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

Guidance and Decision-Making in Sixth Year 135
Some of those who were unsure what they wanted to do when they leave
school found that career guidance class gave them information about a
broad range of options, careers and education pathways:
[You] just go over the different options.
Careers.
Yeah, the different points needed for courses.
The different options of where you want to go, the different pathways
into each occupation, whatever you want to do. (Dawes Point,
boys’ school, working-class intake)
Well we do, like we find out about FÁS and all these [courses].
They do like, they’re good like, they find you all the options, they set
you up so that, for every situation. (Argyle Street, coed school,
mixed intake)
Students in some schools spoke about the help they received in career
guidance class when filling out their CAO forms:
They’re quite helpful really.
It is quite helpful that we did that.
And if you couldn’t do it at home they had classes in the school to do
them on the computers and the teachers were there to do it with us.
(Harris Street, girls’ school, middle-class intake)
Other students discussed how in career guidance class their teacher was
helpful in giving them information about access courses and the grants
available to them if they did go to college:
The only thing is she has been helping us with the access, you know,
in case we do want to go to college then it might help us with points
and finance when we get there. She also gives … information on any
talks that are happening within the colleges, just we can go to them.
(Barrack Street, girls’ school, working-class intake)