Conexión a la Raspberry Pi y al control domótico a distancia

Although students were not asked directly about the different Leaving Certificate programmes, some did comment on the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) and Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA). Work experience was viewed as a particularly positive feature of the LCA programme. Other students commented favourably on the use of continuous assessment, feeling it enhanced their self- confidence and reduced the pressure on them.

I also think it’s good that once you get credits for every bit of work

you’re doing, you know you’ve passed before you go into the actual

exam in June. I think that helps a lot of students because you feel more

confident then when you’re going in. (Coeducational, non-DEIS, SC)

I like the way that we’re continuously assessed and it’s not all just

down to a couple of exams, that we’ve already earned a certain

amount of credits before we even go in, because I feel like, if I had done

the Leaving Cert [Established], the pressure of it I wouldn’t have been

able to handle. (Coeducational, DEIS, SC)

LCA was also seen by participants as providing better preparation for the transition to further education.

I quite like LCA, because the way that we’re given it is how you’ll do it in college, so at least when we go to college or further education we

have a fair idea how it all works, because it’s not all just dependent on

the teachers giving us stuff; we have to have the cop on to do it all

ourselves. (Coeducational, DEIS, SC)

It sets you for college, so you’re basically doing your assignments, your

tasks, interviews, and it gets you ready for college, so it’s giving you a taste of college before you even go to do your PLC.

(Coeducational, DEIS, SC)

One group of junior cycle students spoke about negative perceptions of LCA in their school.

But the culture, it’s kinda like, oh if you don’t do the Established

Leaving Cert, if you do the LCA or something, oh you’re dumb, you’re

stupid, you should be doing that like and all. … It’s kind of like they’re

saying, oh you want to do good in life, don’t do this because you can’t

get into college and it’s going to mess up your whole life.

Another group, including LCA students, felt that LCA students were treated differently within the school.

I think LCAs are very, very discriminated against and very set aside. I don’t think we’re treated as fairly as, say, other ones like regular fifth

years or regular sixth years would be. (Coeducational, DEIS, SC)

Another student in a senior cycle group felt that LCA was geared towards direct labour market entry rather than further or higher education, so was therefore unsuited to many students.

I feel like the LCA is very based around people who want jobs, like

working in the supermarket or like things like that. They’re not really

based around people who want to go onto further education.

(Coeducational, non-DEIS, SC)

Later in the same interview, some students pointed to a lack of challenge in LCA.

We get kind of bored very quickly and there’s not -– the curriculum is

kind of short so there’s not much we can build on really after we have

that kind of done and that there’s no chances. There’s no like

opportunity to do something harder. (Coeducational, non-DEIS, SC)

These students were attending a special school and did not have access to Leaving Certificate Established (LCE), which they felt was not ‘really fair’ as ‘everyone

wouldn’t be able for it but there could be one or two or three people that really

would like to do that’.

In sum, the student views echo those of earlier research (Banks et al., 2010) in highlighting the positive nature of the learning process in LCA but indicating challenges around stigma and progression pathways.

Fewer students commented directly on LCVP. However, some highlighted the benefits of its approach to assessment, especially the interview, as ‘I don’t want

my first time ever being interviewed to be the actual thing’ (Girls, non-DEIS, SC),

and the work experience placement.

LCVP gives you the opportunity to do work experience outside of

school. You’re also doing a portfolio and so you have the majority of

the marks already. (Coeducational, non-DEIS, SC)

The programme was also seen as contributing to skill development among students.

There’s all the group work that you do for different events that you plan and stuff so you really know how to work with people more than

just sit around by yourself and do study. (Coeducational, non-DEIS, SC)

I think you learn, basically, just once you leave school, this is basically what you have to do to make yourself like a person in this world. I think you learn all about how to set up an account for like different credit cards or like how to set up a savings account. If like you want to join a union, like a trade union, it kind of helps you and then like it gives you all then the kind of necessary things you don’t learn from all your

subjects like. (Coeducational, DEIS, SC)

Some young people pointed to the restrictions around taking LCVP without particular subject combinations.

I wanted to do LCVP but there was a criteria of how you have to do it.

(Girls, non-DEIS, SC)

I don’t do French so I can’t do LCVP. You’ve got to have French to do

LCVP. (Coeducational, non-DEIS, SC)