Causes of Inequity in Education
Lack of Support
Lack of Funding
Lack of Quality Educators
Lack of Access
Lack of Systemic Change
Lack of Cultural Competence
Lack of Resources
Many children are forced into classrooms where the classes are oversized and they do not have access to education that is adapted to their individual needs and abilities.
As a result of poverty and marginalization, more than 72 million children around the world remain unschooled and 759 million adults are illiterate and do not have the awareness necessary to improve both their living conditions and those of their children.
Impoverished children face an obstinate barrier to school with an inability to afford to attend.
“children from the poorest households almost five times more likely to be out of primary school than those from the richest.”
Children in rural areas face barriers to attending schools with an inability to get to a school or have on in their area.
Children from rural areas are more than twice as likely to be out of primary school than their urban peers.
In conflict zones, 27 million children are out of school
Girls in some parts of the world face major obstacles in attending schools, with educational opportunities being especially limited.
Only 49 per cent of countries have achieved gender parity in primary education
don’t have access to classrooms that are big enough or safe for students to learn in
Children in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are often squeezed into overcrowded classrooms, classrooms that are falling apart, or are learning outside
In Malawi, for example, there are an average of 130 children per classroom in first grade
Don’t have access to potable water or restroom facilities
In Chad, only 1 in 7 schools has potable water, and just 1 in 4 has a toilet
only one-third of the toilets that do exist are for girls only — a real disincentive and barrier for girls to come to school
When girls don’t have access to safe toilets, they are often harassed or attacked when looking for a private place to go
Girls also miss or drop out of school when they begin menstruating if they don’t have the sanitation facilities or sanitary products to manage their periods with pride and dignity
Many students don’t have access to learning materials and have to share outdated individual materials because there are not enough to go around
In Tanzania, for example, only 3.5% of all sixth grade pupils had sole use of a reading textbook
In Cameroon, there are 11 primary school students for every reading textbook and 13 for every mathematics textbook in second grade
Lack of necessities such as food and water can have a detrimental effect on students' abilities to learn even when they are in the classroom
The impact of hunger on education systems is gravely underreported
Being severely malnourished, to the point it impacts on brain development, can be the same as losing four grades of schooling
It is estimated that around 155 million children under the age of five are estimated to be stunted
There is a major lack of access to technology in the classroom or at home such as the internet or computers
There is a major lack of access to technology in the classroom or at home such as the internet or computers
Many teachers are not trained properly
There is a global teacher shortage
In 1 out of every 3 countries, less than three-quarters of teachers are trained to national standards
37 percent of students in grades 7-12 are taught by a teacher who lacks a college major and state certification in the subject being taught
There aren't enough teachers to achieve universal primary or secondary education
In the United States About 9,00,000 elementary school teaching positions and 100,000 in secondary schools – together a million are vacant
Globally, the UN estimates that 69 million new teachers are required to achieve universal primary and secondary education by 2030
Most marginalized students are taught by less experienced teachers
disproportionately staffed by inexperienced and unprepared teachers hired on emergency credentials
minority students are about twice as likely to be assigned to inexperienced teachers
Quality educators have experienced severe burnout and left the profession either physically or mentally
teaching practices may be hindered by stress and burnout arising from high demands and low organizational resources
Teachers are almost twice as likely as other employed adults to experience "frequent" job-related stress and almost three times more likely to experience depressive symptoms
Teachers are underpaid for the work they do
U.S. Department of Labor data reveal that ECE teacher salaries fall in the 19th percentile of all U.S. wages
teachers are paid as much as 20 percent less than other college-educated workers with similar experience
In the education profession there are massive turnover rates
50% of new teachers quit working as teachers within 5 years
One-third of new teachers leave within the first three years of teaching
children don’t come from communities where education will grant them necessities in the moment that could remove them from the situations they are currently in
Many children from disadvantaged backgrounds are forced to abandon their education due to health problems related to malnutrition
Many must quit in order to work and provide support for the family
Children with disabilities are not supported in the classroom or school setting physically, mentally, or emotionally
Children with disabilities are at a unique disadvantage because of “A combination of discrimination, lack of training in inclusive teaching methods among teachers, and a lack of accessible schools leave this group uniquely vulnerable to being denied their right to education
In some of the world’s poorest countries, up to 95% of children with disabilities are out of school
Teachers don’t feel supported in their classrooms and it has a negative effect of their ability to effectively teach
half of teachers reported not feeling a great deal of support or encouragement
Teachers also don't feel seen or heard and have many concerns about competing priorities, student behaviors and a lack of resources to meet students’ needs
55% ask for more support and respect from administration, parents and community members, with the number of respondents who say they feel supported by their supervisor declining since 2018
students come from environments where education is not valued which means there is less support at home creating a cycle of undereducation
21.5 percent of teachers reported that parents' struggle to be involved was a serious problem
Teachers are being thrown into classrooms filled with students of different races, ages, genders, and abilities
Some teachers are not equipped to deal with children from different cultures or different disabilities
There’s little or no diversity in the classrooms
Values held by and taught in schools reflect a white, upper-middle class cisgendered heter-normative able bodied society and often represent the people that group represents alone
Nearly two-thirds of “minority” students attend predominantly minority schools
one-third of black students attend intensely segregated schools (90% or more minority enrollment
In the United States the dominant culture is generally viewed as reflecting White (European American), middle class values and beliefs. It can even be expanded to include the values generally held by male, heterosexual and non- disabled individuals
values include an emphasis on self-disclosure, long-term goal setting, development of the individual and belief in an internal locus of control
Certain values are deemed ―correct in dominant culture, while differing values are either not recognized at all or considered inferior
The teaching staff, all of whom have implicit biases, are predominately white while the population they’re teaching are predominately not
83% of all teachers (in the US) are white. 56% of the school population is white
15% of the school population is black 7.8% of teachers are black
21% is Hispanic or Latino. 4% of all teachers are Latino
In order to make change, there needs to be a change in the system.
Change an adult-focused system to a student-focused system
Change an input-focused system to an output-focused system
Change a teaching-focused system to a learning-focused system
Change a group-focused system to an individual-focused system
Change a time-focused system to a competency-focused system
Most schools are grossly underfunded by their governments and those that have outside aid don’t have enough
Funds pledged by the international community are generally not sufficient enough to allow countries to establish an education system for all children
Only 25 percent of countries are spending what they need to deliver quality education
Misappropriated education funds in Nigeria and Kenya alone could have put an additional 150,000 children in primary school
tax policies reinforce socioeconomic status and translate to either well funded or underfunded school districts
funding systems and tax policies leave most urban districts with fewer resources than their suburban neighbors
School expenditure levels correlate positively with student socioeconomic status and negatively with educational need when school size and grade level are controlled statistically
schools cannot afford basic supplies, competitive salaries, up to date material, etc.
The data show that we’ve never provided sustained, adequate, and equitable funding in any of our disadvantaged communities
shortages of funds make it difficult for urban and poor rural schools to compete in the marketplace for qualified teachers
A short video about the importance of funding school systems.
Video about public school systems and the effects of underfunding on students and the American system as a whole.
Sources:
Humanium. (n.d.). Right to Education: Situation around the world. Retrieved from Right to Education : Situation around the world
UNICEF. (n.d.) Education: every child has the right to learn. Retrieved from UNICEF Education
Rueckert, P. (2019, August). 10 Barriers to Education That Children Living in Poverty Face: from overcrowded classrooms to poor nutrition. Retrieved from the Global Citizen website: 10 Barriers to Education That Children Living in Poverty Face
UNICEF. (2020, November). Two thirds of the world’s school-age children have no internet access at home, new UNICEF-ITU report says. Retrieved from Two thirds of the world's school-age children have no internet access at home, new UNICEF-ITU report says
iDream Education. (2017, July). Lack of quality teachers in the Govt Schools affecting student’s learning. Retrieved from Lack of quality teachers in the Govt Schools affecting student's learning
Walker, T. (2021, June) Educators Ready for Fall, But a Teacher Shortage Looms. Retrieved from The National Education Association website: Educators Ready for Fall, But a Teacher Shortage Looms | NEA
Holmqvist, M. (2019). Lack of Qualifeid teachers: A Global Challenge for Future Knowledge Development. Teacher Education in the 21st Century. Doi: 10.5772/intechopen.83417
Darling-Hammond, L. (2001). Inequality in Teaching and Schooling: How Opportunity Is Rationed to Students of Color in America. Retrieved from the NCBI website: Inequality in Teaching and Schooling: How Opportunity Is Rationed to Students of Color in America
Podesta, J. (2007, May). Quality Teachers, Quality Schools. Retrieved from The Center for American Progress website: Quality Teachers, Quality Schools
Economic Policy Institute. (2019, May) More than half of teachers do not feel supported, and one in four has considered quitting as a result Challenging working environment contributes to the teacher shortage. Retrieved from More than half of teachers do not feel supported, and one in four has considered quitting as a result: Challenging working environment contributes to the teacher shortage
Rosa, S. D. L. (2020, March). Survey: Teachers want more support, resources from administrators. Retrieved from K-12 Dive website: Survey: Teachers want more support, resources from administrators
Maffea, J. (2020). Lack of Resources in Classrooms. Research Commons at Kutztown University, 38. Retrieved from https://research.library.kutztown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=wickedproblems
Brace, A. L. (2011). Cultural Competence and its Impact on Student Academic Achievement in Urban Elementary Schools. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Tennessee Knoxville]. TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange.
Takacs, B. (2019, May) Fixing Education Requires Systemic Change. Retrieved from The Bottom Line website: https://www.discovery.org/education/2019/05/02/fixing-education-requires-systemic-change/
Steer, L. (2014, February). Seven Facts About Global Education Financing. Retrieved from Brookings Institution website: Seven Facts about Global Education Financing
Education Votes. (2015, November 25). 5 Unavoidable Truths About School Funding [Video file]. Retrieved from 5 unavoidable truths about school funding - Education Votes
Sumner, K. (2015, November). How America’s Public Schools Keeps Kids in Poverty [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/kandice_sumner_how_america_s_public_schools_keep_kids_in_poverty#t-811788
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