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Lack of Education: Causes, Effects, and Solutions

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Published: Sep 12, 2023

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Causes of lack of education, effects of lack of education, benefits of education, addressing the effects of lack of education.

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Home / Students / Education / Higher education / Lack of education: Causes and effects

Lack of education: Causes and effects

Few things have such a diverse and far-reaching consequence on the overall quality of a person’s life and that of a community, as lack of education. Although it is categorized as one of the fundamental human rights, education is nowadays denied to many children around the world.  According to the Borgen Project research 72 million children do not attend primary school, and a staggering number of 759 million adults are illiterate.  

The causes that prevent one from getting a quality education are just as severe as the effects that the lack of education generates. This is why societies with poor economies and insufficiently developed education systems are unable to leave the vicious circle without outside intervention or help. Simply put, building a good education system requires a strong economy, and a strong economy in turn requires quality education. Therefore, one of the most important global issues is how to provide every individual in the world with access to education. 

What causes lack of education?

Developed countries have long recognized the importance of education , therefore,  in many of these countries access to education is a given. On the other hand, for many underdeveloped countries and economically struggling parts of the world, education is a luxury that is often unaffordable to most. The reasons why many individuals around the world have been denied access to a quality education and why the knowledge they possess is not enough to successfully tackle the challenges of the 21st century can be economic, geographical, and social in nature.

• Lack of schools . School is much more than a building where teaching takes place. School also includes teachers, teaching materials, and all those other things that make an education system. However, all this requires money. The economic position of some countries is such that even with all the help they receive, they do not have enough funds to build schools to provide the necessary education to their children. 
• Not understanding the importance of education. The economic situation and a low level of education in some countries are the main reasons why children are forced to struggle for survival from an early age, leaving no time for education.
• Lack of money . Another economically-based reason is the fact that many families do not have enough money even for the basic needs, which is why children in such families have to work from an early age. According to research, about 300 million children between the ages of five and seventeen work,  so child labor is one of the major causes for lack of education.  
• Unfavorable geographical position. Some countries lack the needed infrastructure or are located in the parts of the world with severe climate which makes commuting to school significantly more difficult.
• Prejudice . Members of ethnic and other minorities, as well as children with disabilities are often the target of prejudice in some countries, which makes it more difficult for them to get an education in comparison to other groups. 
• Inadequate conditions . According to UNICEF, the lack of qualified teachers, inadequate teaching materials, and poor sanitation are some of the reasons why many children do not receive a quality education. Even when they do go to school, children in such conditions fail to acquire applicable and quality knowledge, sometimes even basic knowledge. UNICEF states that 617 million children and adolescents around the world fail to acquire even the minimum literacy and math knowledge, although two thirds of them attend school. 

It should also be noted that the lack of education does not only arise from not having access to education and non-attendance, but it is also a direct consequence of poor quality of teaching. Thus, UNICEF underlines that “Schooling does not always lead to learning. Worldwide, there are more non-learners in school than out of school”.

In other words, in addition to the general approach to education, it is also necessary to raise the quality of instruction so as to overcome the global issue that the lack of education represents. 

What are the negative effects of lack of education? 

Negative consequences of the lack of education or inadequate instruction are numerous and varied, and can impact both the life of an individual, and society as a whole. They range from health-related reasons, social, and economic reasons, each of them generating serious consequence. The longer a person or a community is cut off from education, the more severe, long-term and irreversible the effects become. 

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10 consequences of not having access to education 

1. Poor health

Some of the basic lessons we learn in primary school are related to taking care of one’s own psychophysical health. The importance of hand washing, sexual health, necessity of regular physical activity – all this knowledge is something that stays with a person all their life, and is acquired at school. 

There is a strong link between lack of education and poor health and hygiene. The Borgen Project research conducted in Uganda yielded staggering results: educated people in the country have 75% less chance to contract HIV/AIDS, while young people with good primary education have 50% less chance to contract the same virus. 

2. Shorter life expectancy

The IMS Fiscal Monitor research showed that education can even affect a person’s life expectancy. Specifically, in developed economies, the gap between men with higher education and those with secondary, or primary education ranges between four and fourteen years, and is even larger in some countries. 

3. Poverty 

Due to adverse life circumstances, many people lack the tools and means that would enable them to leave poverty behind. Education is precisely what provides a person with these tools and means, but in poor communities and countries, it either does not exist at all, or if it does, it is inadequate, and this is how people find themselves in the vicious circle of poverty from which they cannot free themselves. The fact is that the more educated a person is, the better their chances of a decent salary. 

4. Unemployment

Unemployment is tightly linked to poverty. People who lack education, or who only finished primary school often work poorly paid jobs, or struggle to find any job whatsoever. Simply put, good jobs are reserved for qualified employees, and qualifications are primarily acquired through education. 

In today’s age of all-present digitalization where knowledge quickly becomes outdated, and traditional jobs are slowly disappearing, education becomes even more important, representing the key factor that decides whether a person will be able to adapt to changes and find a suitable job, or will become unemployed. 

According to a survey conducted by OECD , 69% people with lower secondary education are employed, whereas that percentage among people with higher education is 88%. 

5. Lower salary

People who lack qualifications, even when they find a job, will always have a significantly lower salary than their more educated counterparts. Less paid and less valued jobs are reserved for unqualified workers, and often such positions are in danger of being automated, which creates additional uncertainty regarding salaries and jobs for people with a lower level of education.

6. Gender inequality

Women who receive poorer education than their male counterparts are often in an adverse position. Quality education gives women independence , higher salaries and the opportunity to express their views on various social issues. Education means independence and the ability to make informed decisions on one’s life, for both men and women.

7. Social isolation

Uneducated people struggle to fit in social situations, and often remain marginalized. The lack of resources generated by education prevents them from participating in numerous social activities in a productive and comprehensive way, in contrast to educated people who engage in the same activities without difficulty.  

8. Illegal activities 

People with lower education, the unemployed, or those who work poorly paid jobs are often forced to work hard to provide a bare existence. Hence, it is no wonder that lack of education can often lead to a life of crime, which such people often see as the shortcut or the only way out of their disadvantaged position.  

9. Poor economy

Countries with educated people have stronger, better developed, and more sustainable economies. Estimates say that this trend will continue and become even more stronger in the 21st century, when due to digitalization and the changes it brings, a countries’ ability to successfully adapt to the changed circumstances will directly depend on their educated population. 

In other words, countries with an educated population will have more productive workers, innovative scientists and will be able to come up with more creative solutions than countries with poorly developed economic and education systems. As a consequence, workers in such countries will receive higher salaries, and these countries will be more desirable places to live. 

10. Impossibility of (adequate) participation in political and social life 

Without a comprehensive education in both sciences and humanities, a person will lack the knowledge and tools that enable them to make intelligent and meaningful political decisions. Who to vote for in the elections, which initiatives to support, who and what to trust, all these are things one must decide about with care and commitment. It is education that enables open dialogue, constructive exchange of opinions, and joint search for the best solution for society as a whole. Therefore, it helps the individual not to fall prey to political marketing, but to base their decisions on their own thoughts and views.  

Education is an opportunity for all 

Open access to education is not just an individual right, but a great opportunity for society as a whole as well. The more people have access to the knowledge and skills provided by authentic education, the greater the chances of overall progress. It is, therefore, necessary to ensure access to education for everyone. In order to do that, the link between the causes of the lack of education and its negative effects must be broken. Efforts concentrated on overcoming the causes will simultaneously nullify the effects, and the solution is quality education accessible to all.  

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Essay on Lack of Education

Students are often asked to write an essay on Lack of Education in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Lack of Education

The importance of education.

Education is a fundamental right, yet many children worldwide lack access to it. This deprivation creates a cycle of poverty and ignorance.

Effects of Lack of Education

Without education, individuals struggle to break free from poverty. They lack the skills needed for better employment, leading to social and economic inequality.

Improving Access to Education

To address this, governments and organizations should invest in education. This includes building schools in remote areas, providing free education, and ensuring a safe learning environment.

Education is essential for personal and societal growth. Let’s work together to ensure everyone gets this basic right.

250 Words Essay on Lack of Education

The implications of lack of education.

Education, a fundamental human right, is the bedrock of social and economic development. Its absence, however, is a critical global concern that impedes progress.

Impact on Individual Growth

The lack of education affects individual growth significantly. It limits opportunities, hinders skill development, and confines individuals to low-income jobs. This, in turn, perpetuates a cycle of poverty, as a lack of financial resources further restricts access to education.

Societal Consequences

On a societal level, the lack of education fuels inequality and social division. It creates a chasm between the educated and uneducated, leading to an imbalanced society where power and resources are unevenly distributed.

Economic Ramifications

Economically, nations with high illiteracy rates often struggle with stagnant economic growth. Inadequate education results in a lack of skilled labor, which is crucial for technological advancement and economic diversification.

The Role of Policy

Addressing the lack of education requires comprehensive, inclusive policies. Governments should invest in education infrastructure, teacher training, and scholarship programs. Furthermore, policies should target marginalized groups, ensuring equal access to education for all.

To conclude, the lack of education is a multifaceted issue with far-reaching implications. It’s an obstacle to individual, societal, and economic progress. Therefore, it’s imperative to prioritize education in policy-making to foster a more equitable and prosperous world.

500 Words Essay on Lack of Education

Education is a fundamental human right, serving as a powerful tool in developing our societies. It opens doors to opportunities, promotes individual and societal growth, and forms the foundation for a prosperous future. However, many around the world are still deprived of this basic right, resulting in a lack of education.

Consequences of Lack of Education

The lack of education has far-reaching implications. It perpetuates cycles of poverty, reduces economic productivity, and hampers social development. Without education, individuals are often left without the skills needed to navigate the world, limiting their ability to secure decent employment and contribute meaningfully to society.

Moreover, education is crucial for promoting social and cultural values, fostering critical thinking, and encouraging civic participation. In its absence, societies risk being fragmented, with reduced social cohesion and increased susceptibility to conflict and instability.

The Root Causes

Several factors contribute to the lack of education. Poverty is a significant barrier, with many families unable to afford school fees or needing their children to work. Inadequate infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, is another obstacle. Many communities lack access to schools, while others have poorly equipped or understaffed schools.

Discrimination also plays a role, with girls and children from marginalized groups often facing additional barriers to education. These include cultural norms that devalue their education, early marriage, and the threat of violence or harassment at school.

The Role of Government and Global Community

Addressing the lack of education requires concerted efforts from governments, non-governmental organizations, and the global community. Governments must prioritize education in their national budgets, enact policies to ensure all children can access and complete quality education, and address discrimination and other barriers to education.

The global community can support these efforts by providing financial aid, sharing best practices, and holding governments accountable for their commitments to education. Non-governmental organizations can also play a crucial role by implementing programs that address specific barriers to education, such as providing scholarships for girls or building schools in underserved areas.

In conclusion, the lack of education is a significant global issue with far-reaching implications. It is a complex problem with multiple causes, requiring a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach. By prioritizing education and working together, we can ensure that all individuals have the opportunity to learn, grow, and contribute to their communities and the world at large. The time to act is now; the future of our world depends on it.

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The Education Crisis: Being in School Is Not the Same as Learning

First grade students in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province are learning the alphabet through child-friendly flash cards. Their learning materials help educators teach through interactive and engaging activities and are provided free of charge through a student’s first learning backpack. © World Bank 

THE NAME OF THE DOG IS PUPPY. This seems like a simple sentence. But did you know that in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, three out of four third grade students do not understand it? The world is facing a learning crisis . Worldwide, hundreds of millions of children reach young adulthood without even the most basic skills like calculating the correct change from a transaction, reading a doctor’s instructions, or understanding a bus schedule—let alone building a fulfilling career or educating their children. Education is at the center of building human capital. The latest World Bank research shows that the productivity of 56 percent of the world’s children will be less than half of what it could be if they enjoyed complete education and full health. For individuals, education raises self-esteem and furthers opportunities for employment and earnings. And for a country, it helps strengthen institutions within societies, drives long-term economic growth, reduces poverty, and spurs innovation.

One of the most interesting, large scale educational technology efforts is being led by EkStep , a philanthropic effort in India. EkStep created an open digital infrastructure which provides access to learning opportunities for 200 million children, as well as professional development opportunities for 12 million teachers and 4.5 million school leaders. Both teachers and children are accessing content which ranges from teaching materials, explanatory videos, interactive content, stories, practice worksheets, and formative assessments. By monitoring which content is used most frequently—and most beneficially—informed decisions can be made around future content.

In the Dominican Republic, a World Bank supported pilot study shows how adaptive technologies can generate great interest among 21st century students and present a path to supporting the learning and teaching of future generations. Yudeisy, a sixth grader participating in the study, says that what she likes doing the most during the day is watching videos and tutorials on her computer and cell phone. Taking childhood curiosity as a starting point, the study aimed to channel it towards math learning in a way that interests Yudeisy and her classmates.

Yudeisy, along with her classmates in a public elementary school in Santo Domingo, is part of a four-month pilot to reinforce mathematics using software that adapts to the math level of each student. © World Bank

Adaptive technology was used to evaluate students’ initial learning level to then walk them through math exercises in a dynamic, personalized way, based on artificial intelligence and what the student is ready to learn. After three months, students with the lowest initial performance achieved substantial improvements. This shows the potential of technology to increase learning outcomes, especially among students lagging behind their peers. In a field that is developing at dizzying speeds, innovative solutions to educational challenges are springing up everywhere. Our challenge is to make technology a driver of equity and inclusion and not a source of greater inequality of opportunity. We are working with partners worldwide to support the effective and appropriate use of educational technologies to strengthen learning.

When schools and educations systems are managed well, learning happens

Successful education reforms require good policy design, strong political commitment, and effective implementation capacity . Of course, this is extremely challenging. Many countries struggle to make efficient use of resources and very often increased education spending does not translate into more learning and improved human capital. Overcoming such challenges involves working at all levels of the system.

At the central level, ministries of education need to attract the best experts to design and implement evidence-based and country-specific programs. District or regional offices need the capacity and the tools to monitor learning and support schools. At the school level, principals need to be trained and prepared to manage and lead schools, from planning the use of resources to supervising and nurturing their teachers. However difficult, change is possible. Supported by the World Bank, public schools across Punjab in Pakistan have been part of major reforms over the past few years to address these challenges. Through improved school-level accountability by monitoring and limiting teacher and student absenteeism, and the introduction of a merit-based teacher recruitment system, where only the most talented and motivated teachers were selected, they were able to increase enrollment and retention of students and significantly improve the quality of education. "The government schools have become very good now, even better than private ones," said Mr. Ahmed, a local villager.

The World Bank, along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the UK’s Department for International Development, is developing the Global Education Policy Dashboard . This new initiative will provide governments with a system for monitoring how their education systems are functioning, from learning data to policy plans, so they are better able to make timely and evidence-based decisions.

Education reform: The long game is worth it

In fact, it will take a generation to realize the full benefits of high-quality teachers, the effective use of technology, improved management of education systems, and engaged and prepared learners. However, global experience shows us that countries that have rapidly accelerated development and prosperity all share the common characteristic of taking education seriously and investing appropriately. As we mark the first-ever International Day of Education on January 24, we must do all we can to equip our youth with the skills to keep learning, adapt to changing realities, and thrive in an increasingly competitive global economy and a rapidly changing world of work.

The schools of the future are being built today. These are schools where all teachers have the right competencies and motivation, where technology empowers them to deliver quality learning, and where all students learn fundamental skills, including socio-emotional, and digital skills. These schools are safe and affordable to everyone and are places where children and young people learn with joy, rigor, and purpose. Governments, teachers, parents, and the international community must do their homework to realize the promise of education for all students, in every village, in every city, and in every country. 

The Bigger Picture: In-depth stories on ending poverty

Problems of education Essay

The fact that social classification stems from civilization and its many accomplices doesn’t mean that we have reached its peak thus far. One of the key pillars of civilization is and has been education. It is education which has facilitated the sharing of knowledge from a given generation to the next. Education therefore, if simply defined would mean a process of integrating relevant knowledge in a person so as to instill relevance in him or her.

That is my general understanding of the term education. Education has evolved from time immemorial, it has always been inspired by the quest for knowledge and as long as one gained knowledge about a given phenomena then that would denote learning. Education therefore has been there before the formality of reading and writing, and it has always achieved that purpose for which it has been intended for; passing down cultures and information and teaching norms through the generations that have been existent.

Education is not a simple undertaking in itself. Formal education itself demands sacrifice monetary wise, it needs time and also needs investment in terms of the effort one puts in an endeavor to attain the same.

One has to sacrifice so much and post pone activities just for the sake of gaining from education, but above all it is the promise that formal education presents. The promise of independence, a good stable family, a regular income and posterity motivate one to get education. It takes a lot of effort in itself, given the fact that it takes several years in a person’s life just to get through an educational system.

It brings me to the idea that in a person’s life as long as they begin attending school, one will start preparing for the life he would wish to live and there after prepare the life he would want his kids to have. There is never rest at the end of this, rather one embark on another phase of life; family. As a result, life progresses as a rolling stone, just changing course and the players within the game. In that regard children grow to replace parents and the cycle would continue. Above all the sacrifice has always been worth it.

The obstacles to the same are universal. The challenges have a pattern of semblance to each other and the resultant fruits also resemble. For instance, in several parts of the world, they have similar challenges such as scarce resources that would especially facilitate education.

The above is evident in Africa and some parts of Asia. They also have issues with access to other resources such as water and good health; all these directly affect education in general and also the quality of education that is being administered. In developed countries such as ours, the challenges are simpler and are easier to sort.

Some challenges education faces include lack of time. Education takes a lot of time and most people have to juggle been education and their job; however these happen in advanced stages such as in colleges and universities. In earlier stages they have to contend with academics because much of the time it is a fulltime engagement for them so their activities are limited. The other challenge for them is the fact that is expensive.

The cumulative cost is expensive and this contributes to the drop outs that come about as a result of the same. The students are exposed to other challenges such as drugs, mob psychology and even harassment from both their seniors at school and peers. The overall impact to the above is a dismal performance which if unchecked would go a long way in affecting the personality of a student. They would in the long run look down on themselves due to a low self esteem.

Problems of education

The above is simply premise to the fact that education has helped nature characters, in generations of yore. But can the same be said of education as at now? What with a curriculum that is imposed on students and bent on teaching given norms as opposed to embracing virtues? It is true that civilization has shaped the level of thinking and technology as it is now, resulting to the competitive world that is today.

It is also true that education is trying to teach us how to live and survive in the world that has emerged after, but education is prone to many other factors that have helped shaped society to what it is.

First of this is the fact that at the moment education is relying on a given curriculum, drafted by the people and wired to instigate certain characteristics and uphold some of them.

Before the current system of education which is majorly formal, there was informal education which was basically instincts. It was passed down through generations and was programmed basing on occurrences of nature as it evolved. As such, it was basically life skills.

Education as it stands has made societal gains and we can only marvel at the benefits it has brought about. For one, we have achieved the natural peaceful coexistence among nations. The presence of one common unitary language has achieved stability and enhanced trade and relations. It has also fostered the achievement of positive solutions in times of calamities. These are myriad achievements, communication in itself has been enhanced and the result thereof is the ability to conduct multinational trade and interactions on different platforms.

Formal education, as we know it today and as has been explained above is the product of a curriculum that is drafted and implemented for teachers to pass over to their students. It could also imply that it instills life skills to a small extent but that is as it is; majorly it is used as a social control mechanism.

The educational system in place at the moment trains one to think and act in a certain way, they also train the students to respond to situations in a given manner. This has been instrumental in gaining population control. It has facilitated tyranny in otherwise supposedly democratic states; the result to this has been revolutions and landmark incidences that have plagued these countries.

The above is evident in several cases in history, for instance the French revolution resulted from an adjustment in the social control structures in place. The people were plagued by hunger yet the government that was supposed to provide for the people didn’t care. This and other atrocities by the government irked the people and they took to the streets, the result was a revolution from which emerged a new set of leadership.

Education has brought the best and worst in everybody, however it has failed to change humanity and the essence of it therefore. We are still plagued by our ancestral cosmos which dictate to us our most natural instincts; as such it is prudent that the things that excite human beings are still war, food and affection.

These have been since the ancient of days and have never changed over time. Therefore, it is enough stated that education has yielded a totally different personality that could never have been, but it has also failed to ignite the embers of this new personality to take up on the primitive. The primitive is simply docile but very active within.

To conclude on the above, personally education has been instrumental to me in attaining dreams I once had, but it is also true that it is as perennial as it stands.

Education is only for presentation purposes, and hence social control. If there was an alternative to education that would teach one to not only bow to the whims of the powers that are existent but to break all the rules and live harmoniously in peace and coherence with the next human being, such as is taught by the monks there would be a totally different society. Self actualization would be easier to attain, wars would be a preserve of the past and there would be fewer calamities as have been witnessed.

Education has brought us this far, but it is high time the systems incorporated teaching of virtues such as humility, patience and kindness unlike the present system which churns ambitious personalities that would stop at nothing in order to satisfy their cravings.

The result to the above would be fewer incidents of inhuman acts such as cannibalism as was witnessed in some of our colleges or reduced shooting sprees in which students take up arms and decide to shoot their innocent colleagues. This would also shape the type of leadership and cultivate servant leadership among the leaders these institutions would churn out.

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Bibliography

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From grade-level standards and hygiene theater to lessons from the Spanish flu and homeschooling, here are the 15 most read and buzzed-about essays of 2021:

Analysis: Focus on Grade-Level Standards or Meet Students Where They Are? How an Unintentional Experiment Guided a Strategy for Addressing Learning Loss

Learning Recovery: What’s the best way to support learning recovery in middle-grade math? Should schools stay focused on grade-level standards while trying to address critical learning gaps as best as they can? Or should they systematically address individual students’ unfinished learning from prior years so they can ultimately catch back up — even if that means spending meaningful time teaching below-grade skills? As educators and administrators wrestle with those questions as they prepare to return to school in the fall, contributor Joel Rose offers some guidance inadvertently found in a study of Teach to One , an innovative learning model operated by New Classrooms Innovation Partners, the nonprofit where he is co-founder and CEO. That research found performance in schools with accountability systems that focused on grade-level proficiency (and thus prioritized grade-level exposure) grew 7 percentile points, while those that operated under systems that rewarded student growth (and thus prioritized individual student needs) grew 38 points. While the study was never intended to compare results across schools in this way, the stark difference between the two groups could not be ignored. Math is cumulative, and the path to proficiency often requires addressing unfinished learning from prior years. For the middle grades, administrators and policymakers would be wise to question the grade-level-only gospel as they begin to plan students’ educational recovery. Read the full analysis . 

Lessons from Spanish Flu — Babies Born in 1919 Had Worse Educational, Life Outcomes Than Those Born Just Before or After. Could That Happen With COVID-19?

History: Contributor Chad Aldeman has some bad news: The effects of COVID-19 are likely to linger for decades. And if the Spanish Flu is any indication, babies born during the pandemic may suffer some devastating consequences . Compared with children born just before or after, babies born during the flu pandemic in 1919 were less likely to finish high school, earned less money and were more likely to depend on welfare assistance and serve time in jail. The harmful effects were twice as large for nonwhite children. It may take a few years to see whether similar educational and economic effects from COVID-19 start to materialize, but these are ominous findings suggesting that hidden economic factors may influence a child’s life in ways that aren’t obvious in the moment. Hopefully, they will give policymakers more reasons to speed economic recovery efforts and make sure they deliver benefits to families and children who are going to need them the most. Read the full essay .

Pittman & Darling-Hammond: Surveys Find Parents Want Bold Changes in Schools — With More Learning Inside and Outside the Classroom

Future of Education: Whatever they thought of their schools before the pandemic struck, parents now have strong opinions about what they want them to provide. They are looking beyond fall reopenings to rethink schooling, and they care about having good choices for interest-driven learning opportunities beyond the classroom . Two national parent surveys released in May shed new light on how to think about the often-used phrase “more and better learning.” Among the key findings, write contributors Karen Pittman and Linda Darling-Hammond: Parents want bold changes in schools, to make public education more equitable and learner-centered. But they also believe that home, school and extracurriculars play complementary roles in imparting the broad set of skills children need for their future success. This means educators and policymakers must support learning that extends beyond the school day, the school walls, the school staff and the traditional school approaches. Read the full essay .

High-Quality, High-Dosage Tutoring Can Reduce Learning Loss. A Blueprint for How Washington, States & Districts Can Make It Happen

Personalized Learning: There is near-unanimous, bipartisan agreement that tutoring is among the most promising, evidence-based strategies to help students struggling with learning loss . Decades of rigorous evaluations have consistently found that tutoring programs yield large, positive effects on math and reading achievement, and can even lead to greater social and motivational outcomes. It isn’t just the research community buzzing about tutoring — it is gaining momentum in policy circles, too. Which means there is a real opportunity — and responsibility — to design and deliver tutoring programs in a way that aligns with the research evidence, which is fortunately beginning to tell us more than just “tutoring works.” Contributors Sara Kerr and Kate Tromble of Results for America lay out a blueprint for how Washington, states and local school districts can make high-quality, high-dosage tutoring happen .

COVID-19 Raised Fears of Teacher Shortages. But the Situation Varies from State to State, School to School & Subject to Subject

Teacher Pipeline: Is the U.S. facing a major teacher shortage? Relatively low pay, a booming private sector and adverse working conditions in schools are all important elements in whether teaching is becoming an undesirable profession. But, writes contributor Dan Goldhaber, the factors that lead to attrition are diverse, so treating teachers as a monolith doesn’t help in crafting solutions to the real staffing challenges that some schools face. There is no national teacher labor market per se, because each state adopts its own rules for pay, licensure, tenure, pension and training requirements. And nationally, tens of thousands more people are prepared to teach than there are available positions. But while some schools have applicants lined up when an opening becomes available, others, typically those serving economically disadvantaged students, draw far fewer candidates. And schools tend to struggle to find teachers with special education or STEM training. The pandemic certainly raises concerns about teacher shortages; what is needed is a more nuanced conversation about teacher staffing to come up with more effective solutions to real problems. Read the full essay .

Clash of Cultures, Clash of Privilege — What Happened When 30 Low-Income Students of Color Were Admitted to Elite Prep Schools

Analysis: Programs like Prep for Prep and A Better Chance have long been regarded as groundbreaking solutions to the lack of diversity in the nation’s most elite prep schools. Teens who join these types of programs undergo a transfer of privilege that starts with their education and bleeds into every facet of their lives, forever altering their trajectory with opportunities that otherwise would likely be unattainable. But what assumptions do these programs subscribe to? And what lessons can be found in the experiences of the participants? In her Harvard senior thesis, contributor Jessica Herrera Chaidez followed 30 participants in a program that grants select socioeconomically disadvantaged students of color in the Los Angeles area the opportunity to attend famed independent schools. She found that the experiences of these students can be understood in various forms of twoness associated with this transfer of privilege, an internal struggle that begins with their introduction to the world of elite education and will come to mark them for their entire lives in a way that they aren’t even able to comprehend yet. Read more about her findings, and what some of these students had to say .

Steiner & Wilson: Some Tough Questions, and Some Answers, About Fighting COVID Slide While Accelerating Student Learning

Case Study: How prepared are district leaders, principals and teachers as they work to increase learning readiness for on-grade work this fall? That’s the question posed by contributors David Steiner and Barbara Wilson in a case study examining how a large urban district sought to adapt materials it was already using to implement an acceleration strategy for early elementary foundational skills in reading . Among the insights to be drawn: First, planning is critical. Leaders need to set out precisely how many minutes of instruction will be provided, the exact learning goals and the specific materials; identify all those involved (tutors, specialists, and teachers); and give them access to shared professional development on the chosen acceleration strategies. Second, this requires a sea change from business as usual, where teachers attempt to impart skill-based standards using an eclectic rather than a coherent curriculum. It is not possible to accelerate children with fragmented content. All efforts to prepare students for grade-level instruction must rest on fierce agreement about the shared curriculum to be taught in classrooms. What we teach is the anchor that holds everything else in place. Read the full essay .

Schools Are Facing a Surge of Failing Grades During the Pandemic — and Traditional Approaches Like Credit Recovery Will Not Be Enough to Manage It

Student Supports: Earlier this year, failing grades were on the rise across the country — especially for students who are learning online — and the trend threatened to exacerbate existing educational inequities. The rise in failing grades appears to be most pronounced among students from low-income households, multilingual students and students learning virtually . This could have lasting consequences: Students with failing grades tend to have less access to advanced courses in high school, and a failing grade in even one ninth-grade course can lower a student’s chances of graduating on time. Addressing the problem, though, won’t be easy. In many school systems, the rash of failed courses could overwhelm traditional approaches to helping students make up coursework they may have missed. In a new analysis, Betheny Gross, associate director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, implored school and district leaders to be especially wary of one long-established but questionable practice: credit recovery. Read more about her warning — as well as her recommendations for how districts should seek to reverse this learning loss .

Riccards: The 1776 Report Is a Political Document, Not a Curriculum. But It Has Something to Teach Us

Analysis: The 1776 Report was never intended to stand as curriculum, nor was it designed to be translated into a curriculum as the 1619 Project was. It is a political document offered by political voices. But, writes contributor Patrick Riccards, dismissing it would be a mistake, because it provides an important lesson . The American record, whether it be measured starting in 1619 or 1776, is hopeful and ugly, inspiring and debilitating, a shining beacon and an unshakable dark cloud. American history is messy and contradictory; how we teach it, even more so. For years, we have heard how important it is to increase investment in civics education. But from #BlackLivesMatter to 2020 electioneering to even the assault on the U.S. Capitol, the basics of civics have been on display in our streets and corridors of power. What we lack is the collective historical knowledge necessary to translate civic education into meaningful, positive community change. The 1776 Report identifies beliefs espoused by our Founding Fathers and many Confederates and reflected by those who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6. They are a part of our history that we must study, understand, contextualize and deconstruct. The 1776 Report becomes the proper close to the social studies lessons of the past four years. As the next chapter of American history is written, it is imperative to apply those lessons to significantly improve the teaching and learning of American history. Our nation’s future depends on better understanding our past .

There’s Lots of Education Data Out There — and It Can Be Misleading. Here Are 6 Questions to Ask

Student Data: Data is critical to addressing inequities in education. However, it is often misused, interpreted to fit a particular agenda or misread in ways that perpetuate an inaccurate story . Data that’s not broken down properly can hide gaps between different groups of students. Facts out of context can lead to superficial conclusions or deceptive narratives. In this essay, contributor Krista Kaput presents six questions that she asks herself when consuming data — and that you should, too .

Educators’ View: Principals Know Best What Their Schools Need. They Should Have a Central Role in Deciding How Relief Funds Are Spent

School Funding: The American Rescue Plan represents a once-in-a-generation federal commitment to K-12 schools across the country. The impact will be felt immediately: The $122 billion in direct funding will support safe school reopenings, help ensure that schools already providing in-person instruction can safely stay open and aid students in recovering from academic and mental health challenges induced and exacerbated by the pandemic. How these funds are distributed will shape the educational prospects of millions of students, affecting the country for decades to come. As they make rescue plan funding decisions, write contributors L. Earl Franks of the National Association of Elementary School Principals and Ronn Nozoe of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, states and districts should meaningfully engage and empower school principals throughout all phases of implementation. Principals, as leaders of their school buildings and staff, have unequaled insights into their individual schools’ needs and know which resources are required most urgently. Read the authors’ four recommendations for leveraging this expertise .

Case Studies: How 11 States Are Using Emergency Federal Funds to Make Improvements in College and Career Access That Will Endure Beyond the Pandemic

COVID Relief: The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund gave states more than $4 billion in discretionary federal dollars to support K-12 schools, higher education and workforce initiatives. These were welcome resources, coming just as the pandemic accelerated unemployment and exacerbated declining college enrollment, hitting those from low-income backgrounds hardest. But as contributors Betheny Gross, Georgia Heyward and Matt Robinson note, most states have invested overwhelmingly in one-time college scholarships or short-term supports that will end once funds run out. In hopes of encouraging policymakers across the country to make more sustainable investments with the remaining relief funds, the trio spotlights efforts in 11 states that show promise in enduring beyond COVID-19. Read our full case study . 

In Thousands of Districts, 4-Day School Weeks Are Robbing Students of Learning Time for What Amounts to Hygiene Theater

School Safety: Last April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made clear that having good ventilation and wearing masks consistently are far more effective at preventing the spread of COVID-19 than disinfecting surfaces. This clarification was long overdue, say contributors Robin Lake and Georgia Heyward of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, as scientists had long suspected that deep cleaning and temperature checks are more hygiene theater than a strategy for limiting the spread of an airborne virus. Thousands of school districts, however, had already built complex fall reopening plans with a full day for at-home learning. The result was a modified four-day week with students receiving significantly reduced live instruction. Eliminating a full day of in-person teaching was always a high-cost strategy from an education standpoint; now there is confirmation that it was totally unnecessary. Lake and Heyward argue that we cannot afford to throw away an entire day of learning and student support based on a false scientific premise .

Teacher’s View: How the Science of Reading Helped Me Make the Most of Limited Time With My Students & Adapt Lessons to Meet Their Needs

First Person: March 12, 2020, was contributor Jessica Pasik’s last typical day in the classroom before COVID-19 changed everything. When her district closed, she assumed, as did many, that it was a temporary precaution. But with each passing week, she worried that the growth in reading she and her first-graders had worked so hard for would fade away . Many pre-pandemic instructional approaches to teaching reading were already failing students and teachers, and the stress of COVID-19 has only exacerbated these challenges. When Pasik’s district reopened for in-person classes in the fall, they were faced with difficult decisions about how to best deliver instruction. One factor that helped streamline this transition was a grounding in the science of reading. Having extensive knowledge of what they needed to teach allowed educators to focus on how they would teach, make the most of the limited instructional time they had with students and adapt lessons to meet their needs. There are multiple factors that teachers cannot control; one person alone cannot make the systematic changes needed for all children to reach proficiency in literacy. But one knowledgeable teacher can forever change the trajectory of a student’s life. Students will face many challenges once they leave the classroom, but low literacy does not need to be one of them. Read her full essay .

Homeschooling Is on the Rise. What Should That Teach Education Leaders About Families’ Preferences?

Disenrollment: With school closures, student quarantines and tensions over mask requirements, vaccine mandates and culture war issues, families’ lives have been upended in ways few could have imagined 18 months ago. That schools have struggled to adapt is understandable, writes contributor Alex Spurrier. But for millions of families, their willingness to tolerate institutional sclerosis in their children’s education is wearing thin. Over the past 18 months, the rate of families moving their children to a new school increased by about 50 percent , and some 1.2 million switched to homeschooling last academic year. Instead of working to get schools back to a pre-pandemic normal, Spurrier says, education leaders should look at addressing the needs of underserved kids and families — and the best way to understand where schools are falling short is to look at how families are voting with their feet. If options like homeschooling, pods and microschools retain some of their pandemic enrollment gains, it could have ripple effects on funding that resonate throughout the K-12 landscape. Read the full essay .

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Recognizing and Overcoming Inequity in Education

About the author, sylvia schmelkes.

Sylvia Schmelkes is Provost of the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.

22 January 2020 Introduction

I nequity is perhaps the most serious problem in education worldwide. It has multiple causes, and its consequences include differences in access to schooling, retention and, more importantly, learning. Globally, these differences correlate with the level of development of various countries and regions. In individual States, access to school is tied to, among other things, students' overall well-being, their social origins and cultural backgrounds, the language their families speak, whether or not they work outside of the home and, in some countries, their sex. Although the world has made progress in both absolute and relative numbers of enrolled students, the differences between the richest and the poorest, as well as those living in rural and urban areas, have not diminished. 1

These correlations do not occur naturally. They are the result of the lack of policies that consider equity in education as a principal vehicle for achieving more just societies. The pandemic has exacerbated these differences mainly due to the fact that technology, which is the means of access to distance schooling, presents one more layer of inequality, among many others.

The dimension of educational inequity

Around the world, 258 million, or 17 per cent of the world’s children, adolescents and youth, are out of school. The proportion is much larger in developing countries: 31 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa and 21 per cent in Central Asia, vs. 3 per cent in Europe and North America. 2  Learning, which is the purpose of schooling, fares even worse. For example, it would take 15-year-old Brazilian students 75 years, at their current rate of improvement, to reach wealthier countries’ average scores in math, and more than 260 years in reading. 3 Within countries, learning results, as measured through standardized tests, are almost always much lower for those living in poverty. In Mexico, for example, 80 per cent of indigenous children at the end of primary school don’t achieve basic levels in reading and math, scoring far below the average for primary school students. 4

The causes of educational inequity

There are many explanations for educational inequity. In my view, the most important ones are the following:

• Equity and equality are not the same thing. Equality means providing the same resources to everyone. Equity signifies giving more to those most in need. Countries with greater inequity in education results are also those in which governments distribute resources according to the political pressure they experience in providing education. Such pressures come from families in which the parents attended school, that reside in urban areas, belong to cultural majorities and who have a clear appreciation of the benefits of education. Much less pressure comes from rural areas and indigenous populations, or from impoverished urban areas. In these countries, fewer resources, including infrastructure, equipment, teachers, supervision and funding, are allocated to the disadvantaged, the poor and cultural minorities.
• Teachers are key agents for learning. Their training is crucial.  When insufficient priority is given to either initial or in-service teacher training, or to both, one can expect learning deficits. Teachers in poorer areas tend to have less training and to receive less in-service support.
• Most countries are very diverse. When a curriculum is overloaded and is the same for everyone, some students, generally those from rural areas, cultural minorities or living in poverty find little meaning in what is taught. When the language of instruction is different from their native tongue, students learn much less and drop out of school earlier.
• Disadvantaged students frequently encounter unfriendly or overtly offensive attitudes from both teachers and classmates. Such attitudes are derived from prejudices, stereotypes, outright racism and sexism. Students in hostile environments are affected in their disposition to learn, and many drop out early.

It doesn’t have to be like this

When left to inertial decision-making, education systems seem to be doomed to reproduce social and economic inequity. The commitment of both governments and societies to equity in education is both necessary and possible. There are several examples of more equitable educational systems in the world, and there are many subnational examples of successful policies fostering equity in education.

Why is equity in education important?

Education is a basic human right. More than that, it is an enabling right in the sense that, when respected, allows for the fulfillment of other human rights. Education has proven to affect general well-being, productivity, social capital, responsible citizenship and sustainable behaviour. Its equitable distribution allows for the creation of permeable societies and equity. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to ensure “inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. One hundred eighty-four countries are committed to achieving this goal over the next decade. 5  The process of walking this road together has begun and requires impetus to continue, especially now that we must face the devastating consequences of a long-lasting pandemic. Further progress is crucial for humanity.

Notes  1 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization , Inclusive Education. All Means All , Global Education Monitoring Report 2020 (Paris, 2020), p.8. Available at https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/report/2020/inclusion . 2 Ibid., p. 4, 7. 3 World Bank Group, World Development Report 2018: Learning to Realize Education's Promise (Washington, DC, 2018), p. 3. Available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2018 .  4 Instituto Nacional para la Evaluación de la Educación, "La educación obligatoria en México", Informe 2018 (Ciudad de México, 2018), p. 72. Available online at https://www.inee.edu.mx/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/P1I243.pdf . 5 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization , “Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4” (2015), p. 23. Available at  https://iite.unesco.org/publications/education-2030-incheon-declaration-framework-action-towards-inclusive-equitable-quality-education-lifelong-learning/   The UN Chronicle  is not an official record. It is privileged to host senior United Nations officials as well as distinguished contributors from outside the United Nations system whose views are not necessarily those of the United Nations. Similarly, the boundaries and names shown, and the designations used, in maps or articles do not necessarily imply endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.   

The LDC Future Forum: Accelerating the Attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in the Least Developed Countries

The desired outcome of the LDC Future Forums is the dissemination of practical and evidence-based case studies, solutions and policy recommendations for achieving sustainable development.

From Local Moments to Global Movement: Reparation Mechanisms and a Development Framework

For two centuries, emancipated Black people have been calling for reparations for the crimes committed against them. 

World Down Syndrome Day: A Chance to End the Stereotypes

The international community, led by the United Nations, can continue to improve the lives of people with Down syndrome by addressing stereotypes and misconceptions.

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Lack of Education: 11 Lifelong Effects

Quick answer: the effects of lack of education.

Lack of education has serious effects on everyone, not only people who are under-educated. People who lack education have trouble getting ahead in life, have worse health and are poorer than the well-educated. Major effects of lack of education include: poor health, lack of a voice, shorter lifespan, unemployment, exploitation and gender inequality.

Introduction

Across the world, 264.3 million school children, adolescents and youth are not in school. We’re getting more of these children into school, but there’s still a long way to go.

These children who are under-educated will likely suffer from long-term side effects that may limit their quality of life. There are 11 major effects of lack of education that cause real worry to us all.

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The 11 Lifelong Effects of Lack of Education

1. poor health.

Healthcare of the general population is a major reason education is important .

Primary education is important for learning about personal health and hygiene. Education is how health professionals and governments communicate important information to society.

In other words, a person’s education level is a key social determinant of their health outcomes .

Poor health and hygiene is a serious issue in societies where large amounts of the population lack an education.

Important basic health that is taught at school includes:

• Pregnancy and prenatal care;
• Basic hygiene like cleaning teeth and washing hands; and
• Sexual health.

According to the UNHCR , simply educating all girls to a secondary school level would decrease worldwide deaths from pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria by 49%.

Case Study: Lack of Education During the Ebola Crisis

This became a huge problem during the 2014-15 Ebola crisis in West Africa. During the crisis, there was a huge amount of misinformation about how the disease was spreading. Many people used old wive’s tales and folklore to understand the disease rather than scientific knowledge.

To remedy this, there was a need for a huge public information campaign to educate the masses on how diseases spread. One of the major things to do was teach people how to bury the dead appropriately to prevent the spread of the disease.

Case Study: HIV/AIDS in Uganda

The Borgen Project reports that highly educated people in Uganda are 75% less likely to suffer from HIV/AIDS than uneducated people. If a Ugandan completes primary school, they’re 50% less likely to suffer from HIV/AIDS.

>>>Related Post: 27 Points on the Importance of Education

2. Lack of a Voice

People who are undereducated do not have the skills or confidence to speak up for themselves.

This is a part of the reason many women remain oppressed in the developing world. Girls who are undereducated are married young – often still as children – and forced into domestic chores rather than education.

These women find it very hard to speak up about their own situation and find ways to improve their lives. They can’t find jobs, are reliant on their husbands’ incomes, and often can’t read or write which prevents them from self-educating.

>>>In-Depth: 45 Facts on the Importance of Reading

3. Shorter Lifespan

Less educated people don’t live as long as more educated people, the International Monetary Fund’s Fiscal Monitor Report shows. According to the report, less educated men statistically live between 4 and 14 years less than their well educated counterparts.

Here’s a graph from the IMF on these startling figures.

• The smallest gap is in Italy, where educated men live 4 years longer than uneducated men. 
• The largest gap is in Hungary, where the gap is 14 years.

According to the IMF, this shortened lifespan for the poor has a drag effect on national productivity. So in effect, we all suffer when the poor get sick and die.

4. A Poverty Trap

Poverty Trap: The inability to escape poverty due to lack of resources.

Children of poorer people are more likely to be poor themselves. This is often known as the intergenerational poverty trap .

One of the only ways to escape the poverty trap is through education. If you’re not educated, you are not likely to escape.

Here’s the facts.

While the exact figures are disputed, higher education appears to lead to higher incomes:

• According to the Borgen Project , each year of education beyond grades 3 and 4 increases a woman’s earning potential by 20%. 
• This South African study finds wages only see significant growth beyond a Grade 11 education. 
• This Brookings Institute study funds one year of education leads to a 10% growth in earnings.

And the problem isn’t only lack of education. It’s also the quality of education. 

A report from the University of Stellenbosch found that children in South Africa who attend poorer public schools suffer from low teacher quality and lack of resources. This can keep children in poverty despite the fact that they attended school.

Related Article: How Can Health Influence Learning?

5. Unemployment

Everywhere in the world, jobs are given out to the most qualified people.

Educational credentials are one major way in which employers choose between job applicants. If you don’t have that high school diploma or university degree, chances are you’ll drop to the bottom of the pile.

The OECD found that across all OECD nations: 

• 83% of people with a university degree are employed;
• 74% of people with an upper secondary or non-university postsecondary education (e.g. a trade qualification) are employed;
• 56% of people without an upper secondary education are employed.

6. Exploitation

People who have not been educated may have to resort to terrible types of work just to survive. In a world of limited jobs, those with an education get first pickings of the safer and more secure work.

Girls in the third world who lack education are some of the most vulnerable. According to the UNHCR , these girls are likely to find themselves doing jobs like:

• Prostitution;
• Sweatshop labor;
• Domestic Labor;
• Being married off as child brides.

Case Study: Syrian Civil War

UNICEF reports that many Syrian children are lured into fighting for the government in the civil war. These children – rather than going to school – need to work to feed their families. The US$400 per month soldier salary is often their only option due to their lack of skills.

Similarly, Syrian children who flee to Turkey end up working in sweatshops earning $10 a day to feed their families. According to The Guardian , sexual and physical abuse takes place in these sweatshops regularly.

7. Gender Inequality

Gender inequality can be a massive barrier to education for women.

Countries where women are less educated continue to perpetuate gender inequalities from one generation to the next.

Women who are less educated tend to have babies at a younger age. According to the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative , each year a girl is out of school increases national fertility rates by 10 percent.

Women who have children after receiving a secondary school education tend to have healthier babies. The UNGEI argues that these women’s higher levels of education means “they will know how to properly care for” their babies.

Furthermore, women with a lower education are less likely to raise their voice when it comes to political and community issues that affect them.

Education is also a space where gender stereotypes are challenged, which may also lead to decreased gender inequality. If girls and boys are educated side-by-side, such stereotypes may also disintegrate.

Read Also: Types of Stereotypes

8. A Brake on Economic Growth

Countries that have a more educated population will have more sustainable economic growth over the long term than those with a less educated population.

This is particularly evident now that we live in a globalized world.

Nations are competing against each other for economic dominance. If a nation is more educated, the nation’s productivity is higher and its workers are more innovative. The nation attracts higher-paying jobs in growth industries.

By contrast, nations that are poorer have to attract lower-paying industries such as manufacturing. While many third-world countries can grow their economies rapidly by lowering labor standards and attracting industry, there is a cap on this growth.

That’s why China is investing so heavily in tech and education. They know that if they want to continue to grow at a rapid rate, they need to transition to the high-paying industries of the future.

9. Inability to make smart political decisions

If too many people in a society lack the ability to think critically about the big challenges of the future, we won’t collectively make smart political decisions.

Education is about more than money. We need to educate our society so they can make democratic decisions like: 

• Who should I vote for in the next election? 
• Is climate change action important?
• Is it good for me that my taxes are spent on foreign aid?

A politically uninformed society may lack the knowledge to make smart decisions. Or, they might be easily duped by a smooth-talking populist.

Perhaps this is why one-sentence slogans tend to win out in our political discourse. The logic here is simple: dumb it down for the dumbies out there. Don’t treat them like adults. Don’t have an informed debate.

As Alex Lickerman argues:

“The solutions our political leaders seek for our most pressing problems are largely determined by which are most popular. And which are most popular is largely determined by our population’s ability to understand the problems”

10. It’s harder to raise children

If you lack an education yourself, raising children becomes more difficult. And not just because you’re more likely to be poor.

Issues uneducated parents face include:

• Not knowing how to seek help or teach yourself about raising children;
• Inability to help your children with their homework;
• You’re statistically more likely to be poor;
• You’ll expose your children to less words.

According to the American Psychological Association , this means:

• Children of uneducated parents are behind their peers in cognitive capacity and literacy and numeracy levels;
• Your children will have less financial literacy (they won’t be able to handle money as well);
• Your children will struggle getting the right information about attending college.

11. Your job is about to disappear due to automation

Automation is coming. We have already seen many millions of jobs disappear over the past few decades due to the introduction of robots. Think of factory lines or – closer to home – automated cashiers at the supermarket.

These are just the beginning. As artificial intelligence comes closer to reality, chances are that more and more low-skilled jobs will come off the market.

Think about the United States: manufacturing jobs have been on the decline for decades. The next big thing to go is truck driving as safe driverless trucks hit the road in the coming years.

The Hill argues: “the largest shares of jobs that can be potentially lost belong to low-skill individuals who do low-income jobs”.

Whether new jobs in new industries will emerge to replace the old ones is debatable. But the new jobs will likely require some form of education!

Final Thoughts

Students: If you’re using this information for an essay or speech on the topic, don’t forget to cite the sources I’ve linked to.

Now that you’ve got the right information, here’s 7 tips on how to start your essay .

>>>You might also like: How to make an Essay Shorter >>>You might also like: How to use Quotes in an Essay >>>You might also like: The Editing Tips for Growing your Grades by 13%

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 5 Top Tips for Succeeding at University
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• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 100 Consumer Goods Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 30 Globalization Pros and Cons

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Lack of Education: Situation Analysis

Description of the problem, a solution of the problem, ethical consequences of the proposed solution.

The state of the educational system in the modern world is extremely contradictory. At one level, education became one of the most influential spheres in people’s lives, and the number of people who received education is much bigger than in earlier history of humanity. Scientific achievements have become the starting point for many social transformations and scientific and technological progress.

On the other level, the demand for educational services and the high prestige of education as a social institution are accompanied by an increasing number of problems. Some issues are still relevant for many countries: the elimination of illiteracy, the shortage of qualified teachers, the backwardness of educational technologies, the crisis of efficiency and productivity of the educational system. Thus, despite the record number of educated people, the problem of lack of education is more pressing than ever.

In 1869, in his outstanding essay “The New Education,” president of Harvard University Charles Eliot outlined general areas and ways for the education system development. In this essay, Eliot presented strong arguments for the constant renewal of the curriculum and teaching methodology so that learning could keep pace with the development of society. After one and a half hundred years, this approach is still relevant.

Lack of education is the inability of people to acquire specialized skills, such as cognitive skills, socialization, memorization of facts which are necessary for personal development and the development of society and the world economy. It can be manifested in inaccessibility to education for some parts of the population, for such reasons as the lack of schools, teachers, or money to pay for education. It also can be expressed as the education quality of citizens.

Often the inefficiency of the educational process organization has bad result – after several years spent in the educational institution, people cannot find a job as their knowledge and skills are not enough. Lack of education is a social problem, as education should promote humane and productive human life (Costache, 2018). In addition, well-educated people benefit society and continue its development.

Because of the technological development, jobs and competencies change faster than people can adapt. The major part of the world’s population is behind in the most important practical skills. In the nearest future, the major part of jobs will be connected with the IT-sphere. By anticipating changes of this magnitude, companies are urgently trying to find and gain the competencies needed to maintain competitiveness. Skills shortages are now one of the major threats to businesses.

This problem is of global scale and affects all areas of the economy. For example, according to Farooq et al. (2018), the successful economic development of Pakistan requires cooperation with China within the framework of China – Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). However, researchers note a lack of qualified personnel, in particular women, in such areas as higher education and logistics for sufficient fruitful cooperation. The most vulnerable area in which education shortages are unacceptable is health care. However, even this sphere suffers from the problem of unskilled personnel. Coughlin (2017), for example, notes that nurses have not been professional enough for performing their job recently. She explores the field of nursing with Down Syndrome but it can be argued that it applies to all areas of medicine.

Information on the lack of education worldwide, as well as in specific countries, is confirmed by statistics from official sources of international organizations and government think tanks. According to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2018), for example, one in five children of school age do not attend educational institutions, and the total number of such children in 2016 was more than 260 million. The statistics show that the number of out-of-school children decreased by 114,5 million. Moreover, the gender gap has declined – previously the number of girls not attending school has exceeded the number of boys. It is a reliable source, as this agency has sufficient influence in the world and is entirely independent.

Through statistics, significant gaps in the existing education system can be identified. For example, there is still a serious gap between the life quality in developed and developing countries, which also affects the education level. The publications of Our World in Data, whose research power is located at Oxford University, among many infographics, have also determined literacy rates in world states (Roser & Ortiz-Ospina, 2020). The downside of the provided statistics is that researchers failed to obtain data for several countries. However, these are only a couple of countries with small populations. According to the data, 142 world states have a high level of education of 90-100%, with 8 states having a 100% rate. In just over 20 countries, the literacy rate is below 60%. They found that most African countries had a literacy rate below 30 percent.

To improve the quality and accessibility of education, the modern system must change approaches to methodology in the realities of a contemporary world in which technology rules. Thanks to computers, phones and Internet, students of any age, nationality, and wealth will be able to access world knowledge. The process starts with the introduction of tiered online training, providing flexibility and financial availability.

Innovative technologies can significantly affect the field of higher education. For example, universities can offer students a short program of specialty before he or she is fully engaged in studies. It is a way how disappointments in the chosen area can be avoided. Various tools and opportunities, for example, mobile applications, will allow studying from any place of the world (Camilleri & Camilleri, 2017). It will also favor faster and easier adaptation when students are starting studies after a long break.

Solving the lack of education problem is a common issue. Universities play a significant role in changes and possible reforms. They can organize effective collaboration, followed by the creation of a specific system within which they will share experiences, courses, and questions (Burbules, 2018). The lack of qualified teachers can also be addressed through the availability of technology. After all, within the system, educational institutions can apply to various specialists, not only to theorists but also to practitioners, for help to organize remote education with interested students.

The shortage of personnel around the world is growing, and educational institutions and employers around the world must become partners. Such partnerships between universities and employers aim to ensure that students acquire skills useful in employment. The educational institutions should develop along with labor market and employers’ demands, and the situation is such that education is of unprecedented importance.

Universities must assign qualifications appropriate to the interests of employers. Moreover, employers today are increasingly interested in skills rather than traditional degrees. Higher education institutions should make it easier for students to acquire new skills. Education should not be pumped after graduation – universities should offer students advanced training programs to continue their graduate careers. After all, today, more and more people understand that lifelong learning is the only way to develop. Moreover, technology will be a useful link in these processes.

The introduction of innovative technologies in the educational process affects not only organizational, methodological, or technological aspects but also the value sphere. In a new electronic environment, learning loses its former character. In current conditions, society is increasing demands for personal communicative and professional competences of high qualification specialists. In this case, the loss of influence of the educational institute on the formation of moral qualities of the person can have far-reaching consequences.

The positive ethical consequence that should be noted is education availability. People from different places can reach professors in England or America with one click. A few problems can be allocated from this consequence. The positive one is that in a critical situation, the educational process does not stop. A fresh and bright example is the coordinated work of schools, universities, teachers, and students in the context of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries.

Another critical problem is opportunities for self-organization and self-development. New technologies actualize the development of the student’s personal qualities, such as responsibility, autonomy, commitment, initiative. However, a large percentage of those who start studying remotely do not graduate because they have little skill and motivation to learn on their own. The consumer attitude of many students to studying leads to the transfer of responsibility for the process and result of training to the teacher and university.

Experts note that only about a third of students show personal activity in the educational process, most are motivated not to teach independently, but to receive ready information through the teacher. In addition, students’ use of the Internet primarily for public communication and entertainment, rather than as a tool for acquiring knowledge, makes additional problems.

The negative consequence of the introduction the innovative technologies into the educational system is their cost. At first, a large amount of money will be needed to buy the equipment itself. After that, it is a constant expense to maintain the right work, which requires both the attention of specialists and regular expensive updates. It also gives rise to several ethical problems. First, thus education is still not available to all. For example, according to McFarland et al. (2019), not even all children in America have internet access. In addition, the data also vary according to race and metropolitan status:

In 2017, the total percentage of children without home internet was 14. At the same time, the amount of students of nonmetropolitan status is larger than the metropolitan. Data, according to race, show that the most significant percentage of children without Internet access is American Indians and Alaska residents. Further, Afro-Americans and Hispanics are the largest percentages.

While the use of new technologies, and especially the Internet, is intended to make education more accessible, this can only highlight another ethical problem – the gap between rich and poor. This gap creates conflict and crisis situations. It suggests that the struggle of the poorest and middle class for their rights, for a fairer distribution of income, in different forms, will gain strength.

Thus, the number of educated people in the world is steadily increasing, but due to the rapid pace of development of the modern world, the level of education cannot sufficiently meet the demands of society. Schools should teach to think in accordance with the principles of contemporary science and the information and technological realities of modern society. Today, the task of finding a systemic solution designed to create a long-term interaction that will ensure the satisfaction of educational needs and the constant flow of trained personnel into all spheres of industrial relations.

Burbules, N. (2018). Watch IT: The risks and promises of information technologies for education . Routledge.

Camilleri, M. A., & Camilleri, A. C. (2017). Digital learning resources and ubiquitous technologies in education. Technology, Knowledge and Learning , 22 (1), 65-82.

Costache, G. (2018). Lack of education, the main factor in committing anti-social behaviours. Journal of Law and Public Administration , 4 (7), 34-37.

Coughlin, S. (2017). Nurses lack education in caring for patients with down syndrome. The Grace Peterson Nursing Research Colloquium , 24. Web.

Farooq, S., Gul, S., & Khan, M. Z. (2018). Role of trained women workforce in China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC): A gender gap analysis. Putaj Humanities & Social Sciences , 25 (1).

McFarland, J., Hussar, B., Zhang, J., Wang, X., Wang, K., Hein, S., Diliberti, M., Forrest Cataldi, E., Bullock Mann, F., & Barmer, A. (2019). The condition of education 2019 (NCES 2019-144). U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. Web.

Roser, M.,& Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2020). Global education . Our World in Data. Web.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) (2018). One in five children, adolescents and youth is out of school . UIS fact sheet No. 48. Web.

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Four of the biggest problems facing education—and four trends that could make a difference

Eduardo velez bustillo, harry a. patrinos.

In 2022, we published, Lessons for the education sector from the COVID-19 pandemic , which was a follow up to,  Four Education Trends that Countries Everywhere Should Know About , which summarized views of education experts around the world on how to handle the most pressing issues facing the education sector then. We focused on neuroscience, the role of the private sector, education technology, inequality, and pedagogy.

Unfortunately, we think the four biggest problems facing education today in developing countries are the same ones we have identified in the last decades .

1. The learning crisis was made worse by COVID-19 school closures

Low quality instruction is a major constraint and prior to COVID-19, the learning poverty rate in low- and middle-income countries was 57% (6 out of 10 children could not read and understand basic texts by age 10). More dramatic is the case of Sub-Saharan Africa with a rate even higher at 86%. Several analyses show that the impact of the pandemic on student learning was significant, leaving students in low- and middle-income countries way behind in mathematics, reading and other subjects.  Some argue that learning poverty may be close to 70% after the pandemic , with a substantial long-term negative effect in future earnings. This generation could lose around $21 trillion in future salaries, with the vulnerable students affected the most.

2. Countries are not paying enough attention to early childhood care and education (ECCE)

At the pre-school level about two-thirds of countries do not have a proper legal framework to provide free and compulsory pre-primary education. According to UNESCO, only a minority of countries, mostly high-income, were making timely progress towards SDG4 benchmarks on early childhood indicators prior to the onset of COVID-19. And remember that ECCE is not only preparation for primary school. It can be the foundation for emotional wellbeing and learning throughout life; one of the best investments a country can make.

3. There is an inadequate supply of high-quality teachers

Low quality teaching is a huge problem and getting worse in many low- and middle-income countries.  In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the percentage of trained teachers fell from 84% in 2000 to 69% in 2019 . In addition, in many countries teachers are formally trained and as such qualified, but do not have the minimum pedagogical training. Globally, teachers for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects are the biggest shortfalls.

4. Decision-makers are not implementing evidence-based or pro-equity policies that guarantee solid foundations

It is difficult to understand the continued focus on non-evidence-based policies when there is so much that we know now about what works. Two factors contribute to this problem. One is the short tenure that top officials have when leading education systems. Examples of countries where ministers last less than one year on average are plentiful. The second and more worrisome deals with the fact that there is little attention given to empirical evidence when designing education policies.

To help improve on these four fronts, we see four supporting trends:

1. Neuroscience should be integrated into education policies

Policies considering neuroscience can help ensure that students get proper attention early to support brain development in the first 2-3 years of life. It can also help ensure that children learn to read at the proper age so that they will be able to acquire foundational skills to learn during the primary education cycle and from there on. Inputs like micronutrients, early child stimulation for gross and fine motor skills, speech and language and playing with other children before the age of three are cost-effective ways to get proper development. Early grade reading, using the pedagogical suggestion by the Early Grade Reading Assessment model, has improved learning outcomes in many low- and middle-income countries. We now have the tools to incorporate these advances into the teaching and learning system with AI , ChatGPT , MOOCs and online tutoring.

2. Reversing learning losses at home and at school

There is a real need to address the remaining and lingering losses due to school closures because of COVID-19.  Most students living in households with incomes under the poverty line in the developing world, roughly the bottom 80% in low-income countries and the bottom 50% in middle-income countries, do not have the minimum conditions to learn at home . These students do not have access to the internet, and, often, their parents or guardians do not have the necessary schooling level or the time to help them in their learning process. Connectivity for poor households is a priority. But learning continuity also requires the presence of an adult as a facilitator—a parent, guardian, instructor, or community worker assisting the student during the learning process while schools are closed or e-learning is used.

To recover from the negative impact of the pandemic, the school system will need to develop at the student level: (i) active and reflective learning; (ii) analytical and applied skills; (iii) strong self-esteem; (iv) attitudes supportive of cooperation and solidarity; and (v) a good knowledge of the curriculum areas. At the teacher (instructor, facilitator, parent) level, the system should aim to develop a new disposition toward the role of teacher as a guide and facilitator. And finally, the system also needs to increase parental involvement in the education of their children and be active part in the solution of the children’s problems. The Escuela Nueva Learning Circles or the Pratham Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) are models that can be used.

3. Use of evidence to improve teaching and learning

We now know more about what works at scale to address the learning crisis. To help countries improve teaching and learning and make teaching an attractive profession, based on available empirical world-wide evidence , we need to improve its status, compensation policies and career progression structures; ensure pre-service education includes a strong practicum component so teachers are well equipped to transition and perform effectively in the classroom; and provide high-quality in-service professional development to ensure they keep teaching in an effective way. We also have the tools to address learning issues cost-effectively. The returns to schooling are high and increasing post-pandemic. But we also have the cost-benefit tools to make good decisions, and these suggest that structured pedagogy, teaching according to learning levels (with and without technology use) are proven effective and cost-effective .

4. The role of the private sector

When properly regulated the private sector can be an effective education provider, and it can help address the specific needs of countries. Most of the pedagogical models that have received international recognition come from the private sector. For example, the recipients of the Yidan Prize on education development are from the non-state sector experiences (Escuela Nueva, BRAC, edX, Pratham, CAMFED and New Education Initiative). In the context of the Artificial Intelligence movement, most of the tools that will revolutionize teaching and learning come from the private sector (i.e., big data, machine learning, electronic pedagogies like OER-Open Educational Resources, MOOCs, etc.). Around the world education technology start-ups are developing AI tools that may have a good potential to help improve quality of education .

After decades asking the same questions on how to improve the education systems of countries, we, finally, are finding answers that are very promising.  Governments need to be aware of this fact.

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Consultant, Education Sector, World Bank

Senior Adviser, Education

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42 Causes, Effects & Solutions for a Lack of Education

“ Lack of education, old age, bad health or discrimination – these are causes of poverty, and the way to attack it is to go to the root.”

Robert Kennedy, Politician

Lack of Education: Causes, Effects & Solutions

A lack of education can be defined as a state where people have a below-average level of common knowledge about basic things that they would urgently need in their daily life.

For instance, this could include basic knowledge in math, writing, spelling, etc.

Especially in poor developing countries, educational inequality is quite prevalent.

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A lack of education can have severe adverse effects.

In this article, the causes, effects and solutions for a lack of education are examined in detail.

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Causes for a lack of education, homelessness, substance abuse, bad company, cultural factors, natural disasters, insufficient social aid, insufficient educational infrastructure, teacher gaps, low qualification levels of teachers, lack of learning materials, gender discrimination, disabilities.

Poverty can be regarded as a big cause of a lack of education and for educational inequality.

Children from poor families often do not have access to proper education since it is simply too expensive for their families to send them to school.

Moreover, these children also often have to work instead of attending school since they have to contribute to the family income in order to support their family members financially.

Orphans are at greater risk to suffer from a lack of education compared to “normal” kids since they often have no one who takes care of them.

This could lead to financial trouble since it is quite hard to earn enough money to cover your expenses while you are still a kid.

In turn, this may result in a state where these children have to work quite a lot to earn enough money to survive.

Thus, these orphans will have no time to attend school since they need all their time to work.

If you grow up in a family with homeless parents, chances are that you will not get proper education since your parents will not have sufficient money to send you to school and they might not even care too much since they often have other problems like drug addiction and you may therefore be at great risk to be neglected.

Thus, growing up in a family with homeless parents may also contribute to educational inequality.

Parenting is a big factor when it comes to a lack of education.

The more your parents care about you, the less likely it is that you end up with a low level of education.

However, in some cases, parents just do not know better.

They may themselves have a low level of education and think that this education level is enough for a happy life.

Therefore, they may lead you on the same education path which may lead to a lack of education for you.

The abuse of substances of all sorts can also contribute to a lack of education.

If you consume drugs on a regular basis, chances are that you become unreliable and you may also refrain from attending school too often.

Thus, substance abuse at a young age may also increase educational inequality since children who consume drugs will often prioritize substance consumption over school and their education levels are likely to suffer due to that.

If you hang out with family members or friends who are doing drugs or other illegal stuff, chances are that you get influenced by these people and they may eventually drag you down in life.

You may also start to consume substances or skip school which may translate into a lack of education in later stages.

Laziness may also be a factor when it comes to educational inequality.

Some people have a higher motivation to learn and develop themselves than others.

People who are not gifted with this drive to learn and progress may have a hard time in school since they may have no motivation to get good grades in order to be able to attend university later.

This may also lead to a serious lack of education if the will to learn is extremely limited.

In some cultures, it is also quite common that people often only get quite basic education.

These cultures often rely on certain beliefs and may not value advanced education enough to send their children to university or other educational institutions.

Religion can also play a big role in the level of education.

Religious families often live quite conservative, which often makes it hard for children to get proper education since the religious beliefs of parents may not be in line with the education goal.

This may be especially true for girls since they are often supposed to stay at home and to cook and do the household instead of getting proper education and start a career.

Conflicts can also be a big cause of a lack of education. In regions where conflicts are common, people simply feel that the protection of their life is more important than sending their kids to school.

Moreover, due to conflicts, many people have to leave their homes and migrate to other countries to save their life.

Thus, children who are suffering from these adverse conditions are likely not be able to get proper education due to conflicts.

Natural disasters may also play a role when it comes to a lack of education.

When regions get hit by natural disasters like tsunamis or other catastrophes, people living in these regions will suffer from vast destruction of public infrastructure.

They may also suffer from serious health issues due to these natural disasters.

Under these horrible conditions, it will be quite hard for children to get proper education since schools and other educational facilities may have been destroyed.

In many countries, there is a lack of or only insufficient social aid and welfare .

If people become unemployed, they may not get any financial subsidies from the government.

Imagine you have children and lose your job.

Now, you will likely not be able to afford the tuition fees for your kids anymore which may lead to a lack of education for your children.

In some regions, the overall educational infrastructure is quite bad.

This is especially true for rural areas.

People who live in these regions often have to bring their children to the next school.

However, many poor people do not even have a car.

This will likely lead to a lack of education for their children since these children may not be able to attend school simply due to the long distance.

Some regions may also suffer from a shortage of teachers.

In those regions, classes are often quite big and teachers will not be able to respond to every school kid individually.

This may in turn lead to educational inequality since some children learn faster than others.

Children who learn quite slow may be left behind and their overall education level may significantly suffer due to that.

Another issue related to a lack of education may be an insufficient qualification of teachers.

If teachers have no high level of education, chances are that school kids will also have a low level of education when they finish school since their teachers have simply not been able to teach them on a high level.

Especially in poor developing countries, children also often suffer from a lack of learning materials.

If children do not have the appropriate books or other facilities to learn, chances are that their level of education will suffer.

Although the tolerance towards women and girls who want to attend school has increased over the past decades, there are still many countries in which women are meant to stay at home and do the household instead of getting proper education and to work in a normal job.

This gender discrimination will lead to a lack of education for many girls since their families may not want them to attend school.

Children who suffer from disabilities, especially in poor countries, are likely to get only insufficient education since parents will often not have enough money to send all of their kids to school.

These parents will often choose a family member who has the best chances to succeed in school in order to secure the family income.

Thus, children with disabilities will rather stay at home instead of attending school.

Effects of Educational Inequality

Unemployment, illegal activities, social isolation, bad working conditions, insufficient health insurance, radicalization, poor housing conditions.

Many studies have shown that poverty and a lack of education are strongly positively correlated.

Since poor families may not be able to send their kids to school, these children may suffer from significant educational inequality.

However, not only is poverty a cause for a low level of education, it can also be an effect of insufficient education since a bad education will often translate into an increased probability for unemployment and low salaries.

A low level of education increases the risk of unemployment dramatically.

If you apply for a job, chances are that your education level will be screened by companies.

If you do not have a sufficiently high level of education, you will likely not get the job.

Moreover, if you have a low education level and become unemployed, you will also have a hard time to find another suitable job.

A low level of education may also increase the probability of drug addiction.

These people may not be aware of the consequences of drug abuse and may only recognize them when it is already too late.

Moreover, due to unemployment or other adverse events in their life, people with low levels of education may be at greater risk to consume drugs since they simply see no bright future for themselves and want to mask their bad feelings with the high of drugs.

Homelessness can also be a cause due to a lack of education.

If people lose their job and are not able to pay for their rent anymore, they may be at risk of becoming homeless.

Since the chances for unemployment increases with a low level of education, so does the probability of homelessness.

If people are not able to find a job due to their low level of education, chances are that these people are willing to engage in criminal actions in order to make their living.

Imagine you try hard to find a job but it simply doesn’t work out and you have to supply for your children.

It would be quite attractive to earn substantial money by engaging in criminal actions, wouldn’t it?

Since the probability to engage in criminal activities increases due to a low level of education, so does the chance to go to jail.

If you engage in illegal things, you will be caught sooner or later and may end up in prison.

Thus, educational inequality may also increase the chances to go to jail, especially for poor people.

A lack of education may also lead to social isolation since people who only have low levels of education may not be able to follow conversations or to take part in mentally demanding activities.

Therefore, they may lose social contacts and may end up in social isolation.

Moreover, since a lack of education may also translate into poverty, these people may also not be able to afford social activities which in turn may lead to social isolation .

Low levels of education also often imply a low salary since the wage for a job is often determined by demand and supply of skills.

If workers only have low skill levels, they are easily exploitable by companies which want to maximize profits and therefore will pay their workers only a quite low salary.

Since people with a low level of education often do not have many other job options, they may be exploited by firms and may suffer from quite bad working conditions.

This may include working quite long hours or working under insecure conditions.

A lack of education and the resulting low income may also often lead to insufficient health insurance.

Many people will simply not be able to afford health insurance due to their low salary.

In case of severe health issues, they may suffer from serious long-term consequential effects since they are often not able to afford proper medical treatment due to their lack of health insurance .

Educational inequality can also lead to significant dependence of all sorts.

If you only have a low level of education, chances are that you will be dependent on financial or other support in order to be able to carry out important tasks in your daily life.

Dependence in any form will in most cases not turn out favorable for the dependent person in life since they give away the leverage to other people which may have the power to treat the dependent persons quite bad.

People who only have low levels of education may also be easier to recruit for radical movements.

This is due to the fact that these people may not be able to identify the arguments made by fundamentalists as flawed and may therefore be willing to join these organizations, even if these arguments do not make sense at all from an objective perspective.

A lack of education may also contribute to poor housing conditions since it increases the risk of poverty .

Poor people may not be able to afford rent in a nice neighborhood and may live in bad neighborhoods which may lead to low quality of life and insecurity for these people.

Solutions for a Lack of Education

Better educational infrastructure, financial support for poor families, raise awareness on the importance of education, more tolerance regarding education, minimum wages, increase in quality regarding social security, improvements in health insurance, support for children from difficult family conditions, improve quality of teachers, close teacher gaps, improve access to education for girls and women.

Governments and municipalities should try to provide better educational infrastructure so that it is easier for the local population to attend school.

This means that it has to be assured that the next school is not many miles away but rather within walking distance so that also children of poor families who do not own a car can attend school on a regular basis.

Moreover, building an online course infrastructure may be another great way to improve the overall education levels of the general public.

It is also crucial to support poor families with financial subsidies so that their kids are able to attend school.

This is quite important to fight a lack of education since poverty is a main cause why children are not able to go to school.

By supporting poor families, educational inequality could be fought to a certain extent.

Many people might not even be aware of what a lack of education really means for their children.

Parents may believe that a basic education taught at home is sufficient to succeed in life since they do not know better.

However, with our technological progress, it is likely that education will be more important than ever to succeed in our nowadays job market.

It is also crucial that we change the mind of people in a way that they regard education as a valuable thing.

In some cultures, education is not regarded as important at all and some parents even do not want their kids to become educated since they fear that their kids will leave them if they give them too many options in life.

An indirect way to fight low education levels may be by setting or even increasing minimum wages.

The introduction of minimum wages may likely decrease the level of poverty, which may in turn translate into better chances for children to be able to attend school.

Better social security schemes are also crucial to fight a lack of education.

It has to be assured that everyone gets basic aid in case he or she becomes unemployed.

This should also include financial support for children to send them to school, even if their parents are unemployed.

By setting up more sophisticated social security schemes , the access of children to proper education could be improved.

Educational inequality could also be fought by introducing better health insurance schemes.

People who lack proper health insurance may be at great risk to suffer from severe long-term damages related to the absence of medical treatment in case of illness.

This in turn may lead to a lack of education for their children since these persons may not be able to work anymore and will therefore likely not be able to pay for the tuition fees for their children.

Children who experience violence at home may also be at greater risk to suffer from significant lacks of education since they may become mentally sick which may distract them to learn and progress.

Moreover, their parents may not even care at all about their children’s education which may further exacerbate the issue.

In order to improve the overall education levels, we also have to make sure that the quality of the teachers is sufficient.

If the education of teachers is quite low, chances are that also the education levels of school kids will suffer since these teachers will not be able to teach sufficiently advanced things.

In regions where teacher gaps are an issue, local authorities should try to recruit more teachers so that children get a better individual education which may improve their overall education level and therefore may mitigate the problem of educational inequality.

In countries and regions where girls and women are still discriminated against due to their gender, it is crucial to raise the awareness that girls are equally important compared to boys when it comes to the supply with proper education.

By doing so, the value systems in these regions may change and girls may get better access to educational facilities.

A lack of education is a big global problem.

Especially in poor countries, many children suffer from educational inequality, which may in turn lead to several severe issues when these children turn into grownups.

Therefore, it is crucial to fight the problem of a lack of education on a global scale.

By doing so, we can ensure a brighter future for many people worldwide.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_inequality

https://www.nber.org/papers/w8206

https://www.ucl-ioe-press.com/2019/10/14/tackling-educational-inequality/

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.

As I went to university and got my Master’s degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.

After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.

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The relationship between education and health: reducing disparities through a contextual approach

Anna zajacova.

Western University

Elizabeth M. Lawrence

University of North Carolina

Adults with higher educational attainment live healthier and longer lives compared to their less educated peers. The disparities are large and widening. We posit that understanding the educational and macro-level contexts in which this association occurs is key to reducing health disparities and improving population health. In this paper, we briefly review and critically assess the current state of research on the relationship between education and health in the United States. We then outline three directions for further research: We extend the conceptualization of education beyond attainment and demonstrate the centrality of the schooling process to health; We highlight the dual role of education a driver of opportunity but also a reproducer of inequality; We explain the central role of specific historical socio-political contexts in which the education-health association is embedded. This research agenda can inform policies and effective interventions to reduce health disparities and improve health of all Americans.

URGENT NEED FOR NEW DIRECTIONS IN EDUCATION-HEALTH RESEARCH

Americans have worse health than people in other high-income countries, and have been falling further behind in recent decades ( 137 ). This is partially due to the large health inequalities and poor health of adults with low education ( 84 ). Understanding the health benefits of education is thus integral to reducing health disparities and improving the well-being of 21 st century populations. Despite tremendous prior research, critical questions about the education-health relationship remain unanswered, in part because education and health are intertwined over the lifespans within and across generations and are inextricably embedded in the broader social context.

We posit that to effectively inform future educational and heath policy, we need to capture education ‘in action’ as it generates and constrains opportunity during the early lifespans of today’s cohorts. First, we need to expand our operationalization of education beyond attainment to consider the long-term educational process that precedes the attainment and its effect on health. Second, we need to re-conceptualize education as not only a vehicle for social success, valuable resources, and good health, but also as an institution that reproduces inequality across generations. And third, we argue that investigators need to bring historical, social and policy contexts into the heart of analyses: how does the education-health association vary across place and time, and how do political forces influence that variation?

During the past several generations, education has become the principal pathway to financial security, stable employment, and social success ( 8 ). At the same time, American youth have experienced increasingly unequal educational opportunities that depend on the schools they attend, the neighborhoods they live in, the color of their skin, and the financial resources of their family. The decline in manufacturing and rise of globalization have eroded the middle class, while the increasing returns to higher education magnified the economic gaps among working adults and families ( 107 ). In addition to these dramatic structural changes, policies that protected the welfare of vulnerable groups have been gradually eroded or dismantled ( 129 ). Together, these changes triggered a precipitous growth of economic and social inequalities in the American society ( 17 ; 106 ).

Unsurprisingly, health disparities grew hand in hand with the socio-economic inequalities. Although the average health of the US population improved over the past decades ( 67 ; 85 ), the gains largely went to the most educated groups. Inequalities in health ( 53 ; 77 ; 99 ) and mortality ( 86 ; 115 ) increased steadily, to a point where we now see an unprecedented pattern: health and longevity are deteriorating among those with less education ( 92 ; 99 ; 121 ; 143 ). With the current focus of the media, policymakers, and the public on the worrisome health patterns among less-educated Americans ( 28 ; 29 ), as well as the growing recognition of the importance of education for health ( 84 ), research on the health returns to education is at a critical juncture. A comprehensive research program is needed to understand how education and health are related, in order to identify effective points of intervention to improve population health and reduce disparities.

The article is organized in two parts. First, we review the current state of research on the relationship between education and health. In broad strokes, we summarize the theoretical and empirical foundations of the education-health relationship and critically assess the literature on the mechanisms and causal influence of education on health. In the second part, we highlight gaps in extant research and propose new directions for innovative research that will fill these gaps. The enormous breadth of the literature on education and health necessarily limits the scope of the review in terms of place and time; we focus on the United States and on findings generated during the rapid expansion of the education-health research in the past 10–15 years. The terms “education” and “schooling” are used interchangeably. Unless we state otherwise, both refer to attained education, whether measured in completed years or credentials. For references, we include prior review articles where available, seminal papers, and recent studies as the best starting points for further reading.

THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EDUCATION AND HEALTH

Conceptual toolbox for examining the association.

Researchers have generally drawn from three broad theoretical perspectives to hypothesize the relationship between education and health. Much of the education-health research over the past two decades has been grounded in the Fundamental Cause Theory ( 75 ). The FCT posits that social factors such as education are ‘fundamental’ causes of health and disease because they determine access to a multitude of material and non-material resources such as income, safe neighborhoods, or healthier lifestyles, all of which protect or enhance health. The multiplicity of pathways means that even as some mechanisms change or become less important, other mechanisms will continue to channel the fundamental dis/advantages into differential health ( 48 ). The Human Capital Theory (HCT), borrowed from econometrics, conceptualizes education as an investment that yields returns via increased productivity ( 12 ). Education improves individuals’ knowledge, skills, reasoning, effectiveness, and a broad range of other abilities, which can be utilized to produce health ( 93 ). The third approach, the Signaling or Credentialing perspective ( 34 ; 125 ) has been used to explain the observed large discontinuities in health at 12 or 16 years of schooling, typically associated with the receipt of a high school and college degrees, respectively. This perspective views earned credentials as a potent signal about one’s skills and abilities, and emphasizes the economic and social returns to such signals. Thus all three perspectives postulate a causal relationship between education and health and identify numerous mechanisms through which education influences health. The HCT specifies the mechanisms as embodied skills and abilities, FCT emphasizes the dynamism and flexibility of mechanisms, and credentialism identifies social responses to educational attainment. All three theoretical approaches, however, operationalize the complex process of schooling solely in terms of attainment and thus do not focus on differences in educational quality, type, or other institutional factors that might independently influence health. They also focus on individual-level factors: individual attainment, attainment effects, and mechanisms, and leave out the social context in which the education and health processes are embedded.

Observed associations between education and health

Empirically, hundreds of studies have documented “the gradient” whereby more schooling is linked with better health and longer life. A seminal 1973 book by Kitagawa and Hauser powerfully described large differences in mortality by education in the United States ( 71 ), a finding that has since been corroborated in numerous studies ( 31 ; 42 ; 46 ; 109 ; 124 ). In the following decades, nearly all health outcomes were also found strongly patterned by education. Less educated adults report worse general health ( 94 ; 141 ), more chronic conditions ( 68 ; 108 ), and more functional limitations and disability ( 118 ; 119 ; 130 ; 143 ). Objective measures of health, such as biological risk levels, are similarly correlated with educational attainment ( 35 ; 90 ; 140 ), showing that the gradient is not a function of differential reporting or knowledge.

The gradient is evident in men and women ( 139 ) and among all race/ethnic groups ( 36 ). However, meaningful group differences exist ( 60 ; 62 ; 91 ). In particular, education appears to have stronger health effects for women than men ( 111 ) and stronger effects for non-Hispanic whites than minority adults ( 134 ; 135 ) even if the differences are modest for some health outcomes ( 36 ). The observed variations may reflect systematic social differences in the educational process such as quality of schooling, content, or institutional type, as well as different returns to educational attainment in the labor market across population groups ( 26 ). At the same time, the groups share a common macro-level social context, which may underlie the gradient observed for all.

To illustrate the gradient, we analyzed 2002–2016 waves of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from adults aged 25–64. Figure 1 shows the levels of three health outcomes across educational attainment levels in six major demographic groups predicted at age 45. Three observations are noteworthy. First, the gradient is evident for all outcomes and in all race/ethnic/gender groups. Self-rated health exemplifies the staggering magnitude of the inequalities: White men and women without a high school diploma have about 57% chance of reporting fair or poor health, compared to just 9% for college graduates. Second, there are major group differences as well, both in the predicted levels of health problems, as well as in the education effects. The latter are not necessarily visible in the figures but the education effects are stronger for women and weaker for non-white adults as prior studies showed (table with regression model results underlying the prior statement is available from the authors). Third, an intriguing exception pertains to adults with “some college,” whose health is similar to high school graduates’ in health outcomes other than general health, despite their investment in and exposure to postsecondary education. We discuss this anomaly below.

Predicted Probability of Health Problems

Source: 2002–2016 NHIS Survey, Adults Age 25–64

Pathways through which education impacts health

What explains the improved health and longevity of more educated adults? The most prominent mediating mechanisms can be grouped into four categories: economic, health-behavioral, social-psychological, and access to health care. Education leads to better, more stable jobs that pay higher income and allow families to accumulate wealth that can be used to improve health ( 93 ). The economic factors are an important link between schooling and health, estimated to account for about 30% of the correlation ( 36 ). Health behaviors are undoubtedly an important proximal determinant of health but they only explain a part of the effect of schooling on health: adults with less education are more likely to smoke, have an unhealthy diet, and lack exercise ( 37 ; 73 ; 105 ; 117 ). Social-psychological pathways include successful long-term marriages and other sources of social support to help cope with stressors and daily hassles ( 128 ; 131 ). Interestingly, access to health care, while important to individual and population health overall, has a modest role in explaining health inequalities by education ( 61 ; 112 ; 133 ), highlighting the need to look upstream beyond the health care system toward social factors that underlie social disparities in health. Beyond these four groups of mechanisms that have received the most attention by investigators, many others have been examined, such as stress, cognitive and noncognitive skills, or environmental exposures ( 11 ; 43 ). Several excellent reviews further discuss mechanisms ( 2 ; 36 ; 66 ; 70 ; 93 ).

Causal interpretation of the education-health association

A burgeoning number of studies used innovative approaches such as natural experiments and twin design to test whether and how education causally affects health. These analyses are essential because recommendations for educational policies, programs, and interventions seeking to improve population health hinge on the causal impact of schooling on health outcomes. Overall, this literature shows that attainment, measured mostly in completed years of schooling, has a causal impact on health across numerous (though not all) contexts and outcomes.

Natural experiments take advantage of external changes that affect attainment but are unrelated to health, such as compulsory education reforms that raise the minimum years of schooling within a given population. A seminal 2005 study focused on increases in compulsory education between 1915 and 1939 across US states and found that a year of schooling reduced mortality by 3.6% ( 78 ). A re-analysis of the data indicated that taking into account state-level mortality trends rendered the mortality effects null but it also identified a significant and large causal effect on general health ( 88 ). A recent study of a large sample of older Americans reported a similar pattern: a substantial causal effect of education for self-rated health but not for mortality ( 47 ). School reform studies outside the US have reported compelling ( 122 ) or modest but significant ( 32 ) effects of schooling on health, although some studies have found nonsignificant ( 4 ), or even negative effects ( 7 ) for a range of health outcomes.

Twin design studies compare the health of twins with different levels of education. This design minimizes the influence of family resources and genetic differences in skills and health, especially for monozygotic twins, and thus serves to isolate the effect of schooling. In the US, studies using this design generated robust evidence of a causal effect of education on self-rated health ( 79 ), although some research has identified only modest ( 49 ) or not significant ( 3 ; 55 ) effects for other physical and mental health outcomes. Studies drawing on the large twin samples outside of the US have similarly found strong causal effects for mortality ( 80 ) and health ( 14 ; 16 ; 51 ) but again some analyses yielded no causal effects on health ( 13 ; 83 ) or health behaviors ( 14 ). Beyond our brief overview, readers may wish consult additional comprehensive reviews of the causal studies ( 40 ; 45 ; 89 ).

The causal studies add valuable evidence that educational attainment impacts adult health and mortality, even considering some limitations to their internal validity ( 15 ; 88 ). To improve population health and reduce health disparities, however, they should be viewed as a starting point to further research. First, the findings do not show how to improve the quality of schooling or its quantity for in the aggregate population, or how to overcome systematic intergenerational and social differences in educational opportunities. Second, their findings do take into account contexts and conditions in which educational attainment might be particularly important for health. In fact, the variability in the findings may be attributable to the stark differences in contexts across the studies, which include countries characterized by different political systems, different population groups, and birth cohorts ranging from the late 19 th to late 20 th centuries that were exposed to education at very different stages of the educational expansion process ( 9 ).

TOWARD A SOCIALLY-EMBEDDED UNDERSTANDING OF THE EDUCATION-HEALTH RELATIONSHIP

To date, the extensive research we briefly reviewed above has identified substantial health benefits of educational attainment in most contexts in today’s high-income countries. Still, many important questions remain unanswered. We outline three critical directions to gain a deeper understanding of the education-health relationship with particular relevance for policy development. All three directions shift the education-health paradigm to consider how education and health are embedded in life course and social contexts.

First, nearly universally, the education-health literature conceptualizes and operationalizes education in terms of attainment, as years of schooling or completed credentials. However, attainment is only the endpoint, although undoubtedly important, of an extended and extensive process of formal schooling, where institutional quality, type, content, peers, teachers, and many other individual, institutional, and interpersonal factors shape lifecourse trajectories of schooling and health. Understanding the role of the schooling process in health outcome is relevant for policy because it can show whether interventions should be aimed at increasing attainment, or whether it is more important to increase quality, change content, or otherwise improve the educational process at earlier stages for maximum health returns. Second, most studies have implicitly or explicitly treated educational attainment as an exogenous starting point, a driver of opportunities in adulthood. However, education also functions to reproduce inequality across generations. The explicit recognition of the dual function of education is critical to developing education policies that would avoid unintended consequence of increasing inequalities. And third, the review above indicates substantial variation in the education-health association across different historical and social contexts. Education and health are inextricably embedded in these contexts and analyses should therefore include them as fundamental influences on the education-health association. Research on contextual variation has the potential to identify contextual characteristics and even specific policies that exacerbate or reduce educational disparities in health.

We illustrate the key conceptual components of future research into the education-health relationship in Figure 2 . Important intergenerational and individual socio-demographic factors shape educational opportunities and educational trajectories, which are directly related to and captured in measures of educational attainment. This longitudinal and life course process culminates in educational disparities in adult health and mortality. Importantly, the macro-level context underlies every step of this process, shaping each of the concepts and their relationships.

Enriching the conceptualization of educational attainment

In most studies of the education-health associations, educational attainment is modeled using years of schooling, typically specified as a continuous covariate, effectively constraining each additional year to have the same impact. A growing body of research has substituted earned credentials for years. Few studies, however, have considered how the impact of additional schooling is likely to differ across the educational attainment spectrum. For example, one additional year of education compared to zero years may be life-changing by imparting basic literacy and numeracy skills. The completion of 14 rather than 13 years (without the completion of associated degree) could be associated with better health through the accumulation of additional knowledge and skills as well, or perhaps could be without health returns, if it is associated with poor grades, stigma linked to dropping out of college, or accumulated debt ( 63 ; 76 ). Examining the functional form of the education-health association can shed light on how and why education is beneficial for health ( 70 ). For instance, studies found that mortality gradually declines with years of schooling at low levels of educational attainment, with large discontinuities at high school and college degree attainment ( 56 ; 98 ). Such findings can point to the importance of completing a degree, not just increasing the quantity (years) of education. Examining mortality, however, implicitly focused on cohorts who went to school 50–60 years ago, within very different educational and social contexts. For findings relevant to current education policies, we need to focus on examining more recent birth cohorts.

A particularly provocative and noteworthy aspect of the functional form is the attainment group often identified as “some college:” adults who attended college but did not graduate with a four-year degree. Postsecondary educational experiences are increasingly central to the lives of American adults ( 27 ) and college completion has become the minimum requirement for entry into middle class ( 65 ; 87 ). Among high school graduates, over 70% enroll in college ( 22 ) but the majority never earn a four-year degree ( 113 ). In fact,, the largest education-attainment group among non-elderly US adults comprises the 54 million adults (29% of total) with some college or associate’s degree ( 113 ). However, as in Figure 1 , this group often defies the standard gradient in health. Several recent studies have found that the health returns to their postsecondary investments are marginal at best ( 110 ; 123 ; 142 ; 144 ). This finding should spur new research to understand the outcomes of this large population group, and to glean insights into the health returns to the postsecondary schooling process. For instance, in the absence of earning a degree, is greater exposure to college education in terms of semesters or earned credits associated with better health or not? How do the returns to postsecondary schooling differ across the heterogeneous institutions ranging from selective 4-year to for-profit community colleges? How does accumulated college debt influence both dropout and later health? Can we identify circumstances under which some college education is beneficial for health? Understanding the health outcomes for this attainment group can shed light on the aspects of education that are most important for improving health.

A related point pertains to the reliability and validity of self-reported educational attainment. If a respondent reports 16 completed years of education, for example, are they carefully counting the number of years of enrollment, or is 16 shorthand for “completed college”? And, is 16 years the best indicator of college completion in the current context when the median time to earn a four-year degree exceeds 5 years ( 30 )? And, is longer time in college given a degree beneficial for health or does it signify delayed or disrupted educational pathways linked to weaker health benefits ( 132 )? How should we measure part-time enrollment? As studies begin to adjudicate between the health effects of years versus credentials ( 74 ) in the changing landscape of increasingly ‘nontraditional’ pathways through college ( 132 ), this measurement work will be necessary for unbiased and meaningful analyses. An in-depth understanding may necessitate primary data collection and qualitative studies. A feasible direction available with existing data such as the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) is to assess earned college credits and grades rather than years of education beyond high school.

As indicated in Figure 2 , beyond a more in-depth usage of the attainment information, we argue that more effective conceptualization of the education-health relationship as a developmental life course process will lead to important findings. For instance, two studies published in 2016 used the NLSY97 data to model how gradual increases in education predict within-individual changes in health ( 39 ; 81 ). Both research teams found that gradual accumulation of schooling quantity over time was not associated with gradual improvements in health. The investigators interpreted the null findings as an absence of causal effects of education on health, especially once they included important confounders (defined as cognitive and noncognitive skills and social background). Alternatively, perhaps the within-individual models did not register health because education is a long-term, developing trajectory that cannot be reduced to point-in-time changes in exposure. Criticisms about the technical aspects of theses studies notwithstanding ( 59 ), we believe that these studies and others like them, which wrestle with the question of how to capture education as a long-term process grounded in the broader social context, and how this process is linked to adult health, are desirable and necessary.

Education as (re)producer of inequality

The predominant theoretical framework for studying education and health focuses on how education increases skills, improves problem-solving, enhances employment prospects, and thus opens access to other resources. In sociology, however, education is viewed not (only) as increasing human capital but as a “sieve more than a ladder” ( 126 ), an institution that reproduces inequality across generations ( 54 ; 65 ; 103 ; 114 ). The mechanisms of the reproduction of inequality are multifarious, encompassing systematic differences in school resources, quality of instruction, academic opportunities, peer influences, or teacher expectations ( 54 ; 114 ; 132 ). The dual role of education, both engendering and constraining social opportunities, has been recognized from the discipline’s inception ( 52 ) and has remained the dominant perspective in sociology of education ( 18 ; 126 ). Health disparities research, which has largely dismissed the this perspective as “specious” ( 93 ), could benefit from pivoting toward this complex sociological paradigm.

As demonstrated in Figure 2 , parental SES and other background characteristics are key social determinants that set the stage for one’s educational experiences ( 20 ; 120 ). These characteristics, however, shape not just attainment, but the entire educational and social trajectories that drive and result in particular attainment ( 21 ; 69 ). Their effects range from the differential quality and experiences in daycare or preschool settings ( 6 ), K-12 education ( 24 ; 136 ), as well as postsecondary schooling ( 5 ; 127 ). As a result of systematically different experiences of schooling over the early life course stratified by parental SES, children of low educated parents are unlikely to complete higher education: over half of individuals with college degrees by age 24 came from families in the top quartile of family income compared to just 10% in the bottom quartile ( 23 ).

Unfortunately, prior research has generally operationalized the differences in educational opportunities as confounders of the education-health association or as “selection bias” to be statistically controlled, or best as a moderating influence ( 10 ; 19 ). Rather than remove the important life course effects from the equation, studies that seek to understand how educational and health differences unfold over the life course, and even across generations could yield greater insight ( 50 ; 70 ). A life course, multigenerational approach can provide important recommendations for interventions seeking to avoid the unintended consequence of increasing disparities. Insofar as socially advantaged individuals are generally better positioned to take advantage of interventions, research findings can be used to ensure that policies and programs result in decreasing, rather than unintentionally widening, educational and health disparities.

Education and health in social context

Finally, perhaps the most important and policy-relevant emerging direction to improving our understanding of the education-health relationship is to view both as inextricably embedded within the broad social context. As we highlight in Figure 2 , this context underlies every feature of the development of educational disparities in health. In contrast to the voluminous literature focusing on individual-level schooling and health, there has been a “startling lack of attention to the social/political/economic context” in which the relationships are grounded ( 33 ). By context, we mean the structure of a society that varies across time and place, encompassing all major institutions, policy environments, as well as gender, race/ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic stratification. Under what circumstances, conditions, and policies are the associations between education and health stronger or weaker?

Within the United States, the most relevant units of geo-political boundaries generating distinct policy contexts are states, although smaller geographic units are also pertinent ( 44 ; 100 ). Since the 1980s, the federal government has devolved an increasing range of key socioeconomic, political, and health-care decisions to states. This decentralization has resulted in increasing diversity across states in conditions for a healthy life ( 96 ; 101 ). A recent study demonstrates how different environments across US states yield vastly different health returns to education ( 100 ). State-level characteristics had little impact on adults with high education, whose disability levels were similarly low regardless of their state of residence. In contrast, disability levels of low-educated adults were not only high but also varied substantially across states: disability was particularly high in states that have invested less in the social welfare of its residents, such as Mississippi, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Highly-educated adults, particularly white adults and men who can convert education into other resources most readily, use personal resources to protect their health like a ‘personal firewall’ ( 97 ). Their less-educated peers, meanwhile, are vulnerable without social safety nets. Demonstrating the potential for informing policy in this area, the findings directly identify state policies that influence the extent to which educational attainment matters for health and longevity. These include economic policies including state income tax structures and education expenditures per capita, as well as policies influencing social cohesion in a state, such as income inequality and unemployment rates. Beyond the US, investigators can leverage differences in political systems across countries to assess the impact of different welfare regimes on the education-health associations, as some European researchers began generating ( 41 ; 82 ).

Similar to variation across geo-political boundaries, research on variation across time can highlight policies and conditions that mitigate or inflate health disparities. How has the education-health association changed over time? In recent decades, the association has become increasingly strong, with widening disparities in health outcomes across education ( 53 ; 77 ; 86 ; 116 ; 143 ). These increases started in the 1980s ( 17 ) at the same time that social inequality began rising with the political embrace of pro-market neoliberal policies ( 33 ). Since then, the United States has been increasingly marked by plummeting economic wellbeing (except for the wealthiest Americans), growing economic segregation, emerging mass incarceration, downward social mobility, and despair in many working-class communities ( 17 ; 95 ; 129 ). Conversely, in the two decades prior (1960s and 70s), social disparities in health were decreasing ( 1 ; 72 ). During those decades, many pro-social policies such as Civil rights legislation, War on Poverty programs, and racial desegregation were improving social inequalities. Macro-level political forces, clearly, can influence not only social but also health inequalities ( 104 ). Two facts follow: growing disparities are not inevitable and changes in the education-health relationship may be strongly linked to social policies. While some of the growth in educational inequalities may be attributable to changes in educational composition of the population with increasingly negatively select groups of adults at the lowest levels of schooling, these compositional changes likely play only a minor role in the overall trends ( 38 ; 58 ). Linking education and health to the broader social context brings to the forefront the ways in which we, as individuals and a collective society, produce and maintain health disparities.

Implications for Policy and Practice

Reducing macro-level inequalities in health will require macro-level interventions. Technological progress and educational expansion over the past several decades have not decreased disparities; on the contrary, educational disparities in health and mortality have grown in the US. Moreover, the consistent, durable relationship between education and health and the multitude of mechanisms linking them suggests that programs targeting individual behaviors will have limited impact to counteract disparities. Thus, we argue that future findings from the new research directions proposed here can be used to intervene at the level of social contexts to alter educational trajectories from an early age, with the ultimate goal of reducing health disparities. We note two promising avenues for policy development.

One potential solution may focus on universal federal and state-level investment in the education and well-being of children early in the life course to disrupt the reproduction of social inequalities and change subsequent educational trajectories. Several experimental early-education programs such as the Perry Preschool Project and Carolina Abecedarian Project have demonstrated substantial, lasting, and wide-ranging benefits, including improved adult health ( 25 ; 57 ; 102 ). These programs provided intensive, exceptionally high-quality, and diverse services to children, and it is these characteristics that appear central to their success ( 138 ). Further research on the qualitative and social dimensions of education and their effects on health can inform future model educational programs and interventions across all ages.

Another important issue for both researchers and policymakers pertains to postsecondary enrollment and attrition, and their effects on health. Educational expansion in the college-for-all era has yielded high post-secondary enrollment, but also unacceptable dropout rates with multiple detrimental consequences, including high rates of student debt ( 64 ) and stigma ( 76 ), which may negatively affect health. Emerging studies found that college dropouts fail to benefit from their postsecondary investments. Next we need to understand under what circumstances college goers do reap health benefits, or how their postsecondary experience can be modified to improve their health.

For both of these avenues, effective implementation will need further research on the specific institutional characteristics and social contexts that shape the schooling effects. However, in designing interventions and policies, we need to be aware of the dual role of education as a drive and reproducer of inequality. Individuals from advantaged backgrounds may be better positioned to take advantage of new educational opportunities, and thus any interventions and programs need to ensure that marginalized populations have equal or greater access in order to avoid the unintended consequence of further intensifying disparities. Finally, researchers and policymakers should engage in a dialogue such that researchers effectively communicate their insights and recommendations to policymakers, and policymakers convey the needs and challenges of their practices to researchers.

Education and health are central to individual and population well-being. They are also inextricably embedded in the social context and structure. Future research needs to expand beyond the individual-focused analyses and hypothesize upstream ( 96 ), taking a contextual approach to understanding education and health. Such an approach will require interdisciplinary collaborations, innovations in conceptual models, and rich data sources. The three directions for further research on health returns to education we outlined above can help generate findings that will inform effective educational and health policies and interventions to reduce disparities. During this critical time when health differences are widening and less educated Americans are experiencing social and health declines, research and policy has the opportunity to make a difference and improve the health and well-being of our population.

Contributor Information

Anna Zajacova, Western University.

Elizabeth M. Lawrence, University of North Carolina.

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What Are The Causes Of Lack Of Education?

Apr 19 2024

• 1.0.1 What are the cause of education?
• 1.0.2 What are the cause and effect of lack of education?
• 1.0.3 Why is lack of education a problem essay?
• 1.1.1 What is cause and effect in education?
• 2 How does lack of education affect our lives
• 3 What causes poverty lack of education
• 4.1.1 What is wrong with the Philippines education system?

What is the lack of education

Description of the Problem – In 1869, in his outstanding essay “The New Education,” president of Harvard University Charles Eliot outlined general areas and ways for the education system development. In this essay, Eliot presented strong arguments for the constant renewal of the curriculum and teaching methodology so that learning could keep pace with the development of society.

After one and a half hundred years, this approach is still relevant. Lack of education is the inability of people to acquire specialized skills, such as cognitive skills, socialization, memorization of facts which are necessary for personal development and the development of society and the world economy.

It can be manifested in inaccessibility to education for some parts of the population, for such reasons as the lack of schools, teachers, or money to pay for education. It also can be expressed as the education quality of citizens. Often the inefficiency of the educational process organization has bad result – after several years spent in the educational institution, people cannot find a job as their knowledge and skills are not enough.

Lack of education is a social problem, as education should promote humane and productive human life (Costache, 2018). In addition, well-educated people benefit society and continue its development. Because of the technological development, jobs and competencies change faster than people can adapt. The major part of the world’s population is behind in the most important practical skills.

In the nearest future, the major part of jobs will be connected with the IT-sphere. By anticipating changes of this magnitude, companies are urgently trying to find and gain the competencies needed to maintain competitiveness. Skills shortages are now one of the major threats to businesses.

• On-Time Delivery! Get your customised and 100% plagiarism-free paper done in as little as 3 hours Let’s start 322 specialists online This problem is of global scale and affects all areas of the economy.
• For example, according to Farooq et al.
• 2018), the successful economic development of Pakistan requires cooperation with China within the framework of China – Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

However, researchers note a lack of qualified personnel, in particular women, in such areas as higher education and logistics for sufficient fruitful cooperation. The most vulnerable area in which education shortages are unacceptable is health care. However, even this sphere suffers from the problem of unskilled personnel.

Coughlin (2017), for example, notes that nurses have not been professional enough for performing their job recently. She explores the field of nursing with Down Syndrome but it can be argued that it applies to all areas of medicine. Information on the lack of education worldwide, as well as in specific countries, is confirmed by statistics from official sources of international organizations and government think tanks.

The downside of the provided statistics is that researchers failed to obtain data for several countries. However, these are only a couple of countries with small populations. According to the data, 142 world states have a high level of education of 90-100%, with 8 states having a 100% rate. In just over 20 countries, the literacy rate is below 60%.

What are the cause of education?

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes education as a legal right of every child. Yet education remains a privilege to many. UNESCO data shows that 258 million children and youth were out of school for the school year ending in 2018.

Of that total, more than 129 million were girls and 58 million were of primary school age. Among those fortunate to have access to education, on the other hand, more than 617 million children and adolescents do not have minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics.1. What is education? Education is the process where an individual acquires or imparts basic knowledge to another.

It is also where a person:

develops skills essential to daily living, learns social norms, develops judgment and reasoning, and learns how to discern right from wrong.

The ultimate goal of education is to help an individual navigate life and contribute to society once they become older. There are various types of education but typically, traditional schooling dictates the way one’s education success is measured. People who attended school and attained a higher level of education are considered more employable and likely to earn more.

In developing, low-income countries, for example, there is a projected 10 per cent increase in a person’s future income for every additional year of education. Education helps eradicate poverty and hunger, giving people the chance at better lives. This is one of the biggest reasons why parents strive to make their kids attend school as long as possible.

It is also why nations work toward promoting easier access to education for both children and adults. Household food insecurity is a common problem in Somalia and is identified as a reason for student absenteeism. Many families are pastoralists, moving around where the food source is, especially during periods of drought. It becomes difficult for their children to attend school regularly.

Education helps a person hone their communication skills by learning how to read, write, speak and listen. Education develops critical thinking, This is vital in teaching a person how to use logic when making decisions and interacting with people (e.g., boosting creativity, enhancing time management). Education helps an individual meet basic job qualifications and makes them more likely to secure better jobs. Education promotes gender equality and helps empower girls and women. A World Bank report found that an extra year of schooling for girls reduces teen pregnancy rates by six per cent and gave women more control over how many children they have. Education reduces child mortality. According to UNESCO, a child born to a mother who can read is 50 per cent more likely to survive past the age of five.

A student from a primary school in Rwanda tries using a tablet computer in class. Many World Vision programs introduce technology into classrooms and youth training centres. Photo: Charity Beza Uwase 3. What are the different types of education? Education is typically divided into three categories: formal education, informal education, and non-formal education.

Formal education Formal education is the type that is typically conducted in a classroom setting in an academic institution. This is where students are taught basic skills such as reading and writing, as well as more advanced academic lessons. Also known as ‘formal learning’, it usually begins in elementary school and culminates in post-secondary education.

It is provided by qualified teachers or professors and follows a curriculum. Informal education Informal education, on the other hand, is the type that is done outside the premises of an academic institution. Often, this is when a person learns skills or acquires knowledge from home, when visiting libraries, or browsing educational websites through a device.

• Learning from the elders in one’s community can also be an important form of informal education.
• Such education is often not planned or deliberate, nor does it follow a regimented timetable or a specific curriculum.
• It is spontaneous and may also be described as a natural form of education.
• Non-formal education Non-formal education has qualities similar to both formal and informal education.

It follows a timetable and is systemically implemented but not necessarily conducted within a school system. It is flexible in terms of time and curriculum and normally does not have an age limit. The most common examples of non-formal education include community-based courses, vocational training or short programs that are not facilitated by professional instructors. A female student in Lebanon learns carpentry, a skill often associated with men. Education of all kinds empower girls and women in their communities. Photo: Maria Bou Chaaya 4. What are the benefits of education? If all students in low-income countries acquired basic reading skills before leaving school, entire societies could change dramatically.

According to UNESCO, 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty. But education isn’t just about living above the poverty line. It’s about quality of life, choices at work, and many other benefits, as listed below. Developing problem-solving skills The schooling system teaches a person how to make their own decisions by developing critical and logical thinking skills.

This prepares children for adulthood when both big and small decisions become a constant part of their daily lives. For example: coming up with solutions to challenges in the community or planning how to provide for a family. Self-reliance and empowerment Knowing how to read, write and do arithmetic is empowering.

When a person can read, they can access endless learning and information. When they can calculate expenses and make a budget, they can start a small business. Paired with the ability to form opinions, literacy makes a person become more self-reliant, and gives them confidence. Promoting equality among individuals In an ideal world, there is no room for discrimination due to race, gender, religion, social class, or level of literacy.

This is where the value of education comes to play. Through education, one can develop strong, well-considered opinions – and learn to respect the views of others. Many experts agree that education is a significant contributor to peace in societies. Stability and financial security A person’s income is often linked to his or her educational attainment.

Around the world, there are more employment opportunities for those who complete high school, earn a degree, diploma or certificate, or go on to post-graduate studies. These can also mean higher salaries. Economic growth (as a nation) An educated population is important in building a nation’s economy.

According to studies, countries with the highest literacy rates are more likely to make progress in human and economic development. National economic growth begins with individual economic growth, which is often linked back to education. In Canada, 70 per cent of jobs have a college-level reading skill requirement. Elementary students from Papua New Guinea now have toy kits for recreation time at school. Play helps children solve problems, develop creativity and work as a team. Photo: Nelson Kairi Kurukuru 5. What does World Vision do to make education more accessible for girls and boys? One of World Vision’s objectives is to make education accessible for girls and boys around the world.

We see it as an effective tool to promote sustainable growth for children, their families and the communities that we support. In 2020, donors sponsored 377,888 children across 44 countries through World Vision Canada alone, Many of these children are now benefitting from formal education. At least 12,270 children attend after-school literacy activities, while 51,585 adults were educated on child protection.

World Vision has several programs which make education of children and youth a priority. These include Child Sponsorship, the Raw Hope initiative and the World Vision Gift Catalogue, Through these projects, anyone interested in helping fund the education of vulnerable children can participate. Rosemiah, a young teacher in the Philippines, helps children improve their reading skills through a program called the Culture of Reading. Photo: Ramon Lucas Jimenez 6. How can I contribute toward making education accessible? Children in Canada have access to free education all the way through high school – but it’s not true everywhere.

Below are some of the ways you can help make education accessible for girls and boys around the world. Child Sponsorship World Vision is known for our Child Sponsorship program. It is an initiative where we pool together funds from donors, partners and the Canadian government to provide access to necessities such as nutritious food, clean water, health care and education among others.

The program benefits children across 44 countries, emphasizing access to education. Raw Hope Raw Hope is another program where we strive to make learning possible, even in the world’s most dangerous places. We do more than provide access to life-saving essentials.

• Raw Hope also includes the creation of safe spaces where girls and boys can play and continue their learning, even when life is in chaos.
• Gift Catalogue World Vision’s online Gift Catalogue invites donors to choose from many kinds of life-changing gifts–including several focusing on education.
• You can help by: donating textbooks for children, distributing school essentials, donating tech for a community, and helping send girls to school,

Volunteer While monetary donations are a great way to help, it is not the only option. You can also try volunteering your time by joining groups in your city or neighbourhood. Look for associations accepting volunteer teachers and share your knowledge with children of all ages. A boy in Rwanda solves a math equation. Arithmetic can help children learn to save money, create budgets, secure better jobs when they are older and even start small businesses. Photo: Charity Beza Uwase 7. Quick facts about education in Canada and the world Different countries and regions have different approaches to education, for children and adults.

Education in Canada is generally overseen and funded by governments (provincial, territorial and federal). Kindergarten in Canada is mandatory in most provinces and optional in a few. Starting in Grade 1, education is mandatory until a child is at least 16. The only exceptions are when families adhere to certain requirements for home schooling. Canada offers a Kindergarten to Grade 12 educational system, along with some other countries, such as the United States, Australia, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the Philippines. Canada once had a highly controversial residential school system. More than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend church-run, government-funded schools between the 1870s and 1997. In 2016, some 750 million adults in the world still lacked basic reading and writing skills. Two-thirds of them were women.

Central Asia, Europe and North America have the highest literacy rates for youth aged 15-24 at nearly 100 per cent. The sub-Saharan region of Africa has the lowest, at 75 per cent. The criteria for assessing literacy vary between countries. View complete answer

What are the cause and effect of lack of education?

Quick Answer: The Effects of lack of Education – Lack of education has serious effects on everyone, not only people who are under-educated. People who lack education have trouble getting ahead in life, have worse health and are poorer than the well-educated. Major effects of lack of education include: poor health, lack of a voice, shorter lifespan, unemployment, exploitation and gender inequality. View complete answer

Why is lack of education a problem essay?

Lack of education is a drastically big global issue which affects many lives. Lack of education causes multiple issues and it itself is a issue we cannot look over. The simple problem of not have education causes problems such as deficit for the community, an intolerant society, and it will create a cycle of poverty. View complete answer

What are the three issues in education?

A number of issues and controversies now face educators and communities. Among them are discipline and security; race, ethnicity, and equality; mainstreaming; and public versus private education. Expressions of violence have increased in the culture, and so has violence in the schools.

In the past, only urban or poor inner‐city schools worried about serious violence. With recent school shootings in small towns from Kentucky to Oregon, all U.S. schools and districts, however small, must now directly address the increased incidence of school violence. Teachers have found children as young as kindergarten coming to school armed.

Schools have reacted decisively. To reduce the threat from strangers or unauthorized persons, many have closed campuses. Others require all persons on campus to wear identification at all times. When the students themselves come to school armed, however, the schools have been forced to take more drastic measures.

Many have installed metal detectors or conduct random searches. Although some people question whether the searches constitute illegal search and seizure, most parents, students, administrators, and teachers feel that, given the risk involved, the infringement on civil liberties is slight. Educators recognize that metal detectors alone will not solve the problem.

Society must address the underlying issues that make children carry weapons. Many schools include anger management and conflict resolution as part of the regular curriculum. They also make counseling more available, and hold open forums to air differences and resolve conflicts.

• School uniforms constitute another strategy for reducing violence, and public schools across the country—large and small—are beginning to require them.
• Many violent outbursts relate to gangs.
• Gang members usually wear identifying clothing, such as a particular color, style, or garment.
• By requiring uniforms and banning gang colors and markers, administrators can prevent much of the violence in the schools.

Advocates point out, too, that uniforms reduce social class distinctions and cost less than buying designer wardrobes or standard school clothes. Race, ethnicity, and equality The first major examination of race, ethnicity, and equality in education came as part of the civil rights movement.

Ordered by Congress, the Commissioner of Education appointed sociologist James Coleman to assess educational opportunities for people with diverse backgrounds. His team amassed information from 4,000 schools, 60,000 teachers, and about 570,000 students. The subsequent Coleman Report produced unexpected—and controversial—results, unforeseen even by researchers.

The report concluded that the key predictors of student performance were social class, family background and education, and family attitudes toward education. The Coleman Report pointed out that children coming from poor, predominantly non‐white communities began school with serious deficits and many could not overcome them.

According to the report, school facilities, funding, and curriculum played only minimal roles. Some studies supported the Coleman Report’s findings, while others disputed them. Studies by Rist and Rosenthal‐Jacobson demonstrated that specific classroom practices, such as teacher attention, did affect student performance.

Sociologists reconcile the opposite findings by pointing out that Coleman’s large‐scale study reveals broad cultural patterns, while classroom studies are more sensitive to specific interactions. Sociologists conclude, then, that all of the factors named by the divergent studies do play a role in student success.

Even though researchers widely disputed the Coleman Report, the report did bring about two major changes: First was the development of Head Start, a federal program for providing academically focused preschool to low‐income children. This program is specifically designed to compensate for the disadvantages that low‐income students face. Head Start has proven successful, and most students who go through the program as 4‐ or 5‐year‐olds continue to perform better than students not enrolled in Head Start, at least through the sixth grade.

The other consequence of the Coleman Report proved to be less successful and far more controversial than the Head Start program. In an effort to desegregate education, courts ordered some districts to institute busing —a program of transporting students to schools outside their neighborhoods, that they normally would not attend, in order to achieve racial balance.

This generally meant busing white students to inner‐city schools and busing minority students to suburban schools. Public opposition to busing programs remains high, and the program has achieved only modest results. Bilingual education, which means offering instruction in a language other than English, constitutes another attempt to equalize education for minority students.

Federally mandated in 1968, bilingual education has generated considerable debate. Supporters argue that students whose first language is not English deserve an equal educational opportunity unavailable to them unless they can receive instruction in their first language.

• Opponents counter that students not taught in English will lack the fluency needed to function in daily life.
• Numerous studies support conclusions on both sides of the issue, and, as funding becomes scarce, the debate will intensify.
• Mainstreaming is the practice of placing physically, emotionally, or mentally challenged students in a regular classroom instead of a special education classroom.

Educators continue to debate the merits and problems of mainstreaming. In general, the practice seems to work best for students who can still keep pace with their peers in the classroom, and less well for students with more severe challenges. Experts note that exceptions do occur on both accounts and recommend careful consideration on a case‐by‐case basis.

Most of the public‐versus‐private discussion centers on public education. One cannot ignore the effect of private education and home schooling on American education, however. Many parents who are dissatisfied with the quality of public education, who are afraid of rising violence in the schools, or who want specific personal or religious values integrated into the curriculum, turn to private and parochial schools.

The majority of private schools are religious, with the majority of those being Catholic. Studies have found that private schools maintain higher expectations and that students in these schools generally outperform their public school peers. These findings support the Rist and Rosenthal‐Jacobson studies.

• Because of the success of private schools in educating at‐risk students, more parents are seeking ways to afford these institutions, which have been largely available only to affluent white families who can pay the tuition costs.
• One proposed solution is a voucher system,
• The government would issue parents credit worth a dollar amount to take to the school of their choice, public or private.

Advocates argue that this program would make private schooling more available to poorer families and create more equal opportunities. Critics charge that such a policy would drain public schools of needed funding and further erode public schools. The vouchers would not cover the entire cost of private school, and therefore still would not put private schooling within the reach of poorer families. View complete answer

What is cause and effect in education?

‘Teaching Cause and Effect’ contains a set of instructional methods that teachers can use to help students engage in higher order reasoning, thinking about a relationship in which one thing either leads to another or results from another. View complete answer

How does lack of education affect our lives

Every child has the right to learn. – A child’s right to education entails the right to learn. Yet, for too many children across the globe, schooling does not lead to learning. Over 600 million children and adolescents worldwide are unable to attain minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics, even though two thirds of them are in school.

• For out-of-school children, foundational skills in literacy and numeracy are further from grasp.
• This learning crisis – the rift between the levels of learning children receive and those they, their communities and entire economies need – hit a global scale even before the COVID-19 pandemic brought education systems to a halt.

Around the world, children are deprived of education and learning for various reasons. Poverty remains one of the most obstinate barriers. Children living through economic fragility, political instability, conflict or natural disaster are more likely to be cut off from schooling – as are those with disabilities, or from ethnic minorities.

• In some countries, education opportunities for girls remain severely limited.
• Even in schools, a lack of trained teachers, inadequate education materials and poor infrastructure make learning difficult for many students.
• Others come to class too hungry, ill or exhausted from work or household tasks to benefit from their lessons.

Compounding these inequities is a digital divide of growing concern: Some two thirds of the world’s school-aged children do not have internet connection in their homes, restricting their opportunities to further their learning and skills development. View complete answer

What causes poverty lack of education

What is the common problems in education in Philippines

1. Deteriorating quality of education – It is uncommon to hear college teachers decry the quality of students that come to them. They lament the students’ inability to construct a correct sentence, much less a paragraph. Private schools have been assailed as profit-making institutions turning out half-baked graduates who later become part of the nation’s educated unemployed. View complete answer

Is there a lack of education in the Philippines?

THE recently released report on education by the World Bank (with Unicef, FCDO, USAid, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) could hardly show worse results for the Philippines. According to the data gathered, 90.9 percent of Filipino children aged 10 appear to be in a situation of learning poverty, while 90.4 percent are classified as suffering from learning deprivation.

Additionally, 5 percent of Filipino children at that age are still unschooled. In my opinion, the most important finding is that the worrisome state of Philippine public education is not a consequence of the exceedingly long closure of schools during the pandemic — which only made the situation worse — but proof that the learning crisis comes from at least two decades of mismanagement.

The conclusions of the report highlight that without urgent action, the countries affected face learning and human capital catastrophe and the future of those children may be at risk. The report states that “there is a narrow window to act decisively to recover and accelerate learning” and “this will require firm political commitment and implementation of evidence-based approaches for rapid impact.” The bad news for the Philippines is that the process of making decisions on national education policies is not in the hands of teachers or experts in education, but would depend on politicians.

• Since I have been teaching in the Philippines for the past 13 years, I have a few observations to do with the matter.
• The most important one deals with the content of teaching units.
• A rough review of school handbooks shows that what Filipino children learn in school is substantially less (in terms of quantity) than children of the same age in Europe (I know the examples of Spain, Italy and especially, Poland).

The extension of the period of education with the implementation of K to 12 did not mean more content, but just distributing the same content for more years. The immediate consequence is that many enter the university without having basic knowledge. I remember the first day of class at a top private university — this was around 2011.

The students were enrolled in a course in “international relations.” I asked the students why they chose that career, in which they would spend the next years. Most of them seemed excited about the idea of traveling and the prestige of being an ambassador. A few claimed, like the contestants in the Miss Universe pageant like to repeat, “I want to serve the Filipino people.” I showed the class an empty map of Europe and asked where France is.

Very few could locate it. Then, I asked to mention an important French individual in history: the name Napoleon did not even come to their minds. I repeated this in the five classes I had that day, all with roughly the same results. As a consolation prize, they all knew that croissants and crêpes are French.

My conclusions were confirmed when I found a student — in the same university — whose parents were OFWs in Italy. She said that, against the will of her parents, she chose to study in the Philippines to better know her roots. She only visited the Philippines once as a child and she had good memories, she explained.

After only one month, she was already regretting: tuition was more expensive, cancellation of classes happened too often and, more importantly, she felt that what she was learning was too basic. Despite the good friends she met, she decided to return to Italy to resume her university studies there.

For many years I have been teaching Spanish to public school teachers, so they can teach basic Spanish in their high schools. They often complained about too many teaching hours per week (some of them up to 8 hours daily), low salaries, too many students in a class — up to 60 — and no time to attend workshops to improve their skills.

They also confessed that if the students attended the classes, they would give them a pass, claiming that some of them were so poor they came hungry to class. “Failing them would add a burden to their lives,” they said. Among those teachers, I already noticed a big difference in preparation between those working in cities like Metro Manila and Cebu, and those working in small towns in the provinces.

• Get the latest news delivered to your inbox Sign up for The Manila Times’ daily newsletters By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy,
• The objection of some parents against K to 2 is — as far as I know — mostly motivated by the fact that it would delay the incorporation of their children into the job market.

The underlying assumption in those parents — and many students — is that what matters most is attaining an education degree (certificates, titles) to be able to apply for jobs. The problem is that grade inflation and the easy delivery of degrees are degrading the whole educational system.

We are therefore very far from the national hero’s dictum: that the freedom and prosperity of Filipinos could be obtained through education. Needless to say, the problem does not affect the children of the political and economic elite of the Philippines, whose children study in expensive international schools and often go to study in colleges abroad.

While in developed countries, education has served to mitigate inequalities with some kind of meritocracy (awarding academically the efforts of good students), here it is doing little to help low-income children become middle-class individuals. The Department of Education has a serious task to carry out, which involves which kind of country the Philippines wants to be in the future. View complete answer

What is wrong with the Philippines education system?

The Philippine Education System in Crisis The new school year has already begun, with problems from the previous school year carried over.It is an understatement to say that the education crisis continues to be a great challenge for students, teachers, and parents alike, especially for those living in poverty.

This crisis is not news — it has been around for quite some time. But the pandemic has spotlighted the cracks in the system and the widening gap between socioeconomic classes. Education in a time like this has demanded so much from its constituents, but at what cost? The effort to meet these demands has ironically kept many families in poverty, negatively affected academic performance as well as overall well-being, and worst of all, held millions of students back.We did not need a pandemic to tell us that the learning outcomes of our education system have long been declining in terms of quality and accessibility.

It has obviously failed to evolve and innovate into one that is resilient and that can continue to place learners on the path to progress.As of July 1, 2021, 16.6 million public and private school students, or just 59 percent of the 27.7 million enrollees in 2019, have enrolled.

In 2020, the education budget was slashed. The Department of Education (DepEd) budget decreased by PHP 21.9 billion, while the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) budget decreased by PHP 13.9 billion. The effects of these budget cuts, among others, trickled down into the education system and its benefactors: none other than our students.The Decline of Philippine Education By the NumbersPhilippine Business for Education (PBEd), an education advocacy group, held a press conference, entitled Philippine Education in Crisis: State of Education Press Conference, to present data that could put the education crisis into perspective.Since 2018, public expenditure for basic education has been alternately plateauing or dipping, while public expenditure for defense and infrastructure has increased in comparison.

PBEd also reported that local government units have not been fully utilizing their education funds. In fact, the average Special Education Fund (SEF) utilization rate was only 67.8 percent in 2020.These figures dovetail with COA reports of CHED allegedly underutilizing education funds under Bayanihan 2.

Youth leaders have taken to social media to call out to CHED for an explanation in support of various groups who have been lobbying for cash subsidies for students.In terms of financial constraints, PBEd has stated five problems that result in poor learning outcomes that need to be urgently addressed: (a) implementation inefficiencies; (b) malnutrition; © lack of textbooks; (d) school connectivity; and (e) teacher quality.

These are especially tough to deal with for students from low-income families, who experience a combination of these challenges daily. They are forced to choose between food or education when both are their fundamental rights. It is unsettling that their families must decide between putting food on the table or enrolling them in school.In 2017, it was estimated that there were 3.5 million out-of-school youths.

• In SY 2020–2021, close to four million students were unable to enroll.
• Of that number, around 50 percent of out-of-school youths were found to belong to families who were within the bottom 30 percent of the population in terms of income.Poor quality of education has resulted in low proficiency levels among students.

The 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results show that 72 percent of Filipino students performed lower than expected at their academic level. Filipino students scored an average of 340 points in Reading against the OECD average of 487.

In Mathematics and Science, they scored an average of 353 points and 357 points, respectively, against a 489-point OECD average for both.Some studies have shown a correlation between school funding and student outcomes. Low-funded schools are not as equipped and don’t perform to their full potential since they lack resources and access to technology.

This affects how efficiently they can implement reforms and update curricula.Similar studies have shown that when governments cut their per-pupil funding rates, this subsequently lowers the number of educators in a school. For instance, in public schools in the Philippines, it has been a years-long effort to bring down the number of students per classroom to an acceptable level.

• As such, imbalanced teacher-to-student ratios, shortages in classrooms, and large class sizes have perennially plagued the sector.
• Imbalanced teacher–student ratios decrease the interactions between teachers and students and lessen learning time.
• The lack of face-to-face classes has worsened this, and there have been many anecdotal accounts of student disengagement.It doesn’t help that we have a long way to go in terms of the curriculum itself, as it was only in 2016 that K-12 was fully implemented nationwide.

Four years on, K-12 continues to be implemented using unclear standards for assessment, a congested curriculum, and inadequate resources, among other issues. A study from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) shows this. This has also been a major concern for blended learning.

• The instability of K-12 and the challenges of blended learning continue to place the burden of delivering quality education on schools themselves, in order to make up for inadequacies in the program.The pandemic has shown that we need to continuously innovate in education.
• But how can we move forward when the government is only spending PHP 723 per head for the continuing education of teachers annually? How can our teachers stay motivated when they have yet to receive increases in their meager salaries?Acknowledging that the Philippine Education Crisis ExistsFollowing the World Bank’s release of its findings on the country’s education system, Vice President Leni Robredo suggested the declaration of a “crisis in education” due to overall instability in the current setup.

Although the Department of Education (DepEd) has disputed these findings, it cannot be denied that they come from a very real place on-ground.It is about time that we acknowledge that the education crisis exists.PBEd Executive Director Love Basillote says that it is critical for the education system to start putting learning at the heart of its decisions and interventions.PBEd has proposed building a new “schoolhouse of reform” that aims at participation among all sectors of society, and that calls for a multi-sector Educational Commission (EdCom) to address the learning crisis.

Increasing budgets and resources to “widen the pie” for education; Implementing reforms such as the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition, pre-primary education, Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE), and Teacher Education Scholarship for Achievers (TEACH Bill); Establishing an autonomous assessment agency to provide insights on improving curriculum and bridge learning gaps; Enhancing complementarity between the public and private sector for educational governance; and Providing lifelong learning outside of formal education through the Jobs Next Bill.

“There’s always some other urgent crisis, some other more important issue. Something that always shoves education off the table and sets it aside. The impacts of any major reform won’t really improve the country’s situation 30 years later. So if we don’t start today, it will always be moved further and further,” says PBEd President Dr.

Chito Salazar.In COVID-19, the policy “no student left behind” rings more like an ideal — something that has yet to be achieved. PBEd Chairman Ramon del Rosario, Jr. sums it up, “We are ignoring the depth of the problem and underinvesting in the very people who will build our path to economic recovery.” It’s about time we went beyond vision statements.

Inclusive education reform is the only option: one student left behind is one too many. : The Philippine Education System in Crisis View complete answer

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Essay on Education for Children and Students

Table of Contents

Essay on Education: Education is the process of learning and acquiring knowledge at an educational institution. It is well said, “A gift of knowledge can bring us to the top of most wonderful mountain, the gift of knowledge can take us to the deepest of the ocean”. Education is a great gift given by our parents and teachers. It is the key to success in life.

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Education is the systematic process of improving learning, knowledge, skill, and understanding about anything at school, college, university, or other educational institutes, which gives us an enlightening experience.

Here we have some of the best collection of essays specially written for kids. Read sample, short, long, descriptive and narrative essays on education.

Long and Short Essay on Education in English

Find a simple and easily understandable essay on education for your lovely kids, children, and students studying in nursery, KG, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Education essay is the most important topic nowadays, which can be given to the students in their schools and colleges for essay writing on any event. We have given below some essays under various words limit from which you can select your needed ones:

Essay on Education in 100 words

Education is the act of learning things around us. It helps us to understand and deal with any problem easily and makes balance throughout the whole life in every aspect. Education is the first and foremost right of every human being. Without education, we are incomplete, and our lives are useless. Education helps us to set a goal and go ahead by working on that throughout life.

It improves our knowledge, skill, confidence level, and personality. It empowers us intellectually to interact with others in our life. Education brings maturity and teaches us to live in a society with changing environment. It is the way to social development, economic growth, and technological development.

Essay on Education in 150 words

Education plays a great role in everyone’s life by building personality, improving knowledge and skill, and providing a feeling of well-being for a person. Education has been divided into three categories in our country Primary education, Secondary education, and Higher Secondary education. It develops our analytical skills, character, and overall personality. Education helps a person nourish his present and future by ensuring the aim of life. The quality and importance of education are increasing day by day.

Every child must go to school at their appropriate age as everyone has equal rights to education from birth. The growth and development of any country depend on the quality of the education system set for young ones in schools and colleges. However, the education system in every country is not the same. Hence, the proper growth and development of the people and society vary according to the region’s weak and strong education system.

Essay on Education in 200 words

Education is a very important tool for people worldwide to make the balance of life and its existence on the earth. It is the tool that stimulates everyone to go ahead and succeed in life and provides the ability to overcome challenges in life. It is the only way to acquire knowledge and improve our skills in any field according to the need. It enables us to create a fine balance of our body, mind, and spirit.

It trains us whole life and brings many opportunities to get better prospects required for career growth. Every individual needs proper education to enhance their own life standards and become a part of their country’s social and economic growth. The future of any person or country depends on the education system strategy followed. Even after many awareness programs about proper education in our country, many villages still left that do not have proper resources and awareness for the education of people living there.

Although the condition has improved earlier, the government has taken various steps to improve the education status in the country. Well, the being of the society depends on the well-being of the people in that society. It brings economic and social prosperity throughout the country by solving issues and identifying solutions.

Essay on Education in 250 words

Education is essential for everyone to succeed and earn respect and recognition. Education plays a great role in everyone’s life as it positively affects human life. It provides the ability to think positively and negatively to get surety about and handle the situation. It is the easiest way to enhance our knowledge and expand our skills to have a clear worldview. It creates interest within us to enhance our way of life and thus country growth and development. We can learn by watching TV, reading books, discussing, and other various means.

Proper education identifies our career goals and teaches us to live in a more civilized manner. We cannot imagine our life without education as we cannot develop healthy surroundings and generate a progressive community without it. Everything in life is based on people’s knowledge and skill, which ultimately comes from education. The bright future of the individual, society, community, and country depends on the education system getting followed. Increasing the demand for more technological advancement in life enhances the scope of quality education.

It assists scientists in research works, the invention of equipment, devices, machines, and other technologies required for modern life. People are becoming highly aware of the scope and importance of education in their life and thus trying to benefit. However, people living in backward areas of the country can still not get proper education because of the lack of some basic requirements of life. They are still fighting with their daily routine need. We need to bring education awareness equally in every area for better growth and development throughout the country.

Essay on Education in 300 words

Education is necessary for improving everyone’s life; thus, we all should know the importance of education. It enables us and prepares us in every aspect of life. The education system is still weak in the undeveloped regions of the country instead of lots of the educational awareness programs run by the government. People living in such areas are very poor and spend their whole day arranging only some basic needs. However, everyone needs a broad effort to make a proper education system possible in every corner of the country.

It needs active participation by everyone to enhance the level of the education system in the country. The authority of schools and colleges should set up some chief objectives of the education to stimulate their students’ interest and curiosity. The fee structure should also be discussed to a broad level as because of the high fee structure, most of the students become unable to precede their education which brings disparity in every aspect of life among people. Education is the first and foremost right of human beings, so everyone should get equality in education.

We must balance the facilities for education for all to bring equality among people and equal individual development throughout the country. Education enables everyone in society to interpret the things around them in a very positive way. It helps maintain a balance between our body, mind, and spirit and promotes further advancement in education technology. It promotes the active participation of individuals living in the society for the growth and development of their countries. It enables everyone to grow socially and economically by developing society’s common culture and values.

Essay on Education in 400 words

Education is the most important factor which plays a great role in the development of an individual and a country. Now a day, it has become a vital factor for the future brightness of the new generations of any society. The government has made education compulsory for all children aged 5 to 15. Education influences the lives of everyone in positive ways and teaches us to tackle any big or small problems in life. Even after a big awareness in the society towards the necessity of education for everyone, the percentage of education is still not the same in different areas of the country.

People living in the backward areas are not getting the proper benefits of a good education as they lack money and other resources. However, the government has planned and implemented new and effective strategies to resolve the problems in such areas. Education improves the mental status and changes the way of thinking of a person. It brings confidence and helps to convert the thinking into action to go ahead and get success and experience.

Without education, life becomes aimless and tough. So we should understand the importance of education and its involvement in our daily lives. We should encourage education in the backward areas by letting them know the benefits of education. Disabled and poor people are equally required and have equal rights to get educated like rich and common people to develop globally. We should try our best to get higher education and make a good education accessible for everyone globally, particularly the poor and disabled.

Some people are completely uneducated and live very painful life because of a lack of knowledge and skill. Some people are educated but do not have enough skills to earn money for their daily routine just because of the lack of a proper education system in the backward areas. Thus we should try to have equal opportunities and a good education system for everyone, whether in rich or poor regions. A country cannot grow and develop without its citizens’ individual growth and development. Thus the development of any country depends hugely on the education standard available to its citizens. A good education system must have common goals in every country to provide suitable and proper learning to its citizens.

Long Essay on Education in 800 Words

Education is the process of providing or gaining knowledge. It is something that transforms a human into a better human being. Through education, we learn about ethics and values and gain knowledge about the world. Education also helps to enhance our thinking and makes us more mature and tolerant. It also prepares us for our future by letting us acquire the essential skills which are very important in providing livelihood to us.

Why is Education so Important in Our Life?

The importance of education could be understood from the fact that a well-educated person is highly respected and appreciated in society. Education brings us out of the darkness of ignorance and widens our thinking and mental capability. A well-educated country will always have fewer issues and will progress on the path of growth and development.

Education is also very important in our life in the following ways:

• Taking Better Decisions: Education helps a person make better decisions in life and makes him analyze things more intellectually. A better decision at the right time enhances the chances of success in life.
• Better Lifestyle and Livelihood: A well-educated person will always have a better lifestyle and earn a decent livelihood as compared to an individual who is not educated. Education helps to earn better career opportunities and opens the way to success.
• Improves Body Language and Communication: A well-educated person will always have better communication skills and body language. He will be able to present himself in a more sophisticated and decent way in front of others and make him understood by others better.
• More Intellectual Maturity: Education brings intellectual maturity, makes people follow the right path in life, and helps to stay away from all the evils of society. It makes him an individual with great ethics and values.
• Makes a Person Independent: A well-qualified person can earn his livelihood anywhere without getting dependent on others. It makes him self-reliant economically as well as emotionally by increasing his self-confidence.
• Adds Value to the Nation: A country whose citizens are educated well will also support the country’s economy in various ways. An educated voter will also choose a better leader for its country who will work for its growth and development.

Modern Concept of Education

The modern concept of education mainly focuses on developing skills with education. It opposes the conventional concept, which deals with only scoring marks and passing the exams. The modern concept is the progressive way of imparting education that concentrates on a person’s overall development. It prepares an individual to face the world’s challenges and aims at making him independent and self-reliant.

Modern education uses technology and scientific developments and demonstrates the practical use of the knowledge, thus enhancing the grasping ability of the children. It uses the internet, computers, and audio video components to make children understand the basics of a concept and prepare them for their future.

Education is the Key to Success

Education is one of the most important tools for success. It opens the door to new opportunities and builds a path toward a better life. A person with a high qualifications could easily get better job opportunities and meet the organization’s concerned job standards.

Education also changes our perspective toward life and makes us more optimistic. The vast ocean of knowledge gained through education helps us solve bigger problems rationally and positively, making the platform for success in our respective professions.

Education also improves productivity and makes you smarter to accomplish a task using modern technology. It helps you learn the skills required for a job and makes you ahead in your field.

But education is not the only thing to achieve success in life; it is just a step toward success. You also require hard work, strong determination, dedication, and sincerity to get success in life. These things, along with your education, will unlock all the doors of success and help you achieve your life’s aim.

Education makes us gain knowledge and learn ethics and values. It gives an intellectual dimension to our thinking. It makes our decision more logical and rational. Education also makes an individual independent and improves his lifestyle by helping him to earn a better livelihood for himself and his family. Education not only helps to achieve success on an individual level, but it also adds up to the economic growth of a country. It helps to build better citizens, a better society, and a better nation by bringing us out of the darkness of ignorance and enlightening us with knowledge.

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FAQs on Essay on Education

What is called education.

Education is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, values, and understanding through study, experience, or teaching.

Who is the father of education?

Often, Horace Mann is referred to as the father of education because of his advocacy for public education in the 19th century.

Why is education important in life?

Education is vital as it equips us with the tools and knowledge to navigate the world, make informed decisions, and achieve personal and professional success.

Who starts education?

Education starts from the moment a child is born. Parents, caregivers, and communities play an initial role in a child's learning journey before formal schooling begins.

What is education short essay?

Education is the foundation of personal and societal growth. It's more than just academic learning; it shapes our perspectives, values, and actions. Through education, individuals gain the skills and understanding to lead meaningful lives and contribute positively to their communities.

Can we live without education?

While it's possible to survive without formal education, the knowledge and skills we gain from it enhance our ability to thrive, communicate, solve problems, and contribute positively to society.

Is education necessary for success?

Education can be a significant factor in achieving success. However, success can be defined in various ways, and while education often plays a role, determination, hard work, and personal experiences also contribute.

What is the best education quote?

One of the most famous quotes about education is by Nelson Mandela: 'Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.'

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Essay on Education for School Students and Children

500+ words essay on education.

Education is an important tool which is very useful in everybody’s life. Education is what differentiates us from other living beings on earth. It makes man the smartest creature on earth. It empowers humans and gets them ready to face challenges of life efficiently. With that being said, education still remains a luxury and not a necessity in our country. Educational awareness needs to be spread through the country to make education accessible. But, this remains incomplete without first analyzing the importance of education. Only when the people realize what significance it holds, can they consider it a necessity for a good life. In this essay on Education, we will see the importance of education and how it is a doorway to success.

Importance of Education

Education is the most significant tool in eliminating poverty and unemployment . Moreover, it enhances the commercial scenario and benefits the country overall. So, the higher the level of education in a country, the better the chances of development are.

In addition, this education also benefits an individual in various ways. It helps a person take a better and informed decision with the use of their knowledge. This increases the success rate of a person in life.

Subsequently, education is also responsible for providing with an enhanced lifestyle. It gives you career opportunities that can increase your quality of life.

Similarly, education also helps in making a person independent. When one is educated enough, they won’t have to depend on anyone else for their livelihood. They will be self-sufficient to earn for themselves and lead a good life.

Above all, education also enhances the self-confidence of a person and makes them certain of things in life. When we talk from the countries viewpoint, even then education plays a significant role. Educated people vote for the better candidate of the country. This ensures the development and growth of a nation.

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Doorway to Success

To say that education is your doorway to success would be an understatement. It serves as the key which will unlock numerous doors that will lead to success. This will, in turn, help you build a better life for yourself.

An educated person has a lot of job opportunities waiting for them on the other side of the door. They can choose from a variety of options and not be obligated to do something they dislike. Most importantly, education impacts our perception positively. It helps us choose the right path and look at things from various viewpoints rather than just one.

With education, you can enhance your productivity and complete a task better in comparison to an uneducated person. However, one must always ensure that education solely does not ensure success.

It is a doorway to success which requires hard work, dedication and more after which can you open it successfully. All of these things together will make you successful in life.

In conclusion, education makes you a better person and teaches you various skills. It enhances your intellect and the ability to make rational decisions. It enhances the individual growth of a person.

Education also improves the economic growth of a country . Above all, it aids in building a better society for the citizens of a country. It helps to destroy the darkness of ignorance and bring light to the world.

FAQs on Education

Q.1 Why is Education Important?

A.1 Education is important because it is responsible for the overall development of a person. It helps you acquire skills which are necessary for becoming successful in life.

Q.2 How does Education serve as a Doorway to Success?

A.2 Education is a doorway to success because it offers you job opportunities. Furthermore, it changes our perception of life and makes it better.

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A growing share of Americans say affordable housing is a major problem where they live

Prospective homebuyers and renters across the United States have seen prices surge and supply plummet during the coronavirus pandemic . Amid these circumstances, about half of Americans (49%) say the availability of affordable housing in their local community is a major problem, up 10 percentage points from early 2018, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in October 2021.

This Pew Research Center analysis about the levels of concern among Americans about the affordability of housing draws from a Center survey designed to understand Americans’ views and preferences for where they live.

The survey of 9,676 U.S. adults was conducted from Oct. 18 to 24, 2021. Everyone who took part is a member of Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the  ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology .

References to White, Black and Asian adults include only those who are not Hispanic and identify as only one race. Hispanics are of any race.

“Middle income” is defined here as two-thirds to double the median annual family income for panelists on the American Trends Panel. “Lower income” falls below that range; “upper income” falls above it. Read the  methodology  for more details.

References to respondents who live in urban, suburban or rural communities are based on respondents’ answer to the following question: “How would you describe the community where you currently live? (1) urban, (2) suburban, (3) rural.”

Another 36% of U.S. adults said in the fall that affordable housing availability is a minor problem in their community, while just 14% said it is not a problem.

Americans’ concerns about the availability of affordable housing have outpaced worries about other local issues. The percentage of adults who say this is a major problem where they live is larger than the shares who say the same about drug addiction (35%), the economic and health impacts of COVID-19 (34% and 26%, respectively) and crime (22%).

Opinions on the question of housing affordability differ by a variety of demographic factors, including income, race and ethnicity, and age. A majority of adults living in lower-income households (57%) say availability of affordable housing is a major issue in their community, larger than the shares of those in middle- (47%) or upper-income households (42%) who say it is a major problem.

Fewer than half of White adults (44%) say that availability of affordable housing is a major problem where they live – lower than the shares of Black (57%), Hispanic and Asian American adults (both 55%) who say the same.

Adults under 50 are more likely than their older counterparts to say affordable housing availability is a major problem locally. More than half of adults ages 18 to 29 and 30 to 49 say this (55% in both age groups), compared with smaller shares of those 50 to 64 and those 65 and older (44% and 39%, respectively).

Americans’ perceptions of this issue also vary based on where they live. About six-in-ten U.S. adults living in urban areas (63%) say that the availability of affordable housing in their community is a major problem, compared with 46% of suburban residents and 40% of those living in rural areas.

Regardless of income level, city dwellers generally tend to view affordable housing availability as a bigger issue than those living in the suburbs or rural areas. Two-thirds of urban adults with lower household incomes (66%) say affordable housing in their area is a major problem, compared with 56% of suburban dwellers with lower incomes and 52% of those with lower incomes living in rural areas. Among upper-income adults, 58% of those living in urban areas say housing affordability is a major problem, compared with 43% of upper-income Americans living in suburban places and 25% of upper-income rural residents.

There are also regional differences. Around seven-in-ten Americans living in the West (69%) say affordable housing availability is a major problem locally. This compares with 49% of Northeasterners, 44% of Americans in the South and 33% of those living in the Midwest.

Since 2018, there have been increases across demographic groups in the shares who say that the availability of affordable housing in their community is a major problem. For example, 55% of adults under 30 now say this is a major problem – a 16 percentage point rise from the 39% who said so in 2018. The share of adults ages 30 to 49 who hold this view has also risen from 42% in 2018 to 55% last year.

About six-in-ten Democrats and independents who lean to the Democratic Party (59%) said in 2021 that affordable housing availability is a major problem in their community, compared with 36% of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents.

These partisan differences remain when looking separately at those who live in urban, suburban and rural communities. Among urban residents, two-thirds of Democrats (67%) see the availability of affordable housing locally as a major problem, compared with 54% of Republicans in urban areas. In suburban or rural communities, smaller majorities of Democrats hold this view (56% in the suburbs and 54% in rural places), compared with around a third of Republicans in those areas (35% and 31%, respectively).

Note: Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology .

• Economic Conditions
• Economic Inequality
• Homeownership & Renting
• Issue Priorities
• Personal Finances
• Rural, Urban and Suburban Communities

A look at small businesses in the U.S.

State of the union 2024: where americans stand on the economy, immigration and other key issues, americans more upbeat on the economy; biden’s job rating remains very low, online shopping has grown rapidly in u.s., but most sales are still in stores, congress has long struggled to pass spending bills on time, most popular.

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