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

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From Leaving Certificate to Leaving School
per cent v. 42 per cent), and Geography (47 per cent v. 36 per cent).
Male students find Irish more difficult than female students (57 per cent
compared with 49 per cent); on closer investigation, this applies only to
ordinary level students with no apparent gender difference in perceived
difficulty at higher level.
Figure 2.4: Proportion of sixth year students who find the selected
subjects difficult (those taking the subjects only)
French
German
Biology
Maths
Irish
Home Ec.
History
Geography
English
PE
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
% difficult
As would be expected, perceived difficulty is also related to prior Junior
Certificate achievement. Students who achieved lower Junior Certificate
grades are more likely to find Maths difficult than other students; twothirds
of the lowest two quintiles find Maths difficult compared with 48
per cent of the highest quintile. More detailed analysis indicates a complex
interaction between perceived difficulty and level take-up. Among
those taking ordinary level Maths, the greatest difficulty is reported by
those in the lowest-achieving quintile. In contrast, among those taking
higher level Maths, perceived difficulty is greatest among those in the
highest-achieving groups. The pattern is somewhat different for English,
where the lowest two quintiles find the subject less difficult than other
students because they are more likely to study the subject at ordinary
level. The perceived difficulty of Biology and Geography is structured