YOUNG CHILDREN in disadvantaged areas are significantly poorer readers than their better-off counterparts, a Statewide survey has concluded. It also shows that teachers have lower expectations for these students' reading progress.

The survey of 2,200 pupils in the first class of primary schools found that pupils from disadvantaged areas did "significantly" less well in standardised reading tests, and that teachers' ratings of their achievement and expectations for their future reading progress were correspondingly lower.

The results of the survey, conducted by Emma McDonald and Gerry Shiel of the Educational Research Centre, St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin, were presented at the annual conference of the Psychological Society of Ireland in Waterford recently.

"Under-achievement in disadvantaged areas at such an early stage is a very important factor," McDonald said. "If they start having problems at this stage, then it does not indicate well for later years."

The survey found that a primary contributing factor to poor reading ability was the home environment, with disadvantaged students having fewer books and less parental help with homework. "Parents' attitudes to education will mainly stem from their own educational experiences, so you have a cycle of disadvantage passed on from parents to children," she said.

Disadvantaged students also had problems with abstract thinking and the understanding and use of language and had difficulty paying attention and working independently in class. McDonald said that poorer teacher expectations of such pupils could set the standard for them and have a reinforcing effect on how they perform later in life.

John Carr, education officer and assistant general secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, is worried by the survey's conclusions on teachers' expectations. "Teachers' expectations would be as high in disadvantaged areas as anywhere else," he says. "But they would be realistic about it and pragmatic about the pupils' life chances. That's a reality facing teachers in disadvantaged areas every day of the week." Initiatives to counter disadvantage, such as the Breaking the Cycle and Early Start programmes, are welcome, Carr says, but "a huge injection of resources" is needed to give these pupils a proper chance.