Archive for category: Education

Information and stories on education.

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Google’s Education Expands the World, Shrinks Our Brains

Google's education
Google, one of the world’s most prominent and well-known companies, has massively impacted the world. People can have any piece of information desired at our fingertips, and Google’s education has drastically changed the way children learn.

Google’s education has become so pertinent that the corporation has launched its own app to help teachers in the classroom make assignments, known as Google Classroom. More than 30 million children use Google educational apps such as Google Classroom or Google Docs. The corporation has become so important in schools that Chromebooks (Google-powered laptops) are used by thousands of students and teachers in the classroom. A child in the state of Nebraska has the same access to information as a child in New York, Florida or California. Google’s education has made the world smaller, but it comes at the price of shrinking our brains.

The connectivity of the internet is useful, but some see the internet as a drawback to education as well. Google’s education has made the world smaller, but it comes at the price of shrinking our brains. Having constant access to almost limitless information is not only bad for human discourse; it’s reportedly making us worse at remembering things. And even if we aren’t conscious of it, our brains are primed to think about the Internet as soon as we start trying to recall the answer to a tough trivia question.

Google’s education has transformed education from learning over time into a faster process, one that can easily become a mental-crutch. “Google established itself as a fact in schools,” said Hal Friedlander, former chief information officer for the New York City Department of Education, the U.S.’s largest school district. Before Google established itself in school systems, children would have to research information in textbooks and have to talk to specific adults or mentors about certain topics. Now, the first place students conduct research is on Google.

While students are capable of having research at the touch of a button, teachers are concerned about the newfound capabilities of students’ almost unlimited information resources. Teachers feel that students may be overconfident with their research methods and capabilities. Some teachers believe that students are missing out on the true and somewhat old-fashioned research experience of looking through textbooks and talking to librarians. There’s also the risk of credibility with internet sources. Not every piece of information found on Google is a reliable source of information, and without accurately researching, students are blind to false information versus the truth.

Google’s education has helped expand informational resources to every person with internet access, but there is also the possibility that this access is making our minds less powerful. There has not been much extensive research on this topic yet, and more will need to be done in the future to better understand how Google’s education affects developing minds.

– Mary Waller

Photo: Flickr

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HP World on Wheels Labs and Underprivileged Children

HP World on Wheels
In November of 2016, tech company Hewlett-Packard announced its plan to deploy 48 digital inclusion and learning labs across rural India. The program, HP World on Wheels, intends to enhance digital literacy, education programming and entrepreneurship training.

At the 2017 Global Citizen Festival in Hamburg, Germany, HP furthered its commitment to underserved communities by committing $20 million in technology to enhance the learning of more than 100 million people by 2025.

“In our technology-enabled world, none of us should accept that 330 million children are not learning basic skills,” HP chief supply chain officer Stuart Pann told the festival crowd. “To break the cycle of poverty, we must not only provide access to quality education but also enable better learning outcomes.”

Each HP World on Wheels lab is supplied with computing and printing technology, software suites and e-learning tools as well as IT literacy classes. They are powered by 10 solar panels and produce the least possible greenhouse gases, making them fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly.

HP has set four targets that will help it build strong communities through education:

  1. Expand HP World on Wheels to other less fortunate communities.
  2. Bring HP Learning Studios to refugees in the Middle East in collaboration with Digital Promise Global, the Global Business Coalition for Education, Microsoft and Intel.
  3. Enroll another 100 million entrepreneurs in HP Life, a free e-learning program, by 2025.
  4. Use the HP National Education Technology Assessment (NETA) to guarantee that the education matches what employers require.

As of 2016, there has been seven World on Wheels “Future Classrooms” utilized in rural India. The initiative to improve digital learning everywhere is in collaboration with the United Nations and other nonprofit organizations that will provide business and tech insight in the United States, Myanmar, Tunisia and many other countries needing help in these areas.

“As we work to create technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere, we recognize that a big gap remains between those who have access, and those who don’t,” HP chief sustainability and social impact officer Nate Hurst said. “We’re thrilled to take another step forward in helping bridge the divide with HP World on Wheels, bringing quality education, entrepreneurship training, and access to essential services to people right where they are.”

– Madeline Boeding

Photo: Google

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US Helps Girls Receive Education in Malawi

Girls Malawi Education
Girls receive education in Malawi with focused accommodations and investments that improve their quality of life. The greatest obstacles girls face in education are the high rates of child marriages and pregnancies in Malawi.

This month, the United States government announced plans to invest $90 million for the construction of secondary school classrooms for girls to further their education and become successful. The five-year investment is hoped to reduce high HIV rates among Malawian youths and delay marriage.

According to the UNICEF State of the World’s Children report, half of Malawian girls marry before age 18. Girls vulnerable to child marriages and early pregnancies most likely attain a low level of education. Only 45% of girls remain in school past eighth grade. While girls outnumber boys in primary school enrollment, girls are underrepresented in secondary schools. As of 2015, boys outnumber girls by about 23,000 out of 360,000 secondary school students.

The practice of child marriages continues a cycle of poverty and increases girls’ risk of suffering violence, abuse, and maternal mortality, which constitutes 30% of maternal deaths in the country.

In February 2017, Malawi adopted a constitutional amendment that raises the minimum age of marriage from 15 to 18 years of age for both girls and boys. First Lady Gertrude Mutharika appealed to stakeholders to ensure girls receive education in Malawi and are protected from abuse.

Founder of The Beautify Malawi Trust and Girls’ Education Initiative, Mutharika supports girls across the country to become educated and empowered women. According to Mutharika, gender-based violence in marriage is prevalent because women do not further their education, and since they are not financially independent, they tolerate the abuse.

Beautify Malawi constructs girls’ hostels to alleviate the challenges girls face walking long distances to school. “It is our hope that in future the girls we are seeing today will become nurses, doctors and lawyers,” said Mutharika in May as she commissioned a K120 Million girls hostel at Emvuyeni Community Day Secondary School in Mzimba district. The hostels give girls who had dropped out due to early pregnancies or child marriages the opportunity to return to school. Knowing they are protected and supported, girls choose school and avoid abuse and violence.

As Malawi and foreign aid invest money and resources in improving the quality of life for girls, girls receive education in Malawi, are empowered and gain greater opportunities in their future.

– Sarah Dunlap

Photo: Flickr

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How Education is Affecting the Poverty Rate in India

Poverty Rate in India
India, which now has the world’s third-largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity, has been an urban-centered, industrializing nation since its independence in 1947. Over the last 25 years, India has been noted for its significant economic growth which looks to continue for the 2017 -2018 fiscal year with an expected growth rate of 7.2%. While India has maintained much economic success, many failures and weaknesses still debilitate the nation’s full potential. For example, the poverty rate in India has been less severe in recent years, but there is still much room for improvement.

In 2016, 270 million Indians were surviving on $1.90 or less a day, the World Bank’s definition of extreme poverty. Of the people living in these conditions, 80 percent lived in rural India, where the main source of income for the population is through casual labor. While the economy has appeared to have boomed over the last 25 years, most growth has been in urban areas where large multinational corporations, such as IBM and Microsoft, base their software development headquarters.

With this divide between urban and rural life, economic growth does not seem to remove the issues of extreme poverty in the way a neoliberal economist would suggest. A study in 2002 found that these conditions in India are partially due to educational poverty, which is defined as the deprivation of basic education and literacy. Only 6% of the income from poor households is invested in education and health, while the majority is spent on other necessities such as food and fuel.

However, Tsujita, a researcher of the Institute of Developing Economies, believes that “there may be a chance of escaping poverty through education.” The government in India seems to agree with this statement as they promoted the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) project as a part of their flagship program. SSA was a project in India that began in 2002 to enroll all six- to 14-year-olds in primary education by 2010. The project attempted to do so by improving the facilities and infrastructure of schools while also expanding access to these facilities nationally. As a result, by 2009, 98% of children were only 1 kilometer away from educational facilities and only 2.7 million children remained out of school.

With the extreme poverty rate in India falling from 53.86% in 1983 to 21.23% in 2011, the World Bank strongly believes that education is a powerful instrument for poverty reduction. While the reductions in the extreme poverty rate in India over the past 20 years in India are not due solely to educational improvements, the investment in enhancing basic education has had a significant impact on the poverty rate in India.

Although India’s literacy and education rates remain poor on a global scale, the recent achievements of the SSA are far greater than those previously undertaken, as the program was implemented throughout all districts of India. However, there is still more work to be done. A recent survey shows that half of the government schools in India have no teaching activity and low student progression rates. For the nation to truly eradicate extreme poverty, quality education must be promoted.

These same strides should be made internationally to ensure a better future. Today, 263 million children still do not attend school or lack access to such facilities due to conflicts or national instabilities. Former U.N. secretary-general, Ban Ki-Moon, professed that “with partnership, leadership and wise investments in education, we can transform individual lives, national economies and our world”.

The American people have the opportunity and ability to support such a transformation. The Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development (READ) Act aims to provide basic education and access to the remaining out-of-school children around the world. This piece of legislation has recently passed through the House of Representatives, but it must still be approved by the Senate. As the dramatic changes in India over a 10-year period were due partially to improvements in basic education, a bill such as the READ Act has the potential to improve living conditions for children globally.

– Tess Hinteregger

Photo: Flickr

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WBG Funds Guyana Education Sector Improvement Project

Guyana Education Sector Improvement Project
On April 28, 2017, the World Bank approved a $13.3 million credit toward the Guyana Education Sector Improvement Project. The project aims to improve various aspects of school operations at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels in Guyana.

While school enrollment is rapidly expanding at all levels, many Guyanese students still fail to meet baseline standards in math or English. In the 1970s, Guyana faced major economic decline and public schools received little funding. Many teachers left the country in order to pursue higher-paying positions, leaving schools with untrained and inexperienced teachers.

The economy began to improve in the 1980s as Guyana diversified its exports. Several education-focused aid programs began implementation. Approved by the World Bank in 1989 and completed three years later, the Primary Education Improvement Program of Guyana aimed to train more teachers and provide better physical facilities at the primary level. From 1987-1992, UNESCO sponsored the Equal Opportunity for Girls in Technical and Vocational Education, which involved the training of teachers and female students in the industrial arts at the secondary level.

These and similar programs that ran at the same time had mixed successes. Girls studying the industrial arts program scored better than their peers on standardized tests, and a significant number went on to take courses in the industrial arts at the Guyana Industrial Training center. However, despite the amount of work that has been done to sufficiently train teachers in different disciplines, the Cyril Potter College of Education, Guyana’s main teacher-training facility, simply cannot meet primary and secondary schools’ demand for teachers.

Taking this into account, the Guyana Education Sector Improvement Project will mainly work toward developing new curriculums at the primary and secondary levels and training 6,500 teachers in these curriculums. As a lack of facilities continues to pose a problem, the project will also build a new facility to house the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Health Sciences.

Tahseen Sayed, the World Bank Country Director of the Caribbean, notes that “[q]uality education is one of the strongest instruments for reducing poverty.” As Guyana’s GDP has continued to rise dramatically every year since 2005, the Guyana Education Sector Improvement project will hopefully reinforce this economic growth–and vice versa.

– Caroline Meyers
Photo: Flickr

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Improvements in Education in Mozambique


A southeast African nation with a population of approximately 26 million people, Mozambique prides itself on spending 7% of its GDP on education. Although just under half of the girls in the nation claim an ability to read, Mozambique maintains a 58.8% literacy rate. In fact, education in Mozambique plays a critical role in the lives of many children, as the average child is expected to spend approximately 10 years in the school system.

During the 2003-2004 academic school year, the nation abolished school fees, ensuring the provision of direct support to schools and free textbooks. Ultimately, this led to an influx of students, with primary school enrollment rates reaching 97% by 2014.

UNICEF initiatives have had tremendous success in the region. They have not only helped fund 800 schools through the Child Friendly Schools Programme, but they have also provided $150 million to mobilize funding for education in the nation.

Gender considerations have also impacted education in Mozambique. Rather than tolerate gender disparities in schooling, the country has made a significant effort in eliminating the education gap between boys and girls. Based on the gender parity index, which demonstrates how many girls finish school compared to boys, Mozambique has increased its rate from 0.62 in 2002 to 0.88 in 2014. In 2007, 37% of all girls completed primary school. By 2015, that rate had increased to 45%.

Education in Mozambique is structured similarly to systems in other nations in Africa and across the globe. The academic year, beginning in January and ending in October, welcomes students from the age of six to attend school. Primary school lasts seven years, secondary lasts three years and upper secondary lasts two years. At the moment, there are 6.1 million students enrolled in primary and secondary education in the country, with the majority of them being enrolled in primary education.

The incredible number of colleges and universities in Mozambique further benefits its education system. The most well-known university is Eduardo Mondlane University, founded in 1962. The university offers courses in disciplines such as agricultural sciences, biological sciences, humanities, natural sciences, social and applied sciences, engineering, arts and medicine. Other universities include One World University, Universidade Pedagogica and the MUST Institute for Business and Computer Science. Each of these institutions allows individuals studying in the nation to advance their careers, goals and lives through education.

Education in Mozambique is improving. As the nation continues to develop, there can be no denying that its continued emphasis on educational achievement will prove essential for success.

– Emily Chazen

Photo: Flickr

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10 Important Facts About Schools in Africa

schools in Africa
Africa, the second-largest and second most-populous continent, is also home to the youngest population in the world. These young men and women are the future of Africa, but their future is also uncertain. Due to major limitations in education and other mitigating factors, the students of Africa fight an uphill battle to obtain their education.

Here are 10 facts about schools in Africa:

  1. In 2010, there were still approximately 9 million children of primary school age unable to attend schools in Africa due to various reasons.
  2. Girls, nomadic peoples, orphans, children with disabilities, children affected by HIV/AIDS, children affected by armed conflict and children affected by natural disasters are at a particular risk of missing out on education. Young girls are in significant danger due to the threat of bodily injury and sexual abuse while traveling to and from school.
  3. For every two children who attend school in Africa, one will drop out before graduating.
  4. Approximately 8 of the 10 countries with the lowest primary enrollment rates are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, 33 million primary school-aged children in Africa do not go to school.
  5. Many schools are located far away from children’s homes. Only 7 in 10 children who live in rural areas will ever set foot in a school. Secondary schools can only accommodate 36% of students of age and qualification.
  6. Regional primary enrollment rates now stand at 89% for boys and 86% for girls.
  7. Rates for secondary school enrollment are significantly lower than primary schools. Regional enrollment averages 32% for boys and 29% for girls and many do not actually attend school. Approximately 28% of both boys and girls will attend secondary schools in Africa.
  8. Enrollment in percent education programs is expanding throughout Africa. It nearly doubled between 1999 and 2012.
  9. Primary school attendance has more than doubled between 1999 and 2012. Enrollment rose from 62 million to 149 million during this time.
  10. Parents often can’t afford the cost of education, including books, uniforms, and tuition fees for their children to attend schools in Africa. In response, 15 countries have abolished school fees since 2000, enabling more children to attend primary school.

Africa has made significant strides in promoting healthy growth in enrollment. However, there is still much work to be done to ensure that all children in Africa receive a quality education.

– Drew Hazzard

Photo: Flickr

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Eight Facts About Education in Somalia

In the coastal African country of Somalia, a long history of famine and war has made it difficult for the school system to flourish. Civil conflict, an underdeveloped government and natural disasters have all served to stunt the growth of education in Somalia.

But hope is not lost—both government and nonprofit organizations are developing methods to increase access to quality schools. Below are eight facts about the country’s education system and current efforts to improve the landscape.

  1. Few children have the opportunity to attend school in Somalia, with a 30 percent average primary school enrollment rate that dips to 18 percent in secluded regions. Due to severe poverty and the nomadic culture that pervades more than half of the population, sending children to traditional schools is impractical and impossible for many families.
  2. Vast gender disparity also plagues the education system. Less than half of all Somali students are girls, and just one-quarter of women between 15 and 24 are literate, versus 37.8 percent of men.
  3. Ninety-eight percent of Somali girls undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) at some point in their lives, 80 percent between ages five and nine. Girls who attend school, though, are less likely to face the procedure.
  4. Recognizing this correlation, Somali activist Hawa Aden Mohamed established the Galkayo Education Centre for Peace and Development (GECPD) in the 1990s to create increased access to education in Somalia, especially for girls. The organization has since provided primary schooling to 800 girls and an “un-formal” education to 1,600 adolescent women.
  5. Education itself works as an agent to prevent girls from experiencing FGM. In addition, the GECPD teaches its students about the dangers of FGM and encourages them to break the cycle within their own families, as nearly two-thirds of Somali women and girls approve of the practice of FGM.
  6. Thanks to the GECPD’s work, the girls’ school enrollment rate has risen to 40 percent in the northeast region of the country, while the national average is just 24.6 percent.
  7. Raising these numbers is vital, as 70 percent of the population is under 30 years old. In addition, youth unemployment swells at 67 percent. With a better education system and ample opportunities for both boys and girls, Somalia stands a great chance of breaking the cycle of poverty and building a successful economy.
  8. Earlier this year, an education summit was held in Garowe, where The Ministry of Education in Puntland discussed education policy and curriculum with the federal government. Federal Minister of Education Abdirahman Dahir Osman announced that committees will begin working on issues within the education system and that Egypt has contributed funding to the cause. The involved organizations will soon release more information on the summit’s conclusions.

While the current circumstances may look bleak, the future holds a wealth of possibilities. With the continued support of the government and organizations such as the GECPD, education in Somalia is on track to turn around.

– Madeline Forwerck

Photo: Flickr

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Australian Aborigines and Barrel Train to Keep School Attendance

Barrel TrainIn the remote regions of Pilbara, Australia, a train snakes through red dirt tracks, but the cargo it carries is one of a kind. The Aboriginal community of Punmu, 700 kilometers east of Newman, have DIY’ed their way into converting a couple of metal drums into a unique barrel train.

John Reudavey, the chief architect of this novel school train, got the idea while holidaying in Perth, where he noticed a couple of drums being towed behind a ride – on the mower. He saw parents paying $2 for the kids to putt around the footy oval and an idea was born.

The Train

For the rugged and uneven terrain of Pilbara, Reudavey along with volunteers Donald Graham, Peter Doery and the Punmu community, linked barrels and attached them to a front tractor, which ultimately drives the entire system around. They mounted the drums onto metal framings with wheels and linked them together to form this 24-seater desert transit.

The carriages were decorated using design artwork from children and community members. Local industries like the Newcrest Mining, Telfer provided the necessary support for the successful creation of this project.

Reudavey’s Western Desert Express now serves around 40 Punmu children which go to RAWA community school which is an independent school catering to students from Kindergarten to Year 12.

According to the Principal Sarah Mortimer, the ride is safe and positive and is welcomed by parents with younger kids, who can now send their children safely and timely to school. While school attendance has never been an issue, the biggest challenge faced by Mortimer has been student arrivals. The principal hopes that the barrel train would help address the issue of late arrivals and encourage students to stay at schools for the entire day.

For Reudavey, the biggest driver is the eager look on the faces of young children as they wait for their unique barrel train ride each morning, rain, hail or shine.

The Punmu Aboriginal Community

Punmu is an Aboriginal community situated in the very heart of Western Australia, located 640 km southeast of Port Hedland in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia, within the Shire of East Pilbara. Punmu are considered to be the most isolated communities in Australia. The Punmu community has a population of approximately 180 people and Manyjiljarra (pronounced Mun-dul-jar-ah) is the spoken language. Two main reasons the Martu live out in the middle of the desert are: to return to their traditional land and to save the community from the ill effects of alcohol, petrol sniffing and drugs.

– Jagriti Misra

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A New Reality: The Progress of Education and Development in Ethiopia

Ruled by kings until 1974, the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Republic now remains in the relatively early stages of development. With a total population of 99.4 million, Ethiopia has the second largest population in Sub-Saharan Africa.  However, it is one of the poorest countries in the world.

Fortunately, Ethiopia is also one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and education and development in Ethiopia have become a legislative priority. Between 2005 and 2011, Ethiopian economic growth averaged to 11 percent, and although the country is still heavily reliant on agriculture, it has been working toward the lofty goal of becoming a lower-middle-income economy by 2025.

With an emphasis on education and development in Ethiopia, the country has seen impressive results.  As a result, universal education has become close to reality in the country. In 1990, Ethiopian university enrollment had peaked 10,000 students.  By 2015 enrollment skyrocketed to 360,000 students.

Training in technical and vocational careers has also significantly increased. From 1999 to 2014 the number of students in these fields rose from 5,264 to 271,389. The emphasis in these areas hopes that workers will be well suited for the growing construction and manufacturing sectors.

Despite skyrocketing employment, there remains a disconnect between schools and skills demanded in the market.  Even though the number of educational institutions has increased, the quality had decreased. Many students have since graduated with skills are unfit for the available jobs. This issue has led to some unemployment in the newly educated youth workforce.

Despite such economic pressures, overall unemployment has decreased. According to the World Bank Group, a major contributor of Ethiopia’s annual foreign aid, the country has been taking all the right steps forward. By decentralizing resources to regional governments, focusing on infrastructure and reorienting expenditures the country has seen enormous growth.

Today, Ethiopia requires continued aid to accelerate job creation and vastly decrease poverty in the country. This continued support will allow education and development in Ethiopia to continue to thrive.

– Shannon Golden

Photo: Flickr