The experiences of The experiences of students in junior cyclestudents in junior cycle

Emer Smyth, Allison Dunne,

Merike Darmody, Selina McCoy

BackgroundBackground

• The first longitudinal study exploring students’ experiences in Ireland

• Cohort of 900 students in 12 case-study schools; surveyed and interviewed from first year onwards

• Information from four time-points

• Capture ‘student voice’

Presentation OutlinePresentation Outline

• Student experiences in first and second year

• The Junior Certificate examination: implications for teaching and learning

• Perceptions of subjects

• Ability grouping: streaming; subject levels

• Influences on examination performance

• Different groups: the impact of gender and social class

• Issues for policy development

First yearFirst year

• Significant impact of school transfer• But most students settle in quickly• What makes a difference?

Preparation: realistic expectationsStudent integration programmesPositive social climate: teachers and studentsCurriculum continuitySubjects with a practical component

Second yearSecond year

• Crucial year for student engagement in teaching and learning

• Emergence of important differences between groups of students: highly engaged v. drifting or disengaged

• Differences evident in terms of gender, social background and ability group

The nature of the third year The nature of the third year experienceexperience

Schoolwork/homework more challenging

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Harder/more About the same Easier/less

Schoolwork Homework

Being in third yearBeing in third year

Student: Like in First and Second Year you got no

homework and in Third Year you're just getting a whole

pile of it.

Student: You know what, we came into Third Year just

thinking it was like First and Second Year, we hadn't got

a clue, because we got it so easy in First and Second

Year we just hadn't got a clue what this year was going

to be like, and we haven't still like adapted to it. (Girls’ School, mixed ability class, working class background).

Exam focusExam focus

Student: You used to do fun things in class, they’d come in and say let’s play games. If you say it this year, you get like stared at, what do you think you are?

Student: It relates to everything, the exams, you’re doing your Junior Cert, you shouldn’t be talking, you’ll miss out on stuff. (Middle-class girls’ school)

Distinctive character of third yearDistinctive character of third year

• Exam focus and increased workload

• Students saw ‘good teaching’ as: clear explanation, making learning fun and more student involvement

• But in third year, fewer ‘fun’ activities and less diverse teaching methods

• Poorer relations between teachers and students

• A quarter were taking ‘grinds’ outside school

• Dissatisfaction with pace of instruction, also an issue in earlier years

Pace of instructionPace of instruction

05

101520253035404550

Mixedability

Higherstream

Middlestream

Lowerstream

Too slow

Right

Too quick

Trends in teacher-student interactionTrends in teacher-student interaction

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

1st yr (Sept) 1st yr (May) 2nd yr 3rd yr

Time of survey

Positive interaction

Negative interaction

Trends in attitudes to school Trends in attitudes to school

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

1st yr(Sept)

1st yr (May) 2nd yr 3rd yr

Likes school

Likes teachers

Subjects in Third YearSubjects in Third Year

• More positive about subjects with a practical component (PE, Art, MT)

• Perceived difficulty of languages, and lack of student interest

• Maths is a particular area of concern Seen as (increasingly) difficult Family help with Maths Grinds in Maths Would like extra help with Maths

StreamingStreaming

• Attitudes to school and teachers

• Pace of instruction

• Student engagement in schoolwork

and homework

Subject levels within exam subjectsSubject levels within exam subjects

• In streamed schools, the subject level was strongly influenced by the base class

• Lower stream classes usually took subjects at foundation or ordinary level

We didn’t decide.

They told us.

They decided for us, we wanted to decide for ourselves like. (Lower stream boys)

Number of higher level Number of higher level subjects by ability group subjects by ability group

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Mixed ability Higherstream

Middlestream

Lower stream

Access to subject levelsAccess to subject levels

• In mixed ability schools, usually a negotiation process between teachers and students

• But some schools ‘set’ from early in junior cycle

• Patterns reflect interaction between school policy, teacher and student expectations

Number of higher level subjects Number of higher level subjects by schoolby school

(second lowest reading quintile)(second lowest reading quintile)

0123456789

Lang St BarrackSt

Dixon St Hay St DawesPoint

DawsonSt

Park St BelmoreSt

Wattle St Fig Lane

Working-class Mixed Middle-class

Mean

The Junior Certificate ExaminationThe Junior Certificate Examination

• Reading and mathematics abilities at the beginning of first year have a very strong association with student performance levels

• But school and classroom organisation and process can make a crucial difference to how students fare academically

School differences in JC gradesSchool differences in JC grades

-2

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

Dixon St. Hay St. Lang St. Daw es

Pt.

Barrack

St.

Daw son

St.

Wattle

St.

Park St. Argyle

St.

Belmore

St.

Fig Lane Harris

St.

Raw Gender Social background Ability

Junior Certificate Exam PerformanceJunior Certificate Exam Performance

Junior Certificate exam grades – cumulative process

Very marked effects of streaming

Streaming and JC GradesStreaming and JC Grades

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Mixed ability Higherstream

Middlestream

Lower stream

Why impact of streaming?Why impact of streaming?

Access to higher level subjects Student and teacher expectations

We don’t do our homework so we don’t get it. Teachers know we don’t do it so they don’t bother checking it.We don’t get homework. We never did get homework.We’re sort of the thick class. (Lower/middle streams, coed school)

School process at junior cycleSchool process at junior cycle

• Curriculum discontinuity – lack of academic challenge

• Negative interaction with teachers (esp. from 2nd year); misbehaviour

• Academic self-image: capacity to cope with school-work (from 2nd year)

• Outside school (social life, part-time work)

Student engagementStudent engagement

• Educational aspirations

• Time spent on homework in third year

• Pattern of engagement over the course of

junior cycle

Gender and Social ClassGender and Social Class

• Gender differences in achievement • The effect of streaming on male students• Male students more likely to misbehave and have

negative interactions with teachers

• Social class and student achievement• The effect of streaming• Negative interaction between teachers and students

increasing more in working-class schools • Middle class – schoolwork demanding; working

class – patterns of drift and disengagement

Issues for Policy DevelopmentIssues for Policy Development

• Within-class differentiation v. streaming –

appropriate pace of instruction

• Impact of exam focus on student engagement

(teaching methods)

• Access to higher level subjects

• Importance of first and second year experiences

for later educational success

What can schools do?What can schools do?

• More flexible approach to ability grouping• Promote access to higher level subjects• Actively engage students in lessons; diverse

teaching methods• Positive social climate• Positive behaviour policy; student

involvement in school life

Long-term consequencesLong-term consequences

• Access to senior cycle subjects• Access to subject levels at senior cycle• Engagement in schoolwork and homework• Staying in school• Post-school opportunities• Story to be continued….