Transcript Living together’ in early childhood

Belfast
15 November 2012
Early childhood education and care
for children in poverty
Early Years Policy Round Table
Belfast, 15 November 2012
John Bennett, M.Ed. Ph.D.
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Belfast
15 November 2012
Children in poverty
 The EU, OECD, the US and Canada all use different yardsticks to measure poverty. In
general, poverty rates in the EU seem higher, as the EU poverty measure is the most
stringent. In the EU definition, the term ‘children in poverty’ refers to children living in
households “with an equivalised disposable income below the risk-of-poverty threshold,
which is set in the EU at 60% of the national median equivalised disposable income (after
social transfers).” Eurostat (2012)… The US uses an 'absolute' poverty measure - the
minimum amount needed to meet the subsistence needs of a household.
 Severely materially deprived persons have living conditions constrained by a lack of
resources, and experience at least 4 out of the 9 following deprivation items, that is, they
cannot afford 1) to pay rent/mortgage or utility bills on time, 2) to keep their home warm, 3)
to face unexpected expenses, 4) to eat meat, fish or a protein equivalent every second day,
5) a one week holiday away from home, 6) a car, 7) a washing machine, 8) a colour TV, or 9)
a telephone (including mobile phone).
 People living in households with very low work intensity. These are persons aged 0-59 who
live in households where on average the adults (aged 18-59, students excluded) worked less
than 20% of their total work potential during the past year
 Beyond these technical definitions, it should be understood that poverty is not just a
question of low income but also implies a lack of sufficient cultural and social capital
(Bourdieu, 1973)… especially at family level.
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Poverty in Europe
Children (0-17)
Working age
Elderly (65 years +)
EU27*
26.9
23.3
19.8
Belgium
23.2
20.0
21.0
Bulgaria
44.6
36.9
55.9
Denmark
15.1
19.5
18.4
Germany
21.7
20.8
14.8
Greece
28.7
27.7
26.7
France
23.0
20.0
12.0
Hungary
38.7
30.5
16.8
Netherlands
16.9
16.5
6.2
Poland
30.8
27.6
24.4
Romania
48.7
39.7
39.9
Slovenia
15.2
18.1
22.8
Finland
14.2
17.1
19.5
Sweden
14.5
15.0
15.9
United Kingd
29.7
21.2
22.3
Source: Eurostat (2012)
Ireland (Barnardos, 2012) - Children at risk of poverty rose from 18.6% in 2009 to 19.5% in 2010.
Severe poverty means that these children are living in households with incomes below 60%
of the national median income and experiencing deprivation based on the agreed eleven deprivation
indicators. This can mean going 24 hours without a substantial meal or being cold because parents are unable to afford to
heat the home (CSO EU SILC 2010).
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A caveat about access tables
Before looking at rates of access, a word of caution is necessary about reading access tables.
Countries can appear impressive with a 90+ per cent enrolment rate at the age of 3 or 4 years,
but access rates do not necessarily provide information on key questions, e.g.
 Do the figures indicate enrolments or regular attendance?
 For how much time each day do children have access?
 Does the daily and yearly timing of the service allow important externalities to be
achieved, such as, gender equality, access of parents to work, time for disadvantadged
children to catch up?
 Is there an entitlement to services and is it aligned with parental leave policies?
 What is the quality of the service provided in terms of , the persons educating the children,
the financing per child, the buildings and space (including outdoor space) allocated to
young children; the pedagogical materials provided and the child:staff ratios?
 Who are the children not having access to services?
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Access rates of children under 3 years
to early childhood services
80%
70
60
50
40
OECD average =30%
30
20
10
0
Source: OECD Family Data Base, 2012 (year of reference: 2009)
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Access rates at 4 years
Chart C2.1 Enrolment rates at age 4 in early childhood and primary education (2005 and 2010)
Full-time and part-time pupils in public and private institutions
%
2010
2005
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1. Year of reference 2009.
Countries are ranked in descending order of the enrolment rates of 4 year-olds in 2010.
Source: OECD. Argentina and Indonesia: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (World Education Indicators Programme). Table C2.1. See Annex 3 for notes (www.oecd.org/edu/eag2012).
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What are the enrolment rates of children in poverty?
 Across Europe, we do not have exact figures or percentages. We do know that:
 In European countries, work status, income and parental education levels are
significantly correlated with take-up of childcare. All the evidence points in the same
direction: the more disadvantaged the child, the less likely he or she was and is to
attend ECEC, with (in some countries) the exception of children from lone-parent
families… Children with mothers with a degree-level qualification were three times as
likely to attend services as children with mothers who have an education level below
lower secondary completion (Bennett and Moss, 2010)
 There is no statistical significant relationship between ethnicity and receipt of
either formal and informal childcare, when data is controlled for differences in
the socio-demographic profile (differences in work status, income, family size…)
of families from different ethnic backgrounds.
 In sum, we return to the basic position of Zigler (2003), Pisa (2004), Ladd (2011),
and other analysts: severe family poverty, low parental education, unequal
structures and exclusionary attitudes toward poor or ethnic groups remain the
greatest barriers to education achievement.
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Why is family poverty so damaging?
 Health and developmental risks
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The pre-natal and infancy period: Poor nutrition and the exposure of expectant
mothers to stress or toxins during pregnancy lead in too many instances to low birth
weight, stunting, chronic ill-health, and childhood disabilities. Through the process of
biological embedding, negative experiences are programmed during infancy into the
functioning of developing biological and behavioural systems. Once early childhood
has passed, these systems are very difficult to modify, including significant delays in IQ
and cognitive functioning. The impact of family poverty is particularly strong on
infants and young children
The early childhood period: Severe poverty affects child development very negatively.
In Western countries, the young child born into severe poverty often suffers from: lack
of basic material necessities, including food; family dysfunction; limited social support;
exposure to damaging substances either self inflicted by parents (smoking, alcohol,
drug and medicine abuse) or imposed by unhealthy living conditions (see Wilkinson &
Pickett, 2009; the Marmot Review…)
 Risks for education
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The British researchers (Nicilotti & Rabe, 2010: ISER Working Paper 2010, No. 26)
apportion the relative influence of family and neighbourhood on educational
attainment as follows: 10-15% to neighbourhood; around 45% to family influence.
Severe poverty is frequently linked to low parental education levels, leading to
language and cultural poverty in the home.
The Marmot Review (2010), Fair Society, Healthy Lives, London
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Vocabulary Growth – First 3 Years
Vocabulary
1200
Affluent families
Middle-class families
600
Poorer families
0
12
16
20
24
26
32
36
Age- Months
Source: B.Hart & T. Risley. Meaningful Differences in Everyday Experiences of Young American Children, 1995
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What can be done during infancy?
Comprehensive health services that
meet children’s vision, hearing,
nutrition, mental health as well as
medical health needs. Parenting
education
Early learning opportunities in
nurturing environments where
children develop holistically –
Early Learning
Family and
community support
Maternal-infant health,
nutrition
See Lancet 2005, 2007
Early screening, assessment and
appropriate services for children
with special health care needs,
disabilities, or developmental
delays
physically, socially, and cognitively.
Special Needs
Intervention
Economic and parenting supports to
ensure children have nurturing and
stable relationships with caring adults.
Community development and earning
opportunities for women.
Source: Adapted by UNICEF from the ECD Systems Working Group, Minnesota, 2007
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What can be done at pre-school level? – some European solutions
 Maintain universal services in which explicit but non-stigmatising targeting is practised
Education research shows that the socialization and language development of children
coming from families with little formal education improves far more rapidly when they are
mixed with middle-class children. (Harlen & Malcolm, 1999). Challenges…
 A universal curriculum but with more financing for centres catering for children in
poverty… better child:staff ratios, materials, attention to experiences and language
 A curriculum appropriate for young children aiming for holistic development,
children’s participation, and learning … positive place-based, project work in mixed-age
groups…
 Comprehensive services: health screening, nutrition, links with social services…
 Well-qualified, diversity-trained, experienced teachers… “observing and recording
children’s developmental stage in different domains so that they can respond
appropriately”, who audit, reflect on, document and research their practice in teams… but
avoiding the excesses of the current quality and teacher evaluation discourses.
 Trained to work with parents and neighbourhoods… bridging personnel, specific
teacher training…
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Child:staff ratios in early education
Chart C2.3 Ratio of pupils to teaching staff in early childhood education (2010)
Public and private institutions
Student to teaching staff ratio
26
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Countries are ranked in descending order of students to teaching staff ratios in early childhood education.
Source: OECD. China and Indonesia: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (World Education Indicators programme). Table C2.2. See Annex 3 for notes ( www.oecd.org/edu/eag2012).
Source, OECD EAG, 2012
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Note: The figure of 14-15 children per teacher in the United States is for the ‘kindergarten’ class, 5-6
years. For children of 3 and 4 years in state-funded preschools, 45 of 51 States kept the child:staff ratio
at or below 10:1 per teacher in 2011 (NIEER, 2012 The State of Preschool, 2011).
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The role of early education
 The early childhood period is a moment when basic personality traits,
values and attitudes are laid down
 The early childhood curriculum and teachers need to address present
and future themes that can prepare children for school and life:
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To have a more adequate notion of readiness for school: “a more balanced
programme that focuses directly on socio-emotional development, language,
movement and conceptual development”.
To live together with respect and appreciation for diversity
To encourage fairness and empathy, so that social justice will survive
To encourage child initiative (the agency of the child), social action and to
express oneself with courage so that our democracies can survive
To discourage violence and criticism of others so that useless tensions, racism
and wars do not return again to Europe… the significant role of N.I.
 To make progress in our curricula toward an agreed values framework, e.g. the
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, that enables learning to live
together…
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An example: the Swedish Curriculum for Preschool
 Democracy forms the foundation of the pre-school. For this reason all pre-school
activity should be carried out in accordance with fundamental democratic values… An
important task of the pre-school is to establish and help children acquire the values on
which our society is based. The inviolability of human life, individual freedom and
integrity, the equal value of all people, equality between the genders as well as
solidarity with the weak and vulnerable are all values that the preschool shall actively
promote in its work with children.
 The preschool should take into account and develop children’s ability to take responsibility
and manage their social life in society so that solidarity and tolerance are established at an
early stage. The pre-school should encourage and strengthen the child’s compassion and
empathy for others. All activities should be characterised by care for the individual and aim
at developing a sense of empathy and consideration for others, as well as openness and
respect for the differences in the way people think and live.
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Thank you!
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