Implications of the Coordinated Governance to Combating Child Labor through Education

Abstract

The pervasiveness of child labor in a country cannot be explained by a single factor. It is rather an outcome of a set of intertwined factors that are likely to discourage national development as a whole. Therefore, improving performance of a single sector would not be able to root out child labor in the country. Thus, totality approach, by which means multiple sectors of government go through development concurrently, is what is necessary to create a strong and sustainable momentum to drive child labor out of the country. Since eliminating child labor through education takes on country-specific context, countries with different cultural, economic, political and social settings have been dealing with the issue in different ways. Cambodia, for instance, has relied heavily on external assistance such as receiving aid from international donors, implementing programs on eliminating child labor that are designed by particular international organizations, and reforming education system in accordance with the suggestions proposed by the international development agencies. Unlikely, Brazil has decided to coordinate the governments ownership and autonomy on its effort to combat child labor by strengthening the interactions between different levels of the government. While the Brazilian case of reducing child labor through education is widely acknowledged by the international society as a great success, the Cambodian case is often addressed as an example of failure. This study examines the outcomes of the efforts to eliminate child labor through education in the two countries and observes the implications of the degree and form of governments coordination of ownership to combating child labor.