Street-connected Children Counselling and Guiding Them: A Critical Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63324/lec.2v.2i.107Keywords:
Advocacy, Counselling and guidance, Discrimination, Education, ResilienceAbstract
Globally, the issue of street-connected children continues to be a growing phenomenon. This scenario is very convoluted to comprehend since there are various factors that contribute to their presence on the streets. To try to understand their lives and bring hope to them via counselling, this critical review systematically searched various journals and articles for references pertaining to the topic. This non-empirical research is advantageous because it can provide theoretical insights, develop new concepts, and synthesize existing knowledge through literature reviews. Mention must be made of its limitations. It lacks empirical evidence which makes the findings potentially subjective, leading to conclusions that can be less reliable and harder to verify through experimentation or direct observation. Nonetheless, the findings identified that street-connected are habitually viewed as victims of poverty, abuse, violence, and discrimination. The findings also revealed that although their lives are constantly rooted in danger it is not impossible to rehabilitate and provide them with counselling and guidance. Moreover, these children have the innate capacity to navigate complex situations, adapt to street life, and build supportive networks. These diverse perspectives shape how society perceives and responds to street-connected children and influence the types of support and interventions provided. Thus, this analysis raises an awareness about their plight and calls supporting organizations to continue to advocate for their rights. While these various organizations provide street-connected children with basic amenities like food, clothing, and shelter, they should also concentrate on long-term solutions such as counselling and guidance and integration.
References
Abebe, T. (2009). Begging as a Livelihood Pathway of Street Children in Addis Ababa. Forum for Development Studies, 36(2), 275-300. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2009.9666438
Al-Hroub, A., Saab, C., Vlaardingerbroek, B. (2021). Addressing the Educational Needs of Street Children in Lebanon: A Hotchpotch of Policy and Practice, Journal of Refugee Studies, 34(3), 3184-3196, https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feaa091
Albia, J., & Cheng, M. (2023). Re-examining and Developing the Notion of Academic Citizenship: A Critical Literature Review. Higher Education Quarterly, 77(4) 709-721. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12428
Alem, H. W., & Laha, A. (2021. Socio-Economic Determinants of Street Children Category and their Occupational Choice: Evidence from the Regional State of Oromia, Ethiopia. African Journal of Economic Review, 9(2), 173-84. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajer/article/view/205927
Aptekar, L., & Stoecklin, D. (2014). Street children and Homeless Youth. Springer Dordrecht, Heidelberg, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7356-1
Aslan, M. A., & Mohamed, A. (2023). Personality Traits and Their Relation to Behavioral Deviance in Street Children: A Socio-psychological Study. Journal of Sustainable Development in Social and Environmental Sciences, 2(1), 31-38.
Asror, M., & Wahyudi, A. (2021). Street Children Religious Education Using an Interactional Education Approach. Journal of Development Research, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.28926/jdr.v5i1.131
Ayed, N., Toner, S., & Priebe, S. (2019). Conceptualizing Resilience in Adult Mental Health Literature: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis. Psychol. Psychother, 92, 299-341. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12185
Bearman, M., Ryan, J. & Ajjawi, R. (2023). Discourses of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: A critical literature review. Higher Education, 86, 369385 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00937-2
Beazley, H. (2003). Voices from the Margins: Street Children’s Subcultures in Indonesia. Children’s Geographies, 1(2), 181-200. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733280302198
Bejenaru, A., & Tucker, S. (2017). An Examination of the Views of Young People in the Romanian Residential care system Regarding their Relationship with Biological Family Members and the Option of Reintegration. Journal of Youth Studies, 20(7), 855-871. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2016.1273517
Bhattacharjee, L., & Veitch, H. J. (2020). Strengthening (Re)integration from Child Sexual Exploitation: Children and Young People's Recommendations. Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond, 7(2), 183-190. https://doi.org/10.1177/2349300320937218
Bhattacharyya D, & Chakraborty S. (2024). Building Resilience of Street-connected Children during COVID-19: Turning Rights into Practices through CINI Method. Front Public Health. 17(12),1353867. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1353867
Bongomin, F., Ekeng, B. E., Kibone, W., Nsenga, L., Olum, R., Itam-Eyo, A., Kuate, M. P. N., Pebolo, F. P., Davies, A. A., Manga, M., Ocansey, B., Kwizera, R., & Baluku, J. B. (2022). Invasive Fungal Diseases in Africa: A Critical Literature Review. Journal of Fungi, 8(12), 1236. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof8121236
Cardenal, M. (2021). Special Time: Working with Street Children. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 31(4), 520. https://doi.org/10.1080/10481885.2021.1926795
Cavazzoni, F., Fiorini, A., & Veronese, G. (2023). When Agency Turns into a Risk Factor: A Literature Review of the Negative Consequences of Children’s Agentic Behaviors on Their Physical and Psychological Well-being. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(2), 1095-1105. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380211048450
Chen, C. (2024). A Study Applying Rogers’ Innovation Diffusion Theory on the Adoption Process of New Teaching Methods in Secondary Education. Research and Advances in Education, 3(2), 6-10. https://www.paradigmpress.org/rae/article/view/1006
Chikoko, W., Mhizha, S., & Mundau, L. (2021). Urban Resilience Under Austerity: A Case Study of Street Children Vending in the Harare Central Business District, Post-2018. In: Chirisa, I., Chigudu, A. (eds) Resilience and Sustainability in Urban Africa, 103-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3288-4_7
Crowter, J. (2022). To Be That Self Which One Truly Is: Trans Experiences and Rogers’ Theory of Personality. Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies, 21(4), 293-308. https://doi.org/10.1080/14779757.2022.2028665
Das, A. chandra, Awolad Hussain, M., Begum, M., Das Ratul, A., Sutradhar, M., & Akther, M. (2024). Research on Substance Abuse Among Street Children in Sylhet. Journal of Knowledge Learning and Science Technology, ISSN: 2959-6386 (online), 3(3), 63-72. https://doi.org/10.60087/jklst.vol3.n3.p63-72
de Klerk, W., & Pretorius, J. (2019). Guideline for Conducting Critical Reviews in Psychology Research. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 29(6), 645-649. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2019.1691793
Denckla, C. A., Cicchetti, D., Kubzansky, L. D., Seedat, S., Teicher, M. H., Williams, D. R., & Koenen, K. C. (2020). Psychological Resilience: An Update on Definitions, a Critical Appraisal, and Research Recommendations. Eur. J. Psychotraumatol, 11(1), 1822064. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2020.1822064
Di Domenico, D., & Mapelli, L. (2023). Dopaminergic Modulation of Prefrontal Cortex Inhibition. Biomedicines, 11(5), 1276. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11051276
Durmuş, İ. (2024). Organizational Overview of Maslow and Management Research. Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Journal, 14(72), 137-152. https://doi.org/10.17066/tpdrd.1332600_10
Embleton, L., Shah, P., Gayapersad, A., Kiptui, R., Ayuku, D., & Braitstein, P. (2020). Characterizing street-connected children and youths’ social and health inequities in Kenya: A qualitative study. International Journal for Equity in Health, 19(1), 147. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-020-01255-8
Fantahun, T., & Taa, B. (2022). Children of the street: The cause and Consequence of their Social Exclusion in Gondar city, North West Ethiopia. Cogent Social Sciences, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2068268
Farchi, M. U. (2025). The ART of Resilience: A Theoretical Bridge across Resilience Perspectives. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1556047. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1556047
Feigenbaum, K. D. (2023). A Critique of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers as Educators. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 64(1), 44-63. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221678231154819
Fikre, K. (2024). Street subculture: Children’s Livelihood Strategies for Surviving on the Streets of Addis Ababa. Children, Youth and Environments, 34(1), 28-43. https://doi.org/10.1353/cye.2024.a925840
Fikre, K., & Amdework Atsbeha, E. (2025). Voices from the street: Exploring Street song and the Livelihood Strategies of Street-connected Children in Addis Ababa. Cogent Social Sciences, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2025.2528412
Frederick, J., Spratt, T., & Devaney, J. (2023). Supportive Relationships with Trusted Adults for Children and Young People who Have Experienced Adversities: Implications for Social Work Service Provision, The British Journal of Social Work, 53(6). https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcad107
Gao, S. (2022). Analysis of Maslow's Hierarchy Theory in Today's Team Management. In 2022 4th International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry (ICEMCI 2022) (pp. 1106-1112). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-098-5_124
Garrod, B. (2023). What Makes a Good Critical Literature Review Paper? Tourism and Hospitality, 4(1), 141-147. https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp4010008
Goodman, M., Munene, K., Gardner, N., & Gitari. S. (2024). Understanding Street-exposure and Abuse among Street-involved Children and Youth in Kenya: Structural Intervention Insights from Routinely Collected Program Data. BMJ Paediatrics Open. https://doi.org 10.1136/bmjpo-2024-002957
Gunhidzirai, C. (2023). The Quest for Survival: Street Children and the Informal Sector in Zimbabwe. Southern African Journal of Social Work and Social Development, 35(1), 20 pages. https://doi.org/10.25159/2708-9355/11289
Halim, N. Y., Suroso, S., & Arifiana, I. Y. (2024). Connection Between Support Social Friend Peers with Subjective Well-Being in Street Children. International Journal of Social and Political Sciences, 1(1), 24-33. https://doi.org/10.69812/ijsps.v1i1.43
Hartmann, C. F., Silva, L. N., Corrêa, M. L., Oliveira, G. F., Dutra, J. C., Ishikame, K. R., Pereira, L. B., Torres Carvalho, F., & dos Santos Paludo, S. (2021). Risky Sexual Behavior Among Street Children, Adolescents, and Young People Living on the Street in Southern Brazil. Journal of community health, 46(6), 1188-1196. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-021-01010-2
Jasman, N. V., & Prasetya, B. E. A. (2023). Connection Between Support Social Peers and Subjective Well-being in Street Children in the City of Jayapura. Open Journal Systems, 17(6), 1087-1098.
Joyce, S., Shand, F., Tighe, J., Laurent, S. J., Bryant, R. A., & Harvey, S. B. (2018). Road to Resilience: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Resilience Training Programmes and Interventions. BMJ Open, 8(6), e017858. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017858
Kudenga, M., Heeralal, P., & Ndwandwe, N. (2024). Navigating the Road Home: Challenges Hindering the Reintegration of Street Children with their Families in Harare, Zimbabwe. Interdisciplinary Journal of Rural and Community Studies, 6, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.38140/ijrcs-2024.vol6.07
Lashari, A., Kakepoto, H., Ali, Z., & Ibrar, M. (2023). Causes Associated with the Growing Number of Street Children in Urban Cities of Indonesia. Journal of Social Sciences Review, 3(2), 382-392. https://doi.org/10.54183/jssr.v3i2.276
Lestari, T. A., Ma’arif, M. A., Kartiko, A., Karim, A., & Siregar, B. (2021). Mental Revolution of Homeless Children’s Through Islamic Education Learning. 67-72. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210421.011
Maepa, M. P. (2021). Self-Esteem and Resilience Differences Among Street Children Compared to Non-street Children in Limpopo Province of South Africa: A Baseline Study. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 542778. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.542778
McGrath, C., Liljedahl, M., & Palmgren, P. J. (2020). You say it, we say it, but how do we use it? Communities of Practice: A Critical Analysis. Medical Education, 54(3), 188-195. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14021
Md. E., & Rajib, C. D. (2025). Exploring the Educational and Health Condition of Street Children: A Case Study in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 9(03), 4420-4436. https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.90300354
Mhuru, D., & Mutekwe, P. (2025). Health Challenges and Coping Mechanisms of Female Street Children in Harare, Zimbabwe. Interdisciplinary Journal of Rural and Community Studies, 7(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.38140/ijrcs-2024.vol7.1.01
Mwende, M. M., Shivachi, T. I., & Sibuor, J. O. (2022). Street Children Rehabilitation and Reintegration Experience: An Analysis of Post-Institutionalization Outcomes in Trans Nzoia Country, Kenya. International Journal of Professional Practice, 10(4), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.71274/ijpp.v10i4.218
Newman, J. (2023). Promoting Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration: A Systematic Review, a Critical Literature Review, and a Pathway Forward. Social Epistemology, 38(2), 135-151. https://doi.org/10.1080/02691728.2023.2172694
Nilasari, H., Indriatmi, W., Irawan, Y., Budiono, S. E., Silviana, A., & Waworuntu, W. (2023). The Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections and their Association with knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice in male Street Children in Indonesia. International Journal of STD & AIDS. 35(2):112-121. https://doi.org/10.1177_09564624231202058
Nurwati, N., Fedryansyah, M., & Achmad, W. (2022). Social Policy in the Protection of Street Children in Indonesia. Journal of Governance, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.31506/jog.v7i3.16366
Osmani, Md. A. G., & Hossain, Md. E. (2020). Examining the Factors and Vulnerabilities of Children on the Streets in Rajshahi City of Bangladesh. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 15(3), 279-288. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450128.2020.1811440
Papaleontiou-Louca, E., Esmailnia, S., & Thoma, N. (2021). A Critical Review of Maslow’s Theory of Spirituality. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 24(4), 327-343. https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2021.1932694
Pivetti, M., & Dusi, V. (2025). Measuring STEM engagement among Middle School Children Involved in Educational Robotics: A Narrative Review. Discover Education, 4, 253 https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-025-00547-x
Pudjiastuti, D., Situmeang, S. M. T., Pane, M. D., & Utomo, S. S. (2025). Legal Protection for Street Children in Connection with State Responsibility from the Pancasila Perspective. KRTHA BHAYANGKARA, 19(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.31599/krtha.v19i1.3151
Qvortrup, J. (2015). A Voice for Children in Statistical and Social Accounting: A plea for Children's Right to be Heard. Constructing and reconstructing childhood, 74-93. Routledge.
Rachmad, Y. E. (2022). Emotional Resilience Theory. Hilversum Media Boek Internationale Uitgeverij.
Rojas, M., Méndez, A., & Watkins-Fassler, K. (2023). The Hierarchy of Needs Empirical Examination of Maslow’s Theory and Lessons for Development. World Development, 165, 106185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106185
Schrader-McMillan, A., & Herrera, E. (2016). The Successful Family Reintegration of Street-connected Children: Application of Attachment and Trauma Theory. Journal of Children's Services, 11(3), 217-232. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcs-09-2015-0028
Sharma, M. K. (2020). Street Children in Nepal: Causes and health Status. Journal of Health Promotion, 8, 129-140. https://doi.org/10.3126/jhp.v8i0.32992
Stainton, A., Chisholm, K., Kaiser, N., Rosen, M., Upthegrove, R., Ruhrmann, S., & Wood, S. J. (2019). Resilience as a Multimodal Dynamic Process. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 13(4) 725-732. https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.12726
Stephen, S. (2023). Congruent functioning: the continuing resonance of Rogers’ theory. Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies, 22(4), 397-416. https://doi.org/10.1080/14779757.2022.2164334
Stevenson, A., Oldfield, J., & Ortiz, E. (2022). Image and Word on the Street: A reflexive, Phased Approach to Combining Participatory Visual Methods and Qualitative Interviews to Explore Resilience with Street Connected Young People in Guatemala City. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 19(1), 176-203. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2018.1557769
Sulaiman, S., Abu Bakar Ah, S. H., Wahab, H. A., Jasni, M. A., & Amat Simin, M. H. (2024). Growing up on the Street: Barriers to Educational Services Among Street Children in Malaysia. Journal of Social Service Research, 51(2), 309-322. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2024.2348536
Suyuti, I., Prihantoro, W. K., Hayani, A., Fathurrohman, R., Gafarurrozi, M., Salim, A., & Musyrifah, F. (2024). Integrating Islamic Educational Programs for Street Children in Central Java: A Contextual Analysis. AL-ISHLAH: Jurnal Pendidikan, 16(4), 4551-4565. https://doi.org/10.35445/alishlah.v16i4.5661
Takyi, M. E., Chen, M., Ntim, S. Y. & Gabrah, A. (2023). Analysing Dewey’s vocational aspects of education and Maslow’s theory of motivation in support of vocational education and training. Discover Education, 2(18). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-023-00042-1
Taquette, S. R., & Borges da Matta Souza, L. M. (2022). Ethical Dilemmas in Qualitative Research: A Critical Literature Review. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069221078731
Thapa, M. B., & Pandey, R. (2023). From Substance Abuse to Unsafe Sexual Behavior at an Early Age: Maladies of Street Children of Kathmandu City, Nepal. Quest Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 5(1), 55–68. https://doi.org/10.3126/qjmss.v5i1.56294
Urgessa Gita, D., & Abeshu Dissasa, G. (2023). The ramification of Street Connectedness: Well-being and Resilience Among Street-connected Children of South-Western Ethiopia. Cogent Social Sciences, 9(1), 2218166. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2218166
Xiao, Y., & Watson, M. (2019). Guidance on Conducting a Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 39(1), 93-112. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X17723971
Yu, T. T. F. (2022). Sailing Away from the Pyramid: A Revised Visual Representation of Maslow’s Theory Z. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00221678221074755
Zahangir, M. S., Zahed, Md. A., Neyma, M. A., Robin, M., Ahmed, T., Faruk, M. O., Hassan Chowdhury, M. M. (2024). Socio-Economic, Behavioral, and Dietary Characteristics of Street Children in an Urban Area of Bangladesh. Child & Youth Services, 46(3), 519-535. https://doi.org/10.1080/0145935X.2024.2429652
Zheng, J., Lajoie, S., & Li S. (2023). Emotions in Self-regulated Learning: A Critical Literature Review and Meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1137010. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1137010
