Interpretative Phenomenology of the Lived Experience of Street-Working Children: A Study in the Lifeworld of the Street

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: This study aimed to phenomenologically explore the lifeworld of street-working children and understand how they perceive, interpret, and assign meaning to the experience of living and working on the street.

Methodology: This qualitative study was conducted using an interpretative phenomenological approach. The participants were eight street-working children, including five boys and three girls aged 10 to 15 years, who were working in central and southern districts of Tehran. Participants were selected through purposive and homogeneous sampling, and interpretative saturation was considered the criterion for sample adequacy. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured, child-centered interviews. Open-ended questions and simple projective techniques, such as drawing and metaphor-based prompts, were used to facilitate children’s expression of their experiences. Data were analyzed according to the six-step model proposed by Smith, Flowers, and Larkin. Trustworthiness criteria for qualitative research were observed throughout data collection, interpretation, and theme development.

Findings: The interpretative analysis led to the emergence of four main themes: “the street as a field of survival: the game of life and death,” “stolen childhood: premature adulthood and loss of innocence,” “the invisible self: stigma, exclusion, and identity crisis,” and “wounded dreams: resistance, hope, and reconstruction of meaning.” These themes indicated that, for street-working children, the street is not merely a physical workplace but a complex, risky, and meaning-laden lifeworld in which concepts such as safety, family, body, childhood, identity, and future are fundamentally redefined.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that the lived experience of street-working children is shaped by survival, deprivation, social exclusion, and, simultaneously, resistance and hope. Therefore, supportive interventions should move beyond material assistance and focus on identity reconstruction, strengthening agency, reducing social stigma, and developing educational and psychosocial pathways compatible with the actual living conditions of these children.