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

Chapter Two
CURRICULUM, TEACHING AND LEARNING
2.1 Introduction
This chapter explores young people’s experiences of curriculum, teaching
and learning in sixth year. The second section examines the extent to
which sixth year students are satisfied with the Leaving Certificate programme
they are taking and with the subjects selected. Section three
looks at the processes underlying the selection of (higher, ordinary or
foundation) subject levels; we focus in particular on Mathematics because
of on-going concerns about the relatively low proportion of young
people who take Maths at higher level. Section four examines the teaching
methods students are exposed to in sixth year and explores student
views of what constitutes good teaching. This section also explores the
use of ‘Mock’ Leaving Certificate exams and student participation in
private tuition. In section five, we analyse the nature of student-teacher
relations in sixth year, placing trends in the context of patterns throughout
the schooling career.
2.2 Perceptions of Leaving Certificate Programmes and
Subjects
In this section, we explore student attitudes to the programmes they are
taking and to the subjects they have selected, exploring attitudes to specific
subjects along a range of dimensions, including interest, utility and
difficulty. The levels at which subjects are studied is discussed in section
2.3.