CSPE should be left on the new Junior Cert curriculum

Madam Editor,

As you may be aware there is considerable concern regarding the junior certificate reform and in particular the abolition of the current assessment mode and exam in CSPE (Civic, Social and Political Education).

As a teacher involved in citizenship education I am more than concerned that the proposed change will in effect destroy the subject of CSPE. It will bring citizenship back to the bad old days of the last century where the subject civics was a virtual subject on the school timetable and as research subsequently revealed was often not being taught.

Since the introduction of the state certified exam in 1999 over three quarters of a million young citizens have taken the CSPE exam with full support and independent assessment. This has been a great boost to citizenship education and to a country that has had to cope with considerable change in the diversity of young citizens within the state and schools. CSPE has been to the fore in dealing with issues of diversity, human rights, social responsibility, democratic society, sustainable living, political literacy, and law in our lives and the reality of global citizenship. It is to the credit of schools and teachers that these issues are being explored in CSPE. This benefits not only the 58942 students who sat the CSPE exam in 2017 but also impacts on local and wider communities and society as it struggles to replace an imposed church morality with a civic morality.

The Chief examiners report on CSPE (2009) clearly authenticates the view that the work submitted by candidates in the CSPE exam demonstrates the subject is supporting the development of reflective, informed, active, participatory citizens. I believe it has also helped to embed the subject on the curriculum on a national basis and provide an appetite for active participation as seen in the referendum on gay marriage.

It is amazing that after all the turmoil on junior cert assessment that CSPE is the only subject to lose the status of independent state certification a the end of the programme. Within the present system there is a section called the State- Ireland. The State was much referred to in 2016 during celebrations to commemorate the 1916 Rebellion. This state’s response to demote the only subject with a clear link to present day politics and affectively abolish it astounds me. It makes little sense to introduce a new subject called politics and society at leaving cert level while abolishing state certification at junior certificate level. Why are those representing us in the Oireachtas not concerned that the political system in Ireland gets less attention and no state certification from the state for which it legislates?

Yours Sincerely, Brendan Greene St. Claire’s Comprehensive, Manorhamilton