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Circle of Effects of Education and Poverty: Overcoming Povertys Effects to Improve Education Internationally

Danielle Naldoza G. Falls 4A GSWLA Senior Project December 2013

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Abstract Poverty is a problem in many countries around the world because it affects education and vice versa. This leads to the research question: can povertys effects on education be overcome in countries with varying education systems? There are many unknown ways that poorer countries can improve the quality of their education that must be researched and commented on. There could be many alternatives available to them to improve how they educate their children. Ms. Motley and Mr. Falls will be the researchers faculty advisors and the outside advisor is Jennifer Bangoura, who is currently majoring in education. She also spent some time in Mali, observing the school system and the lives of the children. The outside advisor is a person who investigates different ways of education that are possible to do in poorer countries or those who strive to enhance education for the children with the sources available to them. Because all children need pencils, paper, and other school supplies to be proactive in their education, my action to accompany my project would be to gather school supplies to send to impoverished countries that need them. The action accompanying the research paper will be to hold a school supply drive at the Philippine Cultural Center and Tallwood High School where students and the community can donate their unused crayons and notebooks and the writer of the paper will donate them to countries in need. Donations will be sent to NGOs such as Books for the Barrios and Escuela Nueva. The writer of this research paper is currently looking for an NGO that sends school supplies to Mali. The second part of the researchers action is holding an informational seminar at Tallwood High School where high school students can learn about different education systems and how some countries can overcome poverty to improve education. Also,

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there will be a reflection of the school supply drive. Time for each event would be in March and before the judging in April. This topic is important to the writer because growing up in a family who is Filipino, shes heard that education is important, and being able to attend school for free in United States is very precious.

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Introduction The topic of study is the different types of education in poverty inflicted countries and also, how can those circumstances be enhanced, changed, or improved. For example, in some schools in India, they have all the supplies they need and they also have a teacher, however, the teacher is paid only to read off the board and have the children repeat the activity after him or her. The question is, are the students really learning, or are they learning to mimic the teacher? On the other hand, school in the Philippines are inflicted by poverty as well, but they cannot afford school books or supplies and the students end up having to share one run down and out of date textbook between thirty children. There are schools in countries that are bombarded with natural disasters that undermine the country, causing it to become undeveloped. These countries pull what little money they have out of the education funds to sustain them. Types of circumstances like this can be overcome through means that can be achieved in their country. Under some circumstances, poorer schools can accept donations if they wish to give their students donated school supplies and books. However, some countries might find accepting donations rude because of their proud culture, so improving their education methods will be their solution of overcoming the effects of poverty. Simply spending money is not always the answer to this problem. Education is a very popular topic, but including the effect of poverty makes the topic of study original. Also, each of the solutions for the countries studied may possibly have a unique way of overcoming the effects of poverty. This topic of study can fill in the

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gap of why some schools have a higher achievement rate or higher level of education than other countries.

Limitations How poverty affects countries to improve the quality of their education is the intent of study, including the different strategies of educating the individual countrys youth. The limitations to the scope of research are that the researcher would not be able to travel to different poverty inflicted countries and experience their different ways of

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education because there are insufficient funds to enable expensive traveling from different countries. To overcome this limitation, contacting online professionals who live in other countries that have overcome poverty and are now successful would help. Because there is a due date that must be met for this specific project as a time limit, attempting to delve deeper into too many different cultures would be virtually impossible; the researcher would have to limit the number of countries investigated. Four would allow the researcher to compare, but not be overwhelmed, with the different aspects of each culture. A limitation could be a language barrier with the people who will be interviewed to add to the research. The people who are found may be able to speak a wide variety of languages, whereas the researcher can only fluently speak English. This limits the researcher to only be able to read and interpret research studies on the topics interpreted in English. Also, because of times sake, the researcher will have to attempt to communicate with a large number of professionals until enough information is gathered to expand the scope of research and to enhance the research. This can be overcome by finding an interviewee who can give an assortment of information in English for a better understanding.

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Methodology The topic of a cycle between education and poverty focuses on the research question: can povertys effects on education systems be overcome in countrie s in ways other than using money? As a mostly quantitative researcher, the writer was generally objective. The researcher was an unobtrusive observer when gathering data and studies to incorporate in this paper because the researcher did not become involved or influence the research investigation in any way. The researcher is unbiased because the problem of poverty negatively affecting education is a topic that relates to everyone in every country. Poverty inflicted countries such as Mali and the Philippines were statistically and factually studied for this study. Most of the information at hand was gathered over the internet through credible sites made by professionals of the field, or college researchers providing information to the public. The researcher also administered a short interview through email to a professional in international education.

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Using books from the Tidewater Community College joint library, the researcher collected different solutions to overcoming the effects of poverty to include in her paper.

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Literature Review This paper addresses the cause and effect of education and poverty and vice versa, and how the effects of poverty can be overcome to improve education. Even though the writer did not use all information directly in the paper from each of her sources, all of them contributed notably to the main topic of the paper. The researchers past knowledge of international education was introduced in the class global issues 4 years ago, which sparked an area of interest for this topic in the writer. Although there are uncertainties on how effective each method mentioned is on eradicating poverty, the ideas drawn from the writers mind and other sources have the good intent of lessening the impact of poverty around the world. Also, quantitative research strategies were utilized throughout the paper; qualitative strategies were a methodology that was underused in comparison. Sources that provided quantitative information were links and books that contained statistical information relating to education and how poverty affects it. Websites such as Poverty Facts and Stats, 11 Facts About Global Poverty, and Out of School Children contained data about the number of children around the world who are affected by poverty. They also included interesting factual information that supported the amount of money spent to fund food and education on an average such as the source, Education and the Developing World. Many of the websites and books cited in the paper provided needed examples to be noted in the paper. Examples were of the occurrences in the country from Our Magazine Archive about the current state of Africa. Education-transforms provided examples of how education is important and without it, a childs future is crippled.

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Information given by Jennifer Bangoura through the interview as well as her online blog, Jennifer in Mali, was essential to include in the paper because they are first hand experiences of school systems in West Africa and Mali. This allowed the paper to have a story included in it to provide embellishment. Other professionals voices were read and used in the paper such as Sugatas part on Ted Talk, about students teaching students. These blogs were used to show another personal view of professionals and their thoughts. Others include World Education blog about how poverty will never be eradicated without equal education for all. Resources for Speakers was a fruitful source, being able to supply how important education is to overcome poverty. Solutions were supplied by a good amount of the sources especially Higher Education for Development, which as both ideas as well as example of how the plans to eradicate poverty were being currently employed by organizations. Education and Poverty written by Philip Robinson also took a view on how to conquer the effects of poverty and have a valued education. Poverty vs. The World was also a abundant source because it provided both statistics as well as a comparison between the views of other countries against the views of the United States.

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Danielle Naldoza Mr. Falls GSWLA Academy December 2013

Circle of Effects with Poverty and Education As of January 15, 2013, there are 2.2 billion children around the world, and 121 million of them are out of school (Poverty Facts and Stats). Attention must be directed toward this issue of the increasing poverty rate and the falling rate of education. Quality education is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty all across the globe. According to Resources for Speakers, one extra year of schooling will increase a persons earnings by up to 10%. Most people are undereducated due to the rising poverty rate all around the world. Poverty is characterized when a family is unable to provide the bare essentials for human survival; moreover, it affects 1 billion children around the world (Poverty Facts and Stats). For these families, education of the children is one of the last things on their minds. It would cost $40 billion to provide education, clean water, nutrition, and health care to people of every developing country (11 Facts About Poverty). The developing countries seeking solely monetary solutions will not eradicate poverty. The cycle of poverty caused by lesser education can be assuaged in a number of ways such as improving its education system rather than funding it with money. Additionally, a variety of solutions are available in order to enhance a countrys education system; thus alleviating the cycle between education and poverty.

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This cycle between education and poverty is that high poverty rates are linked to low levels of educational attainment. However, what is education? Education, according to an online dictionary, is the act or process of acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally preparing oneself intellectually for mature life; thus it is an imperative factor for any human being. It plays important parts in defeating poverty, improving gender and race equality, helping global development, and in encouraging environmental sustainability (Resources for Speakers). As a cause of being intellectually unprepared, a person in any county can be caught up in the vortex of living under a reasonable level of standards. However, what causes poverty? Poverty is a result of many issues taking place in the country or within a persons family. Many episodes of natural disasters can cause a country to decline in becoming a developed country, such as the super typhoon greatly affecting the Philippines in 2013 that caused the victims to solely focus on the matters at hand. For the children and their families, finding the basic needs for survival trumped the need to attend school. Another cause of poverty is corrupt governments. Africa is the only continent that has not reached acceptable levels of technology and development in the southern hemisphere (Aneke). Nearly half of the continents 53 countries are involved in war conflict (Our Magazine Archive). Also, Africa is widely known by the rest of the world to be on the corruption index rather than the technological radar (Aneke), showing that children of this country are affected by the rising conflicts around them. According to Education Transforms, schooling is associated to people being more tolerant and informed of people and issues around them. Corruption undoubtedly ties into conflicts in the country. 50% of the worlds children live in war torn countries (Out of Schoo l

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Children). In many African countries, there are soldiers who have turned on the citizens and this causes the civilians to hide and fend for themselves rather than take interest in pursuing higher education (Our Magazine Archive). Corrupt countries do not focus on the education of the population, but improved education alone will not solve the problem. A joint effort of the potential students and authorities of the country to take action is needed to solve problems and create an uncorrupt future for next generations (Robinson 52). Lack of education is a result of poverty in many developed and developing countries. What is the difference between a developed and developing country? A developed country, also called an industrialized society, is characterized as a country that is able to produce a large amount of material goods essential for survival. Farming in these industrialized societies is currently mainly mechanical (Understanding Poverty and Development) rather than traditional. These countries are often able to provide for themselves as well as sell their goods to other countries. Example would be the United States or Australia. On the other hand, a developing country is generally characterized as a country that still engages in manual farming, harvesting natural resources, fishing, and mining. These countries are also significantly poorer than the developed countries because they lack the large scale of industrialization (Understanding Poverty and Development). Examples would be many of the countries in Africa and the Philippines. In many of these countries, less than 75% of students even reach grade five due to poverty and the poor quality of education (Poverty and Education: US vs. The World). Education systems vary from country to country, but universally, poverty affects education and vice versa.

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Even though education could be readily available in most countries, there are numerous factors that do not permit a child to actually attend school. Examples, according to Singal, are the effects of poverty, parental situations, children facing abuse or trafficking, and some are forced into early marriage which does not allow them to practice higher education. Education is denied to many because of these factors that influence equal opportunity of the childrens class, race, or gender. This creates inequality that affects the child throughout life. However, education must be given to these children to avoid these unfair circumstances in their futures. Gender inequality is one of the biggest effects in the matter of education because families favor educated males child over females. However, studies show that educated mothers are 50% more likely to seek prenatal care, reducing the maternal and child mortality rate (The Center for Global Development). Not only has the inequality of genders affected poverty levels, but there is also a rising gap between the rich and the poor. Today, the U.S. invests in its future by spending about $6,800 a year per primary student on public education. In Iran the gure is $156 per student per year, in India $64, in Laos $30, and in Rwanda $19 (The Center for Global Development). Poverty and education are related in the micro and macro level. At the micro level, is the under achievement of an individual coming from an insecure background. This is a wealth of societys disadvantages (Robinson 25). Matters influencing the deficiency of education are in most near-developed and developing countries. The students schools are too far for them to walk to (Jennifer in Mali). According to interviewee, Jennifer Bangoura, children she observed in Mali were inadequately prepared for education. Most of the students were cramped together: 4

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children per a bench made for two. Space was a main issue because there were almost 100 students overcrowded in a classroom with a maximum occupancy of 40. Bangoura suggested that schools could go to the students, because of the distance between the childs home and the school itself (Jennifer in Mali). Furthermore, the students also did not have enough books to use. Bangoura explained how the primary schoolers shared one book for every five students. These poorer countries have overcrowded classrooms, poor facilities, and poorly trained or unavailable teachers (Poverty and Education: US vs. The World). Research should be started to see if authorities putting a max of 30 students per 1 teacher ratio will be a constructive effect toward improving education (Robinson 52). In addition to poorly trained teachers, advanced courses are rarely offered in these schools due to a lack of perceived eligible students (Capra 1). Studies conducted show that more than a third of children in developing countries have very poor reading skills even after years of schooling (Poverty and Education: US vs. The World). Multiple nonmonetary methods for overcoming poverty include incentives to reason with parents to send their children to school, improve sustainability, and donations. Nonmonetary solutions are positively turned to because of the lack of money in developing countries. In many of these developing countries, money donated to it could be used by the government to fund other means rather than funding education. Improving sustainability is a method how poverty can be overcome. Although parents in developing countries such as Mexico or India, realize that education will enhance their childrens lives in the future, they cannot afford to take them out of the labor force because they are an important source for the familys income (Becker). Restating the

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gender equality caused by education, the growing gap between boys and girls is slowly trying to be eliminated. The majority of farmers in the developing world are women. Greater female education leads to more productive farming and accounts for over 40% of the decline in malnutrition (The Center for Global Development). Tying gender equality with sustainability, educating women is proven to alleviate the countrys need to prove food through agriculture. Women are also capable of educating their children, as they are the caretakers of the next generation. Monetary incentives have also been used in Mexico, called Progresa, to bribe mothers to keep their children in school longer (Becker). Also, the bribe was higher toward female students in order to promote gender equality. However, schools in other countries have alternative incentives such as providing lunch or day care for the student. This will encourage parents unwilling to pull their children out of the labor field into educating their child at a higher level (Becker). Unfortunately, food aid called food dumping done by developed countries actually maintains poverty (Causes of Poverty). This is because food aid given by other countries causes competition between cheap foods against the local agricultural farmers and ultimately ends with the farmer being forced into poverty from lack of money. On another hand, developed countries could help eradicate poverty and reduce waste by donating textbooks and other school related resources such as computers and older technology to deprived countries. However, most of these underdeveloped countries do not have access to things necessary for the machinery such as electricity. The developed countries could answer that by installing other means for power. Wind and solar power are readily available in these countries and can be used to their advantage. Projects done by the Higher Education Development have positively

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affected 35 countries around the world by establishing solar energy and how to inexpensively chlorinate contaminated water (Higher Education). In comparison to the United States, today, many countries lag behind where the United States was in 1776, where only half of white students went to school and African Americans were not even considered. In Ethiopia 31% of children attend primary school, in the Sudan 53%, and in Niger 30% (The Center for Global Development). So, should education be judged on a global standard? In India, some schools systems have many students facing a blackboard and when the teacher reads off the board, the students orally repeat it, but are they really learning? Or are they learning to mimic the teacher? This relates to poorly prepared teachers but according to Ted Talk, there are circumstances where teachers are not needed in teaching the lower levels. Higher level students can teach the younger children basic knowledge without the need for a professional teacher. No one is certain, but education in different countries should have a panel of comparative international focus (Awards). Judges of standard global education should have inputs from many different cultures to ensure not one culture has an unfair advantage over another. However, anywhere in the world, education lays a foundation for sustained economic growth. In conclusion, about 91% of Americans think improving basic education is an effective way of helping nations overcome poverty (The Center for Global Development).171 million people could be lifted out of poverty if all students in lowincome countries left school with basic reading skills (Resources for Speakers). Education acts like a catalyst for wider development goals. Lower levels of higher education are very often linked to low-paying jobs and to complete the cycle, low wages

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are linked to low standards of living which can be seen in all countries around the world (UN). Education and how it can trump poverty is significant because it will eradicate the fate of poverty for the future generation. There are a variety of ways povertys effects on education can be overcome, financially or other methods that can be utilized. Children in the next generation can endure the same disadvantages as the one they follow (Robinson, 50).

Works Cited "11 Facts About Global Poverty." Do Something. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. Aneke, Austin. "Austin Aneke: Current Developed Countries May Be Underdeveloped, After All." The Huffington Post UK. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2013. "Awards : NASPAA - The Global Standard in Public Service Education." Awards : NASPAA The Global Standard in Public Service Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2013. Bangoura, Jennifer. "Circle of Education and Poverty." E-mail interview. 12 Dec. 2013. Becker, Gary S. "Bribe Third World Parents to Keep Their Kids in School." Business Week 3656 (22 Nov. 1999): 15. Web. Capra, Theresa. Poverty and Its Impact on Education: Today and Tomorrow . N.p., n.d. Web. "Causes of Poverty." - Global Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. The Center for Global Development. "EDUCATION AND THE DEVELOPING WORLD." RICH WORLD, POOR WORLD: A GUIDE TO GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT. N.p., n.d. Web.

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"Economic Issues No. 33 - Educating Children in Poor Countries." Economic Issues No. 33 Educating Children in Poor Countries. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. "Education-transforms | Education Transforms Lives." Educationtransforms RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. Engle, Patrice L., and Maureen M. Black. The Effect of Poverty OnChild Development and Educational Outcomes. Rep. N.p., n.d. Web. "Higher Education for Development Demonstrates Its Global Impact." Higher Education for Development Demonstrates Its Global Impact. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. "Institute for Research on Poverty." Education & Poverty. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. "Jennifer in Mali." : Search Results for PHARE. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. "Our Magazine Archive." Africa's Forever Wars. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. "Out-of-School Children." Global Partnership for Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. "Poverty and Education: USA vs. World." Poverty and Education: USA vs. World. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. "Poverty Facts and Stats." - Global Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. "Resources for Speakers, Global Issues, Africa, Ageing, Agriculture, Aids, Atomic Energy, Children, Climate Change, Culture, Decolonization, Demining, Development, Disabilities, Disarmament, Environment, Food, Governance, Humanitarian, Refugees, Women." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. Robinson, Philip. Education and Poverty. Vol. 194. [S.l.]: Routledge, 2012. Print. Singal, Nidhi. Disability, Poverty and Education. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. "Sugata Mitra: The Child-driven Education." TED: Ideas worth Spreading. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.

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"UN - CyberSchoolBus : Poverty Curriculum." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. "Understanding Poverty and Development." Understanding Poverty and Development. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. "We Will Never Eradicate Poverty without Quality Education for All | World Education Blog." World Education Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.