Politics and Society

As part of the senior cycle developments, the NCCA has developed a draft syllabus for a new subject in the area of social and political education, Politics and Society. This is proposed as a full, optional examinable subject. Consultation on this draft syllabus has now finished and you can download a report of that consultation here (PDF: 694KB).

What will students learn in Politics and Society?

Politics and Society aims to develop the student's ability to be a reflective and active citizen, in a way that is informed by the insights and skills of social and political sciences. While it will undoubtedly complement a number of existing subjects, it will also bring a social science perspective that is entirely new to senior cycle education.

Teachers and students will work with key themes and ideas in the social sciences. They will apply these to their local environment, as well as explore how they apply in other places. For example, through looking at the changes in their own local community over the last few years, they will have an opportunity to discuss whether or not these changes constitute development, and whether or not they are sustainable. Through making links to the global context, students will be able to identify the roles of groups such as multinational companies, governments and intergovernmental bodies, as well as the role of cultural factors in enabling or preventing development in Ireland and around the world.

How will students learn Politics and Society in school?

Politics and Society is organised around key ideas in the social and political sciences, including democracy, culture, conflict, globalisation, equality, diversity and sustainable development. Students will come at these ideas in an active way, through applying them to the world they know. They will explore, for example, democracy in their local sports club and in their school, the potential for conflict between part-time employees and their employers, and the global reach of television and of video sharing sites such as YouTube. Through this, they will be exposed to the ideas of key social and political thinkers like Kate Millett, Karl Marx, Milton Friedman, John Locke, and Edward Said. They will also get an opportunity to complete an Active Citizenship project, which will enable them to apply their learning in action. Their report on this Active Citizenship Project will account for 20% of the final examination.

Background

Work started with the publication of a background paper on Social and Political Education in Senior Cycle. This paper reviews the background to the development of a subject in social and political education. It focuses on identifying the value of such a subject in helping provide students with the skills, knowledge and values related to their political and social context that will enable them to be thoughtful responsible actors in their world. A consultation was carried out in late 2006, the report on that consultation can be downloaded here.

A student consultation on Politics and Society was conducted in March and April 2007. The consultation set out to identify a range of topics and concepts related to the study of politics and society which are seen by young people to be relevant to them. Download the report on the consultation with young people.