Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 170: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her proposals to place poverty issues on the school curriculum. [17693/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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In the early stages of primary schooling activities related to the child's immediate environment are central to teaching and learning. Through these, children learn how to interact fairly with others along with the importance of sharing, of accepting differences and of treating people with dignity and respect. As the curriculum progresses, broader community issues are brought into play in terms of how individuals and groups contribute to their community, practise justice and promote fair play in everyday interactions. Social awareness and poverty are themes which feature as part of this approach.

At second level, Civic Social and Political Education (CSPE) is a mandatory for junior cycle students and it is an examinable subject for the Junior Certificate. CSPE aims to develop skills for critical awareness, ethical decision making and participatory citizenship based on an understanding of human rights and social responsibilities. The course is designed to allow students and teachers the scope and flexibility to select and deal with such issues as work and unemployment, poverty and homelessness. The concepts of democracy, rights and responsibilities, human dignity, interdependence, development, law and justice, and stewardship of the environment are all inter-related in the programme, and learning is set in the context of the roles of individuals, communities, Ireland and the wider world.

Opportunities to develop students' understandings of poverty-related issues can also be made available in a school's Transition Year programme. Community-based activities can be particularly beneficial in this regard.

Since poverty can be a sensitive topic to deal with in a classroom context, specific resources have been developed in collaboration with the Combat Poverty Agency to support teaching and learning in this area. These are Counted Out: Challenging Poverty and Exclusion which can be downloaded at www.citizenship2005.ie and Opening Doors: School and Community Partnerships in Poverty Awareness and Social Education Initiatives. Copies of these resources can be obtained from the Curriculum Development Unit, Sundrive Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12.