Provocative image – child labour – P4C stimulus

This picture of a boy working in a shoe factory always gets pupils thinking deeply:

Concepts include: labour/work, family, money, play, leisure, poverty, privilege, inequality, developing countries, responsibility, rights, globalisation, fair trade, fast fashion

Possible questions include:

• Should children work?

• Should we buy shoes made in factories where children work?

• What is work?

• Is work good for us?

• What does it mean to be free?

• Is all work bad for children?

• Is it ever right for a child to work?

• Should children have the same rights as adults?

• If a family is very poor, is it right or wrong for a child to work to help?

• Who is responsible for stopping child labour?

• Is buying products made by children wrong?

• Should we always try to find out where our things are made?

• Should children be paid for chores?