Effect of Poverty on Children Education in Primary Schools - Dissertation Example

John Dewey (1972), the great American educator of the early 20th century put more into what Education should be when he stated that “Education is a process of the construction and reconstitution of experiences, giving it a more socialized value through the medium to increased individual efficiency.” Essentially, the philosopher’s point is that education should be a continuous process that should continue in the life of a person as long as the person has the consciousness to learn. It is not surprising therefore that even outside the confines of schools, there are several experiences around us from which we learn. Even before the introduction of formal education, education was deeply rooted in British society. The people of old had an aim of developing the young ones socially, morally, spiritually, and intellectually. Later, formal education started with the growing need for expanded formal education across Europe (Mustapha, 2000). It has been identified that “In Britain, during the Middles Ages, formal education was already taking shape. Schools ranged from those organized by the local parish to those connected to Cathedrals, chantries and monasteries” (Know Britain, 2009). This was because there was no centralized system that controlled the general operation of schools across the country. Regardless of this limitation, the effort to get formal education rooted was still being pursued because local dwellers saw the need to be at par with other compatriots in other parts of the world (Mustapha, 2000). As colonization and the need to spread religion were also gaining prominence, there was also the need to use formal education as a tool for spreading the Christian faith and colonizing the people of West Africa and other colonies.

After this, many measures were put in place by prominent governments and other political parties just to boost the quality of Education in Britain. Their main purpose was to improve the quality of education and to develop every individual physically, mentally, spiritually, morally, socially, and culturally as instruments of change. The aim was also to prepare everyone to acquire skills or vocation to use in earning his or her living in the society. Invariably, therefore, it is being said that formal education was seen as essential for creating self-sufficiency among the citizenry and bridging the gap between the rich and the poor. Given the above, the United Kingdom, the British Education service, Educational stakeholders, and Non-governmental bodies have championed policies that aim at making education very affordable and as much as possible, free. Mention can be made of some interventions such as the Free Grammar Schools, which were introduced as far back as the days of King Edward VI (Know England, 2009). Further mention can also be made of various scholarship programs in the United Kingdom; most of which are government-financed and the Free Compulsory Education System.

Regardless of all the interventions mentioned above, the United Kingdom cannot boast of a 100% literacy rate; as the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (2011) put the literacy rate of the United Kingdom at 99%. So apart from the fact that universal education in the United Kingdom is a mirage, most educationists have argued that it is not about making education compulsory or tuition-free. These educationists hold the view that the socio-economic conditions of parents outside the period of going to school go a long way to deciding the kind of education that will be received. This is to lay the point that free education does not necessarily guarantee quality education and that quality education can be expensive in Britain (Lampard, 2003). Another school of thought also argues that the free education system does not cater to the entire needs of schooling and that the system does not even deserve the name ‘free’ education. These people argue the terms of the fact that for a student go through the free education system, a student would still need other accompanying funding such as feeding transportation, and clothing. The bottom line, therefore, is that effective education cannot take place in Britain amid poverty even though affordable and free education are trumpeted in Britain.

Islington is a small community in London. It is described as the second smallest borough in London. This notwithstanding, this small community houses some 200,000 people (All in London, 2011). This makes Islington a densely populated part of London. The density of the region is not the only social problem facing the people but then there is a relatively high rate of poverty in the Islington Borough. Such poverty is characterized and accompanied by a high rate of inflation as it is noted that in December 2000, the average house price was £220,000. As of December 2010, there had been a price increase of 99.55%, pushing the price to £439,000. This means that living condition in Islington is poor as the cost of living in the region is high. As with all areas plagued with poverty, education is highly affected as a result of poverty in Islington. Children in Primary Schools are the worse hit when it comes to the effect of poverty in the region. The researcher has also observed that a lot of children who complete Primary School do not match up in terms of academic performance with pupils from other parts of London. Also, most of the girls give birth in their early teens and become school dropouts. Most of the boys became fathers to many children. These are all attributed to poverty as children are pushed into lifestyles that make them earners very early.