Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

SCHOOL EXPERIENCES AND LEARNING PROCESSES AMONG LCA PARTICIPANTS 87Would you recommend it to anyone?Oh yeah, I would yeah, anyone that’s leaving school, I’d recommend to do it like.… Especially if you leave school at sixteen years of age, I know two people nowwho did that and they’re just destroyed. (Graham, 22, completed LCA,apprentice)In contrast, some respondents felt that students should take the LCE ifat all possible:I suppose if they’re very, very brainy, they might as well do the Leaving Cert, ifyou don’t mind studying and you don’t mind being in all the time studying andloads of homework, do it. (Alice, 22, completed LCA, home duties)Mary pointed out that the LCA may be insufficiently challenging forsome students:Maybe for the more intellectual types, it mightn’t be their cup of tea because itmightn’t challenge them an awful lot. But for people who are finding it tough,maybe it would be an easier option for them because it is more graspable. (Mary,22, completed LCA, home duties)The suitability of the programme was also seen as reflecting longer termoccupational aspirations among potential participants:It depends on who you are, I think. I think it really depends on your personalityand … how headstrong you are … what you really want out of life. … You’renot going to be an architect out of LCA, you know that kind of way like, so Ithink it depends on what you really want. (Sarah, 21, completed LCA,employed)In sum, LCA graduates viewed their education as beneficial, especially inpreparing them for working and adult life. However, they indicated that theprogramme was not suitable for everyone, being especially appropriate forthose struggling with schoolwork and at risk of early school leaving.5.9ConclusionsThis chapter has drawn on a longitudinal study of post-primary studentsand in-depth interviews with young LCA graduates to document learningexperiences among programme participants. Young people are generallypositive about the content of the programme and the teaching methodsused. Access to more vocationally oriented subjects was a motivation formany in taking the programme and the practical focus of the subjects andmodules was seen as enhancing learning. However, some young peoplecriticised the fact that they did not have access to certain subject areas andthere appeared to be a degree of gender differentiation in the provision andtake-up of vocational specialism courses.In keeping with the underlying principles of the LCA programme, LCAclasses were characterised by an emphasis on more active teaching andlearning methodologies, especially group work and project work.Furthermore, smaller class sizes meant that many reported more individualattention and support from their teachers. The approach within LCAmeant that many young people re-engaged with learning and had improvedattitudes to school. Modular credit accumulation was seen as a particularly