9,000 quit school before Leaving Cert

APPROXIMATELY 9,000 teenagers are leaving school every year without completing second-level education, a trend that has serious implications for their long-term job prospects, according to an ESRI report to be published today.

The most comprehensive study of early school-leaving patterns to have been undertaken by the ESRI has found gender and social class are strong determinant factors in early school-leaving patterns, with young men from working-class or unemployed households most likely to leave school before completing the Leaving Certificate.

However, the report also found that the culture and procedures of individual schools also play a key role in determining whether students stay or leave.

The study found schools that foster a positive relationship between pupils and teachers are more likely to retain pupils. The practice of grouping students by academic ability, known as streaming, has a negative impact on school completion rates, with those students allocated to lower stream classes experiencing a “climate of low expectations” and negative student-teacher interaction, which in turn precipitates early school leaving patterns.

The study, which followed students in 12 case-study schools between 2005 and 2008, found the proportion of young people staying on in school has remained relatively stable since the mid-1990s, at 80 to 83 per cent, despite a range of policy measures aimed at improving school completion rates.

The availability of alternative employment opportunities during the boom years may have countered any effect of measures designed to improve retention, the authors of the report said. They added that no data is yet available on the impact the recession may have on school-leaving patterns.

Separately, a report by the ESRI on the Leaving Certificate Applied programme found that, despite a strong response from participating students to the curriculum and teaching methods of the programme, students feel that there is a “stigma” and negative labelling surrounding the programme.