Exploring Experience of Rural Secondary Level Students on Household Chores and Schooling

Abstract

This study explored how secondary level students experience their participation in household chores and schooling and has examined how students’ household responsibilities shaped their daily schooling experiences. This study has addressed the following questions: a) How do voluntary/involuntary household chores that students engage in shape their schooling experience? b) In what ways do they balance (cope) their household duties and schooling? c) How do they learn, and prepare for future aspirations from the household chores and schooling? The study employed Qualitative Interpretive Inquiry as part of a methodological approach that sought to understand the experiences, meanings, and social contexts of children who engage in domestic chores alongside schooling, with an emphasis on subjective meaning-making through deep engagement with children from their point of view. This was achieved by integrating qualitative methods and selecting 11 participants who were purposefully chosen. Secondary level students’ household chore responsibilities are varied and follow a demanding weekly cycle. Although students consider the light to moderate household chores normal and useful and continuation of intergenerational cultural and social norms, socialization of the children irrespective of gender and preparing for future roles as mother and wives for girls, excessive and intensive engagement in household work affects their schooling and study. On the one hand, engagement in household chores help learning skills like cooking, washing, taking care of siblings, and farm-based work equips them with skills for potential careers in hospitality or agriculture and management, while long hours of household chores, lifting heavy weights, and repetitive motions have a negative impact on a child's immature body, causing physical exhaustion and stress, which in turn affects the ability to learn and concentrate on education. While spending prolonged hours on household chores as well as staying late at night for study, seasonal agricultural responsibilities due to dearth of agricultural labor force trigger by youth and male outmigration prevent school attendance for days or weeks, limiting study opportunities, causing reduced preparation for exams, creating significant gaps in their education. Seasonal agricultural responsibilities prevent school attendance for days or weeks, creating significant gaps in their education. To balance or cope up with the household chore responsibilities together with schooling, students and families use a variety of balancing techniques to minimize the tension between household chores and schooling. To minimize the impact of workload in schooling, students adapt, create suitable routines, divide up certain times for household chores and study negotiating with parents especially during academic periods. Similarly, students also negotiate with parents for household chore timetable based on the academic calendar, designate household tasks based on age and capability, and extend their support relieving duties to their children. Children also seek help from friends for getting class notes and explanations and negotiate with teachers to provide extra classes and flexibility with deadlines. Coping with dual responsibilities acts as a catalytic force for personal growth of students. Navigating the complexities of responsibility, children develop transferable skills, like time management, negotiation, and informed decision-making. Balancing household chores and schooling contributes to character building. This balancing act of dual responsibility nurture hard work, cultivates essential life skills, fosters a mindset of self-reliance and determination in future. Students engage in household chores, schooling, learning, and preparing for their future aspirations. Household chores, such as farming, cooking, or caring for siblings, can shape career interests in various professions in the future. Professionals or seniors in society who have emerged from similar struggles and persevered are motivating factors for students to continue their education despite the difficulties. Experiences of handling complex responsibilities prepare children with adaptive abilities vital to steer hard times and pursue their long-term aspirations. The challenges and hardships inherent in these duties help children build resilience and emotional strength. In conclusion, this study highlights the students’ experiences with household chores and schooling as evolving issues, based on the perceptions and practices of secondary level students and the coping mechanism of dual responsibilities. Household chores are common phenomenon for students. Children are involved in moderate to intensive household chores together with schooling. Although the moderate chores are useful, the prolonged hours of work affect study and schooling. To cope with the burden of dual responsibilities of household chores and schooling, students adapt to the situation and develop problem-solving traits like patience, discipline, work ethics, emotional strength, hardworking mindset, motivation and determination to do well and resilience. This not only helps them to continue their schooling at present but is also useful for future professions. This study is useful for preserving the positive aspects and mitigating the negative dimensions associated with children’s household chores. Intervention programs can preserve the benefits of a household while mitigating the harm it causes to children by encouraging a community that age-appropriately assigns balanced household chores, which are a helpful source of cultural socialization, the development of practical skills, and character building.