The Expectations of the Future in Working Children and Adolescents

The aim of this study was to investigate the expectations of the future in working children and adolescents.

A qualitative study design was conducted and thematic analysis was used to investigate the context of the data. The population consisted of working children and adolescents who lived in Sari City in 2021 and a purposeful sampling method was used until the theoretical saturation of the interviews. Finally, 12 participants were interviewed in a semi-structured manner and the interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis.

The Findings showed the categories of expectations for the future are classified into the five dimensions include compensation for children, effort while contentment, trust, planning for the future and pessimism. Based on the categories, a model was provided in which effort while contentment was placed in central model.

The results showed that the economic problems of working children overshadow their expectations for the future, and most of the children intend to live their lives in a way that their children do not experience such a life. Some children believe that they can shape a better future for themselves by setting the right goals, having a plan for the future, and relying on God.Keywords: Expectations from the future, working children, working Adolescents, goal setting