Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

XIVENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?and the LCA programme can be considered as ‘pre-vocational’ with anemphasis on generic rather than specific skills.Summary ofFindingsLEAVING CERTIFICATE APPLIED PROVISION AND TAKE-UPThe decision to provide the LCA programme rests with individual schoolswhich can apply for approval from the Department of Education andScience. The proportion of schools providing LCA has increased in recentyears from 15 per cent of second-level schools in 1997 to 42 per cent in2007. The provision of LCA appears to relate to the perceived suitability ofthe programme for a school’s student intake. Across schools, provisionvaries considerably with over 70 per cent of community/comprehensiveschools providing the LCA programme compared to 40 per cent of thevocational sector and 30 per cent of voluntary secondary schools. Inaddition, larger schools, English medium schools and disadvantaged status(DEIS) schools are more likely to provide the programme. The LCAprogramme is generally provided in addition to the Leaving CertificateEstablished (LCE )and/or the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme(LCVP), with very few second-level schools providing only the LCA atsenior cycle level.Approximately 7 per cent of the Leaving Certificate cohort takes theLCA. In schools providing the LCA, the level of take-up varies widely butaverages at 23 per cent of the senior cycle cohort. The high take-up schoolstend to be vocational schools, smaller schools, and disadvantaged schools,as well as schools in Dublin.PATHWAYS INTO THE LEAVING CERTIFICATE APPLIEDOur findings show LCA participants have quite a distinctive profilecompared to students entering other Leaving Certificate programmes. Thereproduction of social class inequalities is apparent as students are morelikely to be from working-class or non-employed backgrounds. In addition,LCA take-up is strongly related to low reading and Maths ability on entryinto first year of second-level education. Ability grouping during juniorcycle is also related to LCA entry with over four in ten of those from thelower streamed classes going on to take the programme. This study foundthat the LCA caters for a diverse group of students with differingeducational expectations and aspirations. Using multiple data sources, anumber of pathways into LCA were identified, including: those whostruggle with school work in junior cycle; those who experiencebehavioural problems at junior cycle; those who wish to enter the labourmarket when they leave school; those with special needs or learningdifficulties; and those who felt ‘misdirected’ by the school into taking theprogramme.CURRICULUM AND THE LEARNING EXPERIENCES IN THELEAVING CERTIFICATE APPLIEDThe study shows that the teaching and learning methodologies used in theLCA help re-engage young people with the education process and fostermore positive attitudes to school. Study respondents were extremelypositive about their learning experiences in the LCA, in particular the activeteaching methods and student-centred approach to learning. Group andproject work, credit accumulation over time, smaller class sizes and greaterindividual attention from their teachers all emerged as positives aspects of