`Neglect' for rural disadvantage

More support for teachers working with disadvantaged and special needs students throughout the State has been called for by the Association of Secondary School Teachers Ireland (ASTI).

"The current strategy of allocating resources for disadvantaged students to selected schools in a limited number of geographical areas is completely unsatisfactory and totally ignores a large proportion of students who may be vulnerable due to educational, personal, social or familial circumstances," said Catherine Fitzpatrick, vice-president of ASTI. It is estimated that three out of every five disadvantaged students come from rural areas with populations of 10,000 or less. However, the majority of the 211 second-level schools designated as disadvantaged by the Department of Education are located in urban areas.

According to Fitzpatrick teachers are best placed to identify and evaluate needs within the classroom. "It is essential that teachers are supported through the provision of resources and professional services to aid their students' learning and to meet their developmental needs," she said.

The ASTI believes all schools require the services of specialist teachers such as home/school liaison teachers and remedial teachers. "Students, teachers and parents are only too well aware that these services are not available in schools in proportion to the need that exists. The Home School Liaison Scheme is confined to designated disadvantaged schools while schools below a set number of pupils do not qualify for a full-time remedial teacher," said Fitzpatrick. The union also called on the Department of Education to make the schools psychological service more accessible to teachers. "This service plays a critical role in identifying and assessing students with individual needs. However, understaffing and under-resourcing means there are long waiting lists, particularly for students outside the larger urban areas," she said.

Finally, Fitzpatrick stressed the need for co-ordinated and comprehensive training for all teachers to provide them with the necessary skills and knowledge to recognise and respond to students experiencing educational disadvantage. She was speaking at a meeting of ASTI national second-level curriculum representatives in Dublin.