Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

APPENDIX 1Organisationof the LCAThe LCA covers a two-year span, consisting of four half-year sessions,and achievement is credited in each of these sessions. The programme hasalways been structured around three modules: Vocational Preparation,Vocational Education and General Education. While LC and LCVPstudents take individual subjects, often from subject groupings, LCAstudents take a course and each course consists of a number of modules. Amodule represents half a year’s work and is designed to take a minimum of30 hours to complete.The three modules of the LCA are outlined in Table 1.1 below.Vocational preparation aims to prepare students for adult and working lifethrough a range of courses and modules, including English andcommunication, guidance, job-search, work experience, enterprise,community work, and work and living, and work experience is a centralcomponent of this. Within the vocational education module, all studentstake a course in mathematical application and an introductory course toinformation and communication technology. Two specialist courses arechosen from the career-related areas in Table 1.1 below. The generaleducation module includes courses in arts education and languages plus achoice of courses.Assessmentof LCAWhile assessment of the LCE/LCVP programmes is largely based onacademic performance, assessment of LCA takes place under threeheadings; (1) satisfactory completion of modules (31 per cent), (2)performance in student tasks (35 per cent), (3) performance in finalexaminations (34 per cent). Credits 2 or marks are then awarded for each ofthe three assessment areas. At the end of a ‘session’ or half a year, a studentis credited on satisfactory completion of the appropriate module; however,attendance must have been maintained at 90 per cent throughout thesession. According to Departmental guidelines, …this method of assessment isspecifically designed to increase students’ motivation and to ensure their participation inthe modules on an on-going basis.The student task is a unique feature of the LCA, and aims to be …apractical activity which provides students with the opportunity to apply knowledge andskills acquired through the various courses (DES, 2000, p.9). In relation to studenttasks, each student is required to complete seven student tasks over the twoyears. Tasks are assessed at the end of each session by external examinersappointed by the Department of Education and Science. For six of theseven tasks, this assessment includes an individual student interview. These2 A maximum of 200 credits can be accumulated over the two years under the threeheadings of satisfactory completion of modules, student tasks, and final examination.164