Transition Year FAQ's
What is Transition Year?
What¹s the purpose of the Transition Year Programme?
Who decides on the programme?
Is Transition Year available to all students?
Is Transition Year suited to all students?
What subjects are studied?
Even if all these programmes are different, surely there are some features common to the programme in many schools?
What about exams?
Can the Transition Year be part of a three-year Leaving Certificate programme?
What support is there for schools?
What is Transition Year?
A one year programme taken after the Junior Certificate and before a Leaving Certificate Programme.
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What¹s the purpose of the Transition Year Programme?
To promote maturity. Maturity in studies by making students more self-directed learners. Maturity in relation to work and careers by developing work-related skills. Personal maturity by providing opportunities to develop communication skills, self-confidence and a sense of responsibility. Social maturity by developing greater Œpeople¹ skills and more awareness of the world outside school.
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Who decides on the programme?
Each school devises its own TY programme. The teaching staff draws up a programme in the light of the Transition Year Guidelines and the Resource Material published by the Department of Education and Science. They must also consider students¹ needs, parents¹ views, possibilities offered by employers and the wider interests of the local community. Each year the programme is evaluated, with inputs from all these parties, and revised by the teaching staff.
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Is Transition Year available to all students?
In 1998-99 over 25,000 young people are following a Transition Year programme in more than 500 schools. Some schools offer TYP to all students who have finished the Junior Certificate. In other schools, students may have to apply for a limited number of places.
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Is Transition Year suited to all students?
With its emphasis on development and maturity, all young people can benefit from the programme. Transition Year, in particular, can allow for the development of an individual¹s multiple intelligences - linguistic, logico-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalist. The Transition Year programme can also develop key skills for the 21st century such as the three Ts - thinking, teamwork, and technology.
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What subjects are studied?
That varies from school to school. Most programmes work towards getting a balance between some continuation of essential core subjects, a tasting and sampling of other subjects, a variety of distinctive courses designed to broaden students¹ horizons and some modules and activities specfically aimed at promoting the maturity that is central to the whole Transition Year ideal.
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Even if all these programmes are different, surely there are some features common to the programme in many schools?
Many schools offer modules, short courses on particular topics. Most schools offer a work experience programme. Mini-company, where students set up and operate a real business, is a popular way of learning. The use of visiting speakers as well as trips beyond the classroom is also common. Project work, where students undertake particular tasks, usually more extensive than traditional Œhomework¹, is also a feature of many programmes.
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What about exams?
Assessment is a key part of any worthwhile learning programme. Transition Year is an opportunity to move beyond the narrow focus of end-of-year, written exams. The emphasis is on on-going assessment with students themselves becoming involved in diagnosing their own learning strengths and weaknesses. Project work, portfolio work and exhibitions of students¹ work are also encouraged. Each individual school makes its own arrangements for the certification for students who complete a TY programme.
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Can the Transition Year be part of a three-year Leaving Certificate programme?
No. The Department¹s Guidelines and the Inspectors¹ Evaluation are very clear on that. That is not to say that the programme should lack intellectual content; it should challenge students in all areas of their development. Indeed, after following a TY programme young people should be better equipped and better motivated for a Leaving Certificate programme.
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What support is there for schools?
A team of six teachers with experience of teaching and co-ordinating Transition Year programmes is seconded from their schools to the Transition Year Curriculum Support Service. They are available to schools for consultation and advice. The team also organises in-service training workshops within schools and for clusters of schools. The team also co-operates with educational and other agencies in producing teaching and learning resources for Transition Year programmes.
In addition to the work of the Support Service, regular monitoring and external evaluation of Transition Year Programmes is the responsibility of the Department of Education and Science¹s inspectorate and psychological service. Each school must have a clearly documented programme approved by its board of management. A copy of this written programme should be available for inspection by the Department¹s inspectors.
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