Preliminary Programme

Wed 4 April
    8.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Thu 5 April
    8.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30
    19.00 - 20.15
    20.30 - 22.00

Fri 6 April
    8.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Sat 7 April
    8.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.00 - 17.00

All days
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Wednesday 4 April 2018 8.30 - 10.30
A-1 AFR01 Roundtable: Labour, Education and Children in Africa
LAN/OG/049 Lanyon Building
Network: Africa Chair: Elise Van Nederveen Meerkerk
Organizers: Pedro Goulart, Joan-Pau Jordà, Elise Van Nederveen Meerkerk Discussant: Erik Green
Kleoniki Alexopoulou : Education and Child Labour as Communicating Vessels: Portuguese Africa (1890s-1970s)
Portuguese Africa performed poorly in terms of either official or mission-led education expansion. According to previous literature, the colonial states adopted the “learning by doing” principle to generate skilled labour (Madeira 2005). In parallel, Portuguese rule used various forms of forced labour, including female and child labour, until the late ... (Show more)
Portuguese Africa performed poorly in terms of either official or mission-led education expansion. According to previous literature, the colonial states adopted the “learning by doing” principle to generate skilled labour (Madeira 2005). In parallel, Portuguese rule used various forms of forced labour, including female and child labour, until the late colonial era. This paper explores the impact of colonial labour policies and education investments on child labour and school enrolment of African children in Portuguese Mozambique and Angola. Annual series on education investments are retrieved from the colonial records, shedding light on the complementary roles of the Portuguese colonial states and the missionaries, in line with the literature on other parts of colonial Africa. On the other hand, the paper investigates how extensively child labour was used in the two main Portuguese colonies. Despite the scarce statistical data, qualitative evidence indicates general trends in the importance of child labour and its particular forms over time. I test the following hypotheses: First, when forced labour was abolished, the use of child labour was also restricted and enrolment rates increased. Second, when public investments in education rose, school enrolment rates rose and child labour reduced. Finally, I test an alternative, non-exclusive scenario: At times, African children and youth were used not only as informal labour (for example in family farming), but also as formal skilled labour. The rudimentary schools and vocational training centers that targeted African children played a considerable role in the formalisation of child labour in the Portuguese colonies. (Show less)

Pedro Goulart : Child Labour, Agency and Africa’s Colonial System
Roundtable contribution

Joan-Pau Jordà : The Race for Education in Africa
contribution to roundtable



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