Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

THE PROVISION AND TAKE-UP OF THE LEAVING CERTIFICATE APPLIED PROGRAMME 27In the School Leavers’ Surveys, young people were asked why they leftschool before completion. Data are available from two surveys but thequestions differed in their format. In 2004, the main reason given forleaving among LCA leavers were school-related factors (44 per cent)compared with a third who cited economic or work factors. LCE/LCVPleavers were more evenly split between school and work factors (28 percent and 29 per cent respectively). A more detailed breakdown of reasonswas provided in the 2006 survey but once again school-related factors wereto the fore. LCA leavers were more likely than LCE/LCVP leavers toattribute their leaving to finding schoolwork boring (45 per cent v. 20 percent), finding schoolwork difficult (22 per cent v. 5 per cent), and notgetting on with their teachers (19 per cent v. 15 per cent). As in 2004, theywere less likely than LCE/LCVP leavers to cite wanting to get a job as thereason for leaving (34 per cent v. 49 per cent).Five of the young people who took part in the qualitative interviews hadleft school before completing LCA. These respondents had generallyintended leaving school after their Junior Certificate but were persuaded tostay by parents and/or teachers. Most of this group had part-time jobs andhad missed school days during their time in LCA. These young people weregenerally motivated to leave by the attractions of paid employment ratherthan a negative perception of the LCA programme:I didn’t leave because of the fact that LCA was pissing me off or anything likethat, was bringing me down. … The reason I left was because I got a job in atimber factory and that was the main reason I went into LCA because I knew Iwas going to do a trade. (Jack, 23, dropped out of LCA, employed)Peer influences were also evident for young people who compared theireconomic situation to their friends who were in paid employment:I started hanging around with a few older fellas like … they were all workingand they were on big money and I was just, you know, starting to go out to thepub and that. And I didn’t have that much money myself and you know, to goout, so I was thinking about leaving and getting an apprenticeship or whatever.(Garry, 22, dropped out of LCA, employed)In contrast to the experiences of these young people, a number ofrespondents reported that they had considered leaving school after juniorcycle but stayed because of the LCA programme (see Chapter 5 for a moredetailed discussion). Thus, a number of young people who had completedLCA attributed their staying on in school to the nature of the programme.Graham, for example, reported that:It was the only reason I stayed in school for two years. (Graham, 22,completed LCA, apprentice)Similarly, one respondent reported that their prospects would have beenbleak in the absence of the LCA programme:I probably would have left school and probably would have went down an awfuldark road. … I probably would have been into drugs, more than anybody I’d saybecause a lot of them were falling into that hole. (Mary, 22, completed LCA,home duties)