Poverty ‘impacting’ children’s ability to learn

Money does matter when it comes to children’s learning and if the household is poor, a child is likely to be less successful in the classroom, with potential lifelong consequences.

That is according to economic sociologist Professor Richard Layte whose research has found some of the more challenging classroom behaviours and lower ability of many working class children can be traced back to the resources families have available to them.

Prof Layte of Trinity College Dublin and the ESRI, is one of the keynote speakers at a conference which gets under way in Co Louth tomorrow, said lower income reduces parents’ ability to buy educationally stimulating materials for the home and for the child.