, we have to view
interactive learning in its entirety, integrating as it does withteaching components inside the
classroom.
There is large-scale agreement that the quality and level of interaction between the teacher and
the learners is an important component of effective teaching (Kennewell, 2005). Brownet al.
(1998) point out that the pattern of classroom organisation should not be considered to be the
main feature of good learning, but that it is better measured by the quality of interaction between
the teacher and the students. Hargreaveset al. (2010) suggest that effective interactive teaching,
which is distinguished by constant mutual interaction between the teacher and the learner,
involves the exchange of thoughts and not traditional methods of „dictation, response and
feedback‟ which results from a teacher‟s questions.
Muijs and Reynolds (2010) distinguish interactive learning in terms of the nature and efficacy of
the inter action between the teacher and the students. They suggest that interaction enables the
teacher to confirm that the learner understands the principles that have been taught. It helps the
students to practise and master target skills and clearly highlights the way they think. It also
helps the teacher to offer targeted learning support. They have drawn on US studies from the
1980s, which highlight the following as features of interactive learning:

 The use of questions to revise what has been learnt earlier at the start of the lesson and
summing up what has been learnt at the end of the lesson.

 Creating a climate where learners are encouraged to answer questions.

 The inclusion of strategic and high-level questions, open-ended questions and process-
related questions.
 Assessing learners‟ answers and offering clear feedback, especially when the learner
seems hesitant.
 Making learners interested by rephrasing or dividing questions in case there are incorrect
or no answers.
(Muijs and Reynolds, 2010)

Many studies in interactive learning emphasise the shift from high levels of teachers‟control to
greater self-centred learning on the students‟ part. It may be useful for future researchers to
imagine interaction in teaching regarding interaction and scaffolding nature through dialogue.
Kennewell, Tanner, and Beauchamp (2007) for example, expect interactive teaching to include
several levels of interaction in order to cope with teaching objectives.