© PDST Home Economics

To equip teachers with skills to teach the poverty dimension (6.6 and 6.7) of the Social Skills Elective

To introduce and utilise a resource: Ireland- A Level Playing Pitch? aimed at exploring

and analysing poverty in Ireland, making it applicable to the social studies elective.

To demonstrate methodologies that will help in teaching poverty and can be adapted for use across the syllabus (links to other sections of course)

This approach to teaching Poverty proposes;

• Creating a safe environment,

• Applying an incremental approach starting with learners ideas about poverty to agreeing definitions, looking at facts, analysing causes and exploring statutory, voluntary and community responses.

Set up ground rules

Preparation and planning of teacher is important

Teacher facilitates the discussion

Methodologies for managing discussion

Use of interesting methodologies

How to introduce the idea to your class•Divide into small groups•Show photographs that say something about poverty and wealth•Summarise on board

People sleeping rough, living on the streets or in shelters may experience absolute poverty. This means they are living without proper shelter, food, clothing or medical care.

In Ireland and other developed countries, poverty is more usually called relative poverty. In this case, people are considered to be living in poverty if their standard of living is substantially less than the general standard of living in society.

The government’s National Anti-Poverty Strategy reflects this:

“People are living in poverty if their income and resources (material, cultural and social) are so inadequate as to preclude them from having a standard of living that is regarded as acceptable by Irish society generally. As a result of inadequate income and resources, people may be excluded and marginalised from participating in activities that are considered the norm for other people”.

To set the poverty line, income is related to incomes in society at large. Currently it is 60%

of median income(the median is the mid-point on the scale of incomes in Ireland). In 2006, this was an income of below €202.49 a week for an adult

This means having an income below 60% of the median and is also experiencing enforced deprivation. This means being on a low income and not being able to afford basic necessities such as new clothes, not having the money to buy food such as meat or fish, not being able to heat your home, or having to go into debt to pay ordinary household bills.

Source: Combat Poverty Agency Website www.combatpoverty.ie

accessed January 2008

Poverty in Ireland is measured by the Central Statistics Office. Two measurements, consistent poverty and at risk of poverty are used.

The most recent data on poverty in Ireland is from the 2006 EU Survey of Income and Living conditions(EU-SILC)

Consistent Poverty 7% 292,550 people

At Risk of Poverty 17% 720,770 people

Poverty Threshold (60% of median income)€202.49 per adult per week

At Risk of Poverty

Consistent Poverty

Total Population 17% 7%

Lone Parent Families 40% 33%

Unemployed people 44% 23%

Ill or Disabled People 41% 20%

Children (under 14) 20% 11%

Foreign Nationals 24% 9%

Older People (65+) 14% 2%

Group work

2 newspaper articles (Irish times 2006)

Read and identify causes and effects of poverty

for your person

Summarise on board under headings

Leads to discussion on causes and effects of

poverty

Structural: systems and patterns e.g. Economic, political, social and cultural

Multi dimensional and interconnected Form of Welfare state e.g. Contingent on needs

versus rights State Policy Taxation – income, expenditure, wealth e.g

assets, property, profits. Social Expenditure – Levels and Priorities Redistribution of resources/wealth e.g. Taxation,

social welfare and social services

Sometimes used interchangeably with ‘Poverty Cycles’

Sometimes refers to policies that may work against certain groups taking up employment because of loss of ‘supplementary’ benefits e.g. Medical card

Or policies oriented towards supporting certain groups into employment but which neglect to address core issues e.g. Provision of affordable quality childcare for single mothers

Written exercise for pairs/individual students

to make them think about responses needed to

tackle poverty

who needs to respond

National Action Plan Against Poverty and

Social Exclusion(2007-2016)

National Development Plan (2007–2013)

Towards 2016 – Social Partnership Agreement

Combat Poverty Agency

Office for Social Inclusion

‘Poverty proof’ all government policy to ensure they do not disadvantage some groups and to ensure that they contribute to tackling poverty; build in ongoing monitoring to ensure implementation and positive impact

Build in targets, timeframes, adequate resources; implementation structures

Ensure that policies are ‘joined up’ Ensure clear links between national and

local/regional roll out of policies Support and involve people affected by

poverty and organisations that represent them in all stages; resource this engagement

Community Development Support Programme

RAPID and CLAR

Family and Community Services Resource

Centres

Local Development Social Inclusion Programme

Activation and Family Support Programme

Back to Work; back to Education/Training; VTOS

Department of Social and Family Affairs.

www.welfare.ie

Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

www.pobail.

www.cpa.ie/povertyinireland/teachers.html

Ireland- A Level Playing Pitch?

Left Outside

Financial Exclusion

Silent People

Research Series

Types of Organisations Types of Responses - Services - Empowerment - Policy/Advocacy Community Development State Sponsored Programmes Strengths Challenges

Combat Poverty Agency, Bridgewater Centre,Islandbridge, Dublin 8

Telephone 01 670 6746

Email info@combatpoverty.ie

www.slss.ie/homeeconomics

© PDST Home Economics