Household type and adolescent concurrent school and labour force participation in South Africa.
Date
2014-07-17
Authors
Mvelase, Phindile
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Abstract
Context: The state of poverty in South Africa is a consequence of the country’s racially
segregated past. Coping mechanisms to buffer the experience of poverty have been employed by
individuals within households (Klasen & Woolard, 2000). One such coping mechanism is that of
intergenerational households. Intergenerational households are well established in South Africa,
largely seen in Black families, however very few studies have embarked on the outcomes of
adolescents belonging to these households such as concurrent school and labour force
participation (Aliber, 2003; Edmonds & Pavcnik, 2005). Intergenerational households
experience economic strain that may induce children belonging to these households to seek
employment, resulting in children not attending school, having uncompleted schooling or
concurrently schooling and participating in the labour force.
The objectives of the study are to estimate the level of concurrent schooling and labour force
participation amongst adolescents in South Africa and determine the association between
residing in intergenerational households and concurrent schooling and labour force
participation amongst adolescents.
Methods: Secondary data from the South African 2010 Survey of Activities of Young People (SAYP)
is used with the sample size of 2 650 116 adolescents aged 7-17 years. Three levels of analysis are
employed: univariate: frequency and percentage distribution tables, bivariate: Chi-square (? 2) and
multivariate: binary logistic regression.
Results: Thirty-one percent of adolescents reside in intergenerational households; 18% in multigenerational
and 13% in skip-generational households. The study found that 24.08% of adolescents
are concurrently schooling and participating in the labour force. The odds of concurrently
schooling and participating in the labour force were higher for adolescents residing in
intergenerational households. There is thus an association between residing in intergenerational
households and concurrent schooling and LFP amongst adolescents in South Africa.
Conclusion: Adolescents residing in intergenerational households have higher odds of concurrently
schooling and participating in the labour force. It is thus important to focus on the living conditions
such as the experience of poverty and household structures to which adolescents belong in order to
understand their experiences and obstacles that may potentially hinder efforts made towards youth
education and thus development in the country.