Shortfalls in Social Spending in Low- and Middle-income Countries

Including Refugee Learners in National Education Systems identifies key factors that underpin effective inclusion of refugee learners in national education systems and outlines barriers to achieving this goal. Based on an in-depth review of global evidence and literature and interviews with key stakeholders in refugee education, the report highlights key findings, including the importance of: • Government leadership and coordination efforts • Effective international cooperation • Awareness of policies and guidance with education systems • Capacity to support refugee inclusion. The report presents in-depth country case studies from Ecuador and Rwanda, providing information on diverse regional and country frameworks relating to educational inclusion. The Rwanda case study suggests that refugee inclusion in education can be achieved with a broad orientation towards inclusion and non-discrimination, even in the absence of specific policies and strategies focused on refugees. The Ecuador case study emphasizes that positive policies do not always filter down to those with responsibility to implement them and highlights the importance of efforts to ensure that teachers, school administrators and district-level staff are aware of new policies and have the capacity to enact them.

Il contesto territoriale influisce sugli aspetti fondamentali della vita quotidiana di ogni bambino, bambina e adolescente. Vivere in un territorio ai margini compromette mette a rischio la possibilità di vedere soddisfatti i propri diritti di cittadinanza e rappresenta può rappresentare una seria minaccia per il benessere e lo sviluppo di chi in queste aree nasce e cresce. La mancanza di servizi e risorse locali è una forma di povertà che tocca tutti i bambini dell’area, indipendentemente della loro situazione familiare, e che condiziona la loro vita presente e futura. Per questa ragione, UNICEF Innocenti ha avviato un nuovo programma di ricerca intitolato MAPS (Monitoring and Analysing child Poverty across Space). Come studio pilota per questo programma, è stata scelta una delle “aree interne” in Italia, ossia aree isolate caratterizzate da bassa densità di popolazione, spopolamento e indicatori di anzianità elevati. Il rapporto “Crescere nelle aree interne: Le esperienze di vita di bambini, bambine e adolescenti nel contesto del Cilento Interno” presenta i risultati di questo studio. La ricerca ha coinvolto bambini e adolescenti dai 6 ai 21 anni attraverso una serie di metodi qualitativi e quantitativi, insieme a genitori di bambini dagli 0 ai 5 anni, adulti nella comunità e informatori chiave. I risultati dell'indagine hanno rivelato un quadro complesso. Mentre alcune caratteristiche del territorio influiscono positivamente sulla crescita dei bambini, altre rischiano di privare i ragazzi e le ragazze di alcune opportunità che sono fondamentali nel periodo della crescita. Le raccomandazioni sottolineano la necessità di una presa di coscienza collettiva sull'urgenza di promuovere lo sviluppo dei territori a partire dalla rinascita delle comunità. È essenziale che gli investimenti siano diretti verso servizi per bambini ed adolescenti al fine di garantire il benessere della comunità e costruire un futuro più promettente.   The characteristics of the local area in which children live have a fundamental influence on their daily lives. Growing up in an area that is ‘on the margins’ threatens children’s rights, well-being and development. A lack of local services and resources is a form of poverty that all children and young people in the area experience, irrespective of their family circumstances, and this poverty shapes their lives in the present and in the future. For this reason, UNICEF Innocenti has initiated a new programme of research – MAPS (Monitoring and Analysing child Poverty across Space). As a pilot for this programme, it selected one of the internal areas of Italy – that is isolated areas characterized by low population density, depopulation and an ageing demographic. The report “Growing up in an inner area: The lives of children and adolescents living in inner Cilento” presents the results of this study. The research involved children and adolescents from 6 to 21 years old through a range of qualitative and quantitative methods, as well as parents of children aged 0-5, adults in the community and key informants. The results of the research reveal a complex picture. While some characteristics of the area positively influence children’s lives, others risk depriving them of the opportunities that they need when growing up. The recommendations emphasize the need for a collective awareness of the urgent need to promote the development of the area starting with the revival of communities. It is essential that there is greater investment in services for children and young people in order to guarantee community well-being and build a more promising future.

Une distribution équitable des enseignants est un critère primordial pour que chaque enfant puisse développer au mieux son potentiel d’apprentissage, quels que soient son école ou lieu de résidence. En Côte d’Ivoire, des progrès significatifs ont été réalisés en termes de recrutement des enseignants en vue d’améliorer l’encadrement pédagogique des élèves. Cependant, leur répartition demeure perfectible puisque les ratios élèves-enseignants varient grandement entre les écoles et au sein de celles-ci. C’est pourquoi, le Ministère de l’éducation nationale et de l’alphabétisation (MENA) a récemment initié la mise en œuvre d’un train de réformes afin d’améliorer la transparence et la réactivité du processus d’allocation des enseignants. Ce rapport décrit le paysage enseignant en Côte d’Ivoire, ainsi que les réformes engagées par le MENA, et propose des pistes de réflexion pour améliorer le maillage enseignant dans le pays, afin de favoriser l’accès de tous les enfants à une éducation de qualité. An equitable distribution of teachers is an essential criterion for ensuring that every child can develop his or her full learning potential, regardless of school or place of residence. In Ivory Coast, significant progress has been made in terms of teacher recruitment to maintain manageable class sizes. However, teacher repartition has to be improved, as pupils-teacher ratios vary widely between and within schools. For this reason, the Ministry of National Education and Literacy (MENA) recently initiated a reform package to improve the transparency and responsiveness of the teacher allocation process. This report describes the teaching landscape in Ivory Coast, as well as the reforms undertaken by the MENA, and suggests ways to improve the mapping of teachers according to school needs in order to promote access to quality education for all children.

The digital environment is largely unregulated and might expose children to age-inappropriate or potentially harmful content. There has been particular concern about children’s exposure to hate messages and violent images online and how this affects their well-being and rights. Efforts to mitigate exposure to such content are gaining momentum but more evidence is needed to guide policy, regulation and industry practice. This brief provides a cross-national comparison of children’s exposure to hate messages and violent images online across 36 countries, and analyses it in relation to internet access at the country level. The purpose is to understand what children in different countries are experiencing and if exposure to this content is driven by the level of internet access in the population. The results act as a starting point for exploring which countermeasures may be more effective in terms of policy and legislation, and to encourage industry to develop proactive solutions to protect children in online spaces.