Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

146 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?tensions exist regarding whether all students should have access to theprogramme rather than only the most disadvantaged students.9.1.3 PROFILE OF LCA STUDENTSWhile LCA students represent young people from all social classbackgrounds, Chapter 3 highlighted clear social class inequalities in take-up.International research highlighted how self-selection into vocational tracksis affected, directly or indirectly, by family background (Brunello andChecchi, 2007, p. 784). This study found that less than 5 per cent ofstudents from higher professional, farming or non-manual groups takeLCA compared to 10 per cent of the skilled manual group and almost 20per cent of the non-employed or semi/unskilled manual group. Thispattern was also evident in the sample of qualitative respondents. Whenstudents were from a higher social class background, there was someevidence of the presence of a learning disability. The programme also tendsto attract students from working-class families whose siblings also have lowlevels of education.As well as social background, LCA take up is strongly related to readingand mathematical ability on entry into the first year of second-leveleducation. While participation is found among students from a range ofinitial ability levels, almost one-fifth of those from the lowest quintile go onto LCA in senior cycle compared to less than 1 per cent from themiddle/highest quintile. Reading ability is more highly predictive of takingLCA than maths ability, most likely reflecting the strong literacy basis ofmost second-level subjects.LCA take-up is also strongly related to ability grouping during juniorcycle. Over four in ten of those in the lower stream classes go on to LCAcompared to one in ten of those in middle stream classes. This wasparticularly evident in the qualitative interviews with young people, as manyhad been streamed into the lower classes in junior cycle. It may be,therefore, that, at least in some school contexts, tracking into LCA operatesin effect as a further form of streaming.What is particularly striking from the earlier sections of the report is thatLCA students are quite different from LCE and LCVP students beforereaching senior cycle. As well as the differences in maths and reading abilityand in streaming practices, LCA students were already more likely toindicate an intention to leave school before entering the programme, tohave lower occupational aspirations in junior cycle and to have spent lesstime on homework in junior cycle. The existence of these pre-existingdifferences is important in exploring the potential impact of theprogramme, but more importantly points to substantial differentiationamong students emerging at junior cycle level.The study findings indicate many different pathways into LCA, with theprogramme catering for different groups of students, including:• Those who struggle with schoolwork at junior cycle and experiencedifficulties before entry into the programme;• Those who experience behavioural problems at junior cycle level;• Those who wish to enter the labour force (particularly males);