Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
SUBSTANTIAL GAPS EXIST between the best and worst performing students in Irish schools, new research has found.
According to Unicef’s latest Report Card, Ireland ranks second out of 41 wealthy nations in reducing education inequality between children.
Despite this, there are concerns that vulnerable groups such as Traveller children, children experiencing homelessness and immigrant children are in danger of being left behind due to insufficient educational supports.
An Unfair Start: Inequality in Children’s Education in Rich Countries focuses on educational inequalities in 41 of the world’s richest countries, looking at two principal indicators of inequality:
The ranking at age 15 is the lead indicator in the report, as this represents the level of inequality towards the end of compulsory education. The report also explores the relationships between educational inequality and factors such as parents’ occupations, the child’s gender and school characteristics.
The results for Ireland show that inequality among children decreases as they move from early childhood education (33rd) to primary school (16th) and on to secondary school (second). However, with one in 10 students not reaching basic proficiency in reading by secondary school (age 15), Unicef said a large minority of students “are still falling through the gaps and not getting the resources they need”.
Vulnerable groups
According to the 2016 census, just 13% of Traveller girls completed second level education, compared with 69% of the general population. Over 57% of Traveller boys ceased education at primary level, compared with 13% in the general population.
Half of Travellers reside outside of DEIS educational areas and the number of Travellers who have attained a third level qualification represents less than 1% of their community.
The report notes that more than 3,000 children are currently experiencing homelessness in Ireland, with research showing that many of these children are forced to make long journeys to school, often arriving exhausted, without breakfast and in dirty uniforms due to inadequate washing facilities. This can affect school attendance and performance.
In 21 of the 25 countries, including Ireland, with substantial levels of immigration, a higher percentage of first-generation immigrant children (12.8%) fail to reach basic literacy levels at age 15 than non-migrant children (9.1%).
While the difference is modest, the report shows that the rate for second-generation immigrants (13.2%) in Ireland actually increases, as opposed to many other countries such as the UK, where educational outcomes vastly improve for second-generation immigrants.
Unicef Ireland’s Chief Executive Peter Power said the report’s findings show that Ireland “can lead the way when the right funding and policies are in place”.
In Ireland, around 86% of the inequality in reading scores is between children within schools, and only a small amount is between schools.
“This means that while our schools produce good results for the many, there are some children, and often those most in need, who are falling through the gaps. We need to ensure that every child has the right wrap around supports they need in school to achieve their highest potential.”
Preschool education
Countries can have different degrees of educational inequality at different educational stages. For example, Ireland is in the bottom third of countries (ranked 33rd, indicating high inequality) for preschool enrolment, but moves to the top third (ranked second, signalling low inequality) at secondary school.
Ireland and Slovenia are the only two countries that move up from the bottom third in preschool access to the middle third in equality at primary school and the top third in terms of equality at secondary school.
Bullying
Bullying is one of the most common forms of violence experienced by children in schools internationally. The report notes that bullying “can cause long-lasting harm to victims, bystanders and the bullies themselves”.
It takes different forms, both physical and psychological, and happens face to face, through text messaging and over the Internet.
About one child in four in Ireland, Finland and Norway said they experience bullying at least once a month.
The report identifies several factors which drive educational inequality, globally and in Ireland:
Parental occupation
Large inequalities in children’s educational progress are linked to family background. In half of the European countries, including Ireland, preschool children aged three and older from lower-income households are less likely to attend education centres.
Parental occupation explains up to one-third of the variation in reading scores at fourth class level, with children whose parents work in professional occupations doing better in reading in all the countries measured.
At 15, children whose parents work in lower-ranked occupations do worse in reading and are less likely to say that they expect to complete post-secondary education across all 35 countries ranked in this regard.
Gender
There are already substantial gender differences in children’s reading abilities by fourth class level. Girls generally do better than boys. Yet, in some countries the gap can shrink when tests are done on a computer rather than on paper.
Internationally, the gaps in reading performance tend to grow as children get older but at 15 years of age girls do just 2% better than boys in Ireland, which is the smallest gap in gender-related scores in all countries tested.
Difference between schools
Internationally children’s educational opportunities can be substantially influenced by which school they attend. There are often large differences in average achievement between schools within the same country, especially if specific socioeconomic backgrounds are concentrated in any one school.
The report finds that differences caused by family background tend to have the most impact on scores. In Ireland, there is also a bigger difference between students in the same school, rather than between the scores of different schools.
The balance of schools managed by public bodies and private bodies also varies widely. Ireland and Latvia are at the top of the league table of educational inequalities but are hugely different in this respect.
In Ireland, 57% of schools are managed privately, compared with 2% in Latvia.
The full report can be read on Unicef’s website.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
If UNICEF are concerned over travellers leaving education how about interviewing the families instead of beating up the State over it. John Connors admits he quit due to peer pressure, he didn’t want to stand out by continuing. Not everything can be solved by government money
@Michael McLoughlin: but maybe state aid is enabling a culture of no education to continue. Having no education and no job seems to have zero impact on their finances.
@Michael McLoughlin: It suits FG for this to continue. it should be made compulsory for them. and if they refuse. no dole just food banks for them.
@Michael McLoughlin: Ireland has Departments of Education,Housing,etc and are run according to Governments policies and with Ministers in charge!!
Travelller funding to Education,Housing,etc was cut by between 80%-90% during recession (Government policies!) and even now 10 years since start of recession a substantial amount of Traveller funding is unspent as highlighted by Eoin O Broin.
@Michael McLoughlin: I thought he went on the run to escape Skynet?
@Grotmaster: he was subject to peer and parental pressure not to get caught by the T-1000
@neilo: “traveller attitudes towards education, especially girls”. I think you’re right that their attitude towards education needs to change but I don’t understand the “especially girls” part. Despite needing to improve lots, in general, traveller girls tend to be more likely (if not often enough) to stay on in school after their 16th birthday than boys. If anything, it should be “especially boys” as they need to take some of the girls good example & observe how some of the girls have taken it upon themselves to improve their prospects. Unfortunately, the biggest obstacles to most of the girls is the culture of peer pressure into marrying as soon as possible after their 16th birthday… This advice has to come from within though otherwise it’s seen as settled community dictating to them
@neilo: Sorry. 3rd level education.
@Nuala Mc Namara: I’m confused Nuala. Traveller funding to education? Is it not compulsory in this country thato parento must ensure their children are educated to the standard state assessed levels? Are schools not provided by the state for exactly this purpose? If children are not receiving an education then their pagents are at fault and should be dealt with accordingly. The same rule applies to everyone.
@Gerard Smith: Education,health,etc is funded from the Exchequer funds including funding for Traveller education (etc)Why was Traveller education funding slashed by such a substantial percentage by Government?
If you actually looked up the facts before you comment,you wouldn’t be so confused or judgemental!
In 12 years as a teacher in a DEIS school with travellers in every year I’ve seen 1 do their leaving cert. They are not excluded from education they choose to exclude themselves and every consequence (lack of employment, involvement in crime, welfare dependency, shorter life span) all stem from that.
@Graham: At least we can agree on this !!
@Graham: thank goodness the most disadvantaged children in our society have someone with your attitudes teaching them. I’m sure you’re an asset to the school! #selffulfillingprophecy
@Maire: He’s right though.
@Maire: What planet are you on? Graham is stating facts. I remember when I was in secondary school, there were traveler girls in my class who left after the junior cert. Nobody in the school forced them to leave. They just don’t come into school anymore and that’s the end of it. What do you want, schools to start electronically tagging students to force them to stay in school? get a grip. What are you doing about this situation then?
Can’t stand ignorant fools such as yourself pointing the finger at people who are working hard to educate and make a difference in children/young people’s lives, with no enforcement from senior management at schools or the board of Education, what do you expect a single teacher to do.
@Lorr: I also work in a DEIS school with many traveller children but I choose to believe that I can make a difference as one person. I don’t choose to blame children for the disadvantages and exclusion that they face.
@Lorr: with regard to what I am doing to help the situation, I am educated children from traveller communities, my school are creating a welcoming environment which engages traveller families in a system which is often foreign and threatening to them and I pull people up on thinly veiled anti-traveller rhetoric.
@Maire: Maybe there is a different species of traveller where you come from, perhaps different to the ones I am accustomed to. It is possible your educating has been successful and you have removed from travellers the characteristics engrained on their culture??
@Ciaran O Reilly: when you use language like ‘species’ when talking about an ethnic minority you show you’re true attitudes.
Tie school attendance to benefits.
@DaisyMay: And then what? You open the doors and have the same entitlement to education for everyone, we’re all equal so far. However unless everyone attains around the same level of achievement, if some drop out we’re told society is neglecting them. That it’s the fault of society that they walked out the door of education. No, it isn’t. John Connors already admitted he left education due to peer pressure from other Travelers so that wasn’t the fault of you or me. If the claims of many Travelers groups were to be believed and acted upon it would mean they’d be substantially more entitled than others in society. Hardly equal?
There has to be a balance – equality is a two way street. See if you can offer a fair and honest opinion on the following statement. Is it fair that a teacher will spend more time trying to reach/teach a student who is unwilling to learn at the detriment of students that are interested in learning. Where is the equality in that?
@Richard Connell: speaking as an experienced teacher, the dynamic in a classroom changes from teaching and learning to more control, discipline and trying to maintain order when any student(s) are unwilling to cooperate in the class room. A large portion of traveller children that I have taught made it very difficult to teach in a meaningful way. They do not want to obey the same school rules as every other student. In a class of 30 student, teaching for 40 minute period, there is no time available for distraction, confrontation, lack of student preperation, etc.
The same and additional rights are ofter sought by some people, from both “settled” and “traveller” communties, not the responabilties.
@Richard Connell: would you be happy if your child’s teacher decided not to try to engage him/her because of an unwillingness to learn? Children want to learn but every child comes to the education system with different experiences, abilities, difficulties and insecurities. It’s the job of teachers (I am one) to reach out to every child and try to overcome those barriers.
Travelers now have extra special status, in our society due to the cultural enrichment they bring to us all.
In the 1950′s the travellers’ kids would throw stones at us on our way to and from school.
What’s new?
The culture of poverty is just that no matter where one is in the world: poor education, poor health and a lifetime of welfare addiction & petty crime.
@Moorooka Mick: Maybe getting them into school is a way to break that cycle?
@WilliamMorris:
It shouldn’t be about ‘getting’ them into school, they should want to stay in school.
@mattoid: I really shouldn’t matter whether they want to or not (It would be nice if they did). As a kid I didn’t always want to go to school. But I’m happy, in hindsight, I was made go. We could just have the guards enforce the truency laws we already have. Kids aren’t supposed to be leaving school before 16.
@WilliamMorris: they want to get out and make money by 12
Always has been the case
@Quentin Moriarty: and you’re an authority on this subject, how?
@Yzo Sirrius:
If someone had to be a proven authority on a particular subject before they were allowed to comment the Journal would have a pretty empty comments section.
It’s very difficult to raise the attainment levels of children when their attendance is so sporadic. Having worked as a Resource Teacher for Travellers I found the children a joy to work with but it was demoralising to see children in senior primary classes with such poor literacy skills due to nothing other than poor attendance and a cultural view of education that is at odds with the rest of society.
If as a parent you decide to live by the roadside or in someone’s field. Without toilet, washing facilities or safe play areas because you prioritise your horses then so be it. When you have a brand new house on offer and continue to keep your children in appaling living conditions then its down to you.
About time government funded Pavee Point stood up for travellers children to break this cycle of neglect. Stop whinging about buffers and tackle real issues. No child left behind.
By gaps you mean if the kids get punishment at school,the parents will “punish” the teacher….
If travellers refuse to educate their kids then that’s their culture and they can’t blame anyone else for that!! But if anyone else did it, they’d be in court for not educating their kids. Maybe that’s why they want special status,make the laws up themselves.!!
I’ve meet a lot of Travellers in my line of work. They can’t wait to drop out of school after the junior cert. some move on to paid education (used to be done through fas, a youth scheme). Sone parents even buy their 13 year olds cigarettes.
Then you have the likes of myself whose son had a severe speech and language disorder and was in the first precentile until age 6. Though it has improved he still has major issues with working memory. He scores average in a lot of areas, some high, average some low average. But does not fall into the bottom 10% so cannot be exempt from Irish. This one exemption would lift the weight off his shoulders and let him concentrate on things he is good at and improve his English and reading skills in English (he falls into low average). In Irish he is well below average. He won’t ever need Irish, he needs good English.
The system is set work against those who struggle. If he struggles with his mother tongue he has little hope to excel in a language that he will never use.
@Serge the llama: Completely agree, I love Irish as does my daughter and she excels at it, but my son cannot do it in school. Maybe after school he can develop a love for it or any other language, but for now grasping one language has to be his priority. He is just above the 10% too.
I have to fight for every support he gets. I can’t imagine how a parent that left school early could do the advocating I have to do.
Great idea to tie children’s allowance to school attendance but how would it work?
Why not bring back school inspector and prosecute parents for non attendance. Make it compulsory for all children to be enrolled to get children’s allowance.
The”all” means travellers can’t claim victimhood and and it should apply across the board anyway. Impose a six month penalty/deduction (720 euros) after conviction and put onus on parents to prove school attendance before allowance is restored
I want Pavee Point to support this proposal and advocate for it.
How about it Martin Collins?
Peter Casey would love some of these comments…
@John Smith: If he likes facts,yes he would.
School role is now done on line. It must be log between 10 – 10.30 am each morning. If not its registered by dept of ed. You get a message to say role not done. Travellers & some foreign nationals move from area to area. It’s just impossible to keep track of some of the families. You require the name of previous school, address etc. Some will tell you cant remember, give a fake address etc. The new school must contact the previous school to get a report on the child regardless of whether the child is from a traveller family, foreigh national or the regular joe soap from down the road whoes parents have moved house. But if the families don’t give that info how can schools keep records on certain children who move from area to area. If they don’t want to go to school how can you make them if you have no idea where to find them.
@bings: you can’t but you can link children’s allowance to school attendance. Again this could be done on an online basis. We know education is key to a child’s future so the two should be linked as why should the state make a payment for a child whose parents are deliberately giving them less of a chance in life
Travelers and traveler “culture” are failing travelers. If members of the traveling community want to work and contribute, it may be wise to consider finishing second level education and stop looking for the government to solve all your issues. This is the only gripe I have with travelers is the sense of entitlement when most problems are self inflicted.
Schools there to be attended. Less time roaming the country ,looking for opportunities to improve ones wealth and more time studying will improve results
Headline wrong , it should be jumping not falling
I worked with a group of young Travellers who were doing good in secondary school, nothing exceptional but doing well, engaging in activities and classwork. They had Traveller role models in the sense that both of their mentors were male Travellers who had been to college(1. a qualified youth and community worker and 2. A qualified teacher) neither of these 2 qualified males had full time or sustainable work. In this afterschool initiative it was small funding resources from SVP, St Stephens green trust fund, JP McManus etc… that kept the programme running for a while. The question that was raised a number of times by these young people was “what’s the point in going to college if there is no chance of being employed?”
@Davy Mc: I suppose they’re the trailblazers that, if they persevere, will change petceptions of Travellers in the future.
Anybody else feeling a bit sick?
@Pajo Mata: Of the ignorant hateful and sh!t stirring comments, yes.
@Diogenes: what ignorant, hateful and sh!t stirring comments? From what I have read the majority want children to stay in education so they have the best chance in life. Granted not everyone is academic but everyone should leave school being able to read and write, and every child should have pathways open to them rather than having doors closed to them due to a lack of basic education. Do you suggest we continue as is?
Schools there to be attended. Less time roaming the country ,looking for opportunities to improve ones wealth and more time studying will mprove results
There can not be a fair start, It is as it needs to be, not everyone can be a doctor, someone has to clean the hospital.
Even if optimum children academic performance were used as a requirement for welfare payments… networking, access to a quality private education, higher cultural environment and best quality of live will prevent children from wealthy, middle class backgrounds end up cleaning the hospitals or in lower skilled jobs.
Better the living conditions of lower skilled workers and motivate those who finish school early look for a job instead of living out of a social welfare payment and/or petty crimes.
Put them into care
have your say