TRACING THE IMPACT OF WORK PLACEMENTS ON VOCATIONAL LEARNERS: IRELAND NATIONAL REPORT
As Table 5 shows, organising the focus groups directly through the sending CFE resulted in a high degree of clustering in destination country and vocational areas. However, all participants were placed in unique enterprises at unique times. The focus groups included participants whose mobility experiences took place in 2019, but these were as part of projects approved for funding in 2018. As with the individual interviews, initial analysis involved grouping responses into the themes agreed by the transnational research group (motivation; organisation of the mobility; skills gained; subsequent career path; and mobility strengths and weaknesses). This was followed by in-depth examination to identify responses outside of these thematic areas, and to compare shared and diverging views among members.
Research Limitations Taking part in the survey, interviews and focus groups was entirely voluntary, so all participants were self-selected. This study, like all studies based on voluntary participation rather than random selection of subjects, will have a certain amount of bias resulting from this. Perhaps chief among these biases is the likelihood of attracting responses from those with strong positive or negative feelings about the subject, rather than from those who feel more neutral. The survey was distributed online, and in theory equally available to all respondents no matter where they lived. However, it was promoted almost exclusively through Irish channels and networks: the Léargas website, newsletter and social media accounts, and by the project coordinators in sending organisations. It is likely that more Irish-based than international-based participants would have been aware of and responded to the survey. Finally, as noted above, the majority of survey responses came from participants in Erasmus+ rather than the Leonardo da Vinci Mobility programme. This is also the case for the individual interviews and focus groups. This means that the findings in this study are not only more relevant to Erasmus+, but are more weighted towards the relatively early stages – the first five years or so – of participants’ post-placement paths.
23
