The relationship between education, families and poverty is well documented and researched. Many Maltese students are being failed by the system and bear the consequences all their lives. I write this opinion piece in my capacity as a parent and a citizen.

Recent research has shown that poverty and unstable families have a profound effect on the upbringing of children. Stress and psychological trauma at home can unsettle and derail development. If there is no early intervention, the child may never recover from these early setbacks. It is also known that children from low-income families can be harder to educate than those with more comfortable backgrounds.

What I want to say is that there is a real academic-achievement gap which needs to be addressed, considering we are preparing ourselves for another radical reform in our educational system.

Researchers are studying a set of personal qualities, known as non-cognitive skills or character strengths, that are hidden in all children and need to be explored and promoted. Educators doing research in pedagogy now understand that these hidden capacities are the key to success in the classroom and beyond, and that these strengths should be taught as skills.

Therefore, in the modern world of education, character matters. Educators focus on a set of personal qualities every child has and which remains unexplored, leading to the academic achievement gap.

The traditional educational system generally does not capture these capabilities through the usual, ubiquitous standard tests.

We need to find a reliable way to teach children to be more resilient. These skills are shaped by several specific environmental forces, both in the classroom and in the home, sometimes in a subtle and intricate way.

We now know the home and the outside world can produce severe and chronic stress in children, which we doctors call toxic stress, which affects them for life.

If the children find themselves in a stressful and an unstable environment called ‘home’ and have parents or guardians who respond harshly when the children are upset, they are less likely over time to develop the ability to manage strong emotions. They will have behavioural problems at school and trouble with society when they grow up.

So early childhood is the most important force that shapes the development of qualities such as resilience (or grit). We need to look at the home environment and give it utmost importance. This will be complemented by an educational system based on a continuous, friendly, working relationship between students and teachers, parents and children, school administrators and families and schools and communities.

No child should be left behind by our educational system. We must look after the well-being of families and fight poverty.

A national debate that starts from a scientific consensus and then becomes policy might be our best chance to improve the lives of the many early school-leavers who most need our help.

Malta is second from last on the list of early school-leaving. We need to work hard to reach the EU target of 10 per cent by 2020.

Mario Saliba is a specialist in family medicine.

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