South Asia
I chose South Asia as my area of the world to research. Why? Because I wanted to learn about children in South Asia and this was the perfect opportunity to do so. The challenge that children are confronted with in South Asia is access to early childhood education is low with only half of the children attending preschool today. This is worrying especially because pre-school is crucial to ensuring enrollment and school retention at later ages. According to MICS 4 data, only two-thirds of children the ages of 36 to 59 months are developmentally on track in South Asia. The proportion of children aged 0 - 59 months old who are left in inadequate care is also alarmingly high, meaning that several young children do not receive the nurturing and responsive care they require for achieving their developmental potential. According to data from UIS, only half the children in South Asia attend early learning programs. This, in turn, affects their school enrollment, participation, and retention.
I've learned that not only children in the U.S. aren't able to attend early childhood programs, but it also happens all around the world. At least in the U.S. there are government programs that can help families to get their child enrolled in early childhood programs, such as CCDF, On My Way Pre-K programs, and many others. I'm so glad that there are programs in other countries like the UNICEF that cares about the well-being of children and try to help families.
References
UNICEF (2011). Retrieved from http://unicef.org/infobycountry/
Chris,
ReplyDeleteThank you for giving us additional insight into the experiences of children in South Asia. That 1 in 3 children are off track in this region is alarming. I am curious what impact the region has seen into adulthood based on this level of developmental barriers. Are children able to overcome their lack of preschool and catch up in the school years? I agree, we are extremely lucky to have access for children in the US to early education programs, although we must make it more consistent nationally. I still see too many students coming in kindergarten with no education experiences at all. Each of us has a role to play. Nice post!
Dear Christoper,
ReplyDeletethank you for your interest to write about children in Asia in general and in South Asia specifically. I, personally, is an Asian and live in Indonesia, a developing country in South East Asia. If you come and explore more here, the opportunity of children to have childhood program properly is low because of poverty and also cultural reason. Many family, who live in the villages or rural areas, still have mindset that childhood program is not necessary, girls do not have to go to school and some teenagers should help their parents after school in the land. It is so heart breaking to face these families, but I believe that our Government is working on the issue.
Great post.
Hi!!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat Post!!! It's so crazy how things are for children in other countries vs the U.S. Early childhood education programs are good for younger children because it allows them to be themselves around children their own age. It allows them grow and develop.
Dominique