Host a Global Action Week Event!
Engage Your School…Engage Your Community
Raising awareness and getting others in your community involved in advocacy on Education for All is key for building political will. Building awareness in our local schools, churches, and community programs on how foreign aid is spent and how the U.S. can better the lives of women and children, and create more stable economies by investing in education is important to reaching the EFA goals of getting all children access to quality education.
Give a presentation!
Invite your friends, family, or neighbors to learn about global education and Education for All.
- Check out the RESULTS Skills Center for more information on how to Speak to a Local Community Group
- Here are a few Education for All Talking Points to get you started.
- You can also download the informational handout Early Childhood Development and Learning Matters
Other fact sheets available on the Get Involved page.
Organize a Big Picture Photo Petition Drive!
Get your school, church, or community group together to participate in The Big Picture Photo Petition - send your photos to GCE-US by April 25 - The Day of Action - to be included in our Washington, DC event.
Host an Assembly or Media Event!
- Invite a local dignitary - Mayor, council members, Board of Education member, or your school’s Principal - to take part in your event. Here is a sample Letter of Invitation
- Request an official Global Action Week Proclamation - you will need to contact your local Mayor’s office for the way to do this. Here is a sample Global Action Week Proclamation
- Don’t forget to invite the media to your event! Here is a sample Press Release
- Tell us about your event! Send your press release and photos to GCE-US and we will include your event in our Highlights section.
Screen a Movie!
Screen a movie that tells the story about the difficulties in accessing education in different parts of the world.
The First Grader, tells the inspiring true story of one man’s fight for the right to learn is a testimony to the transformative power of education. In a small remote grade school in the Kenya, hundreds of children jostle for a chance at free education newly promised by the Kenyan government. One applicant creates a stir: Maruge, an old Mau Mau veteran in his 80’s. Having fought for the liberation of his country, he is determined to learn how to read-even if it means sitting in a classroom alongside six-year-olds.
The First Grader Suggested Activities for Teachers
Produced by National Geographic Entertainment and directed by Justin Chadwick (The Other Boleyn Girl, Bleak House), The First Grader, is now on DVD and BluRay featuring a PSA produced by 10X10 Productions for the GCE-US - watch it here…
Tips for Helping Young Children Get an Early Start on Learning
There are simple, low-cost activities that parents, caretakers and siblings - even the poorest -- can do to help further early childhood development.
These activities are virtually the same, whether families live in the mountain villages of Nepal, the cattle ranches of Uganda, or Appalachian Kentucky. For example:
- Name things the baby hears and sees and tell the baby what is happening
- Provide objects for the baby to touch and use their hands
- Involve the child in daily activities that involve counting, sorting and identifying shapes
- Establish a regular reading routine
Tips to Promote Early Learning at Every Age
0-12 months
- Hold, talk and sing to the baby
- Respond to the baby's signals
- Give the baby safe objects to explore
- Begin reading regularly to the baby
- Place the baby in different positions to help them develop new skills like rolling, creeping and crawling
- Have back and forth conversations with the baby and comment on the baby's activities
- Give explanations for items the baby is curious about
- Name things the baby hears and sees and tell the baby what is happening
- Dedicate time for the baby to practice new movements and skills
1-3 years
- Provide writing instruments and opportunities to practice
- Provide objects for the baby to touch and use their hands
- Provide new challenges for the baby to try, like steps to climb or simple paths to walk
- Provide open spaces for movement like kicking, running, dancing and jumping
- Continue back and forth conversation
- Introduce letters and numbers
3-5 years
- Engage in daily talking, storytelling, singing, and reading with the child
- Practice pronunciation of different sounds
- Involve the child in daily activities that involve counting, sorting and identifying shapes
- Engage child in climbing and swinging motions
- Explore natural outdoor settings
- Play games with rules
- Create opportunities for child to share and help, especially with other children
- Encourage creativity and self-expression
For a full list of tips to help young children grow and develop see Save the Children's report State of the World's Mothers 2009 Investing in the Early Years
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Home | Setting the Global Context | Learn the Issue: Early Childhood Education
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The Big Picture Photo Petition
The Big Picture Photo Petition is the featured activity of Global Action Week 2012. Around the world students, teachers, parents, and Education for All supporters are taking part and showing their support for securing the future of all children.
What is a Photo Petition?
A photo petition is a collection of pictures of individuals holding a sign which illustrates why an issue is important to them and calls on policymakers to take action. Photo petitions are a great way to show the support that exists for an issue and have a larger impact on policy makers.
Our goal is to receive thousands of pictures from people across the country calling on the United States to invest in education as a U.S. foreign policy priority by showing their support for educating all children.
Steps for Participating in The Big Picture Photo Petition:
- Gather the supplies needed: A white board (you can also use a laminated piece of paper), dry erase markers, and a digital camera.
- On the white board write "I support Education for All because..."
- Let everyone fill in their reasons for supporting education - younger participants can draw pictures to illustrate why going to school is important.
- Take a picture of each person holding the sign with his or her answer.
- E-mail your pictures and list of email addresses to photopetition@campaignforeducationusa.org (it's ok to send several e-mails to get us all of your pictures).
Here are a few sample reasons for supporting education you can provide to people:
- Education is the key ending the cycle of poverty and providing a future for millions of children.
- Education is the cornerstone of democracy.
- Every child deserves the opportunity to learn and reach for their dreams.
- Education saves lives: 700,000 HIV cases could be prevented each year if all children receive a primary education.
- Education mitigates conflict: Each additional year of schooling reduces a young man's risk of becoming involved in conflict by 20%.
- Education leads to economic development: Each year of education increases a person's wages by up to 15%.
Now that you've completed The Big Picture Photo Petition be sure to send us your pictures so we can include them in the collage!
Encourage others to take part in The Big Picture Photo Petition through Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail. Send the link or download the instructions as a PDF.
You can find more activities on our Get Involved page.
See Highlights from Previous Global Action Weeks!
See Highlights from Previous Global Action Weeks!
Global Action Week 2011
In 2011, Global Action Week highlighted the importance of investing in education for girls, who make up more than half of the out-of-school children worldwide. Global Action Week events were held in schools in Miami, Chicago, Toledo, OH and Washington, DC (read more about these events here) to highlight the Blue Ribbon Campaign, and the week culminated in a Capitol Hill event in Washington, DC with our partner organization School Girls Unite. Check out our video below for more information:
Global Action Week 2010
In 2010, Global Action Week launched the 1GOAL Campaign in the U.S. At a press conference in Washington, DC, actress Jessica Alba called on world leaders to "pledge the funding necessary to achieve Education for All." Read more here.
Rights from the Start! Early Childhood Care and Education Now!
Learn the Issue: Early Childhood Education
While 67 million primary school aged children are still out of the classroom, it is estimated that over 200 million children from low- and middle-income countries under the age of five years are not attaining their developmental potential because of poverty, nutritional deficiencies and limited opportunities for learning. Governments must take actions to ensure the rights of all to receive access to quality basic education.
Interventions in early childhood lead to a lifetime of gains and break the cycle of inequality that prevails in the lives of so many children and their families. Access to early childhood education supports the right to a quality education by preparing children to make the most of their educational opportunities when they enter school.
In many countries, only a small minority of children has access to good early childhood care and education programs yet this is an integral part of lifelong learning. Early childhood care and education have enormous benefits to individual children and society. The early childhood years set the foundation for life, ensuring that children have positive experiences and that their needs for health, nutrition, stimulation and support are met, and that they learn to interact with each other and with their surroundings.
What is Early Childhood Development and why is it important?
The first five years of a child's life are the most critical time of growth and learning. In fact, 85% of a child's brain develops by age five, before a child even enters school.
When children and their caregivers receive good care, a nutritious diet and learning opportunities during the child's earliest years, children have a better chance to grow up healthy, to do well in school, and to reach their highest potential.
What is early childhood development?
Early childhood development (ECD) spans from before birth through age eight. ECD programs help young children survive, thrive, learn and transition successfully to primary school.
Why is it important for children?
Children who participate in early childhood programs are more likely to enroll in school, complete school on time, plan their families, earn higher household incomes, become productive adults and educate their own children, than those children without exposure to early childhood programs.
In fact, Save the Children recently found that children involved in preschool programs in Mozambique are much more likely to show interest in math and writing, recognize shapes, and show respect for other children, than those who do not have the same early learning opportunity.
The benefit of preschool in developing countries often has a positive ripple effect on other family members. In a 2012 World Bank study done in rural Africa, parents of children enrolled in a preschool program are more likely to work than those with children who do not attend. And older siblings of these preschoolers are more likely to go to school.
Why is it important for society?
Research shows that early learning programs for babies and toddlers have positive effects that extend beyond the first years of school, well into adulthood and go on to benefit society as a whole.
In the United States, research shows that society sees a savings of $7 for every $1 spent on early childhood programs for low-income children.
Early Childhood Development in the U.S. and Across the Globe
Millions of children in the U.S. and around the world are not prepared to succeed in school. They start school overwhelmed and unprepared to learn, fall quickly behind other students and never catch up, or worse, drop out. Without early childhood education, children living in poverty in the US can fall 18 months behind their peers by age 4. This leaves a devastating imprint on their lives.
In the United States, 2 out of 3 fourth graders are not reading at grade level. That's nearly 2.5 million fourth graders. There is a dire need for the US to get back on track and improved early childhood care and education can help.
Globally, more than 200 million children, mostly in Africa and South Asia, will not reach their full potential due to poverty, poor health and nutrition, deficient care and lack of opportunities to learn. And only 15% of children in Africa and 18% of children in Arab states have access to early childhood development programs and education.
Research shows that when children receive good quality care and learning opportunities in their earliest years, they have a better chance to do well in school, to grow up healthy and to reach their highest potential.
All children, especially the poorest, should have access to early education to give them a better start on school and a brighter future.
Read more...
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Global Action Week
Global Action Week is an annual week of action that calls attention to the urgent need to invest in the future of the millions of out-of-school children around the world. Global Action Week activities take place in more than 100 countries as part of a coordinated effort by the Global Campaign for Education.
The theme of Global Action Week 2012 is
Rights from the Start! Early Childhood Care and Education Now!
Over 200 million children under the age of five in low- and middle-income countries will not attain their development potential due to poverty, nutritional deficiencies, and inadequate care and learning opportunities.
During Global Action Week 2012, GCE-US will address policy makers, the media, and community members to build support for U.S. leadership on achieving access to early childhood education that will prepare the world's most vulnerable children to make the most of their educational opportunities when they enter school.
Global Action Week
This year, Global Action Week will focus on the importance of educating girls. Learn how you can get involved in this year's activities and events taking place around the country!
Blue Ribbon Campaign
This activity was the action for Global Action Week 2011, however, GCE-US will continue to welcome new chains at any time!
The Blue Ribbon Campaign connects your elementary through high school class with students throughout the USA who are making their statements on behalf of nearly 70 million children who are denied the opportunity to get a quality education. Schools and youth groups from around the country are invited to participate in the Blue Ribbon Campaign - Directions are provided below.
Blue Ribbon Chains
Supplies Needed: light blue, 8 ½” x 11” sheets of paper; paste; markers or pens; double-sided tape.
- Cut a strip of blue paper 2 inches wide by 11 inches long. You can also use this ribbon for the activity.
- Ask students to write on one side of the ribbon why going to school is important to them.
- Ask students to write on the other side of the ribbon why going to school is important to children in developing countries.
- Write on the board different ideas for possible messages for students to use on their ribbons – but reinforce that the messages should be their own.
- You may want to suggest messages that relate to your curriculum, such as “Why is it important that girls receive and education?”
For example: On one side, a student could write, “I am going to school so that I can be lawyer for poor women and girls.” On the other side a student could write, “Educating girls in other countries means less infants die of diseases.”
- Once the student has completed writing on both sides, the paper ribbon can be affixed to another, to make a chain. Keep growing the chain as each student finishes his or her blue ribbon.
- Students might extend their chain around the school entrance sign or mascot and post to Facebook (see below).
When you have completed the blue ribbon chain, mail your chain to:
Global Campaign for Education, U.S
1730 Rhode Island Ave NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
You can also take pictures of your chain and email them to us at info@campaignforeducationusa.org.
To get information on additional activities and events taking place around the country, sign up for the Global Action Week Alert.
In the video below, students from School Girls Unite use Blue Ribbons collected during Global Action Week 2011 to spell out "EDUCATAION FOR ALL" on the National Mall in Washington, DC
Global Action Week and the Lesson for All
Millions of children and adults around the world can’t read or write and will never reach their full potential because they have never been to school. Every year, the Global Campaign for Education organizes Global Action Week to draw attention to the millions of children, youth and adults who cannot realize their human right to receive a quality education.
Global Action Week, April 22-28, 2012, will focus on raising awareness on the plight of millions of girls and women from underdeveloped and developing countries who do not have access to quality education. GCE-US is encouraging schools, families and communities to join over 100 countries and take part in the 2012 Lesson for All activities that will culminate during Global Action Week.
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"My students need to understand the world in which they live. They never realized there were children who do not go to school, let alone nearly 70 million of them—four times the population of Florida." –Tracy Lally, 6th-grade teacher, Columbia Elementary School, Palm Bay, Fla. |
What Can You Do:
- Show your support for the nearly 70 million out-of-school children, join the Blue Ribbon Campaign.
- Raise awareness, teach the Lesson for All in your classroom or community.
- Get information on additional activities and events taking place around the country, sign up for the Global Action Week Action Alert.
- If you are interested in hosting a Global Action Week event in your classroom or community, send us an email at info@campaignforeducationusa.org
______ Lessons for All - Table of Contents ______
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What Can You Do?
What Can We Do To Ensure Access To Quality Education for Students in Developing Nations?
Individuals
People around the world need to make it clear that universal access to quality education is important to them. Writing letters to elected officials and raising awareness in one’s own community can make a difference.
Leadership
Governments need to take the lead by producing policies clearly delineating strategies and plans to address issues of access. National leadership must make education a priority not just in words, but in actions.
Funding
Many governments have not put the money into education that they have promised. In cases where it looks as if funding has increased, careful looks at budgets often reveal that reallocation or repackaging of funds obscures the fact that they haven’t. Furthermore, donors that have pledged funds must live up to their promise. The worldwide economic crisis has already impacted education funds around the world and has the potential to reverse years of progress. Read More >>
Professional Culture
Governments must get more teachers, and more qualified teachers, into classrooms. This must be done through recognizing the essential role teachers play, and creating a culture that esteems teaching as a noble profession. Furthermore, they must engage in more and better recruitment, training and pay.
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Funding
Many governments have not put the money into education that they have promised. In cases where it looks as if funding has increased, careful looks at budgets often reveal that reallocation or repackaging of funds obscures the fact that they haven’t. Furthermore, donors that have pledged funds must live up to their promise. The worldwide economic crisis has already impacted education funds around the world and has the potential to reverse years of progress.
For example, only one year after Kenya made primary education free, “most students were taught in primitive facilities” and “[t]hree or four students had to share each textbook.” (Manzo) Likewise, in Burundi, many students now attend classes in tents; in Pakistan, the average public school teacher has a class of 48 students; in Kenya, some teachers have up to 100 students per class; in Uganda, that number has surged beyond 150 in some areas. (Manzo, Latif) Still, says Patrick Fine of the Academy for Educational Development’s Global Education Center, “It’s better to have [children] in school than out of school even if you can’t guarantee high-quality education right away.” (Manzo, 2010)
Herz and Sperling emphasize funding as absolutely crucial. “[D]onor assistance for primary education in poor countries is estimated at $1.4 billion annually” while at least an additional $5-10 billion annually from external sources is needed to achieve universal basic education. Internally, developing countries should increase the amount spent on primary education as a percentage of GDP, and they must call upon leadership on the issue from high-level government officials. These nations must also “develop comprehensive, nationally owned strategies for achieving universal education. Such plans [should] include a clear domestic fiscal objective and commitment to education reforms.” As in domestic public education, improving education across the globe seems hinged upon the willingness of stakeholders to collaborate and commit to mutual accountability. (2004)
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Poverty Reduction
On the economic front, Asian-Pacific nations are “missing out on $16-30 billion per year in economic growth due to the gender gap in education.” (GCE) Another analysis of 65 developing nations that have failed to provide girls with the same secondary education opportunities as it does for boys forfeit a total of $92 billion a year in economic growth. (GCE) Every additional year of secondary schooling for women brings a wage increase of 18 percent on average, and the impact of education on future earnings is at least as high for women as it is for men. (GCE, Herz and Sperling, 2004) A World Bank report that studied 100 nations concluded that “a one percentage point increase in the number of women with a secondary school education increases annual per capita income growth by an average of 0.3 percentage points.” (Herz and Sperling)
Because the agricultural sector in many developing nations consists of jobs disproportionately held by females, "investing in education of women has the potential to boost agricultural output by 25 percent” in Sub-Saharan Africa. (GCE) Likewise, "[I]f women farmers in Kenya had the same education and inputs as men farmers, crop yields could rise 22 percent." (Herz and Sperling)
Health
A 2010 study published by The Lancet concluded that “4.2 million fewer children died in 2009 than in 1970 because women of childbearing age in developing countries were more educated.” (Associated Press) For each additional year of education that women received, the mortality rate for children under 5 went down by nearly 10 percent. (AP) The correlation was attributed to the idea that “[e]ducated women tend to use health services more and often make better choices on hygiene, nutrition and parenting.” (AP) They are about fifty percent more likely to have their children immunized. (Herz and Sperling) The single biggest factor in reducing “child malnutrition has been the education of women—even more than direct food aid.” (GCE)
According to an article recently published by former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, “[a]s well as boosting jobs and GDP, the evidence is clear that education combats malnutrition, maternal and infant mortality and HIV/AIDS. Indeed, educated girls and women are much less likely to contract HIV/AIDS; in Zambia, for example “AIDS spreads twice as fast among uneducated girls” and “[y]oung rural Ugandans with secondary education are three times less likely than those with no education to be HIV positive.” (Herz and Sperling).
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The Stakes, The Promise
Admittedly, the scope of the problem is massive and the obstacles are numerous and complex. Yet, the benefits of improving access to—and the quality of—education for girls and women, as well as achieving gender parity, are extraordinary. The promise that comes from providing more girls and women with a decent education emerges in the form of innumerable rays of hope amidst incredibly tough challenges. Research has demonstrated that these benefits range from political stabilization to breaking the cycle of poverty; from increasing agricultural productivity to reducing horrific human rights violations; and from saving the lives of children to curbing the spread of disease. In fact, “[p]reliminary studies show that girls’ enrollment in secondary education is positively correlated with more women being elected to seats in national parliaments.” (GCE) Even more broadly, educating women leads to a more empowered and participatory populace, which exist as necessary underpinnings for the emergence of democracy. (Herz and Sperling) Additionally, data from Pakistan demonstrates that while girls are much less likely to be enrolled, those that do attend school are higher achievers than their male peers. (Latif)
Another vital realm of return on investment in female education is the invaluable benefit seen in food supply, public health and family structure. In September 2010, UNESCO estimated that if every child could read, 171 million children could be lifted out of poverty. Put simply, going to school is the best anti-poverty, anti-famine, anti-disease and anti-unemployment programme.
Another invaluable benefit of educating girls and women is multifaceted improvement to the family structure. They marry later in life, have significantly fewer children, and are more likely to share their wages than men. (Alter, Herz and Sperling) Furthermore, the World Health Organization reported that in Burkina Faso, “mothers with some education were 40 percent less likely to subject their children to the practice of genital mutilation.” (Herz and Sperling)
Herz and Sperling point out that quality must be a particular focus, and to that extent, that the recruitment and proper training of teachers is vital. They also note that “[e]xperience in many countries finds that having female teachers encourages girls’ enrollment.” School facilities should include private latrines for girls. They must provide girls with privacy and safety aligned with societal norms and expectations. To maximize female enrollment, schools should provide flexible schedules and satellite facilities closer to their homes. And curriculum and instruction must combat—not reinforce—stereotypes that minimize the role of women in society.
| “The challenge extends beyond funding to changing the culture of the developing world. Fathers must be convinced that if their daughters go to school, they will learn enough math to help them in the market. Mothers must learn that while sending their daughters to school might mean one fewer pair of hands to help around the house, their families will be better off in the long run... If these become the mom-and-apple-pie values of the developing world, we’ll all win.” (Alter) |
It is important to remember that achieving gender parity is an important goal. This goal should not be separated from GCE’s larger goal of improving quality and access for all. For instance, Liberia has almost achieved gender parity, but only 40 percent of its eligible students were reported to be enrolled in primary school. (UNICEF) As this case illustrates, gender parity cannot be where we stop. In developing countries, women and girls must gain access to education. And the education that all citizens should have a right to must be of high quality.
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Obstacles to Education for Girls and Women
"Donor nations and NGOs are increasingly reaching a consensus that global education, especially for girls, is the keystone to the arch of development," writes journalist Jonathan Alter. Indeed, the abysmal scope of the problem is met with an equally onerous spectrum of obstacles. These include complications such as child labor, early marriage, school fees, discrimination, conflict, poor school quality, lack of teachers and health crises such as HIV/AIDS. (GCE)
In too many places schools are not free, which limits who can afford to enroll. Where school fees have been abolished, there have been considerable increases in enrollment. Even if there are no school fees for children to attend, some children must work during the school day to supplement their family’s income or take care of the home or siblings.
In Pakistan, these costs are exemplified by the fact that families of girls often must save money over the course of their childhoods to offer as dowries upon marriage. Investing in her education presents a direct affront to those funds that could be otherwise set aside for dowries and represent an opportunity cost of her foregoing the pursuit of a meager income for time in school. (Atif) This example incorporates not only the effect of fees, but complications that arise from societal norms, cultural realities and religious implications.
"The practical effect [of forbidding girls to go to school,]" observes Alter, "is that poor families (disproportionately in rural areas, where school attendance is lightest) send their two oldest, healthiest boys to school with the hope that they will support their parents in their old age. This often deprives girls—the ones actually much more likely to help their families—of the chance to go to school." (2008) This short-sightedness on behalf of families might be understandable, given the daily struggles of life in developing nations. Unfortunately, it contributes to a terrible cycle, when research shows that lifting families out of poverty exists as just one benefit of investing in education for girls. And contrary to common social and cultural convention, studies have shown that the benefits of educating girls are likely to produce significantly greater societal and familial benefits than only educating boys.
While lacking resources, failing infrastructure, abysmal funding and school fees are barriers of great concern, there are many others which might prove even harder to solve. In Africa, for example, parents are hesitant to allow their girls to walk the long distances to school, for fear of sexual assault. (Alter) Girls themselves are discouraged by lacking privacy at schools; often, they don’t have separate bathroom stalls. (Alter) In Uganda, the issues are even more basic. Girls enrolled in secondary school miss school every month due to their periods. “For girls hoping to purse a secondary education,” writes Megan Larson-Cone, “this is a particular problem, and they often miss one week of school each month because they lack the materials to cope with their periods with dignity.”
In Pakistan, curriculum, materials and instruction too frequently reinforce the pervasive, arcane and destructive ideas about gender roles in society. Textbooks elevate the male figure to the detriment of the female, often portraying “[…]a boy as powerful, strong, and one who dominates every field of life, whereas the books depict a girl or woman as submissive, timid, and one who is confined to the house and children.” (Latif) Other experts concur that “traditional curricula and materials often portray women as passive” with men being “described as leaders, fighters, or soldiers” while “females were most often described as breast-feeders, fertile, pretty, or pregnant.” (Herz and Sperling) In Pakistan, these materials also lack content that is culturally relevant to the lives that the most needy students know and live. Latif also claims that textbooks are “[…]dull, poorly printed, and focused on the government’s interest of increasing illiteracy.” Pakistani citizens are confronted with “multiple interlinked issues affecting their quality of life, such as illiteracy, poverty, and the lack of basic necessities. A culture of feudalism and patriarch creates structures of power and control that deprive citizens of their rights, including that of education. Thus, in spite of liberating rights provided to women in Islam, the culture, especially in rural areas, is dictated by norms that oppress women.” Likewise, research from Nigeria has shown that "boys are given more opportunities to ask and answer questions, to use learning materials, and to lead groups” and that “girls are given less time on task than boys in science." (Herz and Sperling)
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Learn the Issue: Education for Women and Girls
Across the globe, nearly 70 million children are deprived access to a basic education. A 2008 estimate states that 60 percent of these children are girls (Alter). Among developing nations, “the gender gap between boys and girls in primary school completion rates is greater than 10 percentage points.” An additional 100 million girls worldwide that begin primary school do not finish (Herz and Sperling). The numbers are even starker for secondary education, which is unavailable to more than 200 million children and in which we see even more extreme disparity in enrollment and completion between boys and girls (Alter).
From a regional perspective, there exists particular worry about Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia (Latif). In Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger and Yemen, girls typically go to school for less than a year. In Sub-Saharan Africa, four out of five women do not receive any form of education (Alter).
At roughly 50 percent, Pakistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world, coupled with a gross disparity when broken down by gender. For females, it’s about 35% as compared to approximately 62 percent for males. (In Pakistan, the standard for “literacy” is met if one can read a newspaper and write a letter in any language.) Given these literacy rates, it’s hardly surprising that a Pakistani girl receives, on average, just two and a half years of education; for boys, it’s double. If a girl lives in a rural area, she is three times less likely to complete primary school than is a boy in the same area. Likewise, in rural areas, the female literacy rate is 25 percent and only one in five girls is enrolled in school. Secondary education is a luxury in Pakistan for all children, but even more so for girls, for whom enrollment drops by nearly 90 percent from 1st grade to 12th grade (Latif).Of course, these facts are devastating in their own right, but this devastation is painfully exacerbated by the costs associated with not educating women and girls in the developing world. Indeed, studies have shown that efforts to address the abysmal gender disparity have rippling effects that stretch far beyond the classroom. Research has demonstrated that such investments can strengthen families and lift them out of poverty, save the lives of young children, improve the health of populations, reduce unemployment, help combat epidemics, dramatically increase a country’s agricultural productivity and overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP), reduce the instances of female genital mutilation, and contribute to an increase of women in parliaments—thereby making a developing society a more developed one.
Use these links for more information about access to quality education for girls and women in developing countries:
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School Fees
Many schools in developing countries charge parents fees to enroll their children in schools, which journalist Jonathan Alter calls “[t]he biggest barrier to primary and secondary education in the developing world.” A 2001 World Bank report found that of 79 developing nations that were studied, almost all of them had some form of fees, approximately one-third of which were unofficial or illegal. Likewise, “[m]ost countries in East Asia, North Africa and the Middle East collect such fees.” (Manzo) Herz and Sperling (2004) identify four types of school fees and describe how they can disproportionally affect girls:
- Direct Fees: Studies show fees for tuition can amount to 5-10 percent of household income—or 20-30 percent in poorer families. The fees may be similar for girls and boys, but parents may be less willing to pay them for girls.
- Indirect Fees: Parents are sometimes charged fees for things like parent-teacher associations or to supplement teacher salaries. These fees can sometimes be as much as the cost of tuition.
- Indirect Costs: Parents sometimes also face a number of indirect costs associated with sending children to school, such as transportation, uniforms, classroom supplies, textbooks and safety. These costs may be greater for girls than for boys because of the need to ensure modesty or meet cultural requirements, such as the cost of escorts for girls.
- The opportunity cost of having girls in school, in terms of lost chore time and contributions to family income, is a formidable barrier as well. In many African and Asian countries, daughters are the victims of a self-fulfilling prophecy: as they are traditionally expected to do more chores at home than are sons, the opportunity cost of educating them seems higher and so they are kept at home.
The reality of school fees as a prohibitive obstacle to basic education in the developing world—disproportionately so for girls—has hit home with affected nations and the international community. A recent United Nations Economic and Social Council study found that 21 million fewer children were out of school in 2004 than five years earlier, enrolling “after a number of countries, primarily in Africa, instituted free education.” To be sure, there is good news in the fact that “[m]illions who, in the past, were more likely to stay home or go out to work than sit in a classroom—especially girls and poor youngsters—now are crowding into government schools.” Certainly, nations that have recently committed to reducing or eliminating “expenses that historically hindered access to education—tuition, textbooks, transportation, uniforms, and other costs” should be applauded. (Manzo)
Eliminating fees has been shown to dramatically and effectively boost enrollment, but it has also resulted in new challenges due to the surge in school enrollment. Enrollments have climbed in countries like Kenya and Uganda by at least 30 percent since the elimination of fees, but the “absence of a large-enough education infrastructure” means that these students are not being equipped with the benefits that a quality education has to offer. (Alter)
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Access to Public Education in the United States: A Timeline
Access to public education for all citizens is a right U.S. citizens had to fight for and is not one that was automatic at birth. Many groups, such as racial minorities, women and those with disabilities had to fight for this right. Now, public education is guaranteed by law for everyone in America, but it did not happen easily or without struggle. The timeline below illustrates this struggle and how public education has evolved from a privilege often afforded only to the white and wealthy to the access for all that we have today.
| 1700s: |
In colonial America, education largely depended on a family’s wealth; wealthy girls were sent to a convent school or tutored by a governess, while middle class families solely educated their sons. |
| 1740: | The first law against educating slaves, the Slave Code of South Carolina, passes. |
| 1787: | The Young Ladies’ Academy of Philadelphia is established, which is the first all-female secondary school in the United States. |
| 1835-1837: |
Oberlin College is the first college to admit white women, African-American women and African-American men. |
| 1848: | The women of the Seneca Falls Convention, one of the first women’s rights conventions, call for the coeducation of boys and girls in schools. |
| 1862: | The first African-American woman to earn a B.A. degree graduates from Oberlin College. |
| 1865: | After the Civil War, more African-Americans are able to obtain schooling through philanthropic organizations. |
| Mid to Late 1800s: | The coeducation of boys and girls in public schools becomes more commonplace as public school systems expand and coeducation is shown to be cheaper. However, educational programs for women are still often inferior to men’s and women face discrimination when it comes to higher education until the 1970s. |
| 1896: | The Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson makes segregation and “separate but equal” in schools legal. |
| 1954: | Brown v. Board of Education rules “separate but equal” unconstitutional and orders the desegregation of American schools. In their decision, the Court states that desegregation should occur “with all deliberate speed,” which stalls desegregation efforts. However, the ruling gives special education proponents grounds to argue that children with disabilities deserve the right to a free and appropriate education as well. |
| 1964: | Congress passes the Civil Rights Act in order to fulfill the promise of Brown v. Board of Education and enforce the end of discrimination and racial segregation in schools. |
| 1968: | Congress passes the Bilingual Education Act, which provides incentives for schools to implement bilingual education programs, however, many school districts do not participate. |
| 1972: | Title IX of the Education Amendments Act prohibits any form of sex discrimination in education. |
| 1974: | The Supreme Court hears the Lau v. Nichols case and rules that schools must “rectify the language deficiency” of those students that were failing classes because they do not understand English. |
| 1974: | Congress passes the Equal Educational Opportunities Act, which requires schools to help students overcome language barriers in order for them to receive an equal opportunity to learn. |
| 1975: | The Education for All Handicapped Children Act mandates that public schools provide a free and appropriate education for all children with disabilities. |
| 1990: | The Education for All Handicapped Children Act is revised and becomes the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which is much more comprehensive. It expands coverage to disabled learners ages 3 to 21, requires disabled students to have an individualized education program, and provides funds for social work and rehabilitation services. |
| Sources: | National Women’s History Museum http://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/education/introduction.html; Teachers, Schools, and Society: A Brief Introduction to Education, Sadker, David and Zittleman, Karen, First Edition. |
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Obstacles to Education
Poverty
Those who live in poverty are less likely to attend school. And students in rural areas often can’t travel the great distances needed to reach the closest schools.
Ethnicity, Language or Physical Disability
In some regions of the world, students are denied access to education because of their ethnicity, use of a different language or physical disability. In some cases, students are not officially denied access, but because of their perceived differences it is too dangerous for them to travel to school.
Cost Prohibitive
In too many places schools are not free , which limits who can afford to enroll. Where school fees have been abolished, there have been considerable increases in enrollment. Even if there are no school fees for children to attend, some children must work during the school day to supplement their family’s income or take care of the home or siblings.
Why it is Important
Lack of proper schooling does not just limit job opportunities and the chances of pulling oneself out of poverty, but presents a barrier to everyday activities many take for granted.
Money
Those who cannot read or do basic arithmetic are unable to know whether they are paying a fair price for goods and services, nor are they able to sell or bargain their wares effectively. Those who cannot figure out how much they have earned over a certain amount of time or count their wages, cannot be sure they are being paid fairly.
Travel
Public transportation and walking around town become much more difficult if one cannot read a bus schedule, street signs or store signs.
Health
Patients and parents who cannot read medicine bottles or nutritional information have difficulties in maintaining healthy living for themselves and their children. An individual who has to take multiple medications at various times and dosages may have great difficulties in doing so correctly. A child born to a mother who can read is 50percent more likely to survive past the age of 5.
Citizenship
Educated citizens are better informed and able to contribute more meaningfully to the community. Informed citizen participation strengthens democratic governance. It is difficult for those without at least a basic education to be engaged citizens and to hold public officials accountable. Those who cannot read are at a great disadvantage in being able to gather information about their government, laws and rights. Newspapers are inaccessible, as are public postings of information.
Security
Investing in quality education is one of the most effective ways to ensure stability and security around the world. One out of every three children in conflict-affected states is not in school. Every additional year of schooling reduces and adolescent boy’s risk of becoming involved in conflict by 20 percent. Between 1990 and 2005, eight-out-of-10 countries with the lowest primary enrollment rates in the world experienced some form of conflict. Although more than half of the world’s out-of-school children live in fragile and conflict-affected states, less than half of basic education funding is directed to these states.
VOICES OF WEST AFRICA
|
Makata Walett Magalla, age 20, attends an adult literacy class in Zigberi, Burkina Faoso, with one of her two children. “The literacy classes started in March. I never learned to read and write when I was younger, so this was a second chance. I wanted to learn how to read and write for so many reasons: to read the letters I receive from relatives or friends, to read signs when I am in the town, to know how to count when I’m at the market, to read instructions on medicine bottles. For me, the most rewarding thing about being literate will be the ability to read without someone’s’ help.” (6) Joint Research Report by African Network Campaign for Education For All (ANCEFA), Pamoja West Africa, the African Platform for Adult Education, Oxfam International and ActionAid. Author: Caroline Pearce (2009). |
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Setting the Global Context
In the United States, a public education is guaranteed by law and schooling is required until at least age 16. However, this is not the case worldwide. Many who want and need a quality education will never receive one. Consider these statistics:
- Nearly 70 million children currently lack access to primary school around the world. More than half of those children are girls.
- According to the United Nations Development Program, if we do nothing, it could take more than 50 years to achieve universal primary enrollment in the Arab states and 100 years in the Sub-Saharan states.
- A single year of primary school increases the wages an individual earns later in life by 5 to 15 percent for boys—and even more for girls.
- Universal basic education can influence health outcomes by decreasing the number of HIV infections per year by as much as 700,000 worldwide.
- Every additional year of schooling reduces a young man’s risk of becoming involved in conflict by 20 percent.
Of those who attend school, many will leave after a short period of time—it is estimated that 20 percent of students in Sub-Saharan Africa and as many as 150 million children currently in school worldwide will drop out before completing primary education.
Furthermore, it is not a guarantee that those who attend school will receive a quality education. For example, there are some countries in Sub-Saharan Africa where 40 percent of young adults who have completed five years of education cannot read or write in their native language. Schools all over the world have untrained teachers, large class sizes and lack basic school resources. For example, in Mozambique, the teacher student ratio is 1:72.
Access to quality education has been identified by all national governments as essential. Progress has been made in many places—there are approximately 33 million fewer children out of school now than in 1999—but more work remains. Worldwide, nearly two million new teachers are needed in order to meet the global goal of universal primary education by 2015. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, the current number of teachers will need to double.
Use these links for more information about access to quality education in developing countries:
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Classroom Activities
Targeted at various grade levels, these activities can help your students better understand the issues surrounding GCE-US efforts to advocate for access to quality education around the world. The activities will also help students better understand the plight facing millions of girls and women who are being denied an education.
______ All Grades ______
Use e-pals (www.epals.com) to connect with a school in a developing country. Have students share information about their community, their school and what they are studying. For older grades, have students interview each other about who attends school and the role of education in their community.
Ask students to imagine what their lives would be like if they had never been to school. Students can share their thoughts in a variety of ways: poem, essay, oral report, video, drawing, etc.
Think about how you spend a typical day. What would you not be able to do or have trouble with if you were not able to read or understand basic arithmetic? Possible answers might include difficulty with:
- Street signs
- Store signs
- Public transportation
- Following directions on medicine or getting medications confused
- Selling and purchasing goods for a fair price
- Counting money
- Reading nutritional information
- Reading information about the government, laws and rights
- Reading the news
What kind of jobs can you think of that require no reading, writing or understanding of numbers?
Have female role models tell a story about their lives and/or have them come in and read a story about another female role model.
Ask students to talk about a woman or girl they admire and explain why. A good resource for middle and high school students is: http://www.vitalvoices.org/vital-voices-women/women
______ Elementary School ______
Building Awareness 
According to a September 2010 UNICEF report, the following countries have the widest gender disparity that disadvantages women:
- Afghanistan
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Cŏte d’Ivoire
- Eritrea
- Guinea
- Mali
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Somalia
- Viet Nam
In groups, instruct students to locate and color each of the above nations on a world map. Within their groups have students make deductions about the general location of these nations as well as discuss other patterns they recognize or observations they have. Then, have representatives from each group share their observations with the class as a whole.
Visualizing large numbers can be difficult for anyone. It is estimated that nearly 70 million school-aged children do not attend school. Help students better understand how large this number is:
- This site shows what a million dots looks like: http://www.vendian.org/envelope/dir2/lots_of_dots/million_dots.html
- This site helps students visualize millions by looking at an increasing numbers of pennies: http://www.kokogiak.com/megapenny
Compare the following numbers to 70 million:
- How many people go to our school?
- Live in our town/city
- Live in New York City
- Live in the United States
How long would it take to count to 70 million?
How many times could you travel around the world in 70 million miles?
Where would you be if you traveled 70 million miles into space?
Pick a nearby sports stadium: how many of them would you need to fit 70 million people?
______ Late Elementary to Middle School ______
Ask students to think about the following questions and to share their answers either in a journal or verbally:
- What would happen if you couldn’t go to school?
- Why do you think it is important to go to school?
- What do you think you would lose if you couldn’t go to school?
Have students watch videos of girls talking about their education and discuss how their own education is similar and different from the girls in the videos. Some videos to start with:
- A day in the life Haitza http://www.unicef.org/dil/haitza/haitza5_content.html
- Save the Children Artist Ambassadaor America Ferrera's Video Diary: Trip to Mali, Africa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfvlyxHmmkc
- Breaking Barriers Education for marginalized children in Kenya http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0nj854GqqE&feature=channel
- Girls Speak Out: http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/wa08.socst.world.glob.lpspeakout/
Have students read and reflect on this quote from Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever does.” Ask students:
- Do you believe the statement is true? Why or why not?
- Can you think of an example that illustrates this statement? What is it?
- Have you ever been a part of or do you know of a group of “thoughtful, committed citizens” who have worked for positive social or political change?
- Do you know of a person who was or is active in an effort to improve their community?
______ Middle to High School ______
Have students work in small groups and select either a region or specific developing country to research. Each group should share basic information about their country or region, the role of education in that country/region, a discussion of whether the education is accessible to all and whether it is of quality, what the major obstacles or struggles are to providing quality education to all, and some recommendations for how to overcome the obstacles. Each group will need to use research, data, primary resources, etc. to provide support for their solutions.
Regional focus would be organized by:
- Middle East,
- Central/Latin America/Caribbean/Haiti,
- Africa (sub-Sahara has the greatest need)
- Southeast Asia
Some good sites to start with:
- http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=198
- http://www.unicef.org/rightsite/sowc/statistics.php
- http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn
Ask students to consider the question: Is the goal of universal education important? Is it necessary? Students should prepare to debate their colleagues on both of these questions. Students will need to be able to defend their answers using data, primary resources and research.
What are the benefits of having an educated citizenry both within the country’s borders and for the world?
Have students read and analyze the differences and similarities found in the following documents (or in the excerpts below):
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Millennium Development Goals
- The Dakar Framework for Action
- U.S. Constitution
- U.S. Supreme Court decisions
- State Constitution
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Adopted December 10, 1948 Article 26.
- Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
- Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
- Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Millennium Development Goals – Adopted in 2000
| Goal 2 |
Achieve universal primary education |
| Target 2.A |
Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling |
| 2.1 | Net enrollment ratio in primary education |
| 2.2 | Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach last grade of primary |
| 2.3 | Literacy rate of 15-24 year-olds, women and me |
Have students see if they can find educational rights in the United States Constitution http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters or in their state’s constitution: http://www.thegreenpapers.com/slg/links.phtml
The Peace Corps has produced lesson plans, podcasts and an interactive game about educating girls in a developing country:
Educating Village Girls—Peace Corps Challenge Game http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/educators/lessonplans/lesson.cfm?lpid=2075 Challenge Game: http://www.peacecorps.gov/kids/index.cfm?challenge=7
Use this Poem Lesson Plan from a Peace Corps volunteer. Read her poem about education access in an African village. After reading the poem have students compare their lives with the girl written about in the poem. http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/educators/lessonplans/lesson.cfm?lpid=1941
In this Peace Corps lesson plan, students will learn about the education of girls in Niger.
Healthy Girls, Healthy Villages http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/educators/lessonplans/lesson.cfm?lpid=2521
PBS WIDE ANGLE Time for School Series will be a 12-year look at education across the globe. Time for School 1 was released in 2002. Producers returned to schools in 2006 and the latest update took place in 2009. Through a series of videos, viewers can follow students in schools across the world and observe how the foreign student’s education is similar and different from their own. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/time-for-school-series/introduction/4340
Have students research the Education for All Act of 2010 and prepare a letter for their representative, op-ed for the local newspaper, or a PSA for the local television station explaining what the act is and why it is important that we support its passage.
Identify a moving story (if possible in video form) and send to your congressional representative with a letter explaining that this story shows how important it is for all girls and women across the world to be educated.
“My”cro-enterprise Group Activity: There is a growing trend of micro-enterprises and micro-financing to empower populations from developing countries economically, practically, sustainably and emotionally.
Using your newfound knowledge of the problem of limited access to education for women and girls in the developing world, and your understanding of the obstacles that contribute to this gender disparity, develop a model for your own micro-enterprise. Keep in mind your model must:
- Identify a need
- Target an organizational or individual customer
- Reasonably be expected to make a profit, and most importantly
- Its operations must help women and girls in the developing world access basic education.
An excellent model would also include specific ways in which it utilizes local human resources, local materials and natural resources to pursue its objectives in a way that promotes a sustainable community.
Convincing Congress: One of the most crucial factors that perpetuate the gender disparity in education in the developing world, as well as poor access overall, is a lack of funding. In addition to developing nations making education a priority internally, many experts call on developed, wealthy countries like the United States to direct more foreign aid specifically for education. The United States Congress is charged with the authority of deciding how much money the United States will spend on aid, where it goes and how it is used. To help them with such decisions, they often solicit testimony or advice from experts.
Using your knowledge of the subject, write a persuasive statement to convince members of Congress that spending more money on educating women in developing nations is 1) a good investment for the world, and 2) a worthwhile investment for the United States.
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References and Resources
______ Cited Works ______
Alter, Jonathan. “It’s Not Just About the Boys. Get Girls Into School.” Newsweek. Sept. 29, 2008. Volume 152. Issue 13.
Associated Press. “Educating Women Saves Children, Study Finds.” The New York Times. Sept. 16, 2010. Accessed Nov. 18, 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/17/world/europe/17london.html
Brown, Gordon. “To Combat Poverty, Get Africa’s Children to School.” Financial Times. Sept. 19, 2010. Accessed Nov. 19, 2010.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ca49073e-c41f-11df-b827-00144feab49a.html#axzz15lmXDPW8
Global Campaign for Education: United States Chapter. “Educate and Empower: Investing in Women and Girls Means Investing in a Better World.” Accessed Nov. 19, 2010.
http://www.aft.org/pdfs/international/fs_gceeducategirls.pdf
Herz, Barbara and Gene B. Sperling. “What Works in Girls’ Education: Evidence and Policies from the Developing World.” Council on Foreign Relations. New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 2004. Accessed Nov. 19, 2010.
http://books.google.com/books?id=7a0W_bqvzA0C&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false
*Note: This is a comprehensive and cohesive analysis of the problems and solutions of educating girls and women in the developing world and is available for free on Google Books.
Larson-Kone, Megan. “Shredded Office Paper Transforms Girls’ Education.” United States Department of State. July 23, 2010. Accessed Nov. 19, 2010.
http://blogs.state.gov/sgwi/index.php/site/entry/paper_girls_education/
Latif, Amna. “A Critical Analysis of School Enrollment and Literacy Rates of Girls and Women in Pakistan.” American Educational Studies Association. Volume 45. Number 5. 2009.
Manzo, Kathleen Kennedy. “Elimination of School Fees Drives Student Enrollment.” Education Week. Nov. 8, 2006. Vol. 26. Issue 11.
UNICEF. “Progress for Children: Achieving the MDGs with Equity.” New York: Sept. 2010. Accessed Nov. 19, 2010.
http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Progress_for_Children-No.9_EN_081710.pdf
______ Additional Resources ______
EDUCATION FOR ALL
Basic Education, Global Action for Children
http://www.globalactionforchildren.org/index.php/advocacy/basic-education
Issues: Free Basic Education, Global AIDS Alliance
http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/issues/free_basic_education/
Education for All-The Power to End Poverty, RESULTS
http://www.results.org/issues/global_poverty_campaigns/education_for_all/
The Facts, RESULTS
http://www.results.org/issues/global_poverty_campaigns/education_for_all/efa_the_facts/
ADVOCACY
Sharpen Your Skills, Global AIDS Alliance
http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/action/sharpen_your_skills/
Cosponsor the Education for All Act of 2010 H.R. 5117, RESULTS
http://www.results.org/uploads/files/EFA_Act_of_2010_HR_5117_Fact_Sheet_April_23,_2010.pdf
How a bill becomes a law, Global AIDS Alliance
http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/page/-/PDFs/How_a_Bill_Becomes_a_Law.pdf
CHILD LABOR
Education for All: Child Labor for None, America Federation of Teachers
http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/fall2010/Post.pdf
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT
Early Childhood Development, Global Action for Children
http://www.globalactionforchildren.org/index.php/advocacy/early-childhood-development
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Equitable Learning is the True Intent of the Education MDGs, Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution
http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/0920_mdg_winthrop_adams.aspx
STORIES
Educating Girls: A Family Affair, CARE
http://www.care.org/newsroom/specialreports/afghanistan/a_stories1.asp
Delivering Education For All in Mali (Report), OXFAM
http://www.oxfam.org/en/policy/delivering-education-for-all-mali
Stories to Help People Understand the Power of Education, RESULTS
http://www.results.org/issues/global_poverty_campaigns/education_for_all/efa_stories/
______ Lessons for All - Contents ______
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Lesson For All
The Lesson for All is a toolkit of information, resources, and classroom or community activities to increase awareness of the fact that millions of children and adults can't read or write and will never reach their full potential because they have never had the chance to go to school.
Objectives:
- Gain an understanding of the economic, political, and social circumstances resulting in nearly 70 million children being denied the chance to go to school.
- Develop an understanding of the benefits of education and universal primary education.
- Rally support and engage grassroots activists to encourage world leaders to provide adequate funding for Education for All.
Contents:
- Setting the Global Context
- Learn the Issue: Early Childhood Education
- Learn the Issue: Education for Women and Girls
- Classroom Activities
- References and Resources
Do you have a resource or classroom activity you would like to share?
Please send to info@campaignforeducationusa.org
The Lesson for All is a joint project of GCE-US, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA).
| "Access to free, quality education is both a human right and part of the essential foundation for economic growth in every nation. With this toolkit, students and educators in the United States help give a voice—and hope—to the millions of children around the world who still seek access to quality education." --Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers |
“The Lesson for All is a much-needed resource to engage American students and educators in the global campaign to achieve Education for All. Our collective action can play a critical role in improving women’s and girls’ access to education, career opportunities, and economic independence in developing nations. Together we can make a difference by opening school doors to millions of children and giving every child the chance and hope in life that an education brings.” --Dennis Van Roekel, President, National Education Association. |
Global Action Week 2010: Events around the World
Exciting Global Action Week events took place around the world. Here is a summary of just some of the events that took place in 2010 to support Education for All.
Asia
Afghanistan: More than 1,000 people were expected to participate in events around the country, including a soccer match in Kabul.
Bangladesh: Global Action Week was launched with a national seminar on education financing. Members of about 100 civil society organizations participated the Lesson for All – making up more than 600,000 participants.
India: On April 21, a team of rescued bonded laborers led by 18-year-old Kalu Kumar met parliamentarians to push them to implement the Right to Education Act, which came into force on April 1, 2010.
Japan: In Japan, 41,940 children from 351 schools were expected to take part in Global Action Week this year. The children were asked to create yellow cards – to be presented to Japanese Prime Minister – to symbolize the lack of support to education by the Japanese government. The Lesson for All was taught to 30 Members of Parliament and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada.
Nepal: Various activities took place, including roundtable discussions on the state of education in Nepal.
Philippines: In Metro Manila, 12 urban poor communities, four municipalities in the armed conflict areas in Mindanao, and two teachers' organizations taught the Lesson for All. A forum was also organized with the Department of Education, where civil society, the Department of Budget and Finance, AusAid, and the private sector to discuss education financing.
Europe
Austria: Global Action Week kicked off with a soccer match between blind pupils and Austrian soccer players. The soccer match was played in the dark in solidarity with blind learners.
Georgia: National sports competitions kicked off 1GOAL events this week in the Georgia capital, Tbilisi. To see a video of the activities, which was broadcast on public television, click here.
Norway: Campaigners kicked off Global Action Week by kicking a ball to score a goal for education at the Teacher’s House in Oslo. The day included a 10-minute play-off between students and football players, which was attended by the Minister of Education, the President of the Football Association, and football stars from the Norwegian men and women’s football teams. Click here to watch footage of the event.
Romania: More than 60,000 children from more than 350 school units - kindergartens, primary schools, high-schools and vocational schools – took part in the Lesson for All. Sportsmen, musicians and other public personalities joined the Lesson and expressed their support for education.
Middle East
Morocco: e-Joussour, as a representative of the Moroccan coalition of 1GOAL: Education for All, celebrated the kick-off of Morocco’s Global Action Week on April 20 in Ksar Bounou, with a “Lesson for All.” More than 100 individuals took part in the discussion.
Palestine: One million students were expected to participate in this year’s Lesson for All, which took place on 20 April, following a conference held with the teachers’ union, the Ministry of Education, and representatives from the legislative council.
North America
Canada: Global Action Week and 1GOAL kicked-off in Canada with a breakfast with Parliamentarians, hosted by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation. In Toronto, students of Westview Centennial High School planned a 1GOAL launch. More than 7,000 students registered to participate in the Lesson for All.
South America
Bolivia: In Bolivia, the Deputy Minister of Sports joined Global Action Week celebrations and gave his support to the campaign. Activities included Lesson for All, which took place in schools and in the streets.
Sub-Saharan Africa
DRC: In Kinshasa, the Vice Minister of Professional Education launched the Global Action Week activities, and kicked-off a soccer match with students.
The Gambia: The Minister for Basic and Secondary Education made a statement on national television and radio in support of 1GOAL. Fifteen Members of Parliament and the Minister for Basic and Secondary Education attended the Lesson for All, which took place today in one of the country’s neediest education regions.
Ghana: The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition introduced Global Action Week with a press conference to launch the 1GOAL: Education For All Campaign on April 19. The event included a documentary which highlighted education issues relevant to Ghana.
Ivory Coast: About 2,000 people were expected to attend the Lesson For All, which was taught at the Economic and Social Council in the capital Abidjan.
Kenya: In Kenya, the Elimu Yetu Coalition launched Global Action Week and the 1GOAL Campaign on April 19 with a meeting highlighting key issues in education for the country attended by members of civil society, ambassadors for the 1GOAL campaign, government ministers, and the press.
Malawi: The Minister of Education was the guest of honour at the launch of Global Action Week. The Director of the Budget and the Minister of Youth Development and Sports, and other Members of Parliament also attended the launch.
Somalia: Around 1,500 primary and secondary schools, and universities took part in the Lesson for All and various other activities carried out across the country.
South Africa: 50,000 school children in South Africa participated in the Lesson for All. In Johannesburg, the Lesson was taught to a class by South African soap star Hlubi Mboya.
2010 Global Action Week Events around the Nation
USA 2010 - © Chris Stelmarski Bryan Namoff, Jessica Alba and Congresswoman Nita Lowey at a press conference announcing the Education for All Act on April 21, 2010.
From coast to coast, students, teachers, politicians, celebrities and soccer players joined together during this year’s Global Action Week to make a difference for the millions of children around the world who do not have access to a primary education. Part of a series of events around the world, Global Action Week in the US took place April 19-25 and marked the launch of the 1GOAL: Education for All campaign, an initiative to make Education for All the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Global Action Week in Washington, DC
In the nation’s capital, GCE-US hosted a standing-room-only press conference on Capitol Hill, where Congresswoman Nita Lowey introduced the bipartisan Education for All Act of 2010. The bill, co-sponsored by Congressman Dave Reichert, provides a roadmap to create a Global Fund for Education. Actress Jessica Alba joined the event to launch the 1GOAL: Education for All campaign in the United States.
Lily Eskelsen, vice president of the National Education Association, and Francine Lawrence, vice president of the American Federation of Teachers and president of the Toledo Federation of Teachers, spoke at the conference. Representatives from the DC United soccer team and GCE-US coalition members attended to show their support for Education for All.
Fourth-grade students from Rock Creek Valley Elementary School in Rockville, Maryland also attended the press conference to present Jessica Alba and Congresswoman Lowey with letters they wrote in support of global education.
To view a slideshow of the April 21, 2010 press conference, click here.
Global Action Week at School
Using the Lesson for All in their classrooms, teachers played a crucial role in spreading the word about the urgent need for education for all children during the 2010 Global Action Week in the United States. In classrooms across the country, students learned about the millions of children who do not attend school. They learned that 72 million children of primary school age are not in school because they have to work, they can’t afford school fees or because they are girls.
In one sixth-grade classroom in Palm Bay, Florida, Tracy Lally used the Lesson for All activities in her social studies lesson. Her students wrote to their representative in Congress and Congresswoman Nita Lowey, one of the sponsors of the EFA Act.
One sixth-grade student wrote to Rep. Lowey, “You should support the 1GOAL Campaign because the kids that are not educated could be our next world leaders. They should become educated because the educated people can help end poverty. They can also help make other countries a better place and end war and make peace.” To read more letters from Tracy Lally’s class, visit the American Federation of Teachers' 1GOAL website.
Watch Tracy Lally teach the Lesson for All in her class.
Events around the Nation
Students and teachers, citizens and GCE-US coalition members hosted exciting events throughout the week to raise awareness about the challenges of global education.
- In New York City, the National Education Association worked with the John Lennon Education Tour Bus, a non-profit, state-of-the-art mobile audio and HD video recording and production studio, to allow high school students to create original music videos with the 1GOAL theme.
- In Philadelphia, community leaders and activists participated in a workshop to highlight the needs of the millions of out-of-school children around the world. In Denver, Colorado, more than 200 students, government leaders, teachers, and professional soccer players attended a rally at the Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy to raise awareness about Education for All. More than 30 teachers in four school in Denver pledged to teach the Lesson for All in their classrooms.
- In Florida, teachers and students participated in a roundtable discussion about Global Education at Emerald Cove Elementary School in Wellington.
To view a slideshow of just some of the exciting events around the country during 2010 Global Action Week, click here.
Did you host an event during Global Action Week this year? Email info@campaignforeducationusa.org to send us photos and tell us what you did.
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Coalition Members
- 10x10
- American Federation of Teachers
- American Institutes for Research
- Association for Childhood Education International
- Batonga Foundation
- Building Tomorrow
- CARE
- Center for Global Development
- Center for Universal Education, Brookings
- Concern Worldwide US
- Connect to Learn
- International Labor Rights Forum
- Islamic Relief USA
- MercyCorps
- Model26
- National Coalition of Black Civic Participation
- National Consumers League
- National Education Association
- National Peace Corps Association
- ONE Campaign
- Oxfam International
- Plan USA
- Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
- RESULTS
- Save the Children
- School Girls Unite!
- United Methodists General Board of Church and Society
- University of Maryland, College of Education
- U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
- Worldfund
- World Hope International
Videos
Check out these great videos from GCE-US and our coalition memebers.
The LA Galaxy soccer team supports GCE-US and the 1GOAL campaign.
National Education Association Vice President Lily Eskelsen calls on lawmakers to provide the resources to achieve education for all by 2015 at a press conference announcing the Education for All Act on April 21, 2010.
American Federation of Teachers: Sixth-grade teacher Tracey Lalley teaches the Lesson for All at Columbia Elementary School in Palm Bay, Florida.
1GOAL: Lesson for All
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Check back here to see what GCE-U.S. has been doing to ensure access to quality basic education in developing nations.
Coalition Member Spotlight
Read the latest news about how our coalition members are working to advance Education for All.
In the News
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Resources
Advocacy Toolkit (PDF)
Education for All Act
Make it Right: Ending the Crisis in Girls' Education
GCE-US Fact Sheets
- Education for Women and Girls
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Global Partnership for Education Fact Sheets
President Obama's Global Development Strategy
- President Obama's Remarks at MDG Summit
- Fact Sheet on Obama Administration's Global Development Strategy
- GCE-US Response to President Obama's MDG plan and Global Development Strategy
General Resources: An Introduction to Education for All
- EFA Global Monitoring Report 2011: Armed Conflict and Education
- A Human Rights-Based Approach to Education for All, UNICEF
- Monitoring the G8 Promise to Africa, One Campaign
- The State of the World’s Children 2010: Child Rights, UNICEF
- The UN Millennium Development Goals Indicators
- World Bank Education Notes Series (2002-2007)
Fragile and Conflict-Affected States
- Education’s Hardest Test: Scaling Up Aid in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States, Brookings
- From the Ground Up: Education and Livelihoods in Southern Sudan, Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children
- How to Unlock Financing for Fragile States and Move Toward a More Unified Global Architecture for Education Financing: Eight Recommendations, Council on Foreign Relations
- Last in Line, Last in School 2009, Save the Children
- A Report on the Right to Education During Displacement, Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children
- Rewrite the Future: Education for Children in Conflict-Affected Countries
Girls’ and Women’s Education
- Basic Education and Gender Equality: Quality Education, UNICEF
- Girls Count: A Global Investment & Action Agenda, Center for Global Development
- New Lessons: The Power of Educating Adolescent Girls, Population Council
- Programs Promoting Young Women’s Employment: What Works?, World Bank
- Transforming Policy and Practice for Gender in Education, U.N. Girls’ Education Initiative
- What Works in Girls Education: Evidence and Policies from the Developing World, Council on Foreign Relations
International Education Financing
- Cash-on-Delivery Aid, Center for Global Development
- Financing for All: How to Include Fragile and Conflict-Affected States in the Education FTI, Brookings
- Free, Quality Education for Every Afghan Child, Oxfam
- A Global Education Fund: Toward a True Global Compact on Universal Education, Council on Foreign Relations
- A Global Fund for Education: Achieving Education for All, Brookings
- Implementation of Free Basic Education Policy, World Bank
- Kenya’s Abolition of School Fees Offers Lessons for Rest of Africa, UNICEF
- Lessons Learned: African Countries Share Experiences with Abolition of School Fees, UNICEF
- Mid-Term Evaluation of the EFA Fast Track Initiative
- Rescuing Education for All, Oxfam
- U.S. Assistance for Basic Education
- What Drives Donor Financing of Basic Education, Overseas Development Institute
News & Resources
Become a Coalition Member
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Upcoming Events
Cambodia 2008 - © UNESCO/N. Axelrod Teacher training at Hun Sen Prek Somrung School, Takmao, Cambodia. Shortages of trained teachers remain a barrier to achieving Education for All.
Get Involved
Liberia 2009 - © UNESCO/G. Gordon At Paynesville Community School in Monrovia, Liberia, students sit three or four to a desk. There are over 300 students in this morning class.
Learn the Issue
- Download our fact sheets (PDF):
- Watch a QUICK VIDEO on why education matters, especially for girls.
- Check out our Resources page for more information.
Take Action with Congress
Members of Congress are accountable to your vote, so use your civic voice and let them know that you support Early Childhood Care and Development globally and at home, as well as the Education for All Act. There are a variety of channels to let your representative know that you care about education for kids throughout the world:
- Email a letter to your member urging them to support Early Childhood Development and the Education for All Act.
- Call your member of Congress! Look up your representatives here and call 1-855-607-0531 to tell them that you care about global education.
- Write on your member of Congress's Facebook wall and Tweet at them! Find your member of Congress here.
- Attend a Town Hall and ask a question on global education.
- Meet with your member of Congress in your district or in Washington, DC.
Take Action with the Media
If it's in the media, it matters! Your local paper, radio station, or newscasts can be powerful tools for getting others in your community invested in issues related to global education. But, it does take a little bit of work. Here are some actions you can take to engage the media in creating the political will achieve Education for All:
- Use your unique voice to get a letter to the editor in your local paper to bring attention to EFA.
- Post a blog or use other social media tools like twitter and facebook to build online support for EFA. Be sure to post on your Member of Congress’s wall and to Tweet at them!
Engage Your Community
Raising awareness and getting others in your community involved in advocacy on Education for All is key for building political will. Building awareness in our local schools, churches, and community programs on how foreign aid is spent and how the U.S. can better the lives of women and children, and create more stable economies by investing in education is important to reaching the EFA goals of getting all kids access to quality education. Here are some ideas on how to build awareness and start the conversation in your community:
- Host an event to talk about global education with friends, family, or neighbors.
- Invite guest speakers from GCE-US or one of its members to your school or community group to speak about global education.
- Teach the Lesson for All, includes activities that highlight the need for universal basic education and show students how they can make a difference for the millions of children currently denied access to school. The activities are appropriate for math, science, language and visual arts, physical education and social studies students from Kindergarten through 12th grade.
- Screen a movie that tells the story about the difficulties in accessing education in different parts of the world. Some suggested movies are: To Educate a Girl, The First Grader, and the PBS Wide Angle series Back to School.
- Organize a letter writing meeting with your classroom, church, scout troop, youth group or with friends and family.
Apply to become a Coalition Member
Register your organization to become a member of the GCE-US Coalition.
Global Fund for Education
Bangladesh 2009 - © UNESCO/G. Akash Shufiya Akter teaches at the Unique Child Learning Centre in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Schools run by non-governmental organizations play an important role in Dhaka’s poorest districts.
To ensure that the nearly 70 million out-of-school children have access to a quality education, to stem the tide of an ever-growing education funding gap, and to increase literacy for millions of women, the U.S. should provide bold leadership for a Global Fund for Education. During his presidential campaign, President Obama pledged $2 billion for a global education fund. And last year the president reaffirmed U.S. commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
2011 is the year for the U.S. to lead the way toward a new multilateral global education initiative. By expanding and reforming current international aid for education to create a fully-financed, innovative global fund for education, the U.S. could lead the world in efforts to achieve Education for All. A Global Fund for Education would direct education funding to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries. It would inspire other countries to ramp up their investment in the most sustainable solution to poverty: literacy. And it would be instrumental in helping achieve the Millennium Development Goal of getting every child – especially girls – in school by 2015.
Foreign assistance for basic education has fallen short of promises made when the Millennium Development Goals were adopted in 2000. Nations most in need – particularly fragile and conflict-affected nations – are often the last to receive funding. Girls, children with disabilities and from minority groups are still kept out of the classroom. It will take U.S. leadership and resources to create a Global Fund for Education which will increase the impact of global efforts to achieve universal education. A Global Fund for Education is critical to ensure education for all.
Why Education?
Viet Nam 2008 - © UNESCO/J. Mott Children in Hanoi learning mathematics. Viet Nam has recognized that problems facing ethnic minorities are a major barrier to universal primary education.
The benefits of quality education reach far beyond the classroom to help individuals break the intergenerational cycle of poverty. Educated children grow up to earn higher wages, contribute to stronger economies, support healthier and more prosperous families, and make informed decisions essential to democratic institutions.
End the cycle of poverty – for good
A quality education expands employment opportunities and gives people a chance to earn higher wages. A single year of primary school increases the wages an individual earns later in life by 5 to 15 percent for boys, and even more for girls. For each additional year of secondary schooling, an individual’s wages increase by 15 to 25 percent, giving people the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty.
Develop stronger economies
A quality education is the best assurance for a bright economic future and global stability. Educated citizens build self-sufficient local economies and strong communities – spurring economic growth and offering a lasting and sustainable path out of poverty. Economists estimate that a country can only attain economic stability after achieving near universal primary education and a 40 percent literacy rate.
Investing in education needs to be a priority during and after the global economic recession. In the immediate term, the recession could push an additional 90 million people back into poverty worldwide in 2010, forcing families to cut back on education spending. While the economic realities in industrialized democracies may be improving now, the financial crisis may turn into a long-term development crisis in developing countries. While the rest of the world pulls out of the recession, the poor may be forgotten and millions of children will not have a chance at education.
Promote a healthy world
Education, particularly of women, leads to better health outcomes for adults and children. Educated women marry later and have fewer children, increasing the chance that their children will survive to adulthood. Educating women has been shown to reduce child malnutrition more effectively than food aid. And a woman’s increased income is often passed onto her family in the form of better nutrition and provision of healthcare services.
Universal basic education can influence global health outcomes by decreasing the number of HIV infections per year by as much as 700,000 worldwide. Quality basic education not only reduces an individuals’ risk of HIV infection, but also other communicable diseases.
Ensuring Safer Communities Around the World
Now more than ever, ensuring educational opportunity is an important tool in U.S. efforts to defeat global terrorism, as the 9/11 Commission concluded. About half of the children currently out of school live in fragile and conflict-affected states – the same places that see civil wars destroy entire countries, and where terrorism is more likely to take root. Studies have shown that every additional year of schooling reduces a young man’s risk of becoming involved in conflict by 20 percent.
High unemployment combined with a growing number of out-of-school youth increases the potential for social and political unrest. Educated citizens are more likely to promote democratic and stable societies through participation in civic institutions, making informed decisions and holding public officials accountable.
Education for All
Nearly seventy million children currently lack access to primary school around the world. More than half of those children are girls.
At the 2000 World Education Forum in Dakar, the United States joined 181 other countries in adopting the Education for All goals to eliminate educational disparities worldwide. The six goals include expanding early childhood development, achieving universal primary education, meeting the learning needs of youth, increasing adult literacy, eliminating gender disparities in education, and improving the quality of education.
In the past decade, some progress has been made in achieving universal basic education. The number of out-of-school children around the world has dropped by 33 million since 1999. From 1985-2007, the global adult literacy rate increased to 84 percent. However, without U.S. leadership and a commitment to a new multilateral approach to education funding, these advances will stagnate as millions of women and children continue to fall victim to systemic global education disparities.
Even with advances in access to education, millions of children remain out of school. Much of the progress in recent years has been focused on South and West Asia, where rapid economic development has allowed governments and families to make greater investments in education. But almost half of out-of-school children live in Sub-Saharan Africa and almost 40 million live in fragile or conflict-affected states.
In 2008, Presidential Candidate Barack Obama committed to give every child the opportunity to learn through the creation of a Global Fund for Education. He pledged $2 billion to that fund. It is time to realize those promises. It is time to reverse the global education deficit and invest in the next generation of leaders, teachers, innovators, and peace keepers.
Without a U.S. commitment to support a multilateral education initiative, the international community will not only fall far short of its commitment to provide quality basic education to millions of the world’s children by 2015, but will also stall and even reverse progress made in eliminating poverty, improving health outcomes, and promoting security and stability.
About
Uganda 2009 - © UNESCO/M. Hofer Children of Karamojong herders in northeastern Uganda. School systems are often poorly adapted to nomadic lifestyles : the Karamojong average less than one year in school.
The Global Campaign for Education, U.S. Chapter (GCE-US) is a broad-based coalition (click here for a complete list of our coalition members) of U.S. organizations including faith-based groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), teachers unions, foundations, and think tanks dedicated to ensuring access to quality basic education in developing nations.
GCE-US promotes access to education as a basic human right and mobilizes the public to create political will in the U.S. and internationally to improve education for the world’s poorest children. As a coalition, we also work to promote the importance of pre-school education, prevent abusive child labor, increase adult literacy rates, and eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education.
Founded in 2003 by Gene Sperling, formerly the Director of the Center for Universal Education, GCE-US has grown into a thriving and diverse coalition with more than 30 member organizations working together to increase awareness of the need for Education for All and to secure U.S. leadership on a multilateral global education initiative.
Current Objectives of the U.S. Chapter of the Global Campaign for Education:
- Making Education a Global Development Priority: The Obama Administration’s Global Development Strategy does not include education as a development priority. Achieving universal basic education is the key to success across all development sectors, and GCE-US is calling on the President to make education a global development priority.
- Supporting the Education for All Act: The Education for All Act is a mechanism to increase access to schooling in poor countries and to improve the quality of education offered. The act calls on the US to support a multilateral education initiative like the Global Partnership for Education that is committed with realizing these important goals.
- Securing U.S. Participation in a Multilateral Education Initiative: Currently, the U.S. funds global basic education efforts almost exclusively on a bilateral basis through the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Coordinating aid through a multilateral education initiative like the Global Partnership for Education is smart aid, and results in more support for children, schools, and teachers in developing countries and better oversight of how funds are used. GCE-US urges the US Government to increase funding to the Global Partnership for Education.
- Removing Barriers for Girls Secondary Education: Despite the fact that gains for investing in the education of women and girls grow with each year of school completed, girls continue to make up more than half of the out-of school children worldwide. At the secondary level, girls face barriers related to health and sanitation, causing many of them to drop out after enrolling. GCE-US advances policy that removes these barriers to secondary education for girls and allows them to achieve their full potential.
GCE-US is an independent secretariat of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), based in Johannesburg, South Africa. GCE was founded in 1999 and brings together major nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and teachers’ unions and other civil society groups in more than 100 countries.
Coalition Member Spotlight
As a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty for more than 65 years, CARE knows that basic education is fundamental to development. No…
