Poverty and poor parenting spell trouble [IrishTimes]
- Published: 11 December 2010
AS IF loss of sovereignty, draconian budgets and sliding helplessly on melting ice were not enough, we are also sliding down the OECD literacy ratings, a dramatic fall from fifth to 17th place, writes BREDA O'BRIEN
The primary teaching unions urge caution; that all may not be as it appears. However, even the redoubtable Sheila Nunan, the INTO general secretary, offers cold comfort. “In the case of reading, no significant changes in average performance at fifth class level have been recorded since 1980,” she says.
Barnardos, in its 2009 report on educational disadvantage, Written Out, Written Off, put it differently. “Unfortunately, literacy levels have remained largely unchanged since 1980 with one in three pupils from disadvantaged areas continuing to have severe literacy difficulties.”
So even if the OECD results are somehow wrong, our literacy levels are deeply worrying.
Early school-leaving is linked quite often to literacy problems. According to the Barnardo’s report, early school-leavers are three to four times more likely to be unemployed. They are 2.4 times more likely to describe their general health as “poor” or “fair”, 1.4 times more likely to report moderate or extreme anxiety or depression, and 4.5 times more likely to be in receipt of a medical card.
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