Sei sulla pagina 1di 13

The Interconnection

of Poverty and Education in


Developing Countries

Paola Velez
Research Paper
Tasche Bryant
May 5th, 2016

Introduction
Thereisinequalityineducationindevelopingcountrieswherechildrenareeitherpoorly
educatedordeniedaneducationalltogether.InAmerica,educationisafundamentalhuman
right.Itisthegatewayoutofpovertyanditiscrucialthatwelookatthebiggerpictureof
educationindevelopingcountries.Itsessentialfordevelopingcountriestoconstructastrong
educationalsystem,thatisfreeandstartsinprekandgoesthroughpostsecondaryschooling.
Educationisaprovenrouteoutofpovertyandacomprehensivesystemthatstrengthensa
countrysoveralleconomicstatus.
Thegovernmentsofdevelopingcountriesmustallocatemoremoneytowardstheir
country'seducationalsysteminordertoimprovetheireconomicstanding.Improvingnotonly
thequantity,butalsothequalityofeducationprovidedtochildreninthirdworldcountriesisthe
bestwaytoovercomepoverty.Forchildreninpovertystrickencountries,providinguniversal
preschooliskeybecauseitgiveschildrenachancetobeexposedtovocabularyandknowledge
thattheirparentscanttypicallyprovide.Nevertheless,inordertosuccessfullyimprovethe
economicstanceofacountryanddecreasethepovertyrate,onemustmakesurethatthequality
ofeducationisuptoglobalstandardsprovidinginstructioninbasicmath,english,historyand
science.

Velez1

Background
AccordingtotheCenterofGlobalDevelopment,morethan115million6to
12yearoldsarenotinschoolinthedevelopingworld(
Birdsall
).
Adevelopingcountryisa
countrythatseekstobecomemoreeconomicallyandsociallyadvanceddueitspovertystricken
stance(GoogleDictionary).
Mostfamiliesthatdonotliveindevelopingcountriestakefree
preschoolandprimaryschoolforgranted.Theyalsotakegovernmentassistanceasfree
transportationtoandfromschool,breakfast,lunch,andtutoringforgranted.
Studentsacquire
knowledge,skills,andvalues[fromcostfreepublicschoolsintheU.S.thatis]neededto
contributetothiscountryasworkersandcitizenswhilealsoinvestingintheirowneconomic
future(Resnick).
OnereasonthatAmericaisnotathirdworldcountryandmaintainsaverylow
percentageoffamilieslivinginpovertyisthefree,publiceducationsystemthatexistsinour
country.If3rdworldcountriesinvestedmoremoneyinprovidingafreeandadequate
educationalsystem,familieswouldberelievedfromthefinancialburdenofsendingtheir
childrentoprivateschool.Withthefinancialburdenalleviatedbythegovernment,attendance
andenrollmentinthesepublicschoolswouldincrease.
Acountrythatfocusesoneducationratherthanothergovernmentspendingwill
prospectivelyimproveitseconomyinthelongrun.Inunderdevelopedcountries,residentsget
approximatelya10%increaseintheirwagesforeachadditionalyeartheyattendschool(Baum).
Thisincreaseinearningswouldalsocontributetoacountryseconomicgrowth,alsoreferredto
asGrossDomesticProducts.ThehighertheGDP,themoremoneyacountryhastouseforother
governmentspending,andinthiscase,boththecountryanditscitizenswouldexperiencean
economicboost.

Velez2

ImprovingtheQualityofEducation

Improvingthequalityofeducationprovidedtocitizensisimportant,especiallytothose
indevelopingcountries.Governmentsneedtomakesurealltheircitizensreceiveanadequate
educationthatsuptoglobalstandardsandtaughtinawaythatwillsufficientlybenefiteach
child.

MarcJ.Epstein,aresearchprofessorofmanagementatRiceUniversitybelievesthat
qualityeducationforallchildrenmustmovebeyondtraditionalmodelstohelpchildrendevelop
theknowledge,skills,andattitudesthatarerelevanttotheirlivesandthatcanliftthemoutof
poverty(21).

Thequalityandquantityofeducationindevelopingcountriesisextremelypoor
becausetheytypicallyhave:highclasssizes,teacherswhoarefrequentlyabsent,lackof
transportationassistance,andalackofsuppliesandresources.
Developingcountriestypicallyhaveextremelyhighclasssizes,lowattendancerates
fromnotonlystudents,butalsoteachers,andlimitedteachingandlearningsupplies.A$40
milliondollarBacktoSchoolprogramlaunchedabout11yearsagoin2004bytheAngolan
governmenttrainedabout29,000teacherscountrywideandprovidedthemwithpropersupplies,
whichworkedasanincentivetoincreaseprimaryschoolenrollmentsby90%andskyrocketed
theliteracyrateto71%asof2013
(
Birdsall
)
.Reinforcingqualityofeducationinthesecountries
isimportantinordertomakesureallchildrenareabletoreceiveanequaleducation.Developing
countriesalsoneedtoimprovethequalityofeducationinordertoprovideessentialsupplies
neededbycommittedteachersthatwanttoguidetheirstudentstowardssuccess.
Inthe1950s,Korea'saverageannualincomewasonlyabout$890.00.Theythenquickly
tripledtheirgovernmentspendingbyprovidinggoodqualityeducationandmaking
investments
inteachersandbasicschoolsandcontributingtoamoreproductivelaborforcewhichbecame

Velez3

oneofthecountrysenginesofgrowth(
Birdsall
).Today,Koreahasalmosta100%enrollment
rateofchildreninprimaryschoolaswellas19timeswhattheaverageannualincomeusedtobe,
whichisnow$17,000(
Birdsall
).
Moreover,byprovidingagoodqualityeducation,thenumber
ofchildrengoingtoschoolhasincreasedandtheeconomicstatusofthecountryandmostofits
citizenshasbeenontherise.
Theliteracyrateisusuallythemainfocusdevelopingcountrieswanttotacklewhentheir
educationsystemsbutthewayofachievingthosegoalsaredifferentineverycountry.
ASouth
Koreanpolicymakerisexplicitabouttheimportanceofcongregatingprofessionalsintoteaching:
Thequalityofaneducationsystemcannotexceedthequalityofitsteachers(
UNESCO
).
Therefore,thequalityofaschoolsysteminterconnectswiththequalityoftheschoolingofits
teachers.IntheUnitedStates,studiesshowthatateacherslevelofliteracy,asmeasuredby
vocabularyandotherstandardizedtests,affectsstudentachievementmorethananyother
measurableteacherattribute(
Little
).

Withthatinmind,thebettertrainedandpreparedthe
teachersare,thebetteroffthestudentswillbebecausethe
highqualityeducationincreasesthe
returnstoschoolingandhencetheincentivestoaccumulatehumancapital(
Laracy
).

Velez4

ExpansionofPreK
Indevelopingcountries,expansiontoauniversalpreksystemisessential.
TheNational
InstituteforEarlyEducation
provedtheimportanceofearlychildhoodeducationwhenfinding
that85%ofbraindevelopmentoccursbeforetheageof5.Byputtinguniversalprek
educationinplace,especiallyfordevelopingcountries,can/willbenefitmostchildren,
particularlytolowincomefamiliesbecausechildrenthatgothroughstrong,highqualityprek
programs,haveshowntohaveabettervocabulary(Mead).Therefore,byprovidinguniversalpre
school,childrenfromdevelopingcountriescanlearnatanearlierstageandbeallowedto
progresslikechildrenfromdevelopedcountries.Accesstoprekeducationincreasesliteracy
ratestoallthathaveaccesstoit.
Likewise,thejourneytobetterlivesforchildrenstartswithaccesstogood,quality
educationnotonlyinprekandprimary,butalsosecondaryeducationaswell.
T
hequalityof
schoolingforstudentsfromimpoverishedhomescanimpacttheobviousdisadvantagethose
studentsfacecomparedtoonesfromhighincomehomeswithrigorousschooling.

Inlowincome
familiesthereistypicallyvocabularybarrierswhenbeingcomparedtoafamilyofhigher
income.
ProvidenceTalksisalocalorganizationinterveneswithlocalchildrenfrombirthtothe
ageoffourtoclosethe30millionwordgapthathelpseverychildenteringkindergartenachieve
atrigorouslevels.BettyHart,Ph.D.andToddRisley,Ph.D
,researchersforProvidenceTalks
discoveredthat
lowincomechildrenhearlessthanonethirdasmanywordsperhourthan
childreninhighincomefamilies,haslongfrustratedpolicymakersandearlychildhood
interventionistsdeterminedtoclosethewordgapandensureallchildrenenterkindergarten
readytolearn(5).
Theparentsoflowincomechildrentypicallyhaveonlycompletedthelowest

Velez5

levelofeducation,thereforetheamountofliteracythechildrenareexposedtoislessthanthatof
amid/highincomefamily.Childrencomingintoschoolwithlessexposuretolanguage,books,
lesstimetalkingtoparentsabouttheirsurroundingsarejustnotsetuptodowellinschool
(
UNESCO).
Therefore,ifchildrenindevelopingcountriesreceiveearlieronsettotheireducation
priortokindergarten,theywouldbemorelikelytobeonthesamepathasfamiliesfromhigh
incomesthatreceivemoreeducationandhavemoreknowledge,allowingtheexposuregapto
close.
Providingauniversalpreksystemindevelopingcountrieswouldhelptheireconomy
growanddecreasepovertyratesbecauseitwouldsetthechildrenuptohavehigherearningsas
adultsand[become]lesslikelytobecomedependentonwelfareorinvolvedwithlaw
enforcement(EFA).Studentsreceivingthiseducationwouldbelesslikelytogetinvolvedin
criminalactivitiesasadultsandhelpthemnothavetorelyonwelfareorothergovernment
assistanceprogramsinthefuture.Thismeansthatasadultstheymayescapethepovertytrap
helpingthecountrieseconomygrowbyprovidingthisuniversalprekindergarteneducational
system.
Beforeenteringkindergartenitisessentialthatchildrenlearnthebasicsofwhattheywill
befacingfullforceinelementaryschool.Inprek,childreninthirdworldcountriescouldlearn
moreessentialvocabularyandskillsthentheyhavenotyetbeenexposedto.Childrenwho
attendhighqualityprograms[likeprek]arelesslikelytobeheldbackagrade,lesslikelyto
needspecialeducation,andmorelikelytograduatefromhighschool(EFA).Examplesofthe
skillstheylearninordertohaveamoresuccessfuleducationalcareerwouldbefamiliarizing

Velez6

themselveswithbooks,words,numbers,learninghowtoproblemsolve,andimprovingtheir
socialskills.
Providingaffordablepostsecondaryschoolingisalsoessentialforadevelopingcountry
becausechildrenthatsuccessfullyfinishtheirprimaryandsecondaryschoolingshouldbe
affordedtheopportunitytoadvanceintheireducation.Theproblemisthatwhentheyfinish
secondaryschooltheysearchforwaystomoveontopostsecondaryeducationwithlittletozero
financialassistance.Anaffordablecollegeeducationindevelopingcountriesisvitaltoa
countryseffortstoincreasesocialcapitalandtopromotesocialcohesion,whichisprovingtobe
animportantdeterminantofeconomicgrowthanddevelopment(Laracy).Countriesproviding
scholarships/assistancetodeservingstudentslivinginpovertygivesthemachancetoobtaina
highereducationwhichbenefitstheircountryeconomicallybyincreasingthestudent'schances
ofmovingupthesocioeconomicladderby31%(Baum).Therefore,byprovidingaffordablepost
secondaryschoolingtoneedystudentslivinginathirdworldcountrymayenhancethe
governmentandtheireconomicsectoraswell.

Velez7

Affordability
Governmentsofdevelopingcountriesarespendingmillionsofdollarstryingtoimprove
theirqualityofeducation.Thesegovernmentsneedtolearnsuccessfuleducationalstrategiesthat
workbecausetheyhavelimitedresources.Inorderforgovernmentstobecosteffectiveand
producethebestresults,notonlyfortheeconomybutfortheircitizenseconomicstatus,they
needtoprovideacompletelyfreeeducation.Developingcountriesneedtoallocatemoremoney
towardsprovidingacompletelyfreeeducationsysteminordertoimprovetheireconomic
standingandlowertheirpovertylevel.Thefutureofcitizensreceivingagoodeducationwill
improvebecause,
witheachadditionalyearofschooling,peopleearn10%higherwages
(
Birdsall
)
.Therefore,byprovidingafreeeducationsystem,thenumberofchildrenattending
schoolwillincrease.
Theeconomicgrowthingovernmentsinterconnectswiththeircountries
adultliteracyrateandtheadultliteracyratewillonlyincreaseifthepropereducationisprovided
throughouttheirearlystagesoflife(Birdsall).
Thereforewiththeincreaseofschoolattendees,
alsocomesaboostinacountry'seconomywillbetheresult.
Sincetheyear2000,aboutfourteendifferentcountrieshaveeradicatedthecostthat
primaryschoolscharge,givingthepoorestmostdeprivedchildrenachancetoearnan
opportunityofalifetimebygettingthechancetoattendschool(
Kochiro)
.Manycountrieshave
alsostartedtoreconstructtheireducationsystembyallocatingtheirfundsandtargeting
impoverishedareasinordertooffsetcosteffectivebarrierstoeducationforlowincomefamilies
(
Laracy
).Optimistically,itisnotimpossiblefordevelopingcountriestostrivefroman
educationalsystemlikeAmerica.Givingchildrentheopportunitytogotoschoolcompletelyfree
willleadtoaneconomicincreaseforthecountry'sfuturewhileitbenefitsthechildrenaswell.

Velez8

CounterArgument
PeoplemayarguethatdevelopingcountriesshouldbemoreliketheU.Sandallocate
moneyintoaprogramlikefoodstamps.Manysaythatthirdworldgovernmentsshouldbe
investingtheirfundstowardsassistingthepoorinsteadoftheeducationsystembutthegoalisto
getthepooroutofpovertyandbecomeselfsufficient.However,thisgoalcannotbe
accomplishedbydoingsobecauseonewouldalwaysbedependentonthegovernmenttoassist
themwitheveryfinancialcost.
Governmentsindevelopingcountriesshouldinsteadbeinvestingandprovidingan
entirelyfreeeducationalsystemfromprekallthewaythroughsecondaryschooling.
Developingcountriesreceiveabout
$136billion
inaidfromdonorcountrieseachyear(The
DonorsDilemma)andsinceeducationisaprovenrouteoutofpoverty,itdeservestobeoneof
thetopspendingpriorityonadevelopingcountriesbudget.Grantedwhenlookingatdeveloping
countriessomewomenwouldnotbeabletogotoschoolforvariousreasonsasreligionand
sexism.Nevertheless,a100countrystudybytheWorldBankshowedthatmoreequaleducation
levelsbetweenmenandwomencouldhaveledtonearly1percenthigherannualpercapita
growthingrossdomesticproduct(3).Therefore,countriesshouldstillprovideasystemthat
encouragestheequalityofeducationdistributionbecauseitwouldstrengthentheircountrys
overalleconomicstatusandenhancethelivesofthecitizensonalargerscale.

Velez9

Conclusion

Developingcountriesinvestingineducationisthebestrouteoutofthepovertytrap.

Governmentsneedtoallocatemoremoneytotheireducationsysteminordertoobtainincreasing
resultsfortheeconomicfutureoftheircitizensandcountryitself.Onepossibleavenuewhere
developingcountriescangetthismoneyisfromforeignaidthatUnitedNationsAllied
Organizationsdonatetoeachcountry.Investingintheeducationsystembyimproving,
expanding,andmakingeducationaffordable,isthebestwayforacountrytodevelopandthrive.
Byprovidinguniversalpreschoolforchildrenandmakingpostsecondaryschooling
accessibleforstudentsgraduatinghighschoolindevelopingcountriesisimportantbecauseitcan
helpbenefitthechildren'sexposuregapandopportunities.Infact,childrenthatgothrough
strongandhighqualityprekprogramshaveabettervocabularyandarealsomoreinclinedtobe
moresociallyandemotionallymotivatedtocontinuelearning(Mead).Improvingthesystemby
decreasingclasssizes,increasingtheamountofteachers,andmakingsurethattheyhaveproper
trainingandexperience,iskeyforstudentstolearninaneffectivemanner.Makingeducation
freefordisadvantagedfamiliesistheincentiveneededtogetthestudentsparticipationwhich
leadstoasuccessfulsteptowardssustainabilityandanindustrializednation.Thirdworld
countriesmustconsiderimproving,expandingandcreatinganaffordableeducationsystemin
ordertohelperadicatepoverty.

Velez10

WorksCited
Baum,Sandy,JenniferMa,andKathleenPayea."EducationPays."
TheBenefitsofHigher
EducationforIndividualsandSociety
No.56(2007):n.pag.Print.

Birdsall,Nancy.
EducationandtheDevelopingWorld
.Rep.N.p.:n.p.,2011.Print.

EFAGlobalMonitoringReport
.Rep.Firsted.Paris:UnitedNationsEducational,Scientificand
CulturalOrganization,2014.Print.EducationforAll.

GoogleDictionary.Web.23Mar.2016.

Kochiro,Matsuura."EndingPovertyThroughEducation:TheChallengeofEducationforAll|
UNChronicle."
EndingPovertyThroughEducation:TheChallengeofEducationforAll
|UNChronicle
.UNChronicle,Dec.2007.Web.01Oct.2015.

Laracy,Michael."EndingPovertythroughEducation."
TheHuffingtonPost
.
TheHuffingtonPost.com,04Oct.2010.Web.05Oct.2015.

Little,AngelaW.,andCaineRolleston."SchoolQualityCounts:EvidencefromDeveloping
Countries.Editorial."
Taylor&Francis
.OxfordReviewofEducation,13Jan.2014.
Web.29Sept.2015.

Mead,Sara."PreKforAll."
USNews
.U.S.News&WorldReport,26Mar.2015.Web.09Feb.

2016.

Meyer,Ali."FoodStampBeneficiariesExceed46,000,000for38StraightMonths."
CNSNews
.
USDA,13Jan.2015.Web.14Jan.2016.

"ResearchProvidenceTalks."
ProvidenceTalks
.N.p.,2015.Web.03May2016.

Resnick,MichaelA."AnAmericanImperative:PublicEducation."
AnAmericanImperative:
PublicEducation
.CenterforPublicEducation,27Apr.2006.Web.03May2016.

"TeachingandLearning:achievingqualityforall."
EFAGlobalMonitoringReport
FreeOnline
Library.UNESCO,2014.Web.14Jan.2016.

Velez11


"'TheDonors'Dilemma'AidinReverse:HowPoorCountriesDevelopRichCountries|Global
PolicyJournalPractitioner,Academic,GlobalGovernance,InternationalLaw,
Economics,Security,Institutions,Comment&Opinion,Media,Events,Journal."
'The
Donors'Dilemma'AidinReverse:HowPoorCountriesDevelopRichCountries|
GlobalPolicyJournalPractitioner,Academic,GlobalGovernance,InternationalLaw,
Economics,Security,Institutions,Comment&Opinion,Media,Events,Journal
.Global
PolicyJournal,n.d.Web.03May2016.

"TheSituationinDevelopingCountries."
FederalMinistryforEconomicCooperationand
Development
.TechnicalandVocationalEducationandTrainingandtheLabourMarket
in
DevelopmentCooperation,n.d.Web.07Oct.2015.

Velez12

Potrebbero piacerti anche