Reaction to 2026 Leaving Certificate Politics & Society (Higher Level) by Paul McAndrew, Politics & Society teacher at The 91制片厂.
- There were plenty of topical issues, but students will have had to keep the course material in mind to keep relevant and balanced.听
The paper begins with 15听short questions, of which students need to do 10. These were very topical, drawing together examples from the JAM Card听initiative, presidential election ballots, the Consumer Price Index and even a prison overcrowding.听Intriguingly听certain topics听(e.g. The Electoral Commission)听were听not directly听on听the syllabus were present听on the exam听and so students would have needed to quickly synthesise their study with a broader听awareness听of the world. In听general,听there was a greater emphasis on critical analysis in this section.听While听there听were questions with more straightforward commands like 鈥渄escribe鈥�,听鈥渟tate鈥� or 鈥済ive an example of鈥︹��,听there were also prompts to 鈥渃omment on鈥� a given example. Such questions听demand听that听students do more than recite definitions and so some will have found this assortment of听short questions听more challenging.听
Moving into the compulsory data-based questions, the two documents related to portrayals of Africa through cultural and听cartographic lenses.听Again听the questions mix the more straightforward comprehension听style听with discursive analytic skills. For听example,听Question C asked students to 鈥渆xplain what is meant by 鈥榤aps are instruments of power鈥欌��. A clear effort to make the exam more challenging than previous years is听evident听here, but students听who where听able to think through the factors involved will be fine.听
The final stretch of the exam are the听essay听questions, of which students needed to answer听two. This year key thinkers were more prominent听as both听Edward Said and Martha Nussbaum听appeared.听The听latter鈥檚 question would have been trickier as the need to cover Nussbaum鈥檚 Capabilities Approach for both human and sustainable development would push the听35 minute听timeslot. There is so much that students needed to include that it would be hard to be succinct and to the point. Such rigour is essential when it comes to these tasks as tangents can be alluring. In the case of Question 3鈥檚 options on either the social contract or the state鈥檚 obligation to children鈥檚 rights, students听likely have听strong personal convictions on these听topics,听but they need to keep the remit of the course in mind.听Students who听kept their cool and took a balanced approach would notice that both these questions were effective paths to听discuss education in Ireland, the Equal Status Act etc. A similar approach was essential for the patriarchy essay, but the question scaffolded that balance in听a nice way. The final essay on 鈥淓uropean Values鈥� in Ireland was a nice reflection of our Presidency of the Council of Europe in July.听