PART 1: SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHICS

Parental Education Level

Higher levels of parent educational attainment are strongly associated with positive outcomes for children.7

Measure

The percentage of children under 18 whose mother has attained (a) primary, (b) lower secondary, (c) upper secondary or (d) third-level education.

Key findings

  • In 2006, 30.6% of children under 18 lived in families where the mother had a third-level degree or higher educational attainment (see Table 17). This percentage varied from 38.7% for households with children aged 0-4 to 22.8% for households with children aged 15-17 years.
  • 52.8% of children under 18 lived in families where the highest level of educational attainment by mothers was a lower secondary or upper secondary education.
  • Only 6.3% of children lived in families where the mother had either no formal education or primary education only.

Table 17: Percentage of children under 18, by age and educational attainment of the mother (2006)

Highest level of education attained 0-4
years		 5-9
years		 10-14
years		 15-17
years		 Total
<18 years
Primary (including no formal education) 3.7 5.0 7.6 10.9 6.3
Lower secondary 14.6 20.1 24.5 27.2 20.8
Upper secondary 31.0 33.4 32.7 30.3 32.0
Third-level (Degree or higher) 38.7 31.2 26.0 22.8 30.6
Not stated/not available 12.1 10.3 9.2 8.8 10.3
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Total by age group 293,305 282,015 267,133 165,411 1,007,864

Source: Census of the Population, CSO

  • Regional differences are apparent (see Table 18 and Figure 5). In 2006, in Donegal, for example, 10.2% of children lived in families where the mother had either no formal education or primary education only, compared with 4.4% of children in Roscommon.

Table 18: Number of children under 18, by county and educational attainment of mother (2006)

County Primary (including
no formal education)		 Lower secondary Upper secondary Third-level
(Degree or higher)		 Not stated/
not available		 Total
Carlow 785 2,739 3,899 3,414 1,496 12,333
Cavan 999 3,711 5,679 4,873 1,508 16,770
Clare 1,271 4,925 9,558 9,356 2,733 27,843
Cork 5,151 23,002 38,083 37,445 9,961 113,642
Donegal 4,038 10,438 11,082 10,644 3,317 39,519
Dublin 18,723 51,513 70,289 77,319 33,608 251,452
Galway 2,847 8,727 17,814 18,793 5,617 53,798
Kerry 1,748 6,825 10,511 9,970 3,071 32,125
Kildare 2,462 9,362 16,534 16,022 4,962 49,342
Kilkenny 1,071 4,487 7,759 7,190 1,603 22,110
Laois 1,027 3,653 6,419 4,776 1,825 17,700
Leitrim 318 1,383 2,592 2,223 486 7,002
Limerick 3,273 9,235 13,227 12,522 3,889 42,146
Longford 743 1,693 2,999 2,299 1,025 8,759
Louth 2,447 6,997 7,990 7,917 3,242 28,593
Mayo 1,816 5,937 11,693 8,596 2,369 30,411
Meath 1,979 8,964 15,024 14,079 3,828 43,874
Monaghan 813 3,549 4,616 3,985 1,178 14,141
Offaly 1,393 4,407 6,351 4,655 1,777 18,583
Roscommon 626 2,642 5,602 4,359 1,068 14,297
Sligo 723 2,465 4,781 5,007 1,234 14,210
Tipperary 2,156 8,150 13,232 10,185 3,404 37,127
Waterford 1,506 5,711 8,480 7,684 2,657 26,038
Westmeath 1,355 4,271 6,646 5,743 2,312 20,327
Wexford 2,498 8,692 11,683 8,606 2,545 34,024
Wicklow 1,695 6,297 9,813 10,839 3,054 31,698
State 63,463 209,775 322,356 308,501 103,769 1,007,864

Source: Census of the Population, CSO

  • In 2006, 78.9% of those children with a White background lived in households that were owner-occupied (see Table 11). This compared with 46.8% of children from an Asian or Asian Irish background and to 18.1% of those with a Black or Black Irish background.

Figure 5: Percentage of children under 18 whose mothers have no formal education or primary education only, by county (2006)

figure 5

Source: Census of the Population, CSO

Technical notes
Data in this indicator refer to the highest educational attainment of the mother rather than the head of household. Where no mother is present, the highest educational attainment of the father is used instead. The figures are based on responses to Question 23 of the 2006 Census, which distinguishes between the following main categories:

  1. No formal education or just primary education
  2. Lower secondary education: Junior, Intermediate/Group Certificate, 'O' levels/GCSEs, NCVA Foundation Certificate, Basic Skills Training Certificate or equivalent.
  3. Upper secondary: Leaving Certificate, 'A' levels, NCVA Level 1 Certificate or equivalent, Technical or Vocational qualification, both Upper Secondary and Technical or Vocational qualification.
  4. Third-level: Non-degree, primary degree, professional qualification (of Degree status at least), both a Degree and a Professional qualification, post-graduate Certificate or Diploma, post-graduate Degree (Masters) or Doctorate (PhD).

The data are also based on the concept of usual residence rather than the de-facto residence of household on Census night.

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7 OMC (2006) State of the Nation's Children: Ireland 2006, Office of the Minister for Children. Dublin: The Stationery Office. Available at: www.childrensdatabase.ie OR www.omc.gov.ie