Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

PROGRESSION TO FURTHER STUDY AND TRAINING 1318.3FurtherStudy8.3.1 PROGRESSION TO POST-SCHOOL EDUCATIONWhile participation in PLC courses represents an important dimension ofthe post-school pathways of LCA leavers, a fuller comparison of postschooleducational progression is perhaps more meaningful and provides afairer comparison of the relative success of different leaver groups inaccessing post-school educational opportunities. Taking account of entryinto Higher Education, in particular, will give a fairer assessment of therelative progression patterns of LCA leavers compared to otherLCE/LCVP groups.With the exception of those performing at least reasonably well in theLCE/LCVP, levels of progression to post-school education do not differgreatly across leaver groups (Figure 8.2). Approximately four-in-ten youngpeople from early leaver, LCA and low performing LCE/LCVP groupspursue further study in the first two years after leaving school. Levels ofprogression rise to 60 per cent among the medium-high performing groupand 80 per cent among the high performing LCE/LCVP group. Thisreflects the high levels of progression to Higher Education among theselatter groups and the numerus clausus system operating (see McCoy et al.,2009 forthcoming for a fuller discussion of Higher Education entrypatterns).Figure 8.2: Proportion of School Leavers Who Have Participated in PostschoolEducation%9080706050403020100LowMedium-LowMedium-HighHighNo Quals Junior Cert LCA LCE/LCVP LCE/LCVP LCE/LCVP LCE/LCVPSource: School Leavers’ Survey, 2002-2007.When we examine the probability of progression to post-schooleducation across school leavers, controlling for their social backgroundcharacteristics, we can see that LCA school leavers are somewhatdisadvantaged relative to their LCE/LCVP counterparts. As shown inTable 8.1, progression patterns are strongly structured along social classlines. A lower probability of progression among males in Model 1 reflectstheir higher levels of early school leaving – when we take account ofeducational attainment in Model 2 there are no longer significant genderdifferences. Relative to the LCE/LCVP group, all other leaver groups aresignificantly less likely to progress to some form of further study. Perhaps