Students from poorer areas face further woes

Less-experienced teachers, higher absenteeism, and literacy difficulties may be compounding social factors that impact on children in schools with high concentrations of disadvantage, research has revealed.

An Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) study to be published today found that children in urban disadvantaged schools have lower reading and maths test scores than those in non-disadvantaged schools, even taking account of differences in individual social background. “This gap is partly explained by differences in teacher experience, higher absenteeism rates and the concentration of literacy difficulties,” said the authors.

Previous figures showed that much higher proportions of pupils at disadvantaged schools have literacy problems, but this study may shed more light on the associated factors. It looked at the impact on student outcomes of the concentration of pupils from different social background in primary schools. The work is part of the ongoing Growing up in Ireland (GUI) study, with ESRI and Trinity College Dublin researchers tracking the social, health, and education progress of almost 20,000 children.