Embed life skills in senior cycle curriculum, review told

Students, parents, and teachers believe it is time to change the senior cycle, new research suggests.

This follows an analysis by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) of two rounds of consultation with 41 schools conducted by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).

Asked for their opinions as part of the ongoing review of the current system, the group said they would like to see less focus on route learning, and for ‘life skills’ like online safety and work experience to be embedded in the curriculum.

Reforms ideally would include the introduction of spread-out assessments, as well as a wider variety of assessment methods, project work, portfolios, and presentations, they agreed.

Many students who took part in the consultation said they believed that just English and Maths should remain mandatory subjects. However, it was suggested that it would be better to divide these subjects, so students don’t have to cover as many areas as they do currently.

Many students also felt that Irish should be an optional subject, highlighting its lack of relevance to their future lives.

One senior cycle student at a coeducational Deis school said:

“I don’t think (Irish is) essential, like. You’re not going to use it after you leave school, realistically.”

Other students believed there should be a distinction made between conversational Irish and learning poetry through Irish, which they found more difficult.

Teachers, students, and parents agreed that potential changes that could better prepare young people for further education, employment, and adult life include the introduction of work experience placements and more focus on practical skills, like completing a tax return or driving.

During the course of consultation, teachers cited that students often took inappropriate choices, taking higher level subjects, especially in Maths, to maximise points and being reluctant to take the Leaving Cert Applied programme, even when it might suit them better.

They also strongly emphasised that assessment should continue to be externally marked.

Positive aspects of the current senior cycle include the range of subjects and the value of Transition Year, teachers and parents agreed. Students were also very positive about Transition Year.

Changes in learning happen in classrooms so it makes sense for schools to be a major source of feedback in the senior cycle review, said John Hammond, chief executive of the NCCA.

“Their work, alongside the recently concluded final phase of consultation, which included 10 rounds of focus group meetings, 18 bilateral meetings, a national forum attended by 153 participants, and 4,300 responses to the NCCA’s online survey, provides us with a great basis upon which the review can now be progressed,” he said.