Title of the Study: Children Workers Distorted Bodies

Type of the Study: Book

Author of the Study: Duyar, İzzet

Özener, Barış

Presentation,,

Year/Place of Publication: Ankara, 2003

Language of the Study: Turkish

Number of Pages: 224

Purpose: This book seeks an answer to how hundreds of millions of young bodies are affected from working conditions. Historical development and current status of child labor in the world and in Turkey are also discussed.

Content: The Book touches the historical perspectives of ‘child labor’ emerging as a new phenomenon following the entry of capitalism into the industrialization stage in Western Europe, and then discusses the situation specifically in Turkey with a field study based on detailed data.

Method: Literature scanning and field study methods have been used. To determine the distortions made by the working life on the child body, child apprentices in urban workshops are examined. To do this, a study has been conducted on 532 male apprentices aged between 14-18 in two big apprentice training centers in Ankara who attend to the center one day a week under the law and do practice in a workplace in other days in the area they are trained. To determine the bodily distortions in working children, non-working students in the same age range and from the same socio-economic level has been examined as control group and effects of working life on the apprentice children are demonstrated.

Excerpt: Although legal regulations are made to prevent child labor by having tem work as workers and regulations are set for limiting and elimination of child labor starting from the industrialization period and although at least labor safety of children and youth is struggled to be ensured, the problem still remains there; and it is even seen that child labor is resorted more in non-Western societies in parallel with the increase of poverty.

Some keywords: apprentices, child development, ectomorphy, endomorphy, socio-economic level

Özener, B.; Duyar, İ.; ‘‘Working Children: Distorted Bodies’’, Çalışma Ortamı Magazine, Issue No.54, January-February 2001.

Number of Works Cited: 10

Scope:

Number of children working in workshops in cities is studied to determine the distortions caused by working life on the body of children. To do this, a study has been made on 532 male apprentices aged between 14 and 18 attending the two apprentice training centers in Ankara (Ahi Evran-Ostim) one day a week under the law and in other days maintaining their practical education by working in the area they are trained. To determine the bodily distortions in working children, a group of children who are not working has been studied as the control group with the same socio-economic level has been examined and the effects of working life on the children area revealed.

An Excerpt from the Article:

This excessive growth and muscle tissue increase in bones unfortunately seems to be occurring at the cost of development in height. Low values of apprentices with regards height and ectomorphy components may be interpreted as a support to this opinion. Low ectomorphy component values means that height is not doing its normal development. Backwardness against working children in endomorphy, another component of the body, reveals that working children do not have sufficient amounts of fat accumulation. (p.3)

Some Keywords:

apprentices, child development, ectomorphy, endomorphy, socio-economic level