DIALOGUES OF DISADVANTAGE – DEPRIVATION IMPACTS

Abstract

For many years educational practitioners have tended to focus on issues within the child for the causes of special educational needs and or disabilities. However, as the field has developed in professional maturity, a more inclusive approach has now tended to look beyond the child themselves, and recognise that often the cause of the child's educational struggle is more to do with within school factors, and factors from the home. In some instances, researchers have suggested that the home-based factors can account for around 80% of the difficulties experienced by children. In this paper, the overview of the research carried out with four Belfast schools will be provided, along with the key findings, including the impact of teacher aspiration, parental struggles with their own education and community influences. Belfast has a unique history, and divisions remain between Protestant and Catholic schools as to their outcomes for pupils. The research crossed the religious divide and findings will be presented as to the differences in educational aspiration and engagement from the two communities.