Abstract

Prolonged conflict and socio-economic hardships have overwhelmingly impacted families in Afghanistan, coercing them to depend on their underage children as financial contributors. The current research explores the intricacies between elementary school students balancing education and employment in the Afghancontext (aged 8-13) juggling both school and part-time jobs. Adopting a phenomenological approach, the study investigates the day-to-day experiences of these students employing a semi-structured interview and purposive sampling in accordance with Clarke and Braun’s reflexive thematic analysis. The analysis identified three principal themes: challenges, experiences, and coping mechanisms. Students confronting challenges, irregular school attendance due to working demands, family financial issues, and psychological stresses. Their experiences indicate important physical and psychological toll which incorporates fatigue, and most importantly academic impediments such as missed assignments, and daily struggles. Task prioritization and time management are generally confined to the coping mechanism to overcome them. These findings provide a solid evidence base for tailored interventions and international aid to address and alleviate these students’ burden. This research can contribute to a better understanding ofthe dual burden of labor and education confronted by Afghan children to spotlight the urgency for a thorough policy response.