Making a Difference: Early Childhood Education in Refugee Camps
Since mid-2022, a minimum of 103 million people, of which 36.5 million are children, have been forcibly displaced because of conflict, violence, or persecution. 1 in 6 children have spent their early years surrounded by war and instability, and about 48% of all forcibly displaced children are not in school (Kirollos et al., 2018; United, n.d.-b). The majority of these people live in refugee camps and will stay in displacement for years, often without access to any education (Ensuring, 2021).
Understanding the need to provide access to education, some organizations have found their way into refugee camps. One of those organizations is PILAglobal. PILA is one of the few non-profit organizations focused specifically on providing early childhood education (ECE) to young children and families in refugee camps where there is zero access to education (PILAglobal, n.d.).
Why Early Childhood Education in Refugee Camps?
Many refugee children experience profound physical and emotional traumas from the conflicts they left behind and from daily life in refugee camps. They’re immensely vulnerable and are exposed to all risks ranging from sexual exploitation to forced recruitment and beyond (United Nations Children, 2017). Younger refugee children face additional challenges as the physical deprivation, psychological trauma, constant stress, and inadequate socioemotional and cognitive development can have lasting effects on their ability to learn, grow, and excel (Kirollos et al., 2018).
While education generally imparts important practical and cognitive skills, ECE specifically helps young children under the age of 6 learn how to handle the stressors they encounter and provides them safe areas to play, thrive, and create positive change by developing their tolerance, confidence, and hope (Grantham-McGregor et al., 2007). Additionally, ECE can provide language instruction in the majority language of the host country, which will provide refugee children a greater degree of school readiness. The provision of high quality ECE has also been shown to reduce gaps in outcomes between refugee children and native-born children, while also increasing academic performance, future employment opportunities, income, and overall health. Beyond the children themselves, ECE has also been shown to connect refugee families to the larger community, fostering social capital and social cohesions through the provision of spaces in which diversity, tolerance and respect are nurtured (Park et al., 2018).
Yet, despite this evidence, more than 200 million children under the age of 5 from around the world fail to reach their full developmental potential because they don’t have access to ECE (Grantham-McGregor et al., 2007).
PILAglobal
PILA recognized the growing need for ECE among refugees. So, in 2018, PILA opened its first Nest—an education and play space for young refugee children—in a community center in Lesvos, Greece. Since then, PILA has opened three additional Nest’s for refugees in Athens, Greece, and in Tijuana, Mexico (PILAglobal, n.d.).
In these refugee camps—which are often fraught with conflict and violence—PILA provides one of the only places where young children and their parents or guardians can feel safe, and learn. As its CEO states, “we are teaching for democracy…building social skills, problem solving, and confidence as a learner, to say nothing of math, science, and literacy” (L. Weissert, personal communication, February 24, 2023).
Understanding that families have different needs and wants, and that each country context is different, the Nest centers are inquiry- and play-based and look like the children they serve. There is no one size fits all model to ECE, rather, each program’s structure is unique, reflecting the needs of the communities, and being culturally responsive. PILA provides the infrastructure and materials, but then each Nest is maintained, in part, by the community it serves. And once it is established, local partners are brought in to provide additional funding and support, while ensuring the program is responsive to the needs of the community. PILA’s ECE program is thus highly sustainable and scalable (L. Weissert, personal communication, February 24, 2023).
Lindsay Weissert and her team have seen how providing ECE to young refugee children helps build social skills, confidence, and the disposition children need to solve the world’s problems. She believes that “these are children that will go on to solve the problems of their own countries and communities.”
Migration is not going to stop any time soon, and the need for quality education won’t end either. Data has shown that the number of child refugees has increased by a staggering 812% since the beginning of the 21st century (United, n.d.-b). Thus, governments, international organizations, and NGOs need to enact laws and increase their risk appetites to implement programs that will provide ECE to children, setting children up for learning and protecting them from the harms of refugee life. With improvements in access to quality education, we will be able to see a positive change in refugee life and the lives of refugee children.
References
Ensuring Quality Early Childhood Education for Refugee Children: A New Approach to Teacher Professional Development – World. (2021). ReliefWeb. https://reliefweb.int/report/world/ensuring-quality-early-childhood-education-refugee-children-new-approach-teacher
Grantham-McGregor, S., Cheung, Y. B., Cueto, S., Glewwe, P., Richter, L., & Strupp, B. J. (2007). Developmental potential in the first 5 years for children in developing countries. The Lancet, 369(9555), 60–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(07)60032-4
Kirollos, M., Anning, C., Gunvor, K.F., Denselow, J. (2018). The War on Children. Save the Children International. https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/content/dam/global/reports/education-and-child-protection/war_on_children-web.pdf
PILAglobal | High Quality Education for Refugee Children. (n.d.). PILAglobal. https://www.pilaglobal.org/
Maki, P., Katsiaficas, C., & McHugh M. Responding to the ECEC Needs of Children of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Europe and North America. (2018). MPI. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/ECECforRefugeeChildren_FINALWEB.pdf
United Nations Children’s Fund. (2017). Unicef’s Programme Guidance for Early Childhood Development. UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/media/107616/file/UNICEF-Programme-%20Guidance-for-Early-Childhood-Development-2017.pdf
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (n.d.-b). Refugee Statistics. UNHCR. https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/
Empowering Rohingya Youth: A Development Program for Sustainable Change
Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) is a country in South East Asia and is conservatively Bhuddist. In 2017, a Humanitarian crisis in Myanmar of the Rohingya people in the Rakhine state occurred with genocide committed by the Myanmar Military, influenced by the distasteful views of prominent Buddhist Monks and the Myanmar government’s unwillingness to recognize the group as citizens of the country, which rendered them stateless since 1982 (Letchamanan, 2013; Mahmood, S. S., Wroe, E., Fuller, A., & Leaning, J., 2017). The Rohingya people practice Islam, and violence was taken upon them for state repression and discrimination (Myanmar: No justice, no freedom for Rohingya 5 years on, 2022). Due to the atrocities committed, the learning environment was rendered unsafe, the infrastructure was disseminated, and the youth were at risk of continued violence. Youth of marginalized groups in the Rakhine state, such as the Rohingya people, suffer from loss of education and personal development (Letchamanan, 2013).
Peace Point Myanmar
Peace Point Myanmar was founded in 2016 by Hte Swe, a human rights advocate, to enhance democratic values, human rights, and civic engagement through civic education, inter-faith dialogue, human rights training, campaign incentives, and research advocacy. Peace Point Myanmar works with young people from diverse backgrounds and religious groups, such as Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and Christians. Their outreach focuses on Rohingya people and citizens of the Rakhine State, where the organization works. There are also program operations in the capital city of Yangon (About Us, n.d.).
Youth Development Program
The Youth Development Program is one of five programs that Peace Point Myanmar employs. It is structured to educate young people in Myanmar in preparation for working in their community and for professional development. The program offers four programs as part of its Youth Development Program; Leadership for Change Program, Microsoft Applications Courses, General English Classes, and a Library Project. These programs share the mission of developing skills for the youth to become leaders in their community, social change makers, and better versions of themselves (Youth Development Program, n.d.).
Constructs of YDP
The Leadership for Change Program is a youth empowerment program that aims to support leaders by training them with the right tools to become active human rights advocates and creators of social change in their communities. This is extremely important for Myanmar learners with the ongoing genocide and human rights crises against the Rohingya people in the Rakhine State in western Myanmar. Initiatives are taken to raise the learner’s leadership capacity skills and participation in peace-building traits to better prepare them for an engagement at the community level and beyond. Through hands-on learning, building self-confidence, and the capability of youth to identify solutions to problems are taught to drive social change (Youth Development Program, n.d.).
Peace Point Myanmar uses Microsoft Application Courses to instruct the Myanmar youth on technology skills they can use in their lives and future employment. Education on technology will break down barriers and create opportunities for those that may not have previously had them. Giving Rohingya youth education and access to technology reinforces their ability to become human rights and social change advocates. The technology classes are one month long, two days a week, and Peace Point Myanmar instructed 950 participants from 2017 to 2020 (Youth Development Program, n.d.).
Since 2012, children of the Rakhine State have lost opportunities for development and education due to conflict. Peace Point Myanmar looks to support the educational and resource gap by providing activities and learning materials to all kids. The organization strives to provide context to the learners of conflict affecting their lives, anger and tension management, and the promotion of social cohesion. The goals of the Library Project are as follows (Youth Development Program, n.d.).
- “Create Sustainable education courses including social cohesion training for local communities, teaching English lessons, and other useful skills.”
- “Offer youth reading sessions called “The Books I Used to Read,” followed by a discussion of what they have learned from the reading.
- “Basic Computer Training in Word, Excel, Powerpoint, internet, and graphic design, which will help them get a job.” (Youth Development Program, n.d.)
General English classes are provided to teach Myanmar youth quality speaking, writing, reading, and listening skills at beginner, elementary, pre-intermediate, and intermediate levels. From 2016 to 2020, the General English classes had 1,950 youth participants from diverse backgrounds. This program is also implemented in the Library Project, goals 1 and 2.
Peace Point Myanmar was reached for an Interview but did return a response.
Hope for the Future
With the ongoing humanitarian crisis occurring in the Rakhine State of Myanmar, the youth of the Rohingya people are suffering the most due to a lack of access to youth development programs and education. Organizations such as Peace Point Myanmar must provide access to tools in their Youth Development Program, such as General English classes, the technology and Microsoft Applications course, and the Library Project. The four tools used in the Youth Development Program support each other in developing skills for Myanmar youth to become leaders and positive social change agents in their communities. With these skills, young Myanmar people can seek employment opportunities and highly skilled jobs that are starting to require a higher English literacy level and advocate for themselves and others through multiple platforms (Mar, M. T. C, 2020).
Sources
About Us. Peace Point Myanmar. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.peacepointmyanmar.org/who-we-are/about-us/
Letchamanan, H. (2013). Myanmar’s Rohingya refugees in Malaysia: Education and the way forward. Journal of International and Comparative Education (JICE), 86-97.
Mahmood, S. S., Wroe, E., Fuller, A., & Leaning, J. (2017). The Rohingya people of Myanmar: health, human rights, and identity. The Lancet, 389(10081), 1841-1850.
Mar, M. T. C. (2020, October). Myanmar Youth and Impact of English Language Proficiency Towards Job Grabbing. In International Conference on Community Development (ICCD 2020) (pp. 416-420). Atlantis Press.
Myanmar: No justice, no freedom for Rohingya 5 years on. Human Rights Watch. (2022, August 24). Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/24/myanmar-no-justice-no-freedom-rohingya-5-years#:~:text=The%20Rohingya%20who%20remain%20in,care%2C%20education%2C%20and%20livelihoods.
Youth Development Program. Peace Point Myanmar. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.peacepointmyanmar.org/programs/youth-development-program/
Free Access to Education for All Through Literacy
Literacy is a huge problem throughout the world, especially in developing countries such as Latin America. According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, about “9% of individuals ages 15 and older are illiterate which equates to about 38 million” (cepal.org) illiterate individuals in Latin America and the Caribbean. A majority of these individuals are women who make up about 20 million of the 38 million in Latin America and the Caribbean. Literacy is such an important part of education to end the cycle of poverty as well as contribute to an increase in the country’s economy by having more job opportunities for individuals to seek higher paying jobs. According to the United Nations Social Development Goals, Goal 4: Quality Education is set to “ensure inclusive equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” (SDG Indicators). Below are the percentages of children and adolescents who are not achieving minimum proficiency in math or reading in 2015:
According to the World Literacy Foundation, the impact of illiteracy in a country can cost a country’s global economy an estimated 1.9 trillion dollars annually, as well as increase the amount of unemployment in a country if individuals do not have proper literacy skills that employers need which can cause vacancies in these industries. One social impact of illiteracy is that it can negatively affect the importance of education which can continue the cycle of poverty through generations.
The second social impact of illiteracy is poor health outcomes, welfare dependency, gender inequality, and lack of social skills for women and men. There are currently 5.5 million more girls than boys that are out of school worldwide and that number will most likely increase. The health impact of illiteracy can impact a child’s health and survival due to the mother’s lack of understanding of health education and behaviors. Illiteracy can impact an individual’s ability to understand health information, read medication labels, and make accurate decisions on the health of themselves and their families.
The World Literacy Foundation is “a global nonprofit organization striving to ensure that every child regardless of geographic location has the opportunity to acquire literacy skills and books to reach their full potential to succeed in school and beyond” (World Literacy Foundation.org). The World Literacy Foundation was established in 2003 in Melbourne, Australia to bring books, tutoring, and literacy resources to children without any support” (The World Literacy Foundation.org). They expanded to other countries around the world to combat illiteracy.
The World Literacy Foundation’s impact on the Aprende Leyendo program in Manizales, Columbia, and the impact in 2022 globally has been outstanding. In 2020 through the Aprende Leyendo program, “940+ children and parents accessed services through the World Literacy Foundation, 1,170+ free books, and literacy packs were distributed, 60+ reading sessions were facilitated, 450 volunteers hours were donated to the foundation’s projects as well as 150+ eBooks and digital activities were created for the Dingo App which allows access to digital books in English and Spanish for students with poor internet connection in rural communities” (Aprende Leyendo, World Literacy Foundation). For 2022, “Globally 91% of children who used World Literacy Foundation services showed improvements in their literacy skills. 78% of children who received books and reading support through their services showed positive changes toward healthy reading habits. They distributed 180,000 books as well as providing 8,400 hours of literacy support. They also produced 341 local language and bilingual books in 31 different languages as well as reach 180 million people with information about the importance of reading and awareness of literacy in their communities. Every 3 seconds in 2022, a child or young person used one of the World Literacy Foundation’s educational resources or services. Lastly, they provided literacy intervention in 54 countries including Columbia reaching 840,000 children through their Youth Ambassadors program and literacy partners” (World Literacy Foundation Impact Report 2022) which include Noble Projects Literacy Candle Company, Atmosphere Press Company, Pitney Bowes technology company, Pura Vida bracelets company, Vizrt software company, Harry Moon book series, Mr. Wordsmith stationary products in Melbourne, Australia, and Fable online books company (World Literacy Foundation.org).
The World Literacy Foundation has set Millennium Development Goals in 2000 to ensure that “by 2015, children everywhere will complete a full course of primary schooling and to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005 and in all levels no later than 2015” (World Literacy Foundation Final Report 2022). Some recommendations they are working towards are establishing adult and parental literacy programs, increasing attendance and retention rates in schools, providing resources, training, and technology to teachers, students, schools, and parents, and finally, raising awareness and finding financial support to combat illiteracy globally (World Literacy Foundation Final Report 2022).
The vision of the World Literacy Foundation in 2023 is to “see all women and children have access to literacy regardless of location or social status, to have all children experience the joy of reading and writing for the first time, to ensure the love and practice for literacy is shared and promoted around the world, to educate and instill the importance of literacy development in women and children to the wider community as well as openly invite everyone to join in their mission to change lives and make a global impact” (World Literacy Foundation.org).
One way that developing countries can make literacy education a priority is to fund early education programs that involve more hands-on learning through play, train teachers and teaching assistants in different types of literacy curriculums for different age groups and learning styles, provide more resources to parents and caregivers in different languages to practice literacy activities with the children at home (i.e. books, games that involve singing and dancing, having conversations with their children, etc.), and lastly work with different national and local organizations to gain more information about the importance of literacy not only in their country but in their communities and eliminate literacy globally. The World Literacy Foundation would like to achieve this goal by 2040. If we stay on track with making small impacts each year in Latin America and around the world, I believe that not only the World Literacy Foundation but other literacy and government organizations that exist and are created in the future will help make a difference in the lives of boys and girls through literacy.
References:
- Caribbean, E.C. for L.A. and the. (2020, July 21). Illiteracy Affects Almost 38 Million People in Latin America and the Caribbean. www.cepal.org. https://www.cepal.org/en/news/illiteracy-affects-almost-38-million-people-latin-america-and-caribbean
- United Nations Statistics Division. (2019). – SDG Indicators. Un.org. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2019/goal-04/
- Why Literacy- World Literacy Foundation. (n.d.)/ Worldliteracyfoundation.org. https://worldliteracyfoundation.org/why-literacy/
- Changing children’s lives in Columbia through the power of literacy. (n.d.). Retrieved March 16, 2023, from https://worldliteracyfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Brief-Aprende-Leyendo-2021-ENG-1_compressed-1.pdf
- World Literacy Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved March 16, 2023, from https://worldliteracyfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Impact-Report-2023V2.pdf
- The Economic and Social Cost of Illiteracy: A Snapshot of Illiteracy in a Global Context. (n.d.). Retrieved March 16, 2023 from https://worldliteracyfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/The-Economic-Social-Cost-of-Illiteracy-2022.pdf
A Struggle For Truth in Serbia: One Non-Profit is Harnessing Education for Sustainable Peace
Behind a name
It wasn’t until graduate school that my dad came to know of the American Civil War to be named as such. You see, it had always been referenced as the War of Northern Aggression for him growing up in 1970s Texas. Since we are social animals, we are informed by what’s around us, we learn from our environment. This type of historical branding and rebranding my dad encountered early in this life is still at play around the world, and has far reaching consequences (Rosa et al., 2018).
Social Memory
This type of group remembrance is known as social memory. Social memories help indicate what communities people belong to based on who else shares those memories (Rosa et al., 2018). In post-conflict societies it’s particularly important to look at which social memories are dominant, “[to see] the way they negotiate their pasts, presents, and futures: what they choose to collectively remember, forget, obliterate, or deny.” (Fridman, 2014). From this we can understand and monitor post-war transformation. In doing so, the hope is to establish truth in social memories as a foundation for sustainable peace. These dynamics are playing out as we speak in the Balkans. Let’s take a closer look at one country: Serbia.
Implications in Serbia
I would be doing an injustice to the history and people of the region to try and sum up the dissolution of former Yugoslavia and the proceeding wars of the 1990s in this short piece (if you’re wanting pause and read up on the region’s history, Rick Steves’ travel guide has a decent overview). It’s important to know that,
“Out of a decade of wars, of which at least a portion was undeniably due to Serbian aggression, the committee comprising professionals and politicians decided to promote the memory of Serbian victimhood during the 1999 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bombing as if it were the central motive of the wars in the 1990s.” (Fridman, 2014)
(Maeve Rogers, 2016)
This is not in any way to discount the experiences of those affected by the NATO bombing in 1999. There were many real, harmful consequences. However, there is no other mention of the 1990s conflict in Serbian textbooks. If anything is mentioned, the events are biased towards Serbia, or simply not factual. It’s worth stating that while the present day-to-day in Belgrade overall feels vibrant, safe, and mundane in the best sense of the word, the current government is leaning more into nationalistic rhetoric (Regalbuto & Žilić). So, let’s dive into how one organization in Belgrade, Serbia is leading its young people towards transitional justice and sustainable peace through education and reconstructing social memories in the Balkans.
Youth Initiative for Human Rights
This is where the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) comes in. YIHR was founded by a 19 year-old during the early 2000s after the wars had settled and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was in full swing. The sentiment in Serbia was, ‘don’t talk about the wars, this didn’t happen.’ Since none of this information was being covered in formal educationThe founder of YIHR wanted to work with youth to promote and educate them on these topics, to shift their attitudes. I spoke with Belgrade based YIHR program manager, Maja Žilić. Maja explained that information in formal education today is getting worse (Regalbuto & Žilić), so the work of YIHR is all the more important 20 years later.
“[non-governmental] voices… are still engaged in the struggle over the creation of Serbia’s collective memory and future… The main battle today is a battle of interpretation … for the definitions of the wars, of what happened.” (Fridman, 2011)
Maja herself was skeptical about YIHR’s mission at first, thinking they were feeding her more propaganda. She was a baby during the conflict, so she doesn’t have first hand memories to draw from. Maja explained how her parents were affected by the trauma of the wars. They passed on specific beliefs to her, mainly that of Serbian victimhood. She didn’t have the opportunity to learn about the conflicts from anywhere but her parents since schools did not teach about it.
(Andrea Regalbuto, 2023)
Looking Forward
Youth born in the 2000s didn’t live through the wars, but are still affected by the past. That is why YIHR is focused on transitional justice. Maja sees this as a bit of a tipping point. YIHR hopes to steer the region towards sustainable peace.
One of YIHR’s largest programs, funded by the European Commission, gets young people from Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Croatia, and Bosnia together for a conference. They hold bilateral meetings of the countries that were engaged in conflict (ex: Bosnia – Croatia, Serbia – Kosovo, etc.). Students first pull information from their social and personal memories. Next, they look at more objective sources. Lastly, they collectively write a final version of the conflict, deciding together what information is vital. YIHR argues this is the most effective style of programming, which actively engages in peacebuilding through education. YIHR also hosts a network of activists and tries to collaborate with the Ministry of Education on projects, which is met mostly with silence. And so, the work towards sustainable peace continues.
Sources
- Fridman, O. (2011). ‘it was like fighting a war with our own people’: Anti-war activism in Serbia during the 1990s. Nationalities Papers, 39(4), 507–522. https://doi.org/10.1080/00905992.2011.579953
- Fridman, O. (2014). Alternative calendars and memory work in Serbia: Anti-war activism after Milošević. Memory Studies, 8(2), 212–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750698014558661
- Interview: Regalbuto, A., & Žilić, M. (2023, February 24). YIHR. personal.
- Rosa, A., & Valsiner, J. (2018). Chapter 31. In The Cambridge Handbook of Sociocultural Psychology (pp. 625–644). essay, Cambridge University Press.
- Understanding Yugoslavia | Rick Steves
- Youth Initiative for Human Rights
The Value of Vocational Education and Economic Development
The Value of Vocational Education and Economic Development
The model UN Sustainable Development Goals for countries include more than 17 goals and these goals are critical to our world and countries that are a part of the UN. It fosters goals that deal with global issues to reduce poverty, inequality, and economic growth are just a few of the goals. How does a country address these goals that will have an impact on the population?
In this blog, we will address some of these SD Goals through vocational training to help countries address: 1) Poverty reduction 4) Quality education 5) Gender equality to empower women 8) Decent work/Economic Growth 9) Industry, Innovation & Infastructure.
What is Vocational Training?
Learning which aims to acquire knowledge, know-how, information, values, skills and competences – either job-specific or transversal – required in specific occupations or more broadly on the labor market. In Education and Development, Simon McGarth, UNESCO Chair for International Education and Development writes, professional education in contributing to the achievement of a number of SDGs is not inconsistent with a human capital approach, although it is also an important element of the capabilities approach to education. It should be noted that education can contribute to decrease in poverty and if education is free then it could create equality by allowing inclusivity for all to attend. Many countries have record low numbers of girls attending school. With less than 10% in some countries, and women being the sole income earners like in countries like Africa.Yet school is usually reserved for those that can pay and if they are a male student families will often times send them over a female. Having the option to attend a vocational program could more than double their earning potential. Lifting them out of poverty.
Why is it important?
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a unique forum where the governments of 37 democracies with market-based economies collaborate to develop policy standards to promote sustainable economic growth. The OECDestimated in 2019 that more than 41.8% of member countries participated in vocational education training programs.
UNESCO reports that 516 million who participated in vocational education training had reported seeing higher incomes for participants that enrolled and completed vocational training. Although there was some disparity of genders in some fields such as construction and engineering have been reported.
How can Vocational Educational Training solve some of the UN SDG problems?
Offering vocational education and training can help to alleviate poverty and give communities a skilled workforce. Allowing for people to lift out of poverty and contributing to the economy.
When people feel empowered they are more likely to participate in government issues and have a voice.
McGrath, also notes that “education is the foundation of Sustainable Development Goals
Investment in national training programs has just begun in these poorer countries, and success is uncertain because of continuing economic constraints. These patterns suggest that the level of economic development and the consequent size and dynamism of industrial employment have a powerful influence on the outcome of investments in vocational education and training Having countries see the value of vocational education and training on the economy and an impact on poverty could have long-term implications for greater development and investment for all. According to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, there are over 30 million jobs that pay an average of $55,000 a year and do not require a bachelor’s degree. With the rising cost of higher education, and students who are unable to financial cover the cost of a 4 year degree in California public university would be more than 25 thousand. One way students can invest in their futures without investing in a bachelor’s degree is through vocational education.
