A number of recent studies highlight challenges for Ireland in preparing second-level students for life beyond the school gates. McCoy et al. (2014) emphasise the need to better prepare young people – both academically and socially – to meet the demands of post-school education. Young people in this study repeatedly stressed the greater independence they gained in post-school education and the requirement for self-directed learning and taking responsibility for their learning, which they found challenging (p. 131). In terms of preparation for the world of work and adult life more generally, a sizeable share of school leavers felt that school was of no help (44 per cent in the case of preparation for the world of work and 36 per cent in the case of adult life). Interestingly, young people who participated in the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) programme were far more positive about the extent to which their schooling had adequately prepared them for the workplace and adult life in general. More recently, in their research with first-year undergraduate students, O’Leary and Scully (2018) similarly found that the LC was viewed as a poor preparation for higher education (HE). This was seen as stemming from the tendency to promote rote learning as opposed to more sophisticated cognitive processes, its structured and prescribed nature, and its emphasis on final written examinations, which detracts from the development of certain transferable skills (p. 17).
In the case-study schools, many students reported feeling that the LC does not prepare them with the necessary academic skills for college. Students identified a mismatch between the teaching and learning styles in second level, compared to third level:
It’s like the education systems don’t link up to each other. You’ve got one for primary, one for secondary, one for college and none of them actually matter to each other except the college which is actually the
Chapter 5| 55 Students identified the lack of independent learning in school as a challenge for the
transition into third level:
You’re just told what to do. There isn’t much independent learning and then you hear that it’s all independent learning in college and, you know, making presentations and stuff and we definitely don’t have a
lot of experience of that (Bandon, FG).
I think in college it seems like you’re kind of left up to yourself to do it, whereas in school it seems you’re kind of spoon-fed everything. I think
that’s going to be a big change going into college (Finn, FG).
Staff identified that the modes of teaching and learning in school do not adequately prepare students for the type of work they will encounter in third level:
We do so much for them, you know. Okay, in Transition Year they get an opportunity to do a little bit of self-directed learning and project work, and independent stuff. And then they come back into sixth year, or fifth year, you know – the teacher, you know, controls everything. And then suddenly they find themselves in UCD or Trinity, or DIT or wherever they are, and they find themselves involved in group work,
and in negotiation … and they do struggle hugely with that
(Corrib, Principal).
Students also felt that school does not equip students with basic life skills:
I think that’s what scares me the most is when I finish school I’m not going to know what to do, like I don’t know. Like I just won’t be able. It’s like they focus on school, they focus on get yourself into college and that’s it. Or even small things like interviews or anything, there’s
never any preparation (Slaney, FG).
Because even like if someone asks you to like change a plug or like could you build, could you put a shelf on a wall like? A lot of people
couldn’t like (Corrib, FG).
Students spoke about the way in which being ‘babied’ in school does not prepare them for the independence of life after school. Some students reported feeling anxious about how they will navigate life after school:
You’re not really taught many like, practical things, you’re kind of babied sometimes. We’re going to be independent when we go to
college, or whatever but yet like we’re still asking permission to go to
the toilet. I think it’s just mental (Deel, FG).
Just like real life things like taxes and, like interview skills, forms and things like, say even registering to vote … Just those little things that you’re going to need in life that are just not that hard to pass on, it’s
just never really thought of (Bandon, FG).
Staff also expressed concern regarding the lack of life skills among some students and felt that schools should do more to prepare them with the practical skills for navigating life after school:
We do a specific module after Easter with our Leaving Certs, on budgeting, healthy eating. They have no awareness … that kind of work is absolutely vital if we are going to send our students out into the world, prepared …Even now, around signing leases and landlords, we do all of that with them … If you're signing for a lease it's 12 months, you're going to be stuck with it for the summer. What are you going to do then? But that's just my personal bugbear, because I just think that third-level students are not at all prepared for the real
world, when it comes to that kind of thing (Lee, GC).
Some staff members felt that the over-involvement of parents in their children’s education is also having a negative impact on student resilience and preparedness for life after school:
One of the things that I would worry about is resilience of students … Parents are not allowing them to fall and get up … so, you know if anything … is not going smoothly, the parent will be in straight away
to kind of smooth the [situation] (Bann, Principal).
I think … helicopter parenting isn’t helping it, at all … The parents are jumping in and helping out … Some of them are going to be 20, and they actually can’t do any independent elements themselves … We’re putting them in a blanket, and then expecting them to go off and be independent once they go into college (Corrib, Teacher).
I find, I now go to parent-teacher meetings to be told how the student is getting on, rather than actually explaining how I feel the student is
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