Implications poverty can cause for pedagogical practice and my final thoughts

Chances are throughout my teaching profession I will work alongside children and their families who live in poverty. As I have come to realise poverty is a huge social issue in New Zealand society which is clearly reinforced by statistics. Poverty is an issue that is evident throughout our bi-cultural society and can cause a number of implications for early childhood teachers.

One of the main concerns I have discovered throughout the research is a lack of understanding. I believe this highlights the importance of strong and open relationships with children, their parents and whānau. By developing good relationships and working in collaboration helps build successful outcomes for the child. As Te Whariki states “the health and well-being of the child [is to be] protected and nurtured” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 46).

Consequently, knowing the children and their families and having an understanding of their home environment allows teachers to promote practical solutions. For example, growing a communal edible garden not only involves children and their families but allows food to be shared amongst families.  Or, encouraging unwanted clothes to be donated and swapped between families and the local community at the centre, provides useful help for those in need.

However, not all relationships are genuine. Sometimes assumptions and judgements are made without teachers knowing the real background on a particular child. Unconsciously, teachers look at a certain situation and assume parents and whānau are not meeting the full needs of the child. However, sometimes the choices parents make may be the only way in which they can meet a certain need. Similarly, if true relationships are not formed between whānau and teachers there is likely to be missed opportunities to support families.

Within relationships implications can occur when effective communication is insufficient, as relationships rely on effective communication. This allows parents to feel comfortable when asking for help and when a teacher may be expressing concerns. “Families bring knowledge and experience of their child as an individual, and [teachers] bring [their] knowledge of children In general…” all of this information will create “the optimal experience for each child” (Feeney, Moravcik, Nolte & Christensen, 2010, p. 422).

However, having effective communication and positive relationships with a child’s family may not always ensure families will ask for help. Firstly, they may feel too embarrassed to ask, and secondly a family may not know how to ask for help. This highlights another implication for teacher’s pedagogical practice as teachers have an ethical responsibility to ensure a child’s basic needs are being met. Under the Code of Ethics and Te Whariki it clearly states that teachers are to promote the physical and emotional well-being of children (New Zealand Teachers Council, Code of Ethics for Registered Teachers, 2004 & Ministry of Education, 1996).

My final thoughts

Writing this blog and researching about the social issue of poverty has made me aware of the importance of teachers to commit to on-going learning. Ideally all teachers will be qualified and have learnt about social issues and how these effect children and teaching practice. But all teachers qualified or not, need to make sure that they stay current with the latest information, policies and statistics of the social issues in New Zealand. This way  they can make informed choices about their teaching practice when working with children and hopefully make a difference for those children in need.

Hope you enjoyed my blog

References

Feeney, S., Moravcik, E., Nolte, S., & Christensen, D. (2010.). Who am I in the lives of children? An introduction to early childhood education. (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Ministry of Education. (1996.). TeWhāriki: He Whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa/Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

New Zealand Teacher’s Council Code of Ethics for Registered Teacher’s. (2004.). Retrieved from  http://www.teacherscouncil.govt.nz/required/ethics/index.stm

The effects poverty has on a child's health

This blog will be focusing on health issues that poverty can cause for children.

Firstly, overcrowding is one implication within poverty which can have a huge impact on a child’s health. On the Child Poverty Action Group website I came across an essay writing competition for medical students, I read one written in 2011 by medical student Sarah Merry. She had moved from South Africa to Auckland, she said New Zealand “seemed a land of milk and honey” until she went on a placement, doing home visits with the community team. On her rounds she soon realised the true meaning of overcrowding with one three bedroom home housing twelve people. One of the children she visited “suffered severe bronchiolitis (a serious chest infection) and at the same time scabies infection, both spread by human contact” (Merry, 2011). 

Scabies

For Sarah Merry’s full essay click on the link below:

 http://www.cpag.org.nz/assets/sm/upload/ix/0n/26/bf/Report%20Sarah%20Merry.pdf

Furthermore, on the Child Poverty Action Group website, I watched TV3’s John Campbell interviewing Auckland paediatricians on the preventable diseases that children are admitted for. In this interview it is said by one of the paediatricians that it is more often than not the homes these children live in. Damp, cold, overcrowded, just what germs and diseases would class as heaven, places to grow with many people in these homes becoming their hosts, always though, the youngest child being the most venerable. I found this interview very heart wrenching especially when one of the doctors said that all the admissions he was seeing, was just like working in South Africa a decade ago and this is our country, New Zealand, not a third world country. As he said we should not be seeing these types of diseases. I totally agree with the last doctor seen in this interview, she said this is “state child neglect” because we have known about this and we have known about this for the past ten years! Why has nothing changed?         

This is a link to John Campbell’s interview:

 Healthy homes = healthy kids

The overcrowding within these homes can cause many serious infections. “Infectious diseases such as meningococcal disease, rheumatic fever, tuberculosis, and respiratory infections…” (Howden-Chapman & Wilson, 1999, p. 133). Fletcher and Dwyer’s (2008) report ‘A fair go for all children’, also add other infectious diseases such as asthma, skin diseases, depression and other mental illness. Additionally, infectious diseases among children under five years accounts for 64% of acute admissions for Maori children, 68% for pacific children, compared with 55% of European and other children. This information was discovered when reading a published piece of research from the University of Otago, Wellington, discussing the increase in hospital admissions within the last two decades (Baker, 2012). This is the link to this research:

http://www.otago.ac.nz/news/news/otago030366.html

Not only is it the homes in which some of these children live that can make them sick, it could also include affordability and accessibility regarding appropriate health care. Fletcher and Dwyer’s (2008) report ‘A fair go for all children’ stated affordability can be an issue for parents living in poverty. If a child under six years is registered at a G.P practice the cost can often be at low-cost or free within normal working hours. “However, after-hours charges are highly variable and can be as high as $120 an hour” (Turner & Asher, 2008, cited in Fletcher & Dwyer, 2008, p. 55). This makes me question, when families are living in poverty do they own or have access to a vehicle within normal working hours? And if they do not own their own vehicle, is waiting for a family member or friend after-hours the only option they have? Therefore, it seems to me that if the latter is the case, how are parents supposed to afford to take their children to the doctor? Additionally, within this report Fletcher and Dwyer have proposed four objectives that may help to improve the health of these children: 

1. “Ensure that all children are enrolled in Well-child and a general practice service at birth.
2.  Ensure children can get after-hours and weekend medical attention and prescriptions at all times, without cost.
3.  Improve immunisation rates to match the best-performing OECD countries.
4.  Progressively extend free medical visits to children of all ages in all areas” (Fletcher & Dwyer, 2008, p. 56).

I do agree if visits to the doctor were free, more children would get seen before such infections and diseases get to a point where they could potentially affect a child for a lifetime. Personally I have to admit that I have thought twice before I have taken my own children to the doctor, purely because of the cost. As a parent I know that when my children get sick, they generally go downhill after-hours – always the way!

"Many things we need can wait.  The child cannot.  Now is the time his bones are being formed; his blood is being made; his mind is being developed.  To him we cannot say    tomorrow.  His name is today." (Gabriela Mistral, n.d., cited in, Child Poverty Action Group)

This is a link to the full Fletcher and Dwyer (2008) report:

http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/media/6348/A%20fair%20go%20for%20all%20children_full.pdf

When children are living in poverty for extensive periods of their life, not only will they be at higher risk of health issues as children, but this could continue throughout adulthood. Fletcher and Dwyer (2008) stated that in New Zealand a child that has grown up in poverty “is associated with higher rates of heart disease, alcohol and drug dependence, and worse oral health at age 26” (Poulton et al., 2002, cited in Fletcher & Dwyer, 2008, p. 14). In turn this may have an impact on their children, thus potentially repeating the same cycle.

Therefore, putting the proposed objectives suggested by Fletcher and Dwyer (2008) in place for children living in poverty may help prevent poor health and other implications. Likewise, provide positive experiences and teach those living in poverty how to source future help.

Within my next blog I aim to consider what I have learnt about poverty and how this will affect my teaching practice.

References

Baker, M. (2012.). Alarming increase in serious infectious diseases in NZ. Retrieved from http://www.otago.ac.nz/news/news/otago030366.html

Campbell, J. (2008.). The future of New Zealand depends on the well-being of every child. Retrieved from http://www.cpag.org.nz/topics/

Fletcher, M, & Dwyer, M. (2008.). A fair go for all children: Actions to address child poverty in New Zealand. Retrieved from http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/media/6348/A%20fair%20go%20for%20all%20children_full.pdf

Howden-Chapman, P, & Wilson, N. (1999.). Housing and health. Retrieved from http://www.healthyhousing.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/SIHch7.pdf

Merry, S. (2011.). Child health and child poverty In New Zealand: A medical student’s experience. Retrieved from http://www.cpag.org.nz/assets/sm/upload/ix/0n/26/bf/Report%20Sarah%20Merry.pdf

Housing and Employment

As previously stated, this blog will be focusing on polices and the criteria the government requires to stipulate whether a person or family is eligible for help.




(picture retrieved from http://www.hawkesbay.co.nz/general-stories-page:/52532-napier-housing-action-group-to-return-to-parliament.html )

The suburb of Maraenui Napier has nearly 100 empty Housing New Zealand homes, therefore families who once tenanted these homes have had to move into private rentals which are not affordable or move in with family which can be overcrowded. I have read an article regarding a petition that was put forward to the government by a community group called Tu Tangata Maraenui. The petition was a protest against the changes made regarding the Housing New Zealand criteria. This is a link regarding the petition the group took to parliament:

 http://www.stuff.co.nz/hawkes-bay-sun/news/7946016/Marchers-in-Wellington

Arapera Brown a spokeswoman for Tu Tangata Maraenui explains that the changes made to the criteria have left families unable to afford private rent therefore two and three families all have to live together under one roof. Additionally, the houses that are left unoccupied are an open invitation for teenagers to use these homes for drinking, partying and criminal activities, thus making an unsafe community (Brown, 2013). I decided to try and find out exactly what the criteria is to be eligible for a housing New Zealand home. I went to their website and found that the information provided was very limited, which meant if I wanted to know exactly what the criteria was, I needed to ring the 0800 number. This made me question why this information was not provided on the internet and is this because the criteria can differ for individual cases. However, I did find out how they prioritised successful applicants. Housing New Zealand has priority A, “assessed as being at risk” B, “assessed as being serious” C, “assessed as being moderate” and D, “assessed as being low” (Housing New Zealand Corporation, 2013), the link below has how many applicants are on waiting lists for each region and how many under each priority:

 http://www.hnzc.co.nz/rent-buy-or-own/rent-from-housing-new-zealand/waiting-list-by-nu

As housing may be unaffordable for some, this puts pressure on a child’s health and well-being. Having multiple families overcrowding in the one home can mean compromised personal space which may have an effect on the families health, according to Howden-Chapman and Wilson (1999) overcrowded homes “are more likely to have low socioeconomic status and higher unemployment” (p. 133). However, I saw on TV One News Paula Bennett, the Minister of Social Development, explain that the beneficiary numbers had in fact dropped, meaning more people have gone back to work. But, this statement was then challenged when Major Pam Waugh from the Salvation Army stated that the food bank demands have actually risen, even though Howden-Chapman and Wilson state that the overcrowding can be due to higher unemployment, this may not always be the case. This shows that even when people do have jobs it is not always enough to get food on the table, additionally this shows that it is not always beneficiaries that are struggling. So although benefit numbers are down the cost of living in this country has risen to a point where more and more people need support. This is the link regarding what Major Pam Waugh says about the food bank and Paula Bennett’s opinion for the drop in benefits:

 http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/poverty-group-slams-benefit-cuts-5406591/video

The above information led me to think about human rights and the rights of the child. "International human rights law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups" (United Nations Human Rights, 1996, p. 1). Moreover, the Human Rights Commission (2010) explains children's rights are usually advocated as falling into three sections. One of these being 'provision rights' which states "provision rights include the right to an adequate living" (Human Rights Commission, 2010, p. 4). This lead me to wonder what happens for those families who do not meet the criteria? or those families who may not seek help or even know where to start. Does this mean children's rights are being denied? In my opinion yes because if families do not meet the criteria, children are the ones who suffer having to bunk in with family in overcrowded situations.
     

My next blog will look more at a child’s health due to overcrowding situations, and the implications that come from poor health for a child in regards to early childhood and other educational settings.

References

Brown, A. (2013.). Napier housing action group to return to parliament. Retrieved from http://www.hawkesbay.co.nz/general-stories-page:/52532-napier-housing-action-group-to-return-to-parliament.html

Housing New Zealand Coperation. (2013.). Retrieved from http://www.hnzc.co.nz/rent-buy-or-own/rent-from-housing-new-zealand/waiting-list-by-nu

Howden-Chapman, P, & Wilson, N. (1999.). Housing and health. Retrieved from http://www.healthyhousing.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/SIHch7.pdf

Human Rights Commission. (2010.). The rights of children and young people. Retrieved from  http://www.hrc.co.nz/hrc_new/hrc/cms/files/documents/20-Aug-2010_12-25-25_Childrens_chapter_v3.pdf  

Definition, Statistics and effects poverty has on children in New Zealand

I found after pondering my previous questions that perhaps I should first understand exactly what the word poverty meant. According to the business dictionary, poverty is a “condition where people’s basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter are not being met” (Businessdictionary.com). “Damp, cold housing and overcrowding are a common experience of children living in poverty, and contribute to ill-health, poorer learning environments and family stress” (Children’s Commissioner, 2008).  “Child poverty rates in New Zealand, while declining, are still above the average of other developed countries” (Children’s Commissioner, 2008).As I went on and read brief statistics on child poverty in New Zealand, provided by the Children’s Commissioner (2008), I came across poverty rates for sole parent families and two parent families. The rate of poverty for children within a sole parent household sits at 49%, five times higher than that of a two parent family which sits at 9%. This also stated “poverty rates are also significantly higher among Maori and Pacifica children than Pakeha children”. This made me wonder just how many of our children are living in these conditions. The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand (2013) stated that, “New Zealand should be the best place in the world to grow up”, which was my thought exactly, before I discovered how much poverty is a social issue within New Zealand with 270,000 kiwi children presently living in poverty (Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, 2013).

Recent statistics in 2006/07 show 230,000, or 22% of kiwi children living in what is classed as the ‘poverty line’.  This means that a home with one adult and one child is 60% below the average income after housing costs, meaning they are “living on $430 a week before housing costs” (Children’s Commissioner, 2008). Out of these children 170,000 or 16% live on $355 a week before housing costs which is less than 50% of the average income. Furthermore, in a household where there is no full time worker the poverty rate is 6 times higher than where there is at least 1 full time worker.

These figures shocked me due to the lack of knowledge I had of poverty within my own country. A country where I grew up, felt safe and had a home provided for me that catered for my basic needs. There was a glimmer of hope when I discovered that there had been decreases in child poverty statistics from 1996 to 2006/07 however the numbers are still heart wrenching. This left me wondering what it means for a child to grow up in poverty.One in six children living in poverty (Child Poverty Action Group, cited in KidsCan, 2012), miss out on their basic needs.

Some children experience temporary stages of poverty and others experience poverty for either long periods or throughout the duration of their childhood. Dr Peter Didsbury (2012) who chairs Auckland’s biggest primary health organisation, ProCare, explains the effects he sees of deprivation daily. He explains the most common skin diseases such as, impetigo (school sores) and cellulitis are often a sign of overcrowding and poor housing. “It’s spread person to person by germs. It’s difficult to keep the hygiene going when you have too many people in the house” (Didsbury, 2012). Furthermore, in the colder weather it is common to treat children with respiratory or breathing illnesses such as bronchiolitis, caused by damp and cold housing which families cannot afford to heat. He then explains why extended families crowd into one house and the reason is simple - to save money.

 My concern here is, can parents afford to take their children to the doctors if they are not well? I then discovered that most South Auckland practices are on the governments ‘very low-cost access’ funding scheme which provides fees at $11.50 for children age 6 – 17 and free for under 6 years, “but even those fees still put some families off” (Didsbury, 2012).
Here is a link to Bryan Bruce and his opinion on poverty. I felt this was smacking the nail right on the head, especially after reading what Dr Peter Didsbury explained:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aosyR0zBSNs

Karen Salmon (2012) then further explains that poverty is the “greatest threat to child well-being”. She explains because of poverty, children have limited essentials such as education or school related expenses. These children suffer quality interactions with peers, adults and parents (Salmon, 2012 cited in, The Dominion Post, 2013).

The next question I pondered on was what are the long lasting effects?Children who have lived in poverty may suffer ever lasting effects such as, “reduced employment prospects, lower earnings, poorer health and higher rates of criminal offending” (Children’s Commissioner, 2008). Every child counts (2013), explains that sole parenting, disabilities, and workforce skills are also effects of poverty.
Additionally, Jack Shonkoff  (2012) says “poverty is associated with a myriad of lost social and educational opportunities and compromised quality of the life for the children who experience it and the adults they become” (Shonkoff, 2012 cited in, The Dominion Post, 2013).

With all the information gathered here I have decided my next blog will touch on housing, health and employment, as I feel this could be a good place to start investigating policies and criteria. What policies and criteria are required when applying for help in these areas? And what impact does this have on our children?

References

Business Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/poverty.html

Children’s Comissioner. (2008.). Brief statistics on child poverty in New Zealand. Retrieved from  http://www.occ.org.nz/home/childpoverty/about_child_poverty

Didsbury, P. (2012.). Dr says he sees the effects of poverty on kids every day. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10784293

Every Child Counts. (2013.). Child poverty. Retrieved from www.everycwhildcounts.org.nz/resources/child-poverty/

KidsCan. (2012.). Retrieved from http://www.kidscan.org.nz/our-work/child-poverty

Salmon, K. (2012.). Child poverty our biggest enemy. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/7655339/Child-poverty-our-biggest-enemy

Shonkoff, J. (2012.). Child poverty our biggest enemy. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/7655339/Child-poverty-our-biggest-enemy

The Green Party of Aotearoa. (2013.). End child poverty: Take the step. Retrieved from http://www.greens.org.nz/endchildpoverty

Introduction

The social issue I have chosen is child poverty within Aotearoa/New Zealand. The reason I chose child poverty is due to watching a documentary on television. I remember feeling very naïve after watching this, as I had not realised child poverty is so prominent within our country. After seeing this, I have had several conversations with others regarding this matter.

 One conversation surprised me as not all people seem sympathetic to those considered on the poverty line.  A comment that really stood out was “There is no excuse for not feeding your children, back in my day our children never went hungry”.

This made me question, is it simply bad choices that keep people in the poverty line? How do families find themselves in this situation? What affect and impact does poverty have on our children? And when these children become adults is it just a given that they will remain in the poverty line?  I expect the more I read the more questions will be raised, but at this point these questions will guide where I will look next regarding children living in poverty within Aotearoa/ New Zealand.