Filling in the gaps: A theoretical grounding for an education programme for adolescent socioemotional and vocational development in Ireland

Since the 1970s, schools in Ireland have offered an optional programme known as ‘Transition Year’ midway through secondary education, when students are typically 15 years old. It lasts one academic year and aims to promote maturity, social development and vocational exploration, and to give students...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Review of education (Oxford) 2018-06, Vol.6 (2), p.146-179
Main Author: Clerkin, Aidan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent Development
Adolescents
Career Development
Child development
Education policy
Emotional Development
Foreign Countries
gap year
International education
Literature Reviews
Maturity (Individuals)
Secondary Education
Secondary School Students
self‐determination theory
Social Development
Social Emotional Learning
socioemotional development
stage–environment fit
Transitional Programs
vocational development
Vocational education
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Since the 1970s, schools in Ireland have offered an optional programme known as ‘Transition Year’ midway through secondary education, when students are typically 15 years old. It lasts one academic year and aims to promote maturity, social development and vocational exploration, and to give students a chance to develop personal and intellectual interests in the absence of high‐stakes examination pressure. On returning to more conventional classes, participants are expected to be better prepared to study and better prepared for life beyond school. The evolution of Transition Year over nearly half a century has been driven primarily by committed teachers and particular policy decisions, but, despite increasing uptake, it has lacked a strong theoretical grounding. This has contributed to a measure of public ambivalence and vulnerability to political vicissitudes. This paper reviews the extant literature on Transition Year, situates Transition Year in the context of selected aspects of the psychological literature on socioemotional development, highlights avenues for future research and discusses its relevance to social and emotional learning in global education beyond Ireland.
ISSN:2049-6613
2049-6613
DOI:10.1002/rev3.3112