THOUGHTS ON POVERTY

A South African Connection

I would like to introduce you to Michaela Ashley-Cooper.  She is a Programme Manager at the Centre for Early Childhood Development (http://www.cecd.org.za/), based in Cape Town, where she works on Research and Advocacy. Michaela completed her Master’s Degree in Research in Psychology at the University of Cape Town, looking particularly at the neuropsychological effects of childhood trauma on adolescents. Her current research focus is on ECD programmes which produce a significant change in children’s lives.

Thoughts on poverty:
When I asked Michaela to share her thoughts on poverty in her country and in her professional life she gave me a published article that she co-authored with Eric Atmore.  The following is a summary of this article.

"Early Childhood Development as a Strategy to Eradicate Poverty and Reduce Inequality"

South Africa suffers greatly from poverty, affecting millions in both rural and urban communities.  In this article Ashley-Cooper & Atmore make the argument that investing in Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs is one key strategy for reducing poverty and inequality in South Africa and around the world (2013).  ECD programs contribute directly to the economy in the short term and the long term because of the small business opportunities for owners of the centers, education opportunities for staff, and higher academic achievement for the participating children.  The article talks about the impact that the Centre for Early Childhood Development, where Michaela works, is having in South Africa.  According to the article, one of the projects of the CECD is to help ECD programs meet quality standards that are set by the Department of Social Development in order to receive subsidies that help pay to run the program.

Ashley-Cooper, M., & Atmore, E. (2013, July). Early Childhood Development as a Strategy to Eradicate Poverty and Reduce Inequality [Electronic version]. The Thinker, 53, 8-11.  Retrieved from http://www.cecd.org.za/images/phocadownload/the_thinker_july_article.pdf

A Canadian Connection

I would like to introduce you to Sandra Jackson.  Sandy is an Early Childhood Education (ECE) teacher in Ontario, Canada.  She is lead teacher at a local child development center.  She has a BA in Fine Arts and completed her ECE degree, which is a standard two year certification, after many years of running in home day cares.  She has worn many hats including director, manager, and site coordinator, as well as teacher and mom (and now grandma).  She has many years of experience in ECE and I look forward to her insights throughout this course.

MY THOUGHTS ON POVERTY

One thing I have realized this week is that poverty is not a singular issue.  There are so many issues under this big umbrella that we call poverty.  These are a few that I have discovered:

• low academic achievement
• stereotypes about the poor
• income inequality or the income gap between the wealthiest and the poorest
• stagnant middle class growth with raising cost of living
• malnutrition/hunger (food insecurity)
• consequential costs to the country's economy- "in lost productivity in the labor force and spending on health care and the criminal justice system" (http://www.nccp.org/pages/pdf/page_131.pdf)

  With more than 16 million children living in families with incomes below the Federal Poverty Line, it is even more important for us to advocate for quality early childhood programs and child rights (www.nccp.org).  Quality programs can give children the stability, nutrition, and developmental support that their families are not able to give.  It is imperative that we give children the necessary foundation for a productive life.  Without this support in the beginning of life children living in poverty are more likely to have chronic health and mental health problems, need remedial services, have low academic achievement, rely on social services, and do time in jail.  All of which can maintain the cycle of poverty.  Getting the government to invest should be an easier task considering the cost of these consequences have on tax dollars later on.  Investing in quality EC programs has a high financial return "yielding more than $8 for every $1 invested" while also breaking the cycle of poverty that occurs in low income families (Clothier & Poppe, n.d.).

Cauthen N. K., & Fass, S. (2009). 10 important questions about child poverty and family economic hardship. Retrieved from National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) website:http://www.nccp.org/pages/pdf/page_131.pdf

Clothier, S., & Poppe, J. (n.d.). New research: Early education as economic investment. In National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved March 19, 2014, from www.google.com.

National Center for Children in Poverty.  (n.d.)  Topics. Retrieved from http://www.nccp.org/topics/childpoverty.html