The Impact of Working Mothers on Children’s Social Behaviours, Classroom Interactions, and Empathy in South Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

This research paper has discussed the effects of mother employment on the social behaviours, classroom interactions, and empathies development in South Punjab, Pakistan. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 200 mothers (N=200) all of whom had professional backgrounds (44 percent education, 25 percent medical field and 31 percent other fields). The social-emotional competencies of children were assessed with the help of the maternal reports with the help of the standardized measures that evaluated the social behaviour, interactions with the classmates, and empathy. Findings showed moderate levels of prosocial behaviour (M=2.17, SD=0.21), classroom interactions (M=2.23, SD=0.27) and manifestation of empathy (M=2.10, SD=0.25). The number of job hours and nature of the employment (public versus private sector) were found as important variables and the determinants of children developing socially and emotionally. The results indicate that the South Asian context of maternal employment and child development is a complex issue, and the employment status is not a leading factor that determines social-emotional outcomes of children. Rather, job quality, parental involvement and family dynamics are significant mediating factors.

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