Many people are aware of the idea that good health is good for education, but they may not realize how much this influences their lives. Let’s explore this paradox more deeply and see what we can learn!
– Good health creates a healthy environment for children to grow up in, which leads to higher levels of education in childhood.
– A healthy body means a healthier mind, which makes it easier to focus on schoolwork and have more energy.
– As adults, those with good health tend to stay more active and have better cognitive function as they age – both important factors when it comes time for retirement or re-entering the workforce after raising children.
– There are also some economic factors which influence good health and education.***
The paradox of health and education is a puzzling trend found in developing countries. We know that good health leads to better educational outcomes. Yet the evidence shows just the opposite: those who are educated, or have more access to schooling, have worse physical well-being than people with less access to formal education. How can this be?
Research has shown at least one explanation for why these two social goods contradict each other so strongly – they both come from the same resource pool (e.g., income). The higher your socioeconomic status, or SES, the more you will invest in your child’s formal schooling (via investment in school fees), as well as their informal learning environments outside of schools such as tutoring centers or private lessons. This will inevitably lead to less money left over for provision of good health care, such as regular medical checkups.
What is a paradox? It’s an idea or situation that seems contradictory or opposed to reason but may in fact be true. The Health-Education Paradox could be summed up by the following sentence: “People who are more educated have worse physical well-being than people with less access to formal education.”
The World Bank has found that when it comes down to your social status and whether you live in developing countries, we know that good health leads to better educational outcomes; however, the evidence shows just the opposite – those who are educated (or have more access to schooling) have worse physical well-being than people who have less access to formal education.
So what’s going on? There are a few explanations for this paradox that may give us some insight into why it exists in first place, and more importantly how we might be able to address the problem:
– Exposure to hazardous environments like polluted air, contaminated water systems or toxic waste sites (and of course those living with an immediate health risk such as sufferers from HIV/AIDS) may lead people who live in these situations to spend time focusing on securing their basic needs rather than getting educated;
– In countries where there is low economic opportunity – which means higher unemployment rates – there will also likely be high levels of crime. This not only has negative effects on physical well being but also
