Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

72 ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE?So how did the school work compare then to the Junior Certyear?It was definitely more relaxed, you know, I found the Junior Cert just, it’s verypressure, especially near the end of the year because the fact that, before you knowit the exams are there, you know, and you have to really study for them, but inLCA you’re actually doing projects through the whole year you know, so youactually know what your grades are going to be which is good. … Like you knowhow many credits you need at the end you only need to get in order to pass it. Ifyou do the work during the year, then you’re fine. (Ronan, 25, completedLCA, apprentice)I remember you’d know what results you had and you’d know what you needed toreceive so I did find it an awful lot better because you were so much more relaxed,you weren’t like stressed, pulling your hair. (Mary, 22, completed LCA,home duties)The transparency of deadlines for projects was seen as a positive aspectof the programme, and the nature of the workload was seen as providing abetter preparation for the future:Every different module you had to be accredited for it like and so you could gainlike six credits for something and then at the end of the year they were all tottedup, which was good. Because it wasn’t … like the Leaving Cert, you just gothrough the whole year, then you do your big exam at the end like. And even nowhaving gone to college … it was the same way … you did your assignments.(Fiona, 25, completed LCA, employed)However, some students did find the oral assessment of their studenttasks by external examiners quite stressful:We were all nervous, you know, because they’re coming in like and they’re lookingthrough your project and then you’re trying to tell them everything, you know …they’d be asking you questions and all like, probably just to see … if you did it.(Rebecca, 21, dropped out of LCA, home duties)During LCA, students received credits for attendance. As a result, manyrespondents found their attendance improved during this time:That’s another thing about LCA, you got points, you got points for timekeepingand attendance so if you were late or missed days you were deducted points. I hada great timekeeping and attendance record so it was good in a way like, where infirst, second and third year you didn’t really mind missing days really, but inLCA it was important so you never really did. (Niamh, 21, completedLCA, employed)Differences between LCA and other Leaving Certificate students inactual attendance levels are discussed below in Section 5.5.Very marked differences are evident between LCA and other LeavingCertificate students in the use of homework as a tool for learning andassessment. Figure 5.10 indicates the extent to which fifth and sixth yearstudents report receiving homework in ‘every’ or ‘most’ lessons. It is