Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

SCHOOL EXPERIENCES AND LEARNING PROCESSES AMONG LCA PARTICIPANTS 73evident that only a minority of LCA students report receiving homeworkon a regular basis.Figure 5.10: Use of Homework in Fifth and Sixth Year Classes(‘Every/Most Lessons’), as Reported by Students100908070%605040302010LCALCE/LCVP05th year6th yearSource: Post-Primary Longitudinal Study (PPLS) database.The greater reliance of LCE/LCVP classes on homework is also evidentfrom reports of the amount of time students spend on homework andstudy outside school (Figure 5.11). In both fifth and sixth year, theLCE/LCVP group spends considerably more time on homework and studythan the LCA group. The differences are even more dramatic in sixth year;the majority of other LC students spend more than 3 hours per night onstudy compared with one in six LCA students. As a result, almost all (92per cent) LCA students find it ‘very’ or ‘fairly easy’ to combine homeworkand study in sixth year compared with less than a quarter of other LCstudents.Figure 5.11: Amount of Time Spent on Homework/Study in Fifth and Sixth Year, asReported by Students807060%50403020LCA 5th yearLCA 6th yearLCE/LCVP 5th yearLCE/LCVP 6th year100