Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

56 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?4.5ConclusionsMerging data sources has allowed us to create a multi-layered profile ofLCA entrants and gives a clearer understanding of common pathways intoLCA by junior cycle students. The analyses shown in the first sectionindicate that LCA participants have quite a distinctive profile compared tostudents entering other Leaving Certificate programmes. They are muchmore likely to be from working-class, semi/unskilled manual householdsand tend to have similar educational and occupational aspirations to theirparents and siblings. This pattern is consistent with international researchon tracking, which indicates that working-class young people are morelikely to take ‘non-academic’ educational pathways in differentiatedsystems. But the question remains open as to whether such routes are a‘diversion’ (by reinforcing their trajectory into lower status jobs) or a ‘safetynet’ (by protecting them from the consequences of educational failure inacademic tracks).Section 4.3 uses a typology of LCA entrants, which makes it possible toidentify five common pathways of students into LCA. Classifying LCAentrants allows the assessment of whether the programme is reaching itsobjectives in attracting students at risk of dropping out and underachievingin the LCE. The LCA programme would appear to target the groups ofstudents at which it was initially directed; those who have experienceddifficulties with their schoolwork, those who are at risk of early schoolleaving, those who have disengaged academically and those who have hadmore negative experiences of school (in terms of misbehaviour andnegative interaction with teachers). However, it is important to note that,while all of these risk factors enhance the likelihood of entering LCA, themajority of students in these categories take other Leaving Certificateprogrammes. In addition to students who struggle with their schoolwork injunior cycle, the programme appears to include students with specialeducational needs and learning difficulties. Students wishing to enter thelabour market, particularly males wishing to enter trades, seem to use theLCA as a way to connect with potential employers when they leave school.Significantly, some students are misdirected into taking LCA by teachersand schools who have not provided them with adequate information aboutthe LCA curriculum, assessment and its limited access to third leveleducation. Thus the pathway taken by students reflects the programmesprovided in the school they attend, school policy regarding LCA entry aswell as individual student choice.The final section examines the reasons for taking LCA. Of particularnote is how the two most popular reasons given in the School Leavers’Survey relate to students’ own preferences for practical subjects andperceptions of their ability. Students are attracted to the practical nature ofthe LCA curriculum and the option of moving away from stressful terminalexams to modular credit accumulation. In addition, as a result of negativeexperiences in junior cycle some students chose LCA as they did not feelable to complete the LCE. Interestingly, the qualitative interviews alsohighlighted self-choice in student decision making with respondentshighlighting a lack of parental involvement in their decisions. Teachers andschools emerged as another influence with some respondents feeling thatthey were specifically targeted by their school or guidance counsellor totake LCA. On the other hand, however, some students were discouragedby teachers from taking the programme as they felt they (the respondent)would be able to take the LCE. Peers were another factor in studentdecision making and many of those interviewed reported that when they