From Leaving CertiFiCate to Leaving SChooL - TARA - Trinity ...

180From Leaving Certificate to Leaving Schooldifferences within schools. However, they were much less likely thanyoung men to report their schooling had fostered an involvement insports, with 43 per cent reporting it had been ‘no help’ in this respectcompared with 28 per cent of their male peers. Students with higherstress levels tend to be more critical than other students of the benefits ofsecond-level education. What is striking is that these differences apart,there is very little variation in the assessment of schooling by gender,social class, prior achievement or having taken Transition Year.There is very little systematic variation in terms of the objectivecharacteristics of schools. Girls’ schools are somewhat less likely to fosteran interest in involvement in sports. Furthermore, students attendingworking-class schools are more likely to be positive about the benefits interms of ICT skills, a pattern which reflects the greater use of ICT forteaching and learning in these settings (see Chapter Two). While variationis evident across individual schools in the perceived skills and competenciesdeveloped, this variation is not easily explained and is likely toreflect the complex interaction between the subjects provided, teachingmethods used and the nature of the school climate. In the remainder ofthis section, we focus on the perceptions of the benefits of second-leveleducation across the case-study schools.6.2.1 Making FriendsIn interviews with students about their perceptions of school and opinionsabout what they got from school, students often initially respondedwith humour, with comments such as ‘nothing’, ‘not much’ or ‘a headache’.However, in further discussions and in line with the survey findingsabove, the majority of students interviewed felt that their friendswere one of the most important benefits of their time in school. Some ofthe students in Argyle Street spoke about making lifelong friends inschool with other people that they can trust:Like you make friends that you’ll probably have for years.… You’ve got your friends, they are people you can trust. (ArgyleStreet, coed school, mixed intake)