Phrasing of one question a concern in otherwise ‘straightforward’ test

THE phrasing in a question about the education system in the Leaving Certificate Home Economics Higher Level Paper was a cause of concern to teacher Margaret Kinsella.

Ms Kinsella, an ASTI subject representative, who teaches at Bunclody Vocational College, Co Wexford, said students would have struggled with parts (i) and (iii). The latter asked candidates to “evaluate equality of opportunity in second-level education with reference to students at risk of disadvantage and social exclusions”.

But, apart from that, Ms Kinsella had no quibble with the paper, describing the short questions as “approachable”, while students would have been well prepared for the lipids question in Section B, a topic that came up in the mocks.

Homelessness and the quality of accommodation in both private and rental sectors were topical issues on the paper.

Mary O’Dowd, of Yeats College, Co Galway, described it as a “beautiful” higher level paper with a great range of food, diet and home management questions. It was “straightforward” and gave students “a chance to show how much they have learned”.

Sandra Cleary, of Dublin’s Institute of Education, noted topics that hadn’t featured on the paper in a number of years appeared.

One such was a “nice” short question on vegetarianism, which hasn’t been asked since 2009, there was another on food additives, which hasn’t appeared since 2011, and an “accessible question” on the fridge, a topic that last appeared in 2007.

She said, overall, questions were “very factually based” and little opinion was sought from students. “Students will have been delighted to see the widely anticipated lipids question appear,” she said.