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Fairchild Wheeler Magnet High School

Information Technology Software & Engineering

Principal: Dr. Black

All ‘n One Change

Imani Lopez, Donna Ismail, Ibnath Saboor

June 5, 2019

Capstone I

Instructor: Mrs. Rivera

Problem Statement
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Over the last few years, the lack of resources for youth worldwide, with regards to their

education and mental health, have become scarce. Due to the small amount of available funding

and awareness, the problem has slowly, but prominently, increased. Therefore, how can we

improve the achievement of internationally struggling students with proper resources?

Students in rural areas are constantly faced with the issue of not having a rigorous education

provided to them. According to the National Education Association (2019), this is caused by

schools in their communities serving many functions other than the main purpose, which is to

educate children. Schools are faced with the tasks of serving their students social, recreational, and

cultural needs which makes their educational needs less of a priority. Rural schools are physically

incapable of providing students with all of the necessary resources due to the lack of money being

received. While rural schools serve approximately 40% of the nation’s students, they are only

receiving 22% of the federal education funding. This insufficient amount of financial support in

rural areas is what causes the excessive amount of struggling students. These issues do not only

apply to America but in fact, it applies to many third world countries as well.

Internationally, increasing access to education can improve the overall health and life of

societies, and increase economies (Rueckert, 2019). Yet, in many economically unstable and

developing countries, the youth education can be very limited due to a variety of reasons. These

reasons include a lack of funding, no classrooms, being the wrong gender, living in a country with

risk of conflict, and the expense of education. These problems are more common in third world

countries than in the states, so we don’t see the significance of the problem. For example, most

places outside of the United States can’t afford a school building, so the government just overlooks
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the issue. These students are not given proper education and as a whole, it’s not truly

acknowledged.

In most common households worldwide, especially those from poverty-stricken

backgrounds, the mental health of children has subconsciously been neglected. Furthermore, it

doesn't help that the school system does nothing to assist in improving the mental health of its

students. A study produced by Hodgkinson, Stacey, et al. (2017), published by the National

Institutes of Health, argues that poverty can significantly affect the psychological aspect of

childhood, seeing as how poverty correlates with higher stress levels. As it is, a youth’s

psychological health is already simultaneously taken advantage of and taken for granted. Parents

don’t believe that issues such as depression, anxiety, and just general stress from school are a

serious problem in the daily life of a student. It’s either the case that students can’t find free and

useful help for what is troubling them, or that the school itself is not able to provide the proper

resources to help their students.

The way to awaken a child’s utmost potential is to present a safe and appropriate

environment, in which they feel confident enough to speak out and seek aidance on both their

education and mental health. The factors that come into play when it comes to this subject is the

role it has on someone’s future, how their cultural and social standings can affect their emotional

and learning dynamics, and how often proper education leads to a successful life.

Therefore, All n’ One Change is seeking to provide assistance in the personal, professional,

and psychological aspects of a students life, internationally. We plan to start off doing so through

an online resource, and in the near future, expanding to an outside environment through a center

influenced by our idea. This proposal will begin with a discussion on the historical and current
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status of the issue. Then, the futuristic, cultural and social, and educational perspectives will be

addressed.

Literature Review

Historical Perspective

Hermann Rohrs (1970), a German pedagogue, claims international education is a problem

that is not being addressed. The way that education worldwide is dealt with is not effective enough

to fix the problems being faced. What are the areas of concern that we should really be looking at?

The area that really exists and should be looked at is positive motivation. Other issues are simple

things, such as whether or not children atr getting resources to go to school and how much

resources are available like text books. Also the problem not being addressed is how kids feel at

school. Are they safe? Is their mental health ok? The pedagogue’s explanation of international

education as a pedantic professor shows us that the problem is not being looked at responsibly as

a manner of national interest.

Rohrs (1970), as an author of such a subject could have specified the countries he was

talking about a bit clearer. The author makes a valid point, but was very repetitive about the ideas

of internationalism. As Rohr was going through his perspectives, his expression of ideas and

looking at the human nature of things is intriguing. Looking at these issues from the lens of a

prestigious professor gives the reader a new perspective.

Roser (2011), founder and program director of Our World in Data, describes all of the ways

in which education has changed globally over the last decades. Students are showing growth in

their school attendance, test scores, and educational skills. Ortiz- Ospina (2011), senior researcher

of Our World in Data specifically states the statistics behind the international change in education.
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For example, the literacy rates in countries have gone up over 50% in the last few years. They

claim that the only way for the education systems around the world to get better is for people to

understand why and how it has changed in previous years. Education has improved in some parts

of the world, but there are still countries such as Africa where literacy rates and educational growth

is very low. Countries are being separated in regards to education based off of the amount of

funding and support they are receiving from their public resources. Wealthier countries are

substantially improving as far as literacy rates, test scores, and overall achievement. The poorer

countries are showing a decline in these particular areas, due to the small about of money being

provided. The educational systems varying due to income is what has caused the tremendous lack

of educational needs being met worldwide.

Some may say that Roser and Ortiz- Ospina (2011), along with their team, may not have

an abundance of information or experiences, due to them all being from the United States and not

from the other countries discussed. However, the two founders are graduate students from Oxford

University, located in England. Their team is credible because they have all received a degree in a

specialized field, and amongst themselves, they have a plethora of knowledge on many different

topics.

Nicholas Burnett (2014), who holds a Ph.D. in Economy from the Johns Hopkins

University and formerly holding the title of United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural

Organization Assistant Director-General for Education, discusses the rights and progression of

education in developing countries across the globe. Over the past few decades, government

spending on education, in these countries, has increased from 4.6 percent to 5.1 percent. This

steady increase in aid for education between 2002 and 2010 has caused a rise of 50 percent
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enrollment in primary school education and a gross enrollment rate of 82 percent in secondary

schools.

These statistics, however, do not acknowledge the fact that some 250 million primary and

secondary school-aged children are not able to read, write, or do basic mathematics, with 130

million of them still enrolled in school. Much of the evidence that emphasizes this learning crisis

is depicted in citizen-led assessments in Pakistan, India, and East Africa. It also shows how higher

levels of education are for those from more affluent backgrounds, while the poor stay in the

disadvantaged roles placed on them.

Although Burnett (2014) provides a thorough explanation of this international

developmental policy, he fails to mention the evidence from specific developing countries. This

study included details about a lot of the general instances in past education. However, the author

gains credibility by presenting valid information through statistical data collected over the past

two decades.

Current Perspective

Kate Hodal (2019), the South-East Asia correspondent for British Newspaper Guardian

News, identifies the major issue of students going to school all around the world but not learning.

She presents statistics and numbers on how over 260 million students worldwide are either out of

school because of the lack of resources, or in school and not having their educational needs met.

Hodal explains that the lack of resources for families is why children are suffering with no

education or with a small amount. She also goes into finding solutions for the lack of educational

resources and describing why previous proposals have not worked in specific countries, due to the

lack of financial resources. This major issue is becoming worse every year.
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Some may say that this is not a credible source due to it being an unknown news site, but

Hodal’s (2014) claims are supported by the National Education Association, which is a large

organization.

Reyniers (2018), a PhD-candidate at the Centre for the History of Education of the

University of Leuven, Belgium, provides an in-depth study on the rationale behind teaching

practices and teaching beliefs across the world. "Teaching beliefs” refer to the rudimentary ideas,

concepts, and overall structure that teachers use to comprehend and utilize professional situations

and expectations. These beliefs act as the basis for their practices. “Teaching practices,” on the

other hand, pertain to those beliefs being included in the planning, design, and teaching activities

actually being implemented into pedagogy.

The second author of this study, Verstraete (2018), an associate professor at the Centre for

the History of Education of the University of Leuven, Belgium, goes on to explain how their

common interest to pursue this experiment was peaked from a “shared sense of unease.” They had

the impression that those teaching practices and beliefs were mainly developed by the need to meet

students’ expectations and interests, rather than by the contents of proper education. This concern

is evidently supported by the results of the study conducted.

This study included a web survey that was sent around by history of education lecturers

and national history of education societies in a call to participate. From a quantity of 775 web

surveys sent out, an estimated 30% response rate was achieved. The third author of this study,

Ruyskensvelde (2018), a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Leuven, Campus Kulak,

found that from 24 different countries, a total of 111 participants completely filled out the survey.
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The goal for this questionnaire was to make a roster of history of education teaching practices and

beliefs from a wide range of questions covering several subjects from the education system.

In order to successfully and efficiently collect their data, the surveyors intentionally

restricted the amount of questions, and used mainly multiple choice questions in place of open-

ended ones. This, however, did not allow the data collected to thoroughly grasp the changing style

of teaching practices and beliefs of the history of education. Nevertheless, the last author,

Kelchtermans (2018), a professor studying philosophy and educational sciences at the University

of Leuven, was able to include additional interviews with history of education lecturers, thus

making up for the lack of accuracy in the previous survey.

Haley Hurtt (2017), a writer for The Borgen Project, explains how most of the world is

unaware of the global education crisis and how 263 million children are out of schools. There are

multiple aspects that need to be focused on to solve this crisis. The most looked at barrier to

education is affordability. The cycle of poverty throughout developing countries is causing

children to not be able to afford the cost of materials in order to have a successful life in education.

The lack of trained teachers is another huge block in the way of youth education. Many teachers

in developing countries fail to meet national requirements, leaving the student with less than a

basic education. Internationally, girls are largely less likely to get an education compared to boys.

This is because in developing countries it is a normalized thing that girls should not be educated.

All this information about what to focus on and what to fix should be the first step in solving this

huge epidemic for the better.

Even though the author provided claims and evidence to back them, some things were left

unsaid. The author exclaims how international education needs to be fixed, but the countries that
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needed to be focused on and improved in a positive way were not provided. Although this posed

a limitation, the source has solid strength. It provided a lot of evidence supporting the information

in the article proving the facts the author states. Hurtt (2017) also uses current information to

support the statics provided in this report.

Educational Perspective

Education is the indicator for an individual's social and professional life. As a child grows

up within the school system, they learn certain skills that form their overall character traits. Doing

this allows a student to gain an understanding of their identity and ability to interact with others.

Access to the proper educational resources results in them not only having a positive well being,

but also a good social status and engagement with those around them in the professional world. A

good education also pushes a child to have high self-esteem and good psychological health

(Economic and Social Research Council, 2014). Overall, giving a child the proper resources

needed to excel in the school system allows them to have a strong social identity and health.

It could be argued that the gap in years between now and the date of the publication for the

Economic and Social Research Council (2014) might affect the credibility of the source. Although

this is a valid point, the source itself has been proven to be credible because it is in fact one of the

seven research councils in the United Kingdom.

The New York Times (2018), a very credible news outlet, poses an alternative perspective

and argues that access to the highest form of education needed is not always necessary. It is not

always a component that gives a person more of an advantage in life. Studies from the New York

Times show that 40% of students who receive the highest education and have all forms of resources
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available, are only slightly more financially and socially stable than those who did not have those

opportunities. This just goes to show that an individual can be successful with or without the proper

resources. This paper also states that education is not necessarily all that is taken into account in a

person's life, and that their race and class also has a lot to do with it. A person may be given the

proper resources but may be cut short and discriminated against due to their racial background and

social status. In fact, someone who grew up poor and of African American background could gain

the highest level of education and receive the necessary resources and still end up making less than

someone with more money and of a Caucasian background, who has the bare minimum education.

This shows that education and resources are not the only factors taken into account when it comes

to a person's success and status in life.

Writer for The New York Times, Ellen Ruppel Shell is also a correspondent for the Atlantic

Monthly as well as a professor of Science Journalism. These credentials make the source reliable.

No limitations were noted.

While some may say that giving a child the proper resources to gain a higher education

does not always positively impact them, in reality, it is completely beneficial. A person receives

not only resources in education, but also the proper resources in the developmentally. According

to Amée LaTour (2019), a freelance writer with a BA in philosophy and politics, students who

receive higher education are granted a plethora of developmental skills such as: better

communication abilities, strong critical thinking skills, identification of skills, realization of

surroundings and possible careers, great sense of discipline, and a powerful sense of

accomplishment. These skills help them not only become confident in who they are, but it also

creates an opportunity for them to move up professionally.

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Schooling allows a child to prepare for the professional world by training an individual in

their ideal field and giving them the necessary tools to succeed. Higher education also provides a

child with components needed to rise in regards to their economic well-being, physical health, and

participation in all of their political and community events (LaTour, 2019). This goes to show how

gaining a higher education can help mold a person in every way and can make their lives more

impactful. This allows a student to become well rounded and successful in all areas of their life. If

all children were given a great deal of support and resources, then the world would be a better

place and everyone would have more to contribute overall.

Some may argue that LaTour (2019) is not credible source due to the fact that it appears

on a site that is unknown and discusses many different topics in a plethora of ways. Although this

may be a valid argument, she has a BA in philosophy and politics and the information presented

in her article is also supported by many other credible sources.

(Imani Lopez)

Cultural and Social Perspective

Cultural and social issues are a major component in the discussion of international

education. According to Theirworld.org (2017), an organization based on bringing awareness to

the problems of children around the world, these norms cause an estimated 15 million girls to be

out of school every day. The stereotype that a female is assumed to take on the domestic

responsibilities gives the idea that they do not need a proper education. These problems usually

occur in rural areas of high poverty also causing the trip to school to be dangerous giving them a

disadvantage of not being able to receive the proper resources.

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Girls are usually victims in gender-based violence on the way to and from school including

abduction, sexual assault, and bullying, which is predominantly carried out by male students. This

violence is usually a result of parents trying to fight gender equality and societies not accepting

the change they are trying to make (theirworld.org, 2017). Education provided to females becomes

limited in countries of poverty because when a school gets targeted or used as a military shelter, it

is considered dangerous for girls to attend school.

Theirworld.org (2017) is a global children’s charity committed to providing the most

vulnerable children and young people a brighter future.Even though this article gives us

information on the aspects of cultural and social parts of education, it has a couple of problems

that need to be solved. There is a discussion on how girls in countries of poverty are struggling to

go to school but, they never specify which countries they are talking about and do not provide

more specific examples and evidence. However, the cite is registered with the Public Interest

Registry, which solidifies its credibility.

In certain areas of the world, cultural aspects usually delay female education because of

gender discrimination. In areas of poverty, families choose to send their daughters to work instead

of school, but what most people don’t know is that even in an unstable country secondary school

graduates receive higher wages and helps their economy grow. According to the Malala fund

(2018), long-held misconceptions and cultural norms can keep girls from reaching their full

potential. Uneducated girls are most likely to carry sexually transmitted diseases, early

pregnancies, and many other health complications. If all girls received 12 years of education, the

number of early births would drop by 59% and child deaths would decline by 49%

(Malalafund.org, 2018). With all this information, education for girls is causing bigger issues than
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just being uneducated and they should have the chance to change these issues. Educated women

can offer a lot to their economies and communities.

This organization gives us great information but has some limitations. The article is very

short and doesn’t provide enough information and qualification on some topics. However, it

provides great resources because it provides specific antidotes. For example, Malala Yousafzai,

who went through the struggle of trying to get an education is discussed. Additionally, the source

is also very specific on the countries being addressed. So we are given a look inside of the struggle

with makes this source very credible.

Some may argue that girls are being targeted, and staying safe is in their best interest

above their education, which is why they should not leave their home to go to school. Eighteen

million girls ages 15-19 are victims of sexual violence, often leading them to drop out and even

harming themselves along with their mental health. Walking to school can be very dangerous and

parents are not willing to send their daughters to their doom. For example, in the more rural parts

of Iraq, the Taliban are a major threat due to the multiple cases of young girls being abducted and

forced into marriage. It is safe to say that families are not willing to risk that.

However, a study in India in 2016 found that half of all girls were sexually harassed on the

way to school (Theirworld.org, 2017). The long-term effects of growing up in a conflict zone are

devastating. UNICEF estimates that 48.5 million children worldwide are out of school because of

conflicts, such as war. Attacks on girls' schools means many parents are frightened to send their

daughters to school (Reliefweb.int, 2017).

Reliefweb (2017) does not clarify the authors role in the source. Also, the source does not

give credit to the cite they are retrieving this information from. They did not provide a source for
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their statistics. But, they did give the topic a new light and a perspective from someone else’s point

of view and their standpoint on the issue.

Mental Health Perspective

Mental health is the most important aspect of one’s growth as a functioning adult in modern

civilization. It allows minors to develop the resilience to endure the difficulties in life and grow

into well-rounded, healthy adults. One in 10 young people have a mental health challenge that is

severe enough to impair how they function at school, home, or in the community. It is estimated

that 80% of minors aged 6-17 do not receive the mental health care that is necessary (Association

for Children’s Mental Health, 2019). This source provides numerous valuable details and statistics

on the problems related to behavioral disorders that can potentially go unnoticed by adults in either

the home or in the school environment.

While it is true that mental health plays a huge role in how an individual can turn out, it is

not the most significant thing that affects the outcome of one's future. In fact, according to a study

conducted by Harvard economists, Chetty and Hendren (2015), the environment in which a child

grows up heavily influences their long-term outcome. The earlier someone moves to a good

neighborhood, the better the chances are in achieving a successful future. Although this was

conducted a bit over four years ago, the information provided is still relevant to today’s issues with

environmental impacts on a person’s future.

Although a child’s surroundings determining their future is a valid argument, opponents

argue that it is their societal environment itself that actually affects their mental health. Justin
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Wolfers of New York Times (2015), a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International

Economics, claims that in that same study stated above, the mental health of most children who

grew up in well-endowed communities was positively affected. Taking this factor into

consideration, it is safe to say that the location in which a child develops physically and mentally

can have a rather notable effect, especially when it comes to the stability of the psychological state.

This New York Times (2015) article describes the overall basis of hundreds of studies

conducted on the odds of academic success varying across neighborhoods. Although the author

mainly explains the process of a study conducted by another organization, valuable and clear data

was still provided. In addition, it was easy to understand exactly what was going on in this

experiment due to this plausible information.

An unchecked mental illness encompasses a variety of hidden health issues that can

potentially impact the development of an individual's future. At such a young age, this can most

definitely affect the outcome of a child’s personality when they are older. According to

Vahabzadeh (2015), Chair of Communications at the American Psychiatric Association and

faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital, mood fluctuations, cognitive disorders-- more

commonly known as mental health disorders--, and other behavioral problems are issues that are

not usually visible to the unaided eye. Likewise, school staff is only required to provide academic

adjustments for documented limitations caused by a psychological disorder (Boston University

Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, 2019). This proves that most children who struggle with

psychological issues sometimes have to go without the proper mental stability that is needed to

help them. The facts are that early detection and intervention strategies work. They can help

improve resilience and the ability to succeed in school and life.

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Some may reason that Vahabzadeh’s (2015) work may not provide enough information on

the different types of mental illnesses due to the length of it. However, even with the lack of info,

the detail on specific behavioral and psychological disorders was a sufficient amount of

information for the previous paragraph. Therefore, seeing as how they provided this thorough

analysis on the psychological state of an individual without the proper mental health care that is

necessary for them, it was deducted that many minors go without this care. Thus, All n’ One

Change intends to include a section where students can apply to receive free mental health support

from a therapist, either through an online chat or face-to-face. Of course, this option will be free

of all costs for every student from middle school to college. All n’ One Change hopes to aid

students with their educational goals as well as worldwide with their mental health.

Works Cited
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Burnett, N. (2014, November 17). International Education Policies, Issues, and Challenges.

Retrieved from journals.openedition.org

Chetty, R., & Hendren, N. (2015, April). The Impacts of Neighborhoods on Intergenerational

Mobility. Retrieved from equality-of-opportunity.org

Hodal, K. (2018, February 02). Hundreds of millions of children in school but not learning.

Retrieved April 5, 2019, from theguardian.com/global-development

Hodgkinson, Stacey, et al. Improving Mental Health Access for Low-Income Children and

Families in the Primary Care Setting. Retrieved Jan. 2017, from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

How does mental illness affect my school performance? – Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation.

(n.d.). Retrieved from cpr.bu.edu

Hurtt, H. (2017, July/August). The Top 3 Barriers to Education. Retrieved April 8, 2019, from

borgenproject.org

PhineasJFR. (n.d.). 10 Barriers to Education Around the World. Retrieved March 8,

2019, from globalcitizen.org

Problems at School | Association for Children's Mental Health. (2019). Retrieved from

acmh-mi.org

Reyniers, Nele, et al. Let Us Entertain You: an Exploratory Study on the Beliefs and

Practices of Teaching History of Education in the Twenty-First Century. Retrieved 9 Oct.

2018, from tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu

Rohrs, H. (2006, June/July). Responsibilities and Problems of International Education.

Retrieved from tandfonline.com

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Roser, M., & Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2016, August 31). Global Rise of Education. Retrieved

from ourworldindata.org/global-rise-of-education

Rural Schools. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2019, from nea.org/home/16358.htm

Shell, E. R. (2018, May 16). College May Not Be Worth It Anymore. Retrieved April 23, 2019,

from nytimes.com/2018/05/16/opinion/college-useful-cost-jobs.html

The wellbeing effect of education. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2019, from

esrc.ukri.org/news-events-and-publications

Theirworld. (2017, October 11). 13 reasons why girls are not in school on International Day of

the Girl Child. Retrieved April 23, 2019, from Reliefweb.int

Top 4 Benefits of Higher Education. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2019, from

goodchoicesgoodlife.org/choices-for-young-people/the-benefits-of-higher-education/

Vahabzadeh, A., & Chan, S. (2019, February 11). 6 Trends That Reimagine Mental Health and

Psychiatry. Retrieved from thedoctorweighsin.com

Why girls around the world are still denied an equal chance of education. (2017, July 26).

Retrieved April 23, 2019, from theirworld.org

Yousafzai, M. (2018). Girls'education. Retrieved April 23, 2019, from

malala.org/girls-education