Indonesian teachers' perspectives on the impact of child work on students' learning outcomes

Indonesia is a developing country where child work is a serious problem. Although the number of child workers aged 10-14 has decreased from 7.1 percent in 2002 to 5.2 percent in 2007 (Kis-Katos & Schulze 2011), a significant problem remains. In 2015 the National Labor Force Survey recorded 1.65 million Indonesian children aged 15-17 involved in child work. The study was located in Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. The East Nusa Tenggara Child Protection Board estimated that there were 23,103 child workers in this province (Seo 2010). Its status as the capital and biggest city in the province made Kupang a target for job seekers, particularly from districts located nearby, such as Timor Tengah Selatan and Timor Tengah Utara. In some cases, children came from those places to live with relatives to attend school in the city as there was limited or no access to schooling in rural areas. In the city, rural children engaged in work to support themselves and/or recompensed relatives for their board and lodging.