This literature review aims to revisit some research materials and relevant documents regarding children in Ethiopia. As the purpose is to provide context for the ongoing qualitative research component of the Young Lives study, this review will focus on the themes of children's key transitions (in education and work) and well-being (in terms of the physical, psychological, social and economic aspects of children's lives). There is currently very little data on these themes, and research in which children are the main source of data is almost nonexistent. For this reason our search strategy is not recorded here, as it essentially involved reviewing every written document we were able to obtain about children in Ethiopia.

Some studies were fragmented, the use of adults as respondents overshadowed children's voices, and quantitative survey methods outnumbered in-depth qualitative studies, although Woodhead (2001) and Poluha (2007a) are notable exceptions to these trends. The rest of the literature review is organised as follows: part two focuses on the key transitions in education and work; part three briefly reviews literature on ill/well-being, focusing on health risks and harmful traditional practices; part four sets out the implications of the literature review for the Young Lives qualitative research in Ethiopia; part five provides some brief concluding remarks.