Although the situation is improving, Traveller children are far less likely to access or complete their education than settled children. Examine the graph below, based on 2016 census data.
• Over half of the Traveller population (55.8%) left education at primary level or received no formal education at all.
• In contrast, almost half of the general or settled population (47.8%) went all the way to third level, whether university or a technical or vocational course.
• Of over 30,000 Irish Travellers resident in Ireland, just 167 had a third-level qualification. However, this is almost double the 2011 figure of 89.
Census 2016: The highest level of education a person reached
%
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
0
Traveller popula General popula
55.8 47.8 22.3 12.65
No further than primary (incl. no formal educa
EXPLORE 14.7 7.2 secondary Lower secondary Upper
18.65 4.55
Post-secondary (incl. university, technical/ voca
RADIO INTERVIEW
Listen to the experience of young Travellers in education on the Sean O’Rourke Show on RTÉ Radio 1 here:
What do the young members of the Traveller community who speak on the show say about the challenges they faced in staying in education? Write a short paragraph for each.
4. Experiencing Bullying
One of the most widely experienced barriers to education in Ireland is bullying. Bullying can be defined as unwanted negative behaviour – verbal, psychological or physical – carried out by an individual or group against another person (or people) and which is repeated over time.
