Poverty in Aotearoa / New Zealand

“There can be no keener revelation of society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children” - Nelson Mandela-

I would like to investigate the social issue of poverty. I am interested to see where this journey will take me in regards to the impact on our tamariki, in particular the possible effects on their ability to learn.

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model is one example of how the government, local community and parental/ caregivers circumstances all have varying impacts on children’s wellbeing and development. I aim to research the impacts of poverty from home life to government policies.

A recent brief article in the Hawkes Bay today notes that “thousands of children turned out for Children's day events…” and also gave a statement from a political party that commented “...it has been a less than happy year for many children, with little being done to combat child poverty”

The kind of questions I have in mind at the moment at least, are:

• How is poverty defined?
• How big is the problem for our tamariki and their whanau in Aotearoa / New Zealand?
• What are the government’s interventions and policies for family incomes to reduce poverty?
• What initiatives are in place within the community?
• What can early childhood centres / teachers put in place to help children who live in poverty circumstances?

So here my journey starts…. I wonder what I will find out?

REFERENCES:

News in ten (2013, March 04). Hawkes Bay Today, p. 2.  catgmx (2013, March 4) Student Documentary retrieved from : Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_x2L7edgME