the system.
!
I am currently preparing several
articles based on my doctoral
research (a longitudinal study of
outcomes associated with
Transition Year) for peer-
reviewed publication. My goal is
to contribute to building a clearer
evidence base on which policy-
makers and educators in Ireland
can base informed views on the
TY programme – its successes
and its limitations – through
critical assessment of the
assumptions, processes, and
outcomes associated with the
year. (Updates on this research
will be made available at
www.erc.ie/transition-year-
survey). More broadly, there are
many aspects of TY that deserve
further dedicated research. To
take just one of many possible
examples, the role of work
experience placements in
students’ future vocational
decision-making, and in the
development of personal and
social maturity in adolescence,
has been the subject of relatively
little attention so far. Possible
topics to focus on could include
the way in which the interactions
between school staff, students
and employers throughout the
process of securing and
completing placements aid
students’ development, as well as
the role of social capital (such as
parents’ personal or business
networks) in making
opportunities available to
students. Finding out more about
these processes would shed light
on a key component of TY, and
would also provide relevant
information that could transfer to
other levels of education in
Ireland (such as the Leaving
Certificate Applied programme
or other aspects of a revised
senior cycle) during a time of
broader reform.
References
Clerkin, A. (2013). Growth of the ‘Transition Year’ programme, nationally and in schools serving
disadvantaged students, 1992-2011. Irish Educational Studies, 32, 197-215.
Clerkin, A. (2016). Personal development in Irish education: A longitudinal study of student participation
and psychosocial development in Transition Year. PhD dissertation, Dublin City University.
Irish Second-level Students’ Union. (2014). Transition Year: Exploring the student experience. Dublin:
ISSU.
Jeffers, G. (2011). The Transition Year programme in Ireland: Embracing and resisting a curriculum
innovation. Curriculum Journal, 22, 61–76.
Madaus, G. (1988). The distortion of teaching and testing: High-stakes testing and instruction. Peabody
Journal of Education, 65, 29-46.
GLASNEVIN
CEMETERY MUSEUM & GUIDED TOURS
Glasnevin
Cemetery
Museum
Ireland’s history carved in stone
TOURS • RE-ENACTMENTS • GENEALOGY
TY PROGRAMMES AVAILABLE!
Specialised Tours
TY Tour Guide Training Programme
TY Genealogy Workshop
Tours in Irish
For more Information contact us by email or telephone at
[email protected]/01 8826577
WWW.T YIRELAND.COM