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

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From Leaving Certificate to Leaving School
It just seems like a really good social life there. Good sporting facilities
as well and…
…I just like the whole atmosphere up in [name of university]. (Fig
Lane, coed school, middle-class intake)
5.4 Conclusions
Research on student decision-making around post-school pathways in
Ireland consistently shows that access to, and the availability of, career
guidance can vary across groups of students (McCoy et al., 2006;
McCoy et al., 2010). In keeping with these findings, guidance provision
appears to vary significantly across the twelve case-study schools in our
study as do student perceptions of guidance counselling, both individual
and group sessions. The content and focus of guidance classes also appear
to vary across the schools.
On the whole, students were satisfied with the guidance they received,
while at the same time expressing the desire for more information
on the pathways open to them. Positive aspects of guidance were
seen to include the range of information provided, the commitment of the
guidance counsellor, the use of aptitude tests, access to guest speakers
and attending college open days. Students appear to be more satisfied
with individual sessions with their guidance counsellor than with guidance
counselling classes, with some students describing these sessions as
‘very helpful’ in reaching their career decisions.
Across all schools, however, some students reported being disappointed
with the level and nature of provision. Constraints on the time
available to meet with the guidance counsellor were cited by many students,
especially in contexts where counsellors were ‘juggling’ subject
teaching, guidance and personal counselling. Some students felt that
there was an over-emphasis on college applications in their guidance
classes and not enough attention was given to alternative options such as
apprenticeships or employment. The focus of guidance classes was found
to vary by Leaving Certificate programme and by the social mix of the
school. LCA classes often focused on access to apprenticeships in contrast
to the higher education focus of LCE/LCVP classes. Some students
in working-class schools felt that school staff held low expectations of