Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

education

Too much of a good thing? Gender, ‘Concerted cultivation’ and unequal achievement in primary education. ESRI WP362. December 2010

It is well established that cultural and economic resources imparted to children vary significantly by social class. Literature on concerted cultivation has highlighted the extent to which out-of-school activities can reproduce social inequalities in the classroom. Within this literature however, little attention has been given to the role of gender in concerted cultivation. In this paper, we use data from the first wave of the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal study to consider how both social class and gender influence the level and type of out-of-school activities in which children engage. Moreover, we examine how out-of-school activities, class and gender impact on children’s school engagement and academic achievement. We find that while childrearing logics tend to operate within social class categories, there is an additional cultural aspect of gender in the uptake of different types of out-of-school activities. Our findings suggest the need to move beyond explanations of concerted cultivation to explain gender differences in maths and reading attainment

STUDENT EXPERIENCES OF THE LEAVING CERTIFICATE APPLIED PROGRAMME. ESRI Research Bulletin 2010/2/3

Some countries incorporate all young people into a comprehensive school system and others divide students into different educational ‘tracks’ based on levels of ability. The relative merits of these different approaches have been a central focus of international academic and policy debates on second-level education. Traditionally, the Irish second-level education system has been characterised as a general education system, which deals more with academic than vocational learning. In 1995, however, the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) programme was introduced to provide an alternative to the Leaving Certificate Established (LCE) and the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP). The aim of the LCA is to prepare students for the transition from the world of education to that of adult and working life including further education; however unlike the LCE/LCVP there is no direct access to third level with an LCA qualification. Since its introduction, participation has increased and LCA students now make up seven per cent of the Leaving Certificate cohort. A new study† examines students’ experiences of the LCA and explores the processes involved in Irish students choosing or being assigned to the different Leaving Certificate programmes. The study draws on information about student experiences of school prior to entering the LCA, their learning experiences during the programme, and their educational and occupational experiences when they leave school

Participant views on involvement in a trial of social recovery cognitive behaviour therapy

Background The PRODIGY trial (Prevention of long term social disability amongst young people with emerging psychological difficulties, ISRCTN47998710) is a pilot trial of social recovery cognitive behaviour therapy (SRCBT). Aims The PRODIGY qualitative substudy aimed to (a) explore individual experiences of participating in the pilot randomised, controlled trial (recruitment, randomisation, assessment) andinitial views of therapy, and (b) to explore perceived benefits of taking part in research v. ethical concerns and potential risks. Method Qualitative investigation using semi-structured interviews with thematic analysis. Results Analysis revealed participant experiences around the key themes of acceptability, disclosure, practicalities, altruism and engagement. Conclusions Participants in both trial arms perceived themselves as gaining benefits from being involved in the study, above and beyond the intervention. This has implications for the design of future research and services for this client group, highlighting the importance of being flexible and an individualised approach as key engagement tools

The SAVI Report: Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland. Executive Summary

The SAVI Report: Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland. Executive Summar

Secular trends in child and adult sexual violence--one decreasing and the other increasing: a population survey in Ireland.

BACKGROUND: Sexual violence is a worldwide problem affecting children and adults. Knowledge of trends in prevalence is essential to inform the design and evaluation of preventive and intervention programmes. We aimed to assess the prevalence of lifetime sexual violence for both sexes and to document the prevalence of adult and child abuse by birth year in the general population. METHODS: National cluster-randomized telephone interview study of 3120 adults in Ireland was done. RESULTS: Child sexual abuse involving physical contact was reported by 20% of women and 16% of men. In adulthood, figures were 20% and 10% for women and men, respectively. Prevalence of any form of sexual violence across the lifespan was 42% (women) and 38% (men). Analysis by year of birth indicated a curvilinear pattern for child sexual abuse with lower prevalence in the oldest and youngest participants. Sexual violence in young adulthood showed a linear pattern with higher prevalence in the youngest participants. CONCLUSION: The trend of lower rates of experience of child sexual abuse in younger adults in the sample is in keeping with findings from other countries. The trend of higher rates of adult sexual violence in younger adults is worrying, particularly since the same participants reported less experience of child sexual abuse than the preceding generations. There is a paucity of international data addressing the issue of cohort differences in exposure to sexual violence. Within-study analysis, and follow-up studies designed to maximize replicability, are needed to inform discussion about societal trends in different types of sexual violence

Parents with psychosis : a pilot study examining self-report measures related to family functioning

The aims of this study were to examine the utility of various self-report instruments related to family functioning in families where a parent has a psychotic disorder, and to explore associations between these instruments and symptoms in the parent. Twenty-one parents with a psychotic disorders participated in the study. All participants were able to complete the questionnaires and the majority of parents reported levels of parental competence in the average range. Most parents (90%) perceived themselves to be effective parents, however 30% reported low levels of satisfaction with the parenting role. There were significant associations between objective measures of negative symptoms and self-report scores related to problems in ways of coping, and problems with parent-child interactions. Many individuals with psychosis were able to report areas of perceived need related to their role as parents and to the functioning of their families, however there are several limitations in the use of these instruments in this setting.<br /

Too much of a good thing? Gender, 'Concerted cultivation' and unequal achievement in primary education. ESRI Working Paper No. 362

It is well established that cultural and economic resources imparted to children vary significantly by social class. Literature on concerted cultivation has highlighted the extent to which out-of-school activities can reproduce social inequalities in the classroom. Within this literature however, little attention has been given to the role of gender in concerted cultivation. In this paper, we use data from the first wave of the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal study to consider how both social class and gender influence the level and type of out-of-school activities in which children engage. Moreover, we examine how out-of-school activities, class and gender impact on children’s school engagement and academic achievement. We find that while childrearing logics tend to operate within social class categories, there is an additional cultural aspect of gender in the uptake of different types of out-of-school activities. Our findings suggest the need to move beyond explanations of concerted cultivation to explain gender differences in maths and reading attainment

SAVI and SAVI Revisited

SAVI and SAVI Revisite

Using the COAsT Python package to develop a standardised validation workflow for ocean physics models

Validation is one of the most important stages of a model's development. By comparing outputs to observations, we can estimate how well the model is able to simulate reality, which is the ultimate aim of many models. During development, validation may be iterated upon to improve the model simulation and compare it to similar existing models or perhaps previous versions of the same configuration. As models become more complex, data storage requirements increase and analyses improve, scientific communities must be able to develop standardised validation workflows for efficient and accurate analyses with an ultimate goal of a complete, automated validation. We describe how the Coastal Ocean Assessment Toolbox (COAsT) Python package has been used to develop a standardised and partially automated validation system. This is discussed alongside five principles which are fundamental for our system: system scaleability, independence from data source, reproducible workflows, expandable code base and objective scoring. We also describe the current version of our own validation workflow and discuss how it adheres to the above principles. COAsT provides a set of standardised oceanographic data objects ideal for representing both modelled and observed data. We use the package to compare two model configurations of the Northwest European Shelf to observations from tide gauge and profiles