From Leaving CertiFiCate to Leaving SChooL a Longitudinal Study ...

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was funded by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment
and the Department of Education and Skills. We are extremely
grateful to Anne Looney, John Hammond, Majella O’Shea and their colleagues
for on-going support and useful feedback on the research. Members
of the NCCA Council have provided extremely helpful suggestions
as the Post-Primary Longitudinal Study has progressed.
We are very grateful to Aidan Farrell and his colleagues at the State
Examinations Commission for providing data on the Leaving Certificate
grades of the study cohort. Their cooperation allowed us to provide
invaluable insights into the processes shaping Leaving Certificate
performance.
As always, we are extremely grateful to staff and students in the
twelve case-study schools. They have patiently taken part in this study
over a protracted period of time and we very much hope that the resulting
reports reflect their contribution.
This study would not have been possible without the foundations set
in place by Selina McCoy and Merike Darmody during the junior cycle
phase of the research. They kindly conducted a series of interviews for
the current study, and we would like to acknowledge the importance of
their contribution to the research. We are grateful to Allison Dunne for
her contribution to the third year phase of the study. We are very grateful
to staff in the former ESRI Survey Unit, particularly Dorothy Watson,
for organising the survey of students. Throughout the process, our division
head, Philip O’Connell, has been an unfailing source of support.