Introduction
It is a reality that poverty affects child's development and educational outcomes in different ways, starting from the early life of the children. According to Colclough (2012), poverty limits the chance of a child in attaining education, which is the safest approach of escaping poverty. Poverty, as will be used in the above study, indicates persistent problem throughout life and is considered to have diverse impacts on societies across the world. The above paper seeks to outline the manner in which poverty influences child development and its effects on educational outcomes. The study is worth conducting, as through it, stakeholders can effectively intervene in addressing the challenge which is a real menace in different parts of the globe.
It is worth appreciating that through the policy, concerned stakeholders can effectively develop practical policy issues to help towards poverty alleviation. The situation will, therefore, contribute towards healthy child development and positive outcomes which can be realized through universal education. To adequately address the needs of the study objective, the paper will outline the literature of both developed and developing states across the globe.
Literature Review
The term poverty has attracted varied definitions from different scholars with some suggesting that the concept should be elaborated regarding economic terms. However, the universal definition of the concept which is otherwise considered as "poor" is defined by many as lacking both material and non-material assets such as social belonging, respect, cultural identity, education among other key attributes. On the other hand, child development is defined as systematic acquiring of necessary life skills, cognitive language, among other attributes which rely on the well-being of an individual (Pavlakis et al., 2015). As will be used for purposes of the above study, educational outcomes refer to school eagerness, drop-out, educational achievement, retention and level of education achieved. School readiness is the different skills that kids need to acquire in life so as to benefit from formal education which is taught in schools. Some of the personal traits that influence the learning of a child in schools include motor skills, communication ability, the personal health of the children, the emotional and behavioral performance of the individuals among other issues.
Impact of Poverty on Children's Development and Educational Outcome
Virtually in all countries, poverty presents a real challenge to children and their respective households, an aspect that is understood to influence the rate of child development as well as their educational performance. According to Elliott (2013), kids brought up in low-income households experience a lot of challenges with their academic and other social problems. The situation, therefore, s believed adversely to affect their education attainment and their success in society.
Different scholars associate poverty with negative influence on kid's performance and academic achievement, an area which is well documented. The various risks associated with poverty are traced from pre-school level to higher levels of education such as high school. A scholar such as Chen (2015) explains that school readiness at the preschool years has a significant influence on the future academic achievement of the individuals. In the American society, it is believed that most of the children that start school late because of poverty often fail to close the readiness gap. Moreover, some of the key consequences of early school failures include drop out, achievement of low grades and involvement in unethical behavior that are harmful to societies (Elliott, 2013). In the US alone, large populations of students that start schooling at kindergarten level are considered not ready for school.
In the developed states, the link amid poverty and poor academic performance is well recognized. Besides, the children from the low-income families are at risk of leaving school at an early age, hence not able to graduate an aspect that contributes to the negative growth of the state economy (Kagotho, 2016). In the developing countries, on the other hand, the situation is worse as most children from poor household risk not attending school at all. It is worth understanding that from studies conducted in 80 countries, at least 12% of people never attended school because of poverty (McMahon & Oketch, 2013). In other studies conducted in the other areas, the findings are the same indicating that children raised in low-income families attain low grades.
Families have the mandate to provide primary socializing agents and other necessities including food, shelter, and education among other essential requirements. During the early years of a child, parent-child interaction is developed through which regulatory process and socializing of the kids is developed. It is evident that children raised in low-income families are subjected to different challenges in life that hinder their development and attainment of good grades in schools.
Analysis
Empowerment is a necessary tool as it helps address the different needs of the community. In alleviating poverty, employment of the various strategies that involves the government, community and families ought to be sought. The various programs set in place should, therefore, work towards developing a vibrant environment that allows for efficient child development and families that interact well with others in the society.
Conclusion
Poverty reduction is a long process and should be embraced early before pre-school to ensure that children develop school readiness and involve different stakeholders such as the family, government and the community. In the process, both direct and indirect factors that influence poverty ought to be identified and eliminated. Furthermore, the study indicated that poverty is a challenge in virtually all societies across the globe including the developed states. The aspect has a negative influence on communities, and if not well managed, it will contribute to adverse impacts not only on the child development but the society as well. Achievement of a better future requires early preparation that will significantly impact towards the reduction of drop-out cases among other concerns.
Recommendations
Some of the recommendation to society in supporting alleviation of poverty to achieve proper child development and high educational achievement include the following interventions;
The community should seek different ways on how they can support schools that strive to achieve equity.
The government should introduce various schemes to help children from low-income families to gain access to education and other basic needs such as the provision of free education for all.
The concerned agencies should make the public aware of the adverse effects of not taking their children to school to their families and the community as a whole.
References
Chen, Q. (2015). Ready for school? Impacts of delayed primary school enrollment on children's educational outcomes in rural China. International Journal of Educational Development, 45, 112-128.
Colclough, C. (2012). Education Outcomes and Poverty: A Reassessment. Education, Poverty and International Development. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Elliott, W. (2013). The effects of economic instability on children's educational outcomes. Children and Youth Services Review, 35(3), 461-471.
Guerin, B (2014). Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage: Early Childhood Interventions and Progression to Higher Education in Europe.Research Report. RAND Europe.
Kagotho, N. (2016). Targeting the reach of educational support interventions in Kenya. Children and Youth Services Review, 61, 211-215.
McMahon, W. W., & Oketch, M. (2013). Education's effects on individual life chances and on development: An overview. British Journal of Educational Studies, 61(1), 79-107.
Pavlakis, A. E., Noble, K., Pavlakis, S. G., Ali, N., & Frank, Y. (2015). Brain imaging and electrophysiology biomarkers: Is there a role in poverty and education outcome research?. Pediatric neurology, 52(4), 383-388.
