Putting Children First: Session 1.5 Jo Boyden - Child poverty, youth and transitions to work [23-Oct-17]
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This document summarizes key findings from the Young Lives study about child poverty in Ethiopia. It finds that early childhood experiences have significant impacts on outcomes later in life. Many children in Ethiopia experience stunting, with over half of stunted children at age 12 no longer stunted by age 19. However, gains are greater when recovery starts earlier. The document also examines trends in education and work for children at age 12 in Ethiopia, finding increases in time spent working, particularly for rural boys, as well as gaps in school enrollment between rural and urban and boys and girls. It emphasizes the need for sustained investment in children's development and opportunities from early childhood through adolescence.
Putting Children First: Session 1.5 Jo Boyden - Child poverty, youth and transitions to work [23-Oct-17]
- 1. ‘Child poverty, youth and transitions to work’ Professor Jo Boyden, University of Oxford International conference ‘Putting children first: identifying solutions and taking action to tackle child poverty and inequality in Africa’ UNCC Addis Ababa
- 2. What is the starting point for the SDGs? • Major reductions in infant mortality & communicable diseases • Unprecedented progress in education access • Economic growth, expanded infrastructure & public services Yet, • In 2016 close to a quarter of all children under age 5 worldwide were chronically undernourished (IFPRI) • Education relevance & quality low • School retention & outcomes poor • Rising inequalities between children within countries, not just between them
- 3. The SDG challenge: moving from children surviving to children thriving • Children thriving requires both economic growth & support to human development • How to support the largest group of young people ever? • How to ensure that economic growth is sustained, inclusive & benefits children? • How to improve service quality & impact whilst also sustaining universal access?
- 4. Evidence from Young Lives • 12,000 children in Ethiopia, India (Andhra Pradesh & Telangana), Peru & Vietnam • 80 sites – rural & urban • Pro-poor sample, equal numbers of boys & girls, very diverse socially • 5 survey rounds & 4 waves of qualitative data over 15 years (started 2001) • Two age groups: interviewed at the same ages, initially aged 1 & 8 years, currently aged 15 & 22
- 5. Early-life experience accounts for so much of what comes later
- 6. Multiple determinants of stunting co-occur, with cumulative effect Ethiopia: • Access to sanitation & clean water low, especially for the poorest: • higher stunting & lower scores in cognitive tests throughout childhood & adolescence • Rural areas: more livelihood shocks due to extreme climate events & poor service access • Low levels of household wealth & caregiver education • Impacts are exacerbated by pressure points: illness, job loss
- 7. • Improved environment in early childhood: Focus on health, nutrition, sanitation & early stimulation & care • If not in place, very little will shift chances for the poorest • Expanded child sensitive social protection, starting with the youngest • Remove the household constraints which hamper child development. • Scale up preschool programmes: • Where these are weak, consider reception year prior to Grade 1 at scale Integrated programmes are essential to ensure children thrive from the start
- 8. • About 1 in 3 children were stunted at age 12 – over half of these children were no longer stunted by age 19 • Around 70% were not stunted at 12, but 1 in 7 of these children had become stunted by 19 • Most of the change happened before age 15 (timing of puberty likely to be important) Why does this matter? • Those who had physically recovered by 15 had better test scores than those who remained stunted • But gains are greater when recovery starts early & is sustained. Yet there is recovery & faltering in growth in middle childhood & adolescence
- 9. • This requires supply side investments: • To improve young people’s readiness for decent work • To improve service quality & access • As well as attention to demand side: • Access to decent work for young people • Needs greater understanding of children’s everyday lives & realities So, sustained investment in middle childhood & adolescence is key
- 10. • Education aspirations extremely high: • A significant majority of caregivers expect their children to go to university – & so do most children • Rural/ Urban divide: – part-time schooling in rural areas & enrolment lower – rural children had completed only 2.9 grades by age 12, as compared to 4.2 for urban children Comparing the younger & older cohorts at age 12: • Boys are falling increasingly behind girls: – boys were less likely to be enrolled, with the gender gap widening between 2006 and 2013 – in the older group, a full 60% of boys, compared to just 12 % of girls, were overage for their grade at age 12 Everyday realities, Ethiopia: education trends, at age 12
- 11. • Urban boys & girls were working significantly fewer hours in 2013 than in 2006 • In rural areas gendered differences in time at work grew: by 2013 girls & urban children were working less, but the figure for boys remained constant • Trends also depend on types of work: • Rural boys & girls worked significantly longer hours on family farms/enterprises by 2013 • Chores & caring: made up 20 minutes less of daily routine in 2013 • Urban girls spent less time on domestic tasks in 2013, possibly because of greater attention to schooling. Ethiopia: work trends, at age 12
- 12. Zeytuni, Ethiopia: work & school compete • Fewer boys & girls enrolled in school in 2013 than 2006 & fewer boys enrolled than girls • A rise in hours worked daily between 2006 and 2013. Boys working longer than girls • stone-crushing – tough, unpopular work; boys • rise in cobble carving – younger boys & girls self-employed - popular work • Mesih’s mother: ‘In the past, there was nothing called a job. Now all girls & boys do some kind of work…they are hired in farming as daily labourers to do weeding … while boys can get a job in crushing stones. Now our village has been changed so it’s good for children at any time...’
- 13. • Risk mitigation is a necessity for most households: • All household members contribute to household survival according to their capacity • Children must meet both immediate household needs & aspirations for a better future • Work is also vital for learning gendered roles & securing entry into future employment Societal transformation: dramatic & ongoing - today’s young face competing aspirations & demands as never before
- 14. • School is thought to facilitate individual advancement & household social mobility • But many children do not spend much time in school • Many children experience violence at school • Many struggle with competing demands on their time, especially the poorest Competing aspirations & demands…..
- 15. So, what are priorities for middle childhood & adolescence • Education reform: Prioritise teacher training & teacher support particularly in the primary phase • Improve school environment: Violence reduction, school feeding to support learning particularly for the poorest • Relevant curricula: Children & families invest in education thinking it will pay off – so it must be relevant to opportunities • Jobs, jobs, jobs: A lack of ‘transformed’ economic opportunity undermines intergenerational change & investments in schooling
- 16. www.younglives.org.uk @YLOxford • methodology & research papers • child profiles & photos • e-newsletter • datasets (UK Data Archive) FINDING OUT MORE