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

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From Leaving Certificate to Leaving School
student decisions about what to do when they leave school (Bloom,
2007). The social mix of students in the school is associated with differential
rates of entry to higher education (McDonough, 1997; Reay et
al., 2001, 2005; Foskett et al., 2008). More middle-class schools are
found to facilitate greater access to college-relevant courses and to
place a greater emphasis on the provision of formal guidance
(McDonough, 1997). In these schools, going on to higher education
assumes a ‘taken for granted’ quality, although the nature of career
guidance provided is found to have an effect over and above that of the
social class mix (Foskett et al., 2008).
A significant body of research has emerged on the processes shaping
young people’s decisions and pathways in the Irish context. Over a
twenty-five period, the School Leavers’ Survey has documented the
way in which entry to post-school education and training and the types
of jobs held are strongly influenced by young people’s educational attainment
(see, for example, Byrne et al., 2008). Research has pointed to
the persistence of social class differences in entry to higher education
(O’Connell et al., 2006), even in the context of the removal of tuition
fees and the expansion of places (McCoy and Smyth, 2011). Schoollevel
factors are found to play a role in influencing these outcomes,
with higher application rates to third-level education in schools which
facilitate the take-up of higher level subjects, postpone subject choice
and devote more time to career guidance (Smyth and Hannan, 2007). A
mixed methods study (McCoy et al., 2010) of young people from nonmanual
backgrounds, the only group not to experience an increase in
higher education participation in recent years, points to the complex
interplay of school experiences, access to guidance and family sociocultural
resources in shaping the decision to apply for, and enter, higher
education.
The current study builds upon existing research in two main respects.
Firstly, viewing the Leaving Certificate as a ‘high stakes exam’ can yield
insights into the way in which it colours young people’s experiences of
teaching and learning, highlighting significant issues for policy development.
Secondly, many of the Irish studies of young people’s decisionmaking
have been retrospective in nature, examining their perspectives
on choices which have already been made. Exploring young people’s