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<channel>
	<title>Equity for Children</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.equityforchildren.org/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.equityforchildren.org</link>
	<description>Equity for Children seeks to engage students, scholars, practitioners, governmental / non-profit organizations and the media with promoting awareness, increasing knowledge and advocating action about issues affecting equity for children and the realization of their rights.</description>
	<language>en</language>
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		<item>
		<title><![CDATA[The Second Annual Latin American Colloquium: Call for Security Policies that Guarantee the Rights of Children ]]></title>
		<link>http://www.equityforchildren.org/the-second-annual-latin-american-colloquium-call-for-security-policies-that-guarantee-the-rights-of-children-990/index.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.equityforchildren.org/the-second-annual-latin-american-colloquium-call-for-security-policies-that-guarantee-the-rights-of-children-990/index.html</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon 06 2013</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Equity for Children</dc:creator>
		<category><![CDATA[Child Rights]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.equityforchildren.org/the-second-annual-latin-american-colloquium-call-for-security-policies-that-guarantee-the-rights-of-children-990</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[

Nearly 150 people, including representatives of governments and social organizations, students, child experts and human rights, discussed the impact of security policies and violence on the rights of children and adolescents in Brazil and Latin America.

On the 21st and 22nd of March, the campus of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) hosted the meeting with a central focus on the concepts of security and human rights that underpin public policy and social struggles in the region. 

The discussion highlighted the difficulty of giving visibility to the impact of security policies and crime on the lives of children and adolescents in the region. It is well known, for instance, that the complex phenomenon of drug trafficking is affecting children increasingly early in their youth, but it is imperative to obtain concrete numbers and facts about the disappearance and abduction of children and adolescents for trafficking networks. In like manner, while studies have been elucidated the impact of the prison system on Black youth, we must still deepen our understanding of the effects on early childhood of those who are born and raised in prisons. 

Among the many reflections discussed rose the need to transform existing security policies based on racial constructs and notions of national security.  Also considered was the need to stress the urgency of overcoming the notion of crime as a police issue alone, and the need to direct action toward security policies that guarantee the right to the city, incorporating demands and needs that havent been legitimated, and to enable the voice and participation of silenced stakeholders.

Lastly, the conference highlighted the existing challenges to generate advocacy measures directed at the media and the public in general in order to bring an end to the discrimination against marginal sectors of the population. In this same context panelists discussed ways to deconstruct key forms of visibility of poor, Black, and indigenous children and adolescents as criminals. Carefully addressed was the question of how to develop a more complex view of the intricate problem of organized crime and violence in the private sphere which so often remains invisible to police action. 

Axes of Debate

Among the discussion topics, panelists and attendants addressed the violation of rights and the absence of social guarantees that result from the militarization and policing of communities. Expressed in different countries in the region, this phenomenon arises as a consequence of security policies grounded on notions of national security rather than public safety. Also to blame are the dissimilar interventions for distinct social classes and territories, all of which creates a perception of insecurity and falls short of charting a real map of criminality in the region. 

Another focus of discussion at the conference was the issue of discrimination, racism and the multiple forms violence against peasant families and poor, Black, and indigenous children. In the same context, testimonies emerged about how racism structures the social, economic and human relations in the region, and how discrimination starts early in school.

Also discussed were matters of how state action privileged investments in urban infrastructure for tourism, deepening the vulnerability and criminalization of vulnerable social sectors, in the context of mega-events such as the World Cup and the Olympics.

Also discussed was the complicated situation of children and adolescents living on the streets of Brazil and the human rights violations which result from compulsory confinement. Highlighted was the need for more creative ways of caring for families directly, incorporating the gender dimension to avoid shaping processes which fault and negatively impact women. 

Lastly, the discussion revealed the problems implicit in demands to lower the age of criminal responsibility, which are grounded on a concept of justice that is based on revenge. It also highlighted concerns about cases of family violence that fall outside the map of security policies.

To read the original article in Spanish from our sister organization Equidad para la Infancia, click here.]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Countdown to 2015: Maternal, Newborn & Child Survival]]></title>
		<link>http://www.equityforchildren.org/countdown-to-2015-maternal-newborn-y-child-survival-987/index.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.equityforchildren.org/countdown-to-2015-maternal-newborn-y-child-survival-987/index.html</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed 01 2013</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Equity for Children</dc:creator>
		<category><![CDATA[Children, Health & the Environment]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.equityforchildren.org/countdown-to-2015-maternal-newborn-y-child-survival-987</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Building a Future for Women and Children

In the five minutes it takes to read this page, 3 women will lose their lives to complications of pregnancy or childbirth, 60 others will suffer debilitating injuries and infection due to the same causes, and 70 children will die, nearly 30 of them newborn babies. Countless other babies will be stillborn or suffer potentially long-term consequences of being born prematurely. The vast majority of these deaths and disabilities are preventable.

During these same five minutes, however, countless lives will be saved. A baby, fed only breastmilk for her first six months of life, will avoid diarrhoeal disease. Another will survive pneumonia because he received appropriate antibiotics. A child will avoid malaria because she sleeps under an insecticide-treated net. Another, exposed to measles, will not succumb to disease because he has been vaccinated. An adolescent, not yet physically, emotionally or financially ready to have a child, will receive family planning services, including counselling to prevent unintended pregnancy; a new mother will choose to delay her next pregnancy until a safer time. A pregnant, HIV-positive woman will receive treatment that protects her health and that of her baby. An expectant mother, at a routine antenatal care visit, will receive treatment for the high blood pressure that can threaten her life; another will give birth at a health facility where skilled birth attendants save her life when she experiences postpartum bleeding; yet another will receive antenatal corticosteroids to develop her babys lungs to ensure a better chance of survival. And a newborn and her mother will receive lifesaving treatment for infection within the first week after birth.

The countdown to the 2015 Millennium Development Goal deadline is a race against time, a race to add to the list of lives saved and subtract from the tally of maternal, newborn and child deaths. Each life saved creates infinite possibilitiesfor a healthy, productive individual; for a stable, thriving family; for a stronger community and nation; for a better world. And interventions that improve  maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition contribute to a future generation of healthier, smarter and more productive adults.

This report highlights country progressand obstacles to progresstowards achieving Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health. Countdown to 2015 focuses on evidence-based solutionshealth interventions proven to save livesand on the health systems, policies, financing and broader contextual factors that affect the equitable delivery of these interventions to women and children. Countdown focuses on data, because building a better future and protecting the basic human right to life require understanding where things stand right now and how they got to where they are today. And Countdown focuses on what happens in countrieswhere investments are made or not made, policies are implemented or not implemented, health services are received or not received and women and children live or die.
]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Special Updates from Equity for Children's Partner: Dr. Charles Watters]]></title>
		<link>http://www.equityforchildren.org/special-updates-from-equity-for-children's-partner-dr-charles-watters-985/index.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.equityforchildren.org/special-updates-from-equity-for-children's-partner-dr-charles-watters-985/index.html</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri 03 2013</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Equity for Children</dc:creator>
		<category><![CDATA[]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.equityforchildren.org/special-updates-from-equity-for-children's-partner-dr-charles-watters-985</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Department of Childhood Studies at Rutgers University is a multidisciplinary department which puts the issues, concepts and debates that surround the study of children and childhoods at the center of its research and teaching missions. Through this multidisciplinary approach, the Department aims both to theorize and historicize the figure of the child and to situate the study of children and childhoods within contemporary cultural and global contexts.  Work in the Department is multidisciplinary in scope and purpose and utilizes both humanistic and social science perspectives on children and their representations. In 2013 the Department will have the first PhD graduates in Childhood Studies in the USA. 

The department grew out of the Center for Children and Childhood Studies at Rutgers. As the Department has developed, offering undergraduate and graduate programs, Dr. Watters is working to give the Center a distinctive international focus as the Research Center on Global Childhoods.  The Center will be a meeting point for international partnerships aimed at deepening our understanding of the position of children around the globe. It will engage in interdisciplinary research that engages children as partners in the research process and is aimed at enhancing their well-being and participation. The Research Center on Global Childhoods will be a meeting point for scholarship across the globe and will include a visiting fellows program whereby scholars from across the globe will spend time developing and consolidating their research programs at Rutgers. Equity for Children and The New School will be core partners in the Center.  

The Rutgers Department of Childhood Studies is hosting a conference on Children and Migration, to be held on the Rutgers-Camden campus November 19-21, 2013. This conference will explore themes such as the history of children&rsquo;s migration, the global migration of children, and the experiences of migrant children in various contexts. This is an interdisciplinary conference, and proposals are invited for papers in all disciplines, including (but not limited to) psychology, sociology, anthropology, history, literature, public health, and law. 

Proposals for papers should be submitted by June 30, 2013. 

This conference represents an opportunity to advance and celebrate work in a growing and globally relevant area of study.  

The conference will be followed by a specialist policy oriented workshop on undocumented children to be co-hosted by Equity for Children and the Research Center on Global Childhoods in New York on November 22, 2013.   

As department chair and Center director Dr. Watters has had a very busy year, not only within the US, but in working internationally in developing partnerships across the globe.  Central to these partnerships is one developed with Equity for Children. The partnership has developed opportunities for creative synergies between cutting edge research and policy and practice based initiatives with a range of key agencies. In 2012 the Department of Childhood Studies hosted Professor Jo Boyden, Director of Young Lives at Oxford University who gave the departments first formal annual childhood studies lecture. Dr. Boyden&rsquo;s visit to Rutgers was also an opportunity for sharing a round table organized by Equity for Children on the theme of Equity and Action to Enhance Child Well-Being with colleagues from UNICEF, the World Bank and The New School. 

The collaborative links developed between Rutgers and Brazilian academic institutions are also generating opportunities for research partnerships. In October 2012 Dr. Watters visited Brasilia and had a series of meetings with senior colleagues at the Catholic University of Brasilia and the University of Brasilia on developing international links. This was followed by a successful research bid to support collaborative links for faculty and students with the Catholic University of Brasilia. This work will continue to develop in 2013 and 2014. Dr. Watters has continued to develop his role as international advisor to the Nordic Research Group on Refugee Children. In November 2012 he give a lecture at the Swedish Cultural Museum in Gothenburg on the plight of asylum seeking children in Europe with Paul Hunt the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health. His 2012 and 13 publications include contributions to the International Handbook of Migration Studies (Routledge), the Handbook of Child Well-Being (Springer), Mental Health and Human Rights (Oxford) as well as further translated publications in Norwegian and Portuguese.  He has  acted as external reviewer for a range of publications including a forthcoming book from the Young Lives project. Dr. Watters has been developing the International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care published by Emerald. This will include a special edition in 2012 focusing issues of migration in Brazil including child migration.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.equityforchildren.org/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title><![CDATA[The Effects of Pre-school Attendance on the Cognitive Development of Urban Children Aged 5 and 8 Years: Evidence from Ethiopia]]></title>
		<link>http://www.equityforchildren.org/the-effects-of-preschool-attendance-on-the-cognitive-development-of-urban-children-aged-5-and-8-years-evidence-from-ethiopia-983/index.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.equityforchildren.org/the-effects-of-preschool-attendance-on-the-cognitive-development-of-urban-children-aged-5-and-8-years-evidence-from-ethiopia-983/index.html</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu 02 2013</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Equity for Children</dc:creator>
		<category><![CDATA[Monitoring & Evaluation]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.equityforchildren.org/the-effects-of-preschool-attendance-on-the-cognitive-development-of-urban-children-aged-5-and-8-years-evidence-from-ethiopia-983</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Summary: This paper, using data from the Young Lives longitudinal survey in Ethiopia, examines the effects of pre-school attendance on the cognitive development of urban children at the ages of 5 and 8 (measured by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and the Cognitive Development Assessment  Quantitative test (CDA-Q)). We used propensity score matching techniques in order to estimate the impact of pre-school. We also substantiated the analysis using various empirical approaches including ordinary least squares and instrumental variable estimation methods. Our results show that pre-school attendance has a statistically significant positive impact on the cognitive development of children at the ages of both 5 and 8 years, with the bigger impact at the latter age. Moreover, pre-school attendance has also a positive and statistically significant effect on primary school enrolment and progression through grades. Despite the fact that early childhood education has immense importance for childrens cognitive development, public investment in pre-school education is currently limited in Ethiopia, with the private sector taking the key role, which may exacerbate the inequality that exists between rich and poor (and between urban and rural areas).

Therefore, given the relatively low rate of pre-school attendance and the low quality of basic education, the Government needs to reconsider its education priorities so as to invest more in early childhood education.

Original Source: http://www.younglives.org.uk/publications/WP/effects-pre-school-attendance-cognitive-development-urban-children.]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Poverty, Needs and Rights: Definitions in Dispute ]]></title>
		<link>http://www.equityforchildren.org/poverty-needs-and-rights-definitions-in-dispute-981/index.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.equityforchildren.org/poverty-needs-and-rights-definitions-in-dispute-981/index.html</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue 30 2013</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Equity for Children</dc:creator>
		<category><![CDATA[Child Poverty & Wellbeing]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.equityforchildren.org/poverty-needs-and-rights-definitions-in-dispute-981</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
For centuries, the issue of poverty has been woven into a complex web that includes the production and distribution of goods as well as the power relations of our social, political and economic environment.  The issue involves both the political and the social sciences including economics, becoming a territorial dispute in which it is impossible to assay a single, neutral language. 

The present issue of Voices in the Phoenix is dedicated to these issues and proposes a debate that is both pluralistic and polyphonic.

This introduction explores a vast field of conceptual and methodological discussion rather than risking preconceived or already-constructed definitions.  The reflections of the sociologist Georg Simmel on "poverty" and "the poor, for example, present an interesting starting point.  Prior to stabilizing and fixing the meaning of this category, we are reminded that "poverty" involves social relations that change over time and that are based on assistance or on the extension of social protection.  Defining the target populations for such interventions is not an obvious exercise.  Defined as both absolute poverty and relative poverty, comparisons and calculations that posit thresholds of need and satisfaction are at stake.  If, as Karl Marx argued, one of the peculiarities of the labor force with respect to other means of production is that the determination of its exchange value involves a cultural-historic factor linked to the set of goods that define a "market basket", the same applies to the populations that make up the "reserve army of labor", the "marginal masses" or the "excluded".

However, the relational and historical character of the manner in which societies have designated and defined the problem of poverty should not be reduced to a purely relativist logic, destined to sink into pure nominalism. On the contrary, it should deal more honestly with the complexities that make up the question of material needs and their thresholds, as well as those involving participation and inclusion in society without discrimination of any kind or character.  

Indeed, all this refers to a nodal aspect of human nature, a condition that produces its own material, social and civic life. This production includes goods that satisfy immediate needs, as much as others that tolerate more mediation. Yet, even more basic needs have experienced different modes of satisfaction and, therefore, historical definition. Far from pretending to dissolve this tension, it seems more prudent to keep the tension alive in order to do justice to that which exceeds the various historical and cultural boundaries of "needs": our basic vulnerability. Far from the liberal fantasies of Robinson Crusoe, we alone cannot produce our material life.  On the contrary, we are "doomed" to social interdependence.

Poverty, then, is not so much a relation with (the absence of) certain goods as it is a social, economic and political relationship.   Even prior to becoming an object of the social sciences, the issue of poverty has been subject to diverse representations of common sense. This has been the case across the ages with respect to its definition, causes, consequences and the ways in which to confront it. These ideas are based on certain assumptions that are explicit, but also on others that are not visible. The reflection on this latter point highlights the network of relations about knowledge and power that come together in the construction of poverty as a problem, in the designation of the affected populations and the desirable solutions -- constructions which are often presented as already given and evident. 

If on the one hand the question of poverty is inextricably linked to the demarcation of needs when being proposed as an object of state intervention, it is then re-inscribed as a matter of definition of the right to satisfy them This is not without tensions, as the concept of "needs" is not always consistent with a broader definition of poverty as a violation of human rights and capacity building.

The predicament of poverty in modernity has emerged as indissolubly linked to the notion of citizenship and the idea that proclaims all men free and equal. The definition of this equality and the rights ascribed to it has resulted in a central political problem for our societies. The circumscription of universal citizenship to the field of civil rights was soon superseded by various struggles and mobilization seeking to encompass political and social rights. In turn, the political and social rights have resulted in a new source of political disputes about the precise definition of what the state should ensure, from employment to wellbeing and consumption. Similarly, the definition of the various subjects of these rights would always be problematic.  In light of the recurring problem of the scarcity of resources, it would be derived from constructing a series of priorities that place some needs over others. Thus, the extension of citizenship and rights entails the thorny question of their limits and ranking in the very likely case they result contradictory.

Until recently, the scope of citizenship question seemed condemned to a fate of restrictions and limitations based on the progress of the so-called Washington Consensus and neo-liberal recipes.  These pointed to the market and to close communities of family and neighborhood as rightful indices of lifes material aspects.  As a counterpoint, Latin America and Argentina display the States emergence as a relevant actor on social assistance, social protection, the formation of labor markets and, in some cases, the market in general. In this scenario the State emerges not only as a guarantor and protector of economic and social rights, but also as an active promoter of progress and change.  

The analyses of these processes, present in many of the papers in this issue of Voices in the Phoenix, expose reflections that also serve as a warning: the modes of managing social issues are always open to historical contingency and strategic re-articulation in light of the transformative power of relations in various fields. Indeed, the definitions of "rights" included under "citizenship" are not "already given".  They involve conceptual and fundamentally political disputes. It is the convergence of many actors that characterizes the subject of poverty, among them social science experts: economists, anthropologists, social workers, statisticians, doctors, lawyers, sociologists, historians and speech analysts.  All of them and others have had something to say about the issue of poverty that brings us all together. In this special, two-volume issue of Voices in the Phoenix, we find traces of these and other voices. The various articles invite us to think about the complexity of a problem that is marked by disputes.

Now, it is important to note that the inescapable quantitative and qualitative multidimensionality of poverty does not attempt to conceive the construction of this problem as elusive and ubiquitous. If, as we indicated in the beginning, poverty is primarily a social relation, it is then inscribed in a larger network centered on the articulation of capital and labor. In different conceptual terms, Robert Castel argues that the problem of poverty is one of the many and most urgent symptoms of the social issues, that paradoxical tension emerging from the contradictions between an ideal based on notions of equality and freedom and the submersion of a part of the population in conditions that threaten not only their citizenship but their human condition (the manner in which it is socially defined) as a whole. Lastly, if "poverty" is a social relation as we have stated, one of its most important links will be with "wealth". 

The articles in this special issue of Voices in the Phoenix invite us to reflect on various facets of the problem, its causes and its singularities. We have divided the work into two volumes with four axes of discussion. 

The papers in the first axis, "Society and Poverty: A Historical Perspective", address the definition of this phenomenon as a fundamental problem of the capitalist mode of production in general, and more specifically the political and social institutional singularities that characterize the case of Argentina.  The work of E. Grassi, L. Golbert and S. Álvarez Leguizamón in this volume, and JL Moreno, Vommaro and C. Daniel, P. Aguilar and A. Grondona in the second, take up the history of definitions of poverty over the last two centuries, addressing its overlaps and contradictions as an object of diagnostic and political intervention. 

The second axis, "Diagnosis of the Present: Income Distribution: Market and State", proposes a study of the structural macro-dimensions, as well as of the economic and social protection policies that have influenced the recent evolution of poverty in Argentina.  Here, the works of L. Beccaria and R. Maurizio, R. Cortés, B. Kliksberg E. Cimillo and G. Calvi in the first volume, as in M. Novik, H. Palomino, A. Marshall, S. Hintze and C. Danani, E. Roca and J. Lindenboim in the following, contain reflections of the labor market, an essential consideration when addressing the issue of poverty.

The third axis, "Poverty as a Constellation of Social Problems", presents a plurality of issues associated with concerns about poverty. In the first volume, the papers include those by S. Murillo, D. Born, E. Delamónica and A. Minujín, R. Mercer, M. Di Virgilio and C. Rodriguez, while the second includes articles by A. Capuano, V. Llobet and A. Minujín, E. Faur and E. Jelin, G. Kessler and C. Arza. Each article address different perspectives on the unequal distribution of wealth and, sometimes, the manner in which addressing the problem intensifies its severity. "City", "childhood", "health", "housing" and "education" form a heterogeneous and incomplete list of themes that further describe the world of poverty and the state interventions meant to address it.  

Finally, the fourth axis, "Current Debates and Alternatives", presents controversies surrounding the forms of intervention on behalf of the issue of poverty. In this volume, the block includes works by JL Coraggio well as by M. Bekerman and M. Palomino. These texts provide us with an interesting picture of the alternatives currently under discussion, particularly those associated with the world of the social economy.  The second volume includes contributions by P. Arcidiácono and C. Zibecchi, N. Borghini, C. Bressano and A. Logiudice, as wells as J. Martínez Franzoni, who offer compelling debates about the universalization of social protection, its scope and limitations.  

We hope the interdisciplinary format of both volumes results in a tempting invitation to the reader interested in a problem that calls upon us, always, with a sense of urgency. 

To read the original article in Spanish, download Issue No. 22 of Voces en el Fénix in its entirely by clicking here.]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title><![CDATA[The Centre for the Study of Childhood and Youth Global Childhoods Group]]></title>
		<link>http://www.equityforchildren.org/the-centre-for-the-study-of-childhood-and-youth-global-childhoods-group-979/index.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.equityforchildren.org/the-centre-for-the-study-of-childhood-and-youth-global-childhoods-group-979/index.html</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon 29 2013</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Equity for Children</dc:creator>
		<category><![CDATA[]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.equityforchildren.org/the-centre-for-the-study-of-childhood-and-youth-global-childhoods-group-979</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[



The Global Childhoods group is one of several research interest groups established by the Centre for the Study of Childhood and Youth at the University of Sheffield (http://www.cscy.group.shef.ac.uk).  These groups aim to provide networking and collaboration opportunities for academics, researchers and postgraduate students working on a specific area.

The Global Childhoods group in particular aims to bring together researchers from a range of different perspectives whose research methodology and conceptual framework primarily focuses on childhood and children in the global south in order to facilitate networking and collaboration in both the short and long terms. 

This mailing list was established for the purpose of bringing people together virtually to share information and network. In addition to this we have now set up a physical group of researchers working not only at the University of Sheffield, but also in other universities which are part of the White Rose University Consortium (Sheffield, York and Leeds) or in universities in the Yorkshire region more generally. This group has been meeting once a month in Sheffield over the last couple of months and these sessions are based on sharing our work with each other, exploring areas of mutual interest and engaging in discussion on issues affecting aspects of childhood in the Global South. 

The group is open to all academics, researchers and postgraduate research students.

Therefore, if you are in the Yorkshire region and you would like to join the group or find out more about the group please contact: a.twum-danso@sheffield.ac.uk (Afua Twum-Danso Imoh).

To learn more about the Centre for the Study of Childhood and Youth: http://www.cscy.group.shef.ac.uk/.]]></description>
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		<title><![CDATA[Universal Pre-K: An Important Asset for Child Development]]></title>
		<link>http://www.equityforchildren.org/universal-prek-an-important-asset-for-child-development-973/index.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.equityforchildren.org/universal-prek-an-important-asset-for-child-development-973/index.html</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri 29 2013</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Equity for Children</dc:creator>
		<category><![CDATA[Children's Education]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.equityforchildren.org/universal-prek-an-important-asset-for-child-development-973</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Evolution of Pre-Kindergarten in the United States

The Universal Pre Kindergarten debate has emerged at the forefront of education discourse since President Obamas State of the Union Address on February 12, 2013.  Policies for early childhood development such as universal Pre-K are crucial for overall social and economic development, as they are fundamental to a childs physical, social, emotional and intellectual development in the early years.1

Recognizing early childhood education as a priority in the United States began after the declaration of The War on Poverty in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.2 Thereafter, experts gathered to create a child development program aimed at assisting disadvantaged preschool aged children and to help overall community development.  The push for quality universal pre-K advanced further because of solid evidence that intervention at an early age is most effective in preventing disabilities and preparing children for primary school learning. In addition to scientific evidence and demonstrated benefits of an early start to a childs education, pre-kindergarten education grew as more women entered the workforce, as sole financial providers or as part of a dual income family.3 In 1975, the labor force participation rate of women with children surpassed the rate of women without children in a shift toward more dual earning households.4 Women presently make up half of the workforce and early childhood centers and day care centers are crucial.  The poverty rate for women is at the highest in two decades, women lost ground in the Great Recession and basic necessities like child care and housing remain unaffordable for too many, expressed a spokesperson for the Center for American Progress.5

The Supporting Evidence

The argument in favor of universal pre-kindergarten education is supported by studies about its positive benefits. These studies and the extensive literature show that initiatives to provide pre kindergarten education jump-start a childs learning and greatly benefit children faced with the challenges of poverty.  Pre-kindergarten programs serve as a way to level the playing field and begin to tackle the issue of equity. 

Not only does a pre-k education aid in the most crucial years of a childs brain growth and development, but the benefits of receiving this education appear down the road as well.  The Perry Project study of 1962, for example, demonstrates that children in such programs perform well on content-knowledge tests while showing positive socialization and a greater ability to work well in a structured environment.6 In general it has been proven that at the time of high school enrollment, those with a pre-kindergarten education have higher achievement levels, tend to spend more time on homework and express more that they value their education.  As shown in the Perry Project study, adults who have participated in Pre-K programs tend to be employed and hold jobs more, earn higher income, manage their money more responsibly, account for lower divorce rates and reduced rates of crime.7 Furthermore, The Perry Project study showed that fathers who had participated in pre-school education programs were more willing to play a role in raising their children.  Both men and women who had participated tended to maintain positive relationships with their families. 

From an economic standpoint, long term results show that having programs in place, particularly for the disadvantaged population, saves money for the public over time.  For every $1 invested in high-quality pre-K education, $7 is eventually saved through a reduction in crime and high-school drop out rates.8 The universality of quality pre-kindergarten education also makes a great contribution to equality and fairness. 

Is Universal Pre-kindergarten an Investment without Sufficient Return?

Despite arguments in favor of universal pre-kindergarten education, naysayers insist that achieving the aforementioned results requires a larger investment than its ultimate value. They maintain that the billions of dollars required for investment in quality pre-kindergarten education is not merited, if only because the results show small differences in social-emotional, health and parenting practices after third grade.  Their claim that the Head Start program demonstrates improved cognitive skills and school readiness that decrease by third grade is countered by their counterproposal that first and second grade education should improve their quality instead.9

The Model Southern States

The states of Oklahoma and Georgia support the case of pre-kindergarten education through positive impact.  Oklahoma began its universal pre-k program after passage of a 1998 law providing state-funded pre-school for all four year olds. When initiated, Oklahomas state-funded programs enrolled 9,000 children.  Currently, 40,000 are enrolled and access is available to all pre-school aged children.  The law included quality standards such as student-teacher ratios that do not exceed 10 to 1, class sizes below 20, lead teachers required to have an early-childhood certificate and a bachelors degree and early childhood educators paid on the same salary scale as K-12 teachers. Research conducted at Georgetown Universitys Center for Research on Children shows that students in Oklahomas pre-k program, irrespective of class and racial lines, consistently outperform those not enrolled.10

The success of the state of Georgias Pre-Kindergarten program was recently documented in a 2011 study by the University of North Carolina, which concluded that those enrolled in the pre-kindergarten program were progressing faster than expected.11 Ranking fourth in the nation for enrollment, Georgia is one of the only states that has attained 10 quality benchmarks as demonstrated by the NIEER (National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers) evaluation, which proved that the states program met the following standards: teacher education levels, small class sizes and manageable student-teacher ratios.  Georgia was one of the first states to adopt voluntary Pre-K for all children while maintaining access. Statewide enrollment in 2010 and 2011 reached 83,000, with 66 percent of all four year olds served by Head Start and Pre-K programs. Another impact study by the Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill observed that a sample of 509 children during the 2011-2012 school year exhibited great growth throughout their Pre-K year across all areas of learning, including literacy and language, math and general behavioral skills. The observed learning benefits were even greater among Spanish speaking learners, who demonstrated gains in both English and Spanish.12

The United States and Moving Forward with Universal Pre-K

As pointed out in Equity for Childrens interview with Director Alberto Minujin and the Young Lives projects Martin Woodhead, the growing evidence of the positive impact of quality care and education earlier in life has the ability to reduce poverty and inequality. Early childhood education should be viewed as a true right to be exercised by children through increased access and quality of programs. Furthermore, investing in universal pre-kindergarten education is a way to overcome greater costs incurred by disadvantaged youth when they grow older.13 As expressed by CEO of The Center for American Progress, Neera Tanden, Theres one set of policies that addresses the needs of women and working families, reduces inequality, and ensures children enter school ready to learn: universal pre-K and high quality child care."14 In the face of economic hardship, we find a solution to equity for future generations by strengthening the argument for universal pre-k and by continuing to demonstrate its ability to reduce inequalities between the rich and poor -- eventually helping to break the cycle of poverty. 

1. Vargas-Baron, Emily. Planning Policies for Early Childhood Development: Guidelines for Action. 2005. Retrieved from
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001395/139545e.pdf.

2. (2009). Head Start: An Office of the Administration for Children and Families Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center. Retrieved from 
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/about

3. Kamerman, B. Sheila & Gatenio-Gabel Shirley. Early Childhood Education and Care in the United States: An Overview of the Current Policy Picture. International Journal of Childcare and Education Policy. 2007, Vol. 1, No.1, 23-34. 
http://www.equityforchildren.org/imagenes/userfiles/Early%20Childhood%20Education%20and%20Care%20in%20the%20United%20States.pdf.

4. OECD. (2006). Starting Strong II: Early Childhood Education and Care. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/37425999.pdf. 

5. Brown, C. et al. (2013, February 7). Investing in Our Children. Center for American Progress. Retrieved from http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education/report/2013/02/07/52071/investing-in-our-children/.

6. Svrluga, Susan. (2013, February 20). In D.C., public school for 3-year olds is already the norm. The Washington Post. Retrieved from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-dc-public-school-for-3-year-olds-is-already-the-norm/2013/02/20/e1f84426-7b6a-11e2-82e8-61a46c2cde3d_story.html.

7. (2013). Early Lessons: The Study Continues. Retrieved from 
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/preschool/a2.html.

8. Banchero, Stephanie. (2013, March 7). Public Preschools Test Case: Oklahomas Expanded Access Shows Benefits, Hiccups; Classes in Strip Malls. The Wall Street Journal, A3. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424127887324539404578342514090722542-lMyQjAxMTAzMDAwODEwNDgyWj.html.

9. Hymowitz, K. (2013, February 18). Universal pre-school not the solution. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/02/14/universal-preschool-obama/1920291/.

10. Khimm, Suzy. (2013, February 14). Is Oklahoma the right model for universal pre-k?. The Washington Post: Wonkblog. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/14/is-oklahoma-the-right-model-for-universal-pre-k/.

11. (2013, March 19). The relative cost of education and the lack of it. Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved from
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/03/19/2429003/the-relative-costs-of-education.html

12. (2013). Bright from the Start: Pre K. Retrieved from http://decal.ga.gov/Prek/PreKHome.aspx.

13. 2011, October 30). Early Childhood. Retrieved from
http://www.norad.no/en/thematic-areas/education-and-research/from-childhood-to-adulthood.

14. Peters, K. (2013, February 7). Release: CAP proposes Universal Access to High Quality Preschool and expanded Access to Child Care for Infants. Center for American Progress. Retrieved from http://www.americanprogress.org/press/release/2013/02/07/52188/release-cap-proposes-universal-access-to-high-quality-preschool-and-expanded-access-to-child-care-for-infants/.]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title><![CDATA[Young Lives: Materials on Early Childhood Education]]></title>
		<link>http://www.equityforchildren.org/young-lives-materials-on-early-childhood-education-972/index.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.equityforchildren.org/young-lives-materials-on-early-childhood-education-972/index.html</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue 26 2013</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Equity for Children</dc:creator>
		<category><![CDATA[]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.equityforchildren.org/young-lives-materials-on-early-childhood-education-972</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Young Lives is a unique international study of childhood poverty  based out of the University of Oxford that follows the changing lives of 12,000 children in four countries &ndash;  Ethiopia, India (in Andhra Pradesh), Peru and Vietnam &ndash; over 15 years &ndash; a timeframe set by the UN to assess progress towards the  Millennium Development Goals. Young Lives collects a wealth of information about the children&rsquo;s  material and social circumstances, as well as their views on their  everyday lives, their hopes and aspirations, set against the  environmental and social realities of their communities.
To supplement our ongoing discussion on the importance of quality Pre-K education, we are providing an invaluable list of resources and publications from Young Lives on the topic of early education.

    Ways Forward for Early Learning in Ethiopia, Young Lives Policy Brief 20 by Kate Orkin, Workneh Abebe Yadete and Martin Woodhead
    Early Childhood Care and Education in Peru: Evidence from Young Lives, Young Lives Policy Brief 18 by Natalia Streuli
    Early Childhood and the Transition to Primary School: Choices and Inequalities in Andhra Pradesh, Young Lives Policy Brief 15, by Karen Brock
    Early Childhood Care and Education as a Strategy for Poverty Reduction: Evidence from Young Lives, Young Lives Policy Brief 9, by Helen Murray and Martin Woodhead

Click here to read the interview entitled, &quot;The Case for Universal Pre-Kindergarten Education,&quot; conducted in early March 2013 with Professor Martin Woodhead of the Young Lives Project and Open University and Equity for Children Director Alberto Minujin.]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title><![CDATA['Children's Chances: How Countries Can Move from Surviving to Thriving']]></title>
		<link>http://www.equityforchildren.org/'children's-chances-how-countries-can-move-from-surviving-to-thriving'-968/index.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.equityforchildren.org/'children's-chances-how-countries-can-move-from-surviving-to-thriving'-968/index.html</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue 26 2013</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Equity for Children</dc:creator>
		<category><![CDATA[Child Rights]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.equityforchildren.org/'children's-chances-how-countries-can-move-from-surviving-to-thriving'-968</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Children&rsquo;s Chances (www.childrenschances.org), launched in February 2013 by the World Policy Analysis Centre, is a comprehensive online database based on the Jody Heymann's most recent publication, &quot;Children's Chances: How Countries Can Move from Surviving to Thriving&quot; (2013). The website contains  never-before-available comparative data on laws and public policies  affecting children&rsquo;s opportunities in 193 countries worldwide, and covers a diverse set of issues related to child rights including education, child labour, child marriage, poverty, discrimination,  health, and parental care. The website includes unique full colour world  maps on a range of topics such as: how long girls are protected from  marrying compared to boys; which countries charge tuition for secondary  education; which countries guarantee paid leave for mothers and fathers;  and which countries offer inclusive education to children with  disabilities.
&nbsp;
The Children&rsquo;s Chances website allows you to view maps of key  policies for children&rsquo;s healthy development, and answer pressing  questions such as:

    Can children in your country go to school?
    How many countries protect children from child labor?
    In which countries is child marriage legal?
    Does your country prioritize child health?
    Can parents in your country meet the needs of their children?
    How do the unemployed or underemployed fare across different countries?
    In which countries do children of different genders, religions or ethnicities have equal rights?
    Which countries support the education and inclusion of children with disabilities?


In addition to English, the website is also available in Spanish, French and Portuguese.  

To learn more about Judy Heymann's publication, please click here.]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title><![CDATA['Voces en el Fénix' ('Voices in the Pheonix')]]></title>
		<link>http://www.equityforchildren.org/'voces-en-el-fenix'-('voices-in-the-pheonix')-967/index.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.equityforchildren.org/'voces-en-el-fenix'-('voices-in-the-pheonix')-967/index.html</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue 26 2013</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Equity for Children</dc:creator>
		<category><![CDATA[Publications]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.equityforchildren.org/'voces-en-el-fenix'-('voices-in-the-pheonix')-967</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Equity for Children Director Alberto Minujin served as Editor for two special editions of the Buenos Aires-based journal entitled, 'Voces en el F&eacute;nix' ('Voices in the Pheonix'). The academic journal stems from a group of economists called 'Plan F&eacute;nix' or 'C&aacute;tedra Abierta Plan F&eacute;nix' within the Faculty of Economics at the University of Buenos Aires, who since the year 2000 have been discussing central problems of Argentina's economy and proposing various short and long-term solutions to alleviating the current crisis. The content within the two special issues (No. 22 and No. 23) focus on diverse issues surrounding poverty, in which Professor Minujin lent his expertise to help carefully craft and lead to publication. 

On 26 March 2013, Professor Minujin participated in a presentation entitled 'Pobreza: una asignatura compleja' ('Poverty: A complex subject') held at the University of Buenos Aires to discuss the special editions of 'Voces en el F&eacute;nix' that are planned for publication in the upcoming months. In addition to Professor Minujin, participants in the presentation included Abraham Leonardo Gak, Director of C&aacute;tedra Abierta Plan F&eacute;nix; Ana Grondona, Researcher at the Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires (IIGG-UBA); Ra&uacute;l Mercer, Coordinator of the Social Sciences and Health Program in the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLASCO); and Jos&eacute; Luis Moreno, Consulting Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts at the University of Buenos Aires (FFyL-UBA). 

To read more about 'Voces en el F&eacute;nix', please visit the website www.vocesenelfenix.com.]]></description>
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