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

Curriculum, Teaching and Learning 21
2.2.1 Views on the Leaving Certificate Programmes
Chapter One outlined how the twelve case-study schools vary in the types
of senior cycle programmes they provide. Among the cohort in the study,
two-thirds were taking the Leaving Certificate Established (LCE) programme,
over a quarter (27 per cent) were taking the Leaving Certificate
Vocational Programme (LCVP) while 7 per cent were taking the Leaving
Certificate Applied (LCA) programme. Clear differences were evident
among this cohort between students taking LCA and those taking LCE or
LCVP. Those entering LCA were significantly more likely to be from
working-class or non-employed backgrounds, they were more likely to
have received learning support or been in a lower stream class, and had
lower levels of prior achievement (Smyth and Calvert, 2011). These findings
are consistent with previous research which showed that LCA entry
was motivated by the desire to take more practically-based subjects and by
fear of struggling with the LCE; school personnel were also found to play
an important role in influencing LCA entry (Banks et al., 2010). In contrast
to the distinction between LCA and other students, both LCE and
LCVP students came from a variety of social backgrounds and had a range
of experiences of junior cycle (Smyth and Calvert, 2011).
In fifth year, the majority of students were happy with the programme
they were taking, with higher levels of satisfaction among LCA
students than those taking LCE or LCVP (92 per cent compared with 84
per cent). Figure 2.1 shows that the majority of sixth year students remain
satisfied with the programme they are taking, although rates of satisfaction
are somewhat lower than they had been a year previously. As in
fifth year, levels of satisfaction are found to be higher among those taking
the LCA programme; 23 per cent of LCE students report dissatisfaction
compared with 15 per cent of their LCA peers. There are also some
differences in programme satisfaction by gender. Among LCE/LCVP
students, male students have somewhat higher satisfaction levels but are
also more polarised than female students, being more likely to report
‘very satisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’. Among LCA students, female students
report much higher levels of satisfaction than their male peers (91
per cent of females being satisfied compared with 77 per cent of males).
Perceived difficulty in coping with schoolwork emerges as a factor in
programme satisfaction. Thus, LCE/LCVP students who were in the top