ABSTRACT
This chapter aligns itself with a position that emphasises the idea of multiple childhoods as against a conception of childhood articulated in singular and universal terms. It proposes that adopting an ontological approach to studying the experiences of children who combine schooling with work or labour could further extend our knowledge of multiple childhoods, including along the axis of gender. An understanding of the schooling experiences of working children, especially girls, does not yet find a place within the dominant discourses of childhood or even of education and schooling. The chapter thus argues for the need to develop an understanding of the ontology of schooling for children who are also labourers. Furthermore, the chapter emphasises the importance of attending to the gender-differentiated experiences of education of the child labourer to gain a more nuanced understanding of how gender intersects with and impacts, as well as is impacted by, the contexts of childhood, labour, and schooling.
