THE NUMBER of school children referred to state psychologists last year rose by 17 per cent compared to the year before, according to a recent Education Ministry report.
The biggest problems faced by school children were delinquency and learning difficulties, both of which are interconnected, said Michalis Ioannou, head of the Educational Psychology Service (EPS) yesterday.
One of the main reasons contributing to both issues is the serious lack of role models in society, highlighted Ioannou.
During the 2006-2007 school year, 3,470 pupils from across the education system (preschool, primary and secondary) were referred to educational psychologists, 500 more than the 2005-2006 period.
From the latest figures in the last school year, 2,377 referrals involved boys and 1,093 girls. From the total 3,470, 57 per cent saw a state psychologist for the first time, while the remainder had already been before but required re-evaluation.
The statistics reveal that the main source of pupils’ problems is school. Only 15 per cent of referrals did not have problems with their school. The remaining 85 per cent were sent to psychologists because they had problems at school, making failure at school the core problem faced by pupils.
The EPS concluded in its report that particularities within the social and family unit were responsible for most pathological psychosocial conditions recorded in children (58 per cent). Just over 39 per cent of referrals recorded mental disorders or manifest family issues, while 26 per cent suffered serious abuse and neglect. Also high on the list of psychosocial problems (35 per cent) were emotional, educational, social and cultural deficiencies. Children could have more than one condition.
The report noted that the majority of children did not have mental disabilities but could not succeed at school, highlighting big problems with reading, writing and mathematics. Another problem that surfaced from the study was the relationship between children referred to the EPS and their school. Many pupils had behavioural problems, as well as problems adjusting to school life, truancy, being emotionally withdrawn from school, rejecting school and possessing a fear of school.
Most pupils referred to an education psychologist came from primary school (48 per cent) and gymnasium (25 per cent), with only 11 per cent being referred from lyceums or technical schools. A large number of preschool children (493), representing 14 per cent of the total figure, were also referred to the EPS.
Head of the EPS, Ioannou, highlighted that the problems of delinquency and learning difficulties were getting more and more serious every year.
“The two problems are related. School failure as a result of learning difficulties is really the cause of delinquency,” he told the Cyprus Mail.
Asked why school failure was so apparent, he replied: “There are many factors like family, school and society in general. A lot depends on upbringing within the family. Also, the schools have a lot of responsibility. The school does not offer all children the same thing. Some children come emotionally and language-wise better prepared than others,” Ioannou noted.
The ministry was discussing ways of dealing with these problems, including making classes smaller, training teachers to deal with such issues and adding teaching assistants to certain classes.
“You cannot compare today’s situation with the past because in my day, only a few children went to school, now everyone goes. You could say that a lot of this is a result of things like television, gambling and other social issues,” he said.
Ioannou noted that the biggest problem seemed to lie with society and the lack of role models.
“Important figures in society affect the behaviour of children with their attitude.
Teenagers are more impressionable. If they see someone making his wealth without having studied, they want to do the same. Unfortunately, society has more bad role models than good,” said Ioannou.
Concluding, the EPS chief said those children that had more contact with the Church had less problems.
“The statistics show that religion plays a role. Those who go to Church or get involved record less delinquency problems.”
Asked whether the Church leadership was always a good role model for children, for example during elections for the Archbishop in 2006, Ioannou conceded it did not.
