CLEAR language, well balanced papers and a wide choice of question meant that the Leaving Cert history papers were well received by both ordinary and higher level students.
Mr John O'Sullivan, ASTI subject representative and a teacher in Templeogue College, Dublin, said that the higher level paper was very fair. The inclusion of figures such as Davitt, Parnell and Pearse in the Irish section was popular with students, many of whom take a biographical approach to history, he added. But, the question on Pearse, which asked students to evaluate his contribution to Irish political and cultural affairs, was a little difficult.
In the European history section, the biographical approach was continued with Lenin, Mussolini and Hitler. There was also an ample choice of mainstream questions, noted Mr O'Sullivan. "If I had a criticism, it would be the absence of a question on Northern Ireland." Quibbles aside, Mr O'Sullivan, stressed that, overall, it was a very good paper.
Mr Fergal Fitzmaurice, a history teacher in Colaiste Dhulaigh, Dublin, agreed that the higher level paper was very fair. In the European section, the questions on Bismarck and Lenin were very straightforward, he said. In section D, Hitler, Mussolini and the Cold War were the most popular questions. The 10 essays in section E, which is an alternative to the research topic, were difficult. Many of the topics are on the periphery of the course, he noted. Most students would have found them very difficult.
At ordinary level, Mr Fitzmaurice said that it was a very fair paper and most of the course was covered. But, students who had been hoping for a question on the Big Fella were disappointed.
Mr O'Sullivan said that there were not many complaints from ordinary level students as an adequate choice of question was offered. "It is very rewarding for a teacher to meet students after the exam and find that they had covered enough options to go home happy."
. 575 students were registered for yesterday's economic history paper. Mr Des Cowman of CBS, Tramore, Co Waterford, said the higher level paper contained "a searching range of questions".
"There were some imaginative questions, such as question 8 which allowed candidates to develop whatever understanding they had; it was a skillsbased question." With a few minor quibbles, many of the other questions were good and fair and tested the paper well.
"I can't be so polite about ordinary level. It would seem very little thought has gone into it. Those who take it at this level are of the lower skill range and by and large they are not capable or interested in abstraction or analysis but the questions were almost all demanding a kind of interpretation or abstraction or analysis.
"The questions are worse than infelicitous - unfortunate things appear, even when they are given a sort of `sop' in terms of two full pages of illustrations. Question 12 contains a map which has no date on it. Worse still, on page 5, on international economic history, there is a graph with an NB at the top `no marks awarded for information pertaining to Ireland'. There are five countries in the graph and, guess what, one of them is Ireland."
