2.5.3 School dropout after completion of primary school
While the high rate of attrition through primary school years is a source of concern, the transition to secondary school is the first stage of “mass exit” from the formal education system in Kenya despite the institution of free secondary education. Primary to secondary transition increased from 57.3 percent in 2005 to 59.9 percent in 2007 and to 66.9 in 2009, which is attributed to introduction of free secondary education that resumed in 2008 (Oyugi 2010).
The same deprivations responsible non-enrolment in primary school and dropout during primary school years – coupled with new ones that are unique to adolescence – are responsible for lack of entry into secondary school after successful completion of primary school.
Manda and colleagues (2002:3) note that “households evaluate schooling decisions in terms of future income benefits. If these benefits turn out to be too low, then policies advocating the use of educational services as part of the plan for poverty alleviation may be ill conceived. Alternatively, if these rates of return are very high, it could be evidence that individuals are not able to obtain the optimal amount of education”.
Another dimension that has not been given particular attention in educational research is the fact this period coincides albeit loosely with onset of puberty (Biddlecom et al. 2008). This presents a different framework from which the individual and the household can make decisions pertaining to further investment in education in the face of other – and in some cases more appealing – possibilities for children of either gender. According to Manda et al (2002:3) “Declining returns may influence private choices on education as evidenced ...
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... which in turn may lead to early parenthood (Mensch et al. 2001; Lloyd and Mensch 1999). Early reproduction leads to school dropout because parenting is time-intensive and the young parent may not adequately balance schooling and his or her new roles as a parent (Lloyd 2006).
This perspective, however, needs to be tempered with a few caveats. First, there is no evidence that young male parents suffer any educational disadvantage as a result of entering fatherhood early. Second, even young mothers may be able to resume school after pregnancy since close relatives including grandparents, parents and even cousins can take care of the child. Third, government policy to allow school girls to resume school after childbirth ideally reopens the school gates for young mothers to complete their education after the hiatus occasioned by pregnancy and child birth (Lloyd 2006).
Most people in the world thinks that a degree is required almost everywhere. In today’s society it is often thought that if people do not go to college they will not succeed. In Owen and Sawhill’s article “Should Everyone Go To College?”the author respond to people who either go to college and actually earn a degree or people who do not go to college and are actually saving money. The major reason that college is not always the idea for students and their families is the cost. “The cost of college matters as well: the more someone has to pay to attend, the lower the net benefit of attending.” (Owen and Sawhill, 2013, p. 2 ). Although the authors mention the benefits of attending college, they argue that college is only beneficial under certain
Morosely, people hitting poverty level are truly given zero opportunities to advance their education. In America, it 's not common that the A+ education is given to you. It 's not entirely easy to land the greatest job ever with just a high school diploma. But, the cost of college has made the difference between having a job that pays well, and having a job that pays immensely for people living in poverty. Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, childcare, health care, and education. The cost of living per month for a single, childless person in America is $2,372. Galbraith stresses importance of improving housing across the nation.(Galbraith 405) With unemployment rates remaining high, jobs are hard to find in the current economy. Even if people can find work, this does not automatically provide an escape from
Education can help Americans receive a well paying job and lead to less low income families. A quality education allows people to feel accomplished and empowered to get a job that could help their family and their financial needs. According to an article by the Global Partnership, education reduces economic inequality and “If each [employee] from poor and rich backgrounds receive the same education, the disparity between poverty would decrease by 39 percent” (“5 Ways Education Can Help End Extreme Poverty”). In an article by William Bennett, states that American companies estimate that currently there are 3 million jobs available. The downside is that the children are poor and lack the education to fulfill those jobs. The government needs to provide more affordable schooling so that young adults can obtain a higher education to earn a higher salary. Currently, The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 2014 the poverty rate of people twenty-five and older was 12 percent. Figure 1 demonstrates the statistic provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. It clearly displays that Americans who obtain more years of schooling and further their education, display a lower poverty rate. In 2014, those who have obtained no high school diploma show a greater poverty rate in relation to those who do have a bachelor degree. For example, Americans who have no high school diploma have the highest poverty rate at 29 percent. In contrast, Americans who have Bachelor’s degrees or higher, have the lowest poverty rate at 5 percent (“How does level of Education Relate to
It’s considered a rarity now days to walk down a major city street and not come across a single person who is fighting to survive poverty. The constant question is why don’t they go get help, or what did they do to become like this? The question that should be asked is how will America fix this? Over the past year, Americans who completed high school earned fifteen point five percent more per hour than that of dropouts (Bernstein, Is Education the Cure to Poverty). According to Jared Bernstein, in his article “Is Education the Cure to Poverty”, he argues that not only do the poor need to receive a higher education, but to also maximize their skill levels to fill in where work is needed (Is Education the Cure to Poverty). Counter to Bernstein’s argument Robert Reich expresses that instead of attempting to achieve a higher education, high school seniors need to find another way into the American middle class. Reich goes on to say “the emerging economy will need platoons of technicians able to install, service, and repair all the high-tech machinery filling up hospitals, offices, and factories” (Reich, Why College Isn’t (and Shouldn’t Have to be) for Everyone). Danielle Paquette, though, offers an alternative view on higher education. Paquette gives view that it doesn’t matter on the person, rather it’s the type of school and amount of time in school that will determine a person’s
Educational Reform and the Contradictions of Economic Life, that family income and economics plays an
Low- income children 's school districts often lack the money to provide these children with resources, and therefore the children will not get these resources any other way. Devarics (2011) stated, "Only 22 percent of local districts reported offering pre-kindergarten or other early learning programs for low-income children" (para.8). Denying this resource affects the many children who reside where that 78 percent of local districts do not offer pre-kindergarten, because many go to kindergarten not knowing minimal skills required. As a consequence, this postpones their education even further. Moreover, Davarics (2011) also stated, "Many schools aren 't educationally where they need to be, which ultimately means many students won 't graduate ready to succeed in a career or in higher education," (para.11). Many low-income schools do not offer activities such as, art, music or sports, because of the lack of money, facilities, or staff. They are not supplied with the right tools and have poor access to computers and Internet. They also do not offer rigorous courses at many of these schools, and have less qualified, trained, and less experienced staff that cannot proficiently teach such courses. Going to school with these disadvantages, can make these children unmotivated to continue an education where there will be little educational progress.
As a child, living with a single parent can take a toll on academics and behavior. According to McLanahan and Sandefur, “The high school dropout rate of children of divorced parents is roughly two times higher than that of children of which the parents did not divorce” (“Children Divorce Statistics”). This statistic shows that living with a single parent can have a serious effect on a student's life and they are twice as
The wise Malcom X once said, “A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.” The number of high school drop outs is highly increasing due to the diverse obstacles students come cross every day. Many people believe that school is not made for everyone, yet this statement is false. In fact, school is made for everyone since there are numerous programs and institutions around the world to help young adults strive for their dreams. The number of high school drop outs needs to start decreasing since young adults will receive a high paying job if they would receive a degree at a university, will not end up in jail, and be able to start a family with little to no struggles.
In addition to the question of which teenagers become pregnant, interest is shown in the social consequences of early parenthood. Adolescent parents (mostly mothers) may find that they have a "lost or limited opportunity for education." The higher a woman's level of education, the more likely she is to postpone marriage and childbearing. Adolescents with little schooling are often twice as likely as those with more education to have a baby before their twentieth birthday. Some 58% of young women in the United States who receive less than a high school education give birth by the time they are twenty years old, com...
...n in school has many problems, as well as advantages. First, the obvious reason is that having kids in college is a financial burden, along with the stresses of maintaining family life with college life. Secondly, many students that do have children while in school, unfortunately, do not finish their degree.
The ACS Survey also confirmed that, “High school drop outs are nearly nine times more likely to become single mothers than women with bachelor’s degrees.” We already know that high school dropouts do not make much income. So, when a male impregnates a female high school dropout and leaves, it causes her to have financial problems. Most young drop outs with or without children to care for will turn to the government for help on food and
During early years of life, children undergo several developmental changes. Their logical reasoning, attention, perspectives, skills begin to develop. When children go to the elementary school, they begin to integrate knowledge from their interactions with parents and teachers in order to confront the academic challenge. Some children successfully achieve their academic goals; however, some children fail to meet this challenge, which can have a long-lasting negative impact on their success in the school context (Supplee al et., 2006). Thus, parents and school are critical for academic performance and personal development. In a long time, families were responsible for preparing their children with the necessary skills in the early years, and schools took over from there with little input
Family issues, poverty, and homelessness cause students to drop out of high school as it impacts education by placing stressful obstacles in children’s learning path. A National study found, “Overall, 22 percent of children who have lived in poverty do not graduate from high school, compared to 6 percent of those who have never been poor” (National Study). Lack of educational success can also contribute to throwing in the towel on school. Some students may not be receiving the additional supports to give them success in school. Imagine coming home on the bus after a ten hour day and having your ninth grader ask for help on their algebra. If you possessed the skills, which you likely do not, you may be too exhausted to help. In addition there is still dinner to cook and other household chores to complete. It is a daunting request that you may not be able to comply with. “Family poverty is associated with a number of adverse conditions — high mobility and homelessness; hunger and food insecurity; parents who are in jail or absent; domestic violence; drug abuse and other problem…” (Shonkoff & Garner, 2012 as quoted by Rumberger). Poverty is an obstacle to learning even for the brightest children. As a result few can overcome these stumbling
One major effect of teen pregnancy is that the child may be raised by a single parent. While most girls are looking for love and acceptance in sex, many guys are looking for the mere pleasure and are not planning on becoming a teen father. The pressures of high school and hanging out with friends may be overwhelming for some teens, so they just leave. Raising a child as teen is difficult, but raising a child alone would be almost impossible.
One main aspect the article talked about was how a teenager will experience intense emotion once she has missed a period or finds out that she is pregnant. She then has to try to figure out a great deal of things such as: how she feels about being pregnant, how she will tell her parents, what she will tell the father, etc. All of this intense emotional upheaval will interfere with her education and her life greatly. The article also talked about pregnant teens dropping out of high school and according to the article, “having a baby is the leading reason why teenage girls drop out of school. Less than 50 percent of all teens that become pregnant will graduate from high school” (Theobald). Another thing the article talked about was that a pregnant teen may also suffer discrimination or ridicule from schoolmates, teachers, and administrators. She could also be discriminated against when looking for a job. She may also be kicked out of or feel unwanted or like an outcast from activities and groups she was apart before she got pregnant. The article said this about the physical effects, “once you are pregnant, there is no easy way out physically” (Theobald). Pregnant teen girls may have a normal, healthy pregnancy if they are healthy before becoming pregnant, go to the doctor for pre-natal