I+can't+fford+anything+anymore

= Ayii Piok = Student number: n8862958 Tutor: Jey Rodgers

**Present Artefact **
The ‘Student Poverty Song’ was a written, composed and directed music video by the students of the Dalhousie Student Union at Dalhousie University. On the 9th of February 2011 this music video was released on YouTube and has now had over 50,000 views since that time. The intent of the video is to highlight that the students of Dalhousie University and the wider province of Nova Scotia in Canada have an average higher debt than other students around the country and how it is creating unbearable hardship and stress to their quality of life of students attending university and leaving students in poverty.

=**T****HE STUDENT POVERTY SONG**=

media type="custom" key="24374734"

**Name central public health issue central to your analysis**
The public health issue central to my artefact is the equitable access to education as it pertains to the financial stress that university has on students. It has been a long running problem for many students completing university that are not from the higher areas of socio-economic status. Equity drives the existence of the current outcry of students from countries around the world about the student debt crisis currently in progress. It has been found that many of students are living at or under the poverty line directly because of the expenses associated with university. It is a proven social determinant that education affects health and this is an example when the need for education leaves students ina poor state of financial stress and inequitable outcomes are achieved.

**Literature review**
Equity is the need for fairness not particularly equality. This public health issue is centered around the need for equitable outcomes for all that seek education that they may all have the same the adequate support structures to achieve in the academic world of being a tertiary student.



APP wire reported that in Australian Universities in 2013 that of those students surveyed, two in three students were living below the poverty line (APP wire, 2013). The poverty line according to Merriam –Webster Dictionary 2013 is a level of personal or family income below which one is classified as poor according to the government standards also called the poverty level. The world health organisation also acknowledges that there is a social gradient in health that runs from top to bottom of the socioeconomic spectrum (WHO,2013). Which directly affects tertiary students as this shows that by living in the lower socioeconomic status region they are subject to stressors that affect health of the mind and body. These stressors have caused changes to be made over time but are inadequate as such and are needed to be reviewed if we hope to as a society achieve equitable outcomes for tertiary students in the form of academic debt and the lifestyle as student.

**Expenses of tertiary study**
Researchers have noted since the introduction of interventions to the Australian tertiary system that due the implementation of federal government initiatives and tertiary education providers that there has been mild improvements on the equity that students receive when attempting to enroll and complete their courses (Australian Government: Department of Industry, 2012). The statistics for higher education show trends of the student contribution for fees to their courses that students are expected to pay for the duration of their courses. It very evident in the data that since 1989 the debt accumulation of students has been increasing every year and has not showed any trends of the possibility of a decline in growth. With this continual growth of the debt of students face once finishing their courses often more likely to find employment but is not guaranteed.



They must live with the lingering loom of debt hanging over their completion or their failure to complete the tertiary course. As well as looming debt that comes with a tertiary course the financial pressure put on students which are often required to live away from home to complete study has also weighed down on the success of students with most institutions centered in capital cities which also follows hand in hand with a higher cost of living. These expenses are as a much part of the work that is tertiary study and needs to be addressed.

**Methodologies**
The methodologies used in these articles are relatively the same as their main objectives are to gather information and data on the cases of student poverty and the prevalence of poverty. This information was gather using surveys that are distributed that are aimed at seeing which students are negatively affected by their financial struggles while attempting to study.

Marketwire conducted a large scale research project into the financial hardship of the students which featured the use of qualitative and quantitative questions. 59 percent of the students survey in the BMO 2012 survey felt that they were excited about the upcoming university year but were more so weary of the stress that their finances will cause them rather than the stress of the academics (Curits, 2013). One quarter of students were concerned with the payment of their student debt which was larger than the students that were concerned with employment after graduation and the students that were more concerned with their academic success.

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The method of stress testing was very effective for this type of data analysis. The students were able to express their concerns only through the options. This survey lacked the ability to allow students to openly express their personal concerns at core level of what is the main problem with the university system. While undertaking the research they may have been the opportunity to list what the target group felt should be done in the current epidemic that is student poverty. Also that no socio-economic positions were attained of the target group and their parents as this is a big determinant in what is the biggest stress factor to students.It can be accepted that there are very distinct factors that leave students in the realm of student poverty which affect success at the tertiary level, which are the costs of living as well as the debt incurred due to study.

**Cultural and Social Analysis**
The root of the problem that is dividing student outcomes in tertiary courses is the divide that is found in the socio-economic status therefore the social theory that would be applied is Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels' Conflict theory. The theorists deducted that capitalism would inevitably produce internal tension and would not be able to sustain this just as our tertiary education they say it will crumble on it self.

[[image:https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSCvUa4_WgCumhAaWO6b-BeuNbLrcYZJPO6i7mfLDNRtrpkR3YT]]
Marx coined the term false consciousness which is an he idea battled the society over which he explained as the social problems as short comings of individuals rather than the society as being holistically flawed. Engels than termed class consciousness which he explains as the workers' recognition of themselves as a class unified in opposition to capitalist and ultimately to the capitalist system itself. Thus relating this to the topic of student poverty it is seen that Marx and Engels believe that the needs of the people were different to the needs of the powerful but the needs of the people were most important to address so society can function as a whole. The government applies this theory to an extent in the use of its interventions whilst focusing on the needs of the many financially stressed students but is not prepared to make higher leaps to close the gap between students and give them all an equitable opportunity to succeed.

When a deeper look is taken at the government's strategies it seen that a strong functionalism theory is also present. Durkheim believed that every part of society had a place to play in creating a stable society. In the case of tertiary studies this means that there is a need for there to be a disparity between students and that the different socioeconomic status levels depend on each other to coexist for there to be a functioning society. Therefore there seems to be something gained by not giving everyone equitable access to tertiary study.

=Analysis of artefact and own learning reflection=

This artefact which is the student poverty song, is a great example of how the tertiary education system is flawed and how the very people it is designed for are struggling to cope. The showing of real students showing their current debt as a result of wanting to complete higher education. 'Trying to get a University degree, but I'm just getting poor'. The lyrics to the song are a direct correlation to real life university for students of low socio-economic backgrounds. The poverty cycle is depicted by this artefact as the stress becomes higher and there is an increasing chance of dropping out and they are forced out to low paying jobs because of lack of education which will then have children that go through the same thing.

Since I started this assessment I have learnt that socio-economic is a very high determinant in tertiary success not just dedication to academics. As a student that receives assistance I felt the ability to choose an artefact that I could connect with was a great way to learn more about the crisis that myself and fellow students not just at QUT but as seen around the world face when trying to complete tertiary study.

Reference List
Australian Government: Department of Industry, Statistics Publications. (2013). Student 2012 Full Year Student Summary. Retrieved from Australian department of Industry website []

Curtis, K. (2013, Jul 15). Financial stress increase for uni students. AAP Bulletin Wire. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1399821023?accountid=13380

Merriam-Webster. (2013). In Poverty Line. Retrieved November 3, 2013 from []

REPEAT: Students stressing more over finances than academics-BMO 2012 student survey. (2012). Marketwire, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1033717494?accountid=13380

Uni students 'under financial stress'. (2007, Mar 08). AAP Bulletin Wire. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/454468848?accountid=13380

World Health Organisation. (2013). Poverty. Retrieved from []

//Learning Engagement and Reflection Task//
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