Transition Year in Action, by Gerry Jeffers

Transition Year has been one of the most innovative developments in Irish education. First introduced in a small number of schools in 1974, the programme has grown dramatically since mainstreaming in 1994. Transition Year in Action presents accounts of how a range of schools engage with the challenges of TY. The book illustrates some of the creativity and imagination being applied to offer teenagers educational experiences that contribute to their maturity, and demonstrates how individual teachers engage their students in active learning. The book engages with many aspects of TY programmes including work experience, mini-companies, community service, fundraising activities, musicals and learning beyond the classroom as well as TY-specific modules, sampling modules and ‘linear’ or ‘continuity’ subjects. Transition Year in Action also explores aspects of co-ordination, resources, school leadership and research.

Through the voices of students, parents, teachers, co-ordinators, principals and researchers, Transition Year in Action provides a nuanced picture of the breadth and complexity of Transition Year as it sits uncomfortably between Junior Cycle and the demands of the Leaving Certificate. The book will offer inspiration as well as practice guidance to anyone interested in making the Transition Year vision a reality, whether they are approaching the programme for the first time or seeking to refresh and sustain established programmes.

About the Author

Gerry Jeffers is an educational researcher and lecturer. He worked in the Education Department at NUI Maynooth (now Maynooth University) for 12 years. Prior to that Gerry was national co-ordinator of the Transition Year Curriculum Support Service. He has also worked as a teacher, guidance counsellor and deputy principal in schools in Dublin, Kilkenny and Kenya.