JUNIOR CERT CSPE:THE ASSOCIATION of CSPE (civic, social and political education) teachers criticised yesterday's junior cert exam for overemphasising environmental issues at the expense of politics, Europe and democracy.
Just days before the Lisbon Treaty, examiners missed an opportunity to explore the referendum process, said Brendan O'Regan. "Overall this was a fair and topical paper, but it was weak on key issues such as the law and democracy," O'Regan said.
The CSPE course, which is compulsory for all Junior Cert students, covers seven topics including politics, development, the environment and law.
TUI subject representative Brendan Greene agreed the paper did not cover the seven CSPE concepts equally. "There was a heavy emphasis on development while topics such as law and democracy were overlooked." he said.
Students sitting yesterday's common-level paper started with a photo identification question featuring Taoiseach Brian Cowen, Minister for Health Mary Harney, Green Party leader and Minister for the Environment John Gormley, and Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin.
