Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

PATHWAYS INTO LCA 334.3.1 STUDENTS WHO STRUGGLE WITH SCHOOLWORK INJUNIOR CYCLEAs might be expected, data from the longitudinal survey shows differencesbetween LCA and non-LCA in junior cycle and in particular, that the takeupof LCA is strongly related to Reading and Mathematics ability on entryto first year (Figure 4.2). Almost a fifth of those from the lowest readingquintile go on to take LCA compared with 8 per cent of those from thesecond lowest quintile and less than 1 per cent from the three highestquintiles.Figure 4.2: LCA Take-up by Reading and Maths Ability on Intake2015%1050Lowest Second lowest Middle-highestQuintileReadingComputationSource: Post-Primary Longitudinal Study (PPLS) database.The qualitative interviews also highlight student difficulties with Englishand Mathematics in junior cycle. Half of those interviewed described beingweak at these subjects. Justin specified the core subjects as the areas whichcaused him most difficulty:Mostly Irish and English and that, and Maths, that’s what I found hard.(Justin, 22, completed LCA, employed)Andrew also experienced difficulties with Maths and Irish:Yeah my Maths was very, wouldn’t be the greatest and just stuff like that, Mathsand Irish basically, I found it very difficult. (Andrew, 21, completed LCA,apprentice)LCA take-up is also related to the streaming of classes in junior cycle.Within streamed schools this means that students of similar assessed abilityare grouped into classes ranked ‘higher’ to ‘lower’. The longitudinal studyshows that over four in ten of those in lower stream classes go on to takeLCA compared with a tenth of those in middle stream groups and verysmall proportions of those in mixed ability or higher stream classes (Figure4.3). In mixed ability schools, however, LCA entry is not associated withstudents who struggle to keep up with the pace of instruction. However,since streaming is thought to lead to lower student, and often teacher