The Socio-cultural Determinants of Child Labour in Tanzania

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the socio-cultural determinants of child labour in small scale gold mining in Tanzania. Specifically, the study examined polygamy, early marriage and family conflict among the respondents which influence child labour practices in small scale gold mining (SSGM) in Geita region. Furthermore, the study used the case of Nyang’hwale district which is one of the districts in Geita region where SSGM activities are rampant compared to the rest of the districts. The study used a cross-sectional survey researches design. The primary data were collected by using questionnaires from 209 individuals who were randomly sampled from Nyang’hwale district in Geita region. Moreover, the study applied a newly developed method of measuring the age risk of children working under 18 years known as Eta Value. The researcher analyzed the data using the Structural Equation Modeling Partial Least Square (SEM PLS) with a combination of analytic techniques - statistics and artificial intelligence software. The study found that the child labour determinants under socio-cultural factors were polygamy, early marriage and family conflict. Moreover, the researcher found that micro-sociology focuses on the individual's micro aspects – polygamy, early marriage and family conflicts which are socio-cultural oriented. The study concludes that the fundamental sociocultural determinants are polygamy, early marriage and family conflict. Therefore the study recommends that the polygamy, early marriage and family conflict are significant sociocultural factors that contribute to the child labour practices in Geita.