Child Labor: a Critical Discourse Analysis
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CHILD LABOR: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS Isaac Karikari Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Social Work, Indiana University June 2016 ii Accepted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ____________________________________ Khadija Khaja, Ph.D, Chair Doctoral Committee ____________________________________ Margaret E. Adamek, Ph.D ____________________________________ Hasan Reza, Ph.D March 23, 2016 ____________________________________ Peter Seybold, Ph.D iii ©2016 Isaac Karikari iv DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my Dad, Kwame Nti Karikari, who has always demonstrated that education is the best of legacies. And to my mom, Akua Afriyie for the pillar she’s been. I also dedicate this to my wife, Grace, for her grace, wisdom and strength; and to my son, Tim-Aizaek, for the joy he brings, and all the other intangibles. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS He makes me lie down in green pastures, and He restores my soul. Though I walk through valleys of uncertainty and despair I will fear no evil….I give the utmost thanks to God, the Grand Weaver for His abiding presence and grace throughout this journey. Quoting the words of Sir Isaac Newton, I state that “if I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” I owe the successful completion of this dissertation, and my doctoral studies as a whole to many. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes communal effort to raise a scholar; and I feel blessed and fortunate to have had a strong base of support. First and foremost, I would like to thank my dissertation committee for their immense support and intellectual contributions as I embarked on this journey. I greatly appreciate the remarkable sacrifices they made in helping see this project through. I am grateful for their wisdom and guidance, and the practicality of their suggestions. I am also grateful for the freedom to have a voice and maintain ownership of the process. I am greatly indebted to Dr. Khadija Khaja, my Chair, Dr. Margaret Adamek, Dr. Hasan Reza, and Dr. Peter Seybold. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the Indiana University School of Social Work. I am very appreciative of the support I have received throughout my doctoral studies. I especially want to thank Dean Michael Patchner (thank you for the minimum-of-15-minute-a day-of -writing advice), Dr. Cathy Pike, Dr. Margaret Adamek, Dr. Theresa Roberts, Dr. Bob Vernon, Dr. Bill Barton, Dr. Kathy Lay, Dr. James Hall, Dr. Hea-Won Kim, Dr. Carmen Luca Sugawara, Dr. Carol Hostetter, Dr. James Daley, Dr. Virgil Gregory, Dr. Barbara Pierce, and Dr. Irene Queiro-Tajalli. I would also like to vi thank Julia Carter, Sameeh Khamis, Celisa Snyder, Ali Godby-Schwab, and Patriece Roulette Landis. You all helped create a positive experience for me in the program. I would like to recognize the remarkable support I have received from Dr. Carolyn Gentle-Genitty (and Keith Genitty) and Dr. James Brown (and Tammy Brown), Dr. Richard Beyogle, Dr. Augustina Naami, Dr. Yaa Akosa Antwi, and Isaac Amoah- Sagoe (who taught me the discipline of studying). Thank you all for your mentoring, and for being “Yoda” to me. There are several others who also deserve “Thank yous”: Dr. Ian McIntosh and Dr. Pauline Spiegel for helping me develop my anthropological perspectives; Dr. Brian Steensland (Liberal Arts, IUPUI), Dr. Jessica Lester (Inquiry Methodology, IU Bloomington), and Gabriel Ankrah (Valley View University, Ghana), for their invaluable support, and being available for the CDA and textual analysis consultations; Francesca White, Christian McKay, and Zulfukar Ozdogan (Inquiry Methodology Department, IU Bloomington) for their helpful insight on the use of CDA. Zulfukar, thanks for your constancy and consistency, and the smoothies and coffee. I am also appreciative of the collegiality in the social work program. Once again, thank you to Dr. Adamek, and all the students (past and present) in the program. I have benefitted from the insights of many of my colleagues in and outside the classroom. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Andricus Hutcherson, Evan Harris, Dr. Kyle McGregor, Pinkie Evans, Eun Hye Yi (and Saeun Song), Jangmin Kim (and Areum), John Coco, Richard Friedman, Sheila Dennis, Marie Danh, Dr. Jennifer Anderson, Charli Champion-Shaw, Haresh Dalvi, Taeyeung Park, and Dr. Kori Bloomquist. vii To Stephanie Quiring, Dr. Matthew Moore, Dr. Govind Dhaske, and Dr. Marva Augustine, I say “Thank You” all for the free consultations and your willingness to share your experiences whenever I called on you. A special thank you to Hyemin Son for being there for me on countless occasions. I am also grateful to Dean NaShara Mitchell, and UPnGO, and the Institute on Teaching and Mentoring. Special thanks go to my professors at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana: Professor K.O. Akuoko, Dr. K.O. Dua, Dr. P. Dwumah, Mr. Barnie, Dr. F. Azumah, Ms. Harriet Takyi, Dr. Oheneba Manu, and Bishop Dr. Festus Yeboah Asuamah. Special thanks also go to my professors at the University of Utah College of Social Work: Dr. Joanna Bettmann-Schaefer, Dr. Jason Castillo, Dr. Caren Frost, Mrs. Delva Hommes, Ms. Trinh Mai and Mr. Mark de St. Aubin (who encouraged me to play on the court), Dr. Hank Liese, Dean Jannah Mather, Dr. Rosie Hunter (who told me IUPUI’s social work program was an excellent fit for me), Dr. Ruth Gerritsen- McKane, Mrs. Helane Leta, and Ms. Corinne Johnson. I am sincerely grateful for the love and support of my family (my parents and siblings, Bishop Festus, Mother Felicia and the entire Yeboah Asuamah family, Susie Agble, Uncle Tim, Uncle Roland, Maa Esther, Aama, and Auntie Julie). I have been fortunate to have friends and people who have provided inspiration and encouragement throughout this journey. Thanks to Dr. Samuel Asante, Dr. Christopher Adjei, Bismark Bartels, Kofi Adjei-Mensah, Jacob Gbogbo, Dr. Thomas Kakule, Dr. Howard Lakougna, Joseph Morrison, Michelle Twali, Rana Smalling, Martha, Henok, Kwaku Baryeh, Tobokane Manthai, Richard Twumasi (Panyin), Gordon Kisseih, John and Eli Essegbey, and Terrick and Nana Yaa Andey. viii I am also grateful to Keith and Miriam Phinney, Naveen and Autumn Pammi, Dane Hess, Dr. Michael and Gladys Adjei-Poku, the Boampongs, Keith and Natalie Back, Ps. David and Shana Wigington, Jim and Dana Sowders, Ps. Nathan LaGrange, Ps. Peter and Paulina Asiamah, Donald and Dzifa Buaku, Mandla and Kristen Moyo, Chris and Whitney Horseley, Kudzai Farai, Jonathan Baiden, and Derek Bonta for being good to me (and my family). I know the path to the PhD started long before I entered the doctoral program. So in conclusion, I want to acknowledge and thank all those who believed in me, and made me stay on the right path and aspire higher, especially Mr. Vincent Acquaah, George Ampratwum, Mrs. Mabel Arthur, Mrs. Emelia Mensah, Ms. Veronica Ampofo, and Ms. Cecilia Awittor. ix Isaac Karikari CHILD LABOR: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS Child labor is a complex global phenomenon. Though poverty is widely accepted as the primary cause of child labor, there are many dimensions of the phenomenon that still remain to be explored. Very little attention has been given to the policies that drive efforts to address child labor and how they are framed. Of particular interest is how we determine who is a child, and the notions of childhood underpinning these policies. Less attention has been given to the relationships and power dynamics underlying the policy- making process that surrounds this discourse. A qualitative method, namely, critical discourse analysis (CDA) was used to examine the discursive construction of children and childhood in child labor discourse. Underlying power dynamics through the analysis of diverse child labor-related policies at the global (ILO), regional (OAU/AU), sub-regional (ECOWAS), global/sub-regional (Harkin-Engel Protocol), and local (Ghana) levels was explored. Findings revealed that homogenized and hegemonic trends are visible in child labor discourse. While the ILO’s discourse on child labor was either reproduced or referenced in the other policies, there was generally a homogenized definition of children based on Western social constructions and views of children. Child labor policies were not fully cognizant or sensitive to local constructions and conceptions of how we define children and what we determine are appropriate roles at various ages. In particular reference to Ghana, the Government of Ghana’s child labor policies did not reflect the sociological and cultural realities of the nation. Findings of the study also suggest that for some organizations and countries, especially in the Global South, political and economic x considerations influenced whose voices were included in child labor policy creation. Critical discourse implications for social work education, policy analysis, practice and research are discussed Khadija Khaja, PhD, Chair xi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................1 Background of the Problem .............................................................................................1 Significance of the Study .................................................................................................3 Area of Interest for the Study...........................................................................................9