Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

More documents

Recommendations

Info

LIST OF ACRONYMSCAOECDLFÁSFETACHETACISCEDITECIVETLCALCELCVPNCVAPLCSECSLSCentral Applications OfficeEuropean Computer Driving LicenceForas Áiseanna Saothair, Training and Employment AuthorityFurther Education and Training Awards CouncilHigher Education and Training Awards CouncilInternational Standard Classification of EducationInternational Therapy Examination CouncilInitial Vocational Education and TrainingLeaving Certificate AppliedLeaving Certificate EstablishedLeaving Certificate Vocational ProgrammeNational Council for Vocational AwardsPost Leaving CertificateState Examinations CommissionSchool Leavers’ SurveyXII
EXECUTIVE SUMMARYIntroductionWhether to have a comprehensive schooling system or to providedifferent tracks or curricular programmes has been a central focus ofinternational policy debates on second-level education. The LeavingCertificate Applied (LCA) was introduced in 1995 as an alternative to theestablished Leaving Certificate and was designed as a distinct self-containedpre-vocational programme for senior cycle students. Its fundamental goal isto prepare students for the transition from the world of education to thatof adult and working life (DES/NCCA, 2004), including further education(DES, z1995). Little is known about the process of curriculumdifferentiation in an Irish setting and in particular the characteristics ofyoung people who opt for the LCA programme. This study provides aunique opportunity to examine student experiences prior to entering theLCA, their curriculum and learning experiences during the programme, andtheir post-school outcomes. Adopting a mixed methods approach, thisstudy uses data from a range of sources including the School Leavers’Survey and the Post-Primary Longitudinal Survey in addition to in-depthqualitative interviews with young people who had participated in LCA. Thecontribution of both quantitative and qualitative research strategiesprovides greater insight into the views of LCA students and theirexperiences of the programme.Curriculum differentiation and the process of tracking or sortingstudents according to ‘ability’ has been a main focus of educationalresearch internationally. Existing analyses of such tracking generallyemploys one of two competing theories: human capital theory and socialreproduction theory. Human capital theory views vocational education asan investment in young people in preparation for the labour market or as asafety-net which retains ‘at risk’ young people within the educationalsystem and enhances their later employment opportunities. In contrast,theories of social reproduction view the provision of a differentiatedcurriculum as a system which socialises working-class people intosubordinate roles and reproduces social inequalities across generations.Approaches to curriculum differentiation vary internationally accordingto a number of factors, including the age at which students are placed indiffering ability tracks, the strength of linkages between vocationaleducation and the labour market, and whether programmes providestudents with occupationally specific skills or generic work-related skills.Countries such as Austria and Germany track students at a young age intoprogrammes which often have strong employer linkages and specificvocational skills training. In contrast, other educational systems (includingCanada, Japan, Norway, Sweden, England and the US) tend not to trackstudents until senior cycle level and provide more generic workplace skills.Ireland is considered to have an intermediate position in terms of having amix of both academic and vocational curriculum (Iannelli and Raffe 2007)XIII
Page 1: RESEARCH SERIESNUMBER 15APRIL 2010E
Page 4 and 5: Joanne Banks is a Research Analyst,
Page 6: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThis study was fund
Page 9 and 10: 9. Discussion and Policy Implicatio
Page 11 and 12: LIST OF FIGURESFigure 1.1: Rates of
Page 13: Figure 7.13: Percentage of Females
Page 17 and 18: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY XVLCA. In additio
Page 19: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY XVIICURRICULUM CH
Page 22 and 23: 2 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?This chapte
Page 24 and 25: 4 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Training (I
Page 26 and 27: 6 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Figure 1.1:
Page 28 and 29: 8 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?secondary l
Page 30 and 31: 2. RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY2.1MixedMetho
Page 32 and 33: 12 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Certificat
Page 34 and 35: 14 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?2.6Limitat
Page 36 and 37: 16 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?There is n
Page 38 and 39: 18 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Trends in
Page 40 and 41: 20 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?The larges
Page 42 and 43: 22 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?students w
Page 44 and 45: 24 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Figure 3.1
Page 46 and 47: 26 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?State Exam
Page 48 and 49: 28 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?In sum, ar
Page 50 and 51: 30 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?more likel
Page 52 and 53: 32 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Me Dad wan
Page 54 and 55: 34 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?expectatio
Page 56 and 57: 36 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?more reali
Page 58 and 59: 38 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Schools (N
Page 60 and 61: 40 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?had droppe
Page 62 and 63: 42 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?aspiration
Page 64 and 65:
44 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Well a lot
Page 66 and 67:
46 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?it should
Page 68 and 69:
48 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?4.4Entry i
Page 70 and 71:
50 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?That would
Page 72 and 73:
52 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?because of
Page 74 and 75:
54 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Ah they we
Page 76 and 77:
56 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?4.5Conclus
Page 78 and 79:
5. SCHOOLEXPERIENCES ANDLEARNING PR
Page 80 and 81:
60 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Like maybe
Page 82 and 83:
62 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?write, wri
Page 84 and 85:
64 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?However, o
Page 86 and 87:
66 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?much less
Page 88 and 89:
68 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?I found it
Page 90 and 91:
70 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?opinion in
Page 92 and 93:
72 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?So how did
Page 94 and 95:
74 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?practising
Page 96 and 97:
76 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?of wrong o
Page 98 and 99:
78 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?and … wh
Page 100 and 101:
80 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?other Leav
Page 102 and 103:
82 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?crammed in
Page 104 and 105:
84 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?The respon
Page 106 and 107:
86 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Confidence
Page 108 and 109:
88 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?positive a
Page 110 and 111:
90 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?The work e
Page 112 and 113:
92 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Table 6.1:
Page 114 and 115:
94 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?did the wo
Page 116 and 117:
96 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Most of th
Page 118 and 119:
98 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?as they sa
Page 120 and 121:
100 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?6.7The ro
Page 122 and 123:
102 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Well I al
Page 124 and 125:
104 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Did you h
Page 126 and 127:
106 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?reliant o
Page 128 and 129:
7. LABOUR MARKETOUTCOMES7.1Introduc
Page 130 and 131:
110 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Figure 7.
Page 132 and 133:
112 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?7.2.2 LCA
Page 134 and 135:
114 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?7.2.3 EXP
Page 136 and 137:
116 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?When we c
Page 138 and 139:
118 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Conversel
Page 140 and 141:
120 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Table 7.3
Page 142 and 143:
122 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?7.2.6 RET
Page 144 and 145:
124 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?class dif
Page 146 and 147:
126 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?the futur
Page 148 and 149:
8. PROGRESSION TOFURTHER STUDY ANDT
Page 150 and 151:
130 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?through g
Page 152 and 153:
132 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?most impo
Page 154 and 155:
134 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Just they
Page 156 and 157:
136 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Not all o
Page 158 and 159:
138 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?just said
Page 160 and 161:
140 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?and mirro
Page 162 and 163:
142 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?In the su
Page 164 and 165:
9. DISCUSSION ANDPOLICY IMPLICATION
Page 166 and 167:
146 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?tensions
Page 168 and 169:
148 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?Leaving C
Page 170 and 171:
150 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?students
Page 172 and 173:
152 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?research
Page 174 and 175:
154 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?highlight
Page 176 and 177:
156 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?guidance
Page 178 and 179:
158 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?perspecti
Page 180 and 181:
160 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?DARMODY,
Page 182 and 183:
162 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?OECD, 200
Page 184 and 185:
APPENDIX 1Organisationof the LCAThe
Page 186:
166Organisation of the Leaving Cert
show all

Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?