Disadvantaged

About: Disadvantaged is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 17050 publications have been published within this topic receiving 337157 citations. The topic is also known as: disadvantaged person.

Dropout in Secondary Education: A Study of Children Living in Slums of Delhi

Abstract: Dropout is a universal phenomenon of education system in India, spread over all levels of education, in all parts of the country and across all the socio-economic groups of population. The dropout rates are much higher for educationally backward states and districts. Girls in India tend to have higher dropout rates than boys. Similarly, children belonging to the socially disadvantaged groups like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have the higher dropout rates in comparison to general population. There are also regional and location wise differences and the children living in remote areas/urban slums are more likely to drop out of school. Failure to complete high school not only produces negative outcome for the individuals, but also widens the existing social and economic inequalities. In order to reduce wastage and improve the efficiency of education system, the educational planners need to understand and identify the social groups that are more susceptible to dropout and the reasons for their dropping out. Keeping the above context in perspective, the present paper tries to examine the factors that contribute to dropping out by children at the secondary level. The analysis is based on the empirical study undertaken on the marginalized group of children living in slum areas of Delhi, which was conducted during the period from August 2006July 2007. The findings reveal that both the family and school related factors were responsible and appeared to be highly correlated with each other. It was also found that adolescents dropout not merely due to poverty and financial constraints but also because the schools did not respond appropriately to their special educational needs forcing them to dropout. The paper proposes that the State needs to adopt a holistic approach to dropout issue and not treat it as merely a discrete problem that can be tackled without reference to the broader socio economic setting and poor delivery of education in which it is rooted. Preventive and restorative approaches, briefly discussed in the paper, are needed to tackle the issue of dropout for children living in slum areas. Though the study is conducted at micro level, the analysis provides useful policy insights in terms of broader educational policies aimed at improving educational equity and quality with the adoption of appropriate intervention for focused groups at the local level. The paper is structured as follows: After the introduction, Section II describes the existing scenario of secondary education in Delhi and presents a synoptic review of literature on the issue of dropout. Section III focuses on the findings from the field giving details about the sample schools; Section IV gives detail on household profile of dropout children. Section V describes the phenomenon of dropping out, looking at the year and grade of the dropout; the decision to leave school; Section VI concentrates on the reasons for leaving the school; also discusses the current activities of the students, who have dropped out and discloses as to how many of them would like to rejoin if given an opportunity. The paper also considers ways to keep potential dropouts in school and looks at dropouts' own suggestions for changing the system and concludes by suggesting certain preventive measures to reduce drop-out at the secondary levels of education. ∗ Assistant Professor, National University of Educational Planning and Administration, 17-B, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi 110016. Email: sunitachugh@nuepa.org The author would like to thank Prof. K. Sujatha, Head of the Department of Comparative Education & International Cooperation, NUEPA for her critical comments and encouragement which were useful in improving the paper. Suggestions given by Mr. Anugula N. Reddy are gratefully acknowledged. The author also wishes to thank the anonymous referee of the NUEPA Occasional Paper series. NUEPA Occasional Papers

Experiences of food insecurity among urban soup kitchen consumers: insights for improving nutrition and well-being.

Abstract: Adequate nutrition is an essential determinant of health Disadvantaged individuals within the cities of developed countries continue to have poor health, yet the role of food insecurity in such groups is poorly understood This cross-sectional study describes such experiences among 22 randomly selected participants who participated in interviews at a charity-run soup kitchen in urban Sydney, Australia Interviews explored four constructs of food insecurity (quantitative, qualitative, psychological, and social), identifying related barriers and coping strategies Reliable access to food was limited Low income; high rents; poor health; and addictions to cigarettes, alcohol, illicit drugs, and gambling were associated with dependence on charities Poor dentition and lack of food storage and cooking facilities were important barriers to adequate nutrition Meals were missed and quantities restricted as a coping strategy Participants demonstrated adequate knowledge and a desire to eat healthful food Opportunities for social interaction and trust in soup kitchen staff were important motivators of attendance Strategies to reduce food insecurity among seriously disadvantaged city dwellers should focus less on education and more on practical solutions, such as accessing affordable healthful food for those without kitchen facilities, improving dentition, and reducing addictions It is also important to facilitate social networks with trusted support organizations

Title I: Its Legislative History and Its Promise.

Abstract: By the end of the 1999-2000 legislative session, our national leaders must reaffirm our country's commitment to raising the educational achievement of disadvantaged children, Mr. Jennings maintains. Any other result would not be true to the facts or to American history - nor would it be in the best economic, social, and moral interests of the country. IN THE United States, although state governments have primary responsibility for elementary and secondary education, the federal government provides significant but limited support in a few key areas. A special concern of the federal government for more than three decades has been the education of children who come to school with disadvantages - be they educational, economic, physical, or mental. Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 is the principal embodiment of the national commitment to help educate economically and educationally disadvantaged children. This legislation has been regularly authorized for periods of five years and expires in the 1999-2000 congressional sessions. Thus the President and the Congress will have to decide whether and how to continue providing financial support to states and local school districts through Title I. In other words, they must ask themselves, Is the education of disadvantaged children still a matter of national concern? Federal Aid Before Title I Although federal support for education is secondary to state support, it nevertheless has been important from the very beginnings of the nation. In the late 18th century, Congress encouraged the establishment of schools by setting aside land for their support - in fact, a vast amount of land, 77 million acres. After the Civil War, Congress demanded that all new states admitted to the union provide free, nonsectarian public schools.1 During the 20th century, the federal government encouraged general support of schools and colleges by allowing federal income tax deductions, by promoting vocational education to train workers, by enacting the GI Bill of Rights, and by passing the National Defense Education Act to support science and mathematics instruction. Over the course of two centuries, the federal government took action, although limited, in the area of education when vital national interests were involved - supporting democracy by educating ordinary citizens in common schools and colleges; furthering economic prosperity by training workers; and providing for the defense of the nation by ensuring the health of children, their preparation in crucial areas of learning, and their training for jobs. These same objectives were behind the enactment of Title I of the ESEA and other legislation of the 1960s designed to improve the education of disadvantaged children. But two additional imperatives for national action were also present: civil rights and social welfare. The Birth of Title I In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown vs. Board of Education ruled that segregation of children by race in the public schools was a violation of the 14th Amendment. That ruling gave rise to a national debate about the quality of education being provided to African American children and eventually led to a broader discussion of the needs of children of all races who came from poor families or who had other disadvantages. When President John Kennedy assumed office in 1961, he proposed large-scale federal aid to improve education, including the education of black children and of other poor and disadvantaged youths. At the time, black children constituted approximately 13% of the enrollment in elementary and secondary schools. As a group, they were overwhelmingly poor - 65% of black children were living in poverty, compared with 20% of white children.2 In other words, the issues of race and poverty became linked because the facts of race and poverty in America were intertwined. Most of President Kennedy's legislative proposals for education were not enacted because of three major obstacles. …

Determinants of rural poverty in Nigeria: Evidence from small holder farmers in South-western, Nigeria

Abstract: Small farmers are one of the more disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in Nigeria. Studies have shown that majority of people living in absolute poverty can be found on small farms with half in this group undernourished. The study examined the determinants of rural poverty in Nigeria. The study uses a probit model on a sample of 500 smallholder farmers to establish factors that influences probability of households’ escaping chronic poverty. Results show that access to micro-credit, education, participation in agricultural workshops/seminars, livestock asset, and access to extension services significantly influencing the probability of households’ existing chronic poverty. On the other hand, female headed households’ and distance to the market increases the probability of persistence in chronic poverty. Thus, these variables are significant in capturing the key rural poverty determinants. However, gender disparities in property rights has a consequence on poverty, as women empowerment through legal rights to property as key chronic poverty ameliorating factors among the farming communities. Key words: Smallholder farmers, persistence chronic poverty, farming communities, Southwest, Nigeria.