This study considers the issue of weak literacy development and early school leaving in Malta. In spite of a lack of a direct or indirect causal link between the two, in the case of Malta these issues seem to be almost exclusively specific to children attending the State school. Children from the Church and the Independent sectors are minimally affected or not at all. These two phenomena are examined against a background of parental education, socioeconomic status and social capital. While literacy may be a contributory factor to early school leaving, the two may be facets of deeper underlying deficits such as the inability of parents to support their children's learning and to act as their point of reference and educational compass outside the school. This results in alienation from schooling. [For the complete Volume 14, Number 2 proceedings, see ED568089.]