Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

66 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?much less likely than their LCE/LCVP peers to find schoolwork difficult.For example, sixth year LCA students are more likely to agree with thestatements that ‘I think I am doing well at this school’ (94 per cent v. 76per cent of LCE/LCVP students) and ‘I am quite pleased with how myschoolwork is going’ (92 per cent v. 62 per cent). They are also less likely toreport ‘I am having trouble keeping up with my schoolwork’ (13 per cent v.36 per cent in sixth year).For many young people, the perceived ease of coursework within LCAcontributes to feelings of self-efficacy and enhances their engagement withschool.I absolutely hated school [in junior cycle] and it kind of showed me what I wantedto do, … it changed my whole attitude and everything towards, from being Isuppose the worst in the class and then to being the little pet, you know, itcompletely changed me, I actually enjoyed school. (Barbara, 23, completedLCA, employed)It wasn’t a thing of getting out of the bed in the morning and going ‘oh Jesus, Idon’t want to go to school’. You were actually kind of more or less lookingforward to going. (Mary, 22, completed LCA, home duties)Some respondents spoke with clarity about the impact LCA had on theirattitude towards school. Ronan described how he was disengaged fromschool or in a ‘mode’ in junior cycle but that changed in LCA:When you’re in school you kind of get into a mode of, you know, you go to school,you learn, you study, that’s it, you go home, you’re kind of in that mode. Butwhen I done LCA, it kind of brings you into a working mode, it kind of wakesyou up a bit. (Ronan, 25, completed LCA, apprentice)The mode of assessment and perceived manageability of schoolworkwas found to have consequences for student stress levels (see also Section5.5). LCA students were significantly less likely to report current stress thanother Leaving Certificate students in sixth year; they were less likely to beless able to concentrate, to be losing confidence in themselves, be losingsleep over worry or to feel constantly under strain. This appears to reflectless difficulty in combining homework and study, along with lessdemanding schoolwork. The scale of such differences is quite marked; 49per cent of LCE/LCVP students report feeling constantly under strain‘rather more’ or ‘much more’ than usual compared with 11 per cent ofLCA students. However, a small number of young people taking LCA,including Ronan, found the project work and overall workload within LCAstressful at times:It could be stressful as well you know.And what way would it be stressful?Well if you get behind on anything, you know, you’ve a lot of work to catch upon, you do get a lot of work to do in it as well like, they definitely give you a lot ofwork to do in it. … Well sometimes it can be overwhelming for some people.(Ronan, 25, completed LCA, apprentice)In contrast, another group of young people criticised the LCAprogramme for its slow pace of instruction and lack of academic challenge.