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

Curriculum, Teaching and Learning 31
and non-participants in motivation and prior performance (see Smyth
and Calvert, 2011).
Figure 2.6: Take-up of higher level Irish, English and Maths by
Junior Certificate grades (quintiles)
100
90
80
70
%
60
50
40
Irish
English
Maths
30
20
10
0
Lowest quintile 2 3 4 Highest quintile
Previous analyses showed that at Junior Certificate level, the average
number of higher level subjects taken varied significantly across the
twelve case-study schools (Smyth et al., 2007). Figure 2.7 shows the
take-up of higher level Irish, English and Maths across the schools. The
patterns vary significantly according to the social class mix of the school,
with students in working-class schools less likely to take higher level
subjects. In fact, in Barrack Street, a girls’ school, no students take
higher level Irish while in Dixon Street, a coeducational school, no students
take higher level Irish or Maths. However, there is also variation in
take-up among schools serving similar kinds of students. In particular, it
is worth noting that the proportion of students taking higher level subjects
is as high, if not higher, in Belmore Street, a mixed intake girls’
school, than among students in the two middle-class schools. Level takeup
thus appears to reflect the complex interplay of school policy, teacher
expectations and practice, student intake and student aspirations.