An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta

Department of Education and Science

 

Subject Inspection of

Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE)

REPORT

 

Breifne College

Cootehill Road, Cavan

Roll number: 70380I

 

Date of inspection: 23 January 2008

 

 

 

 

Subject inspection report

Subject provision and whole school support

Planning and preparation

Teaching and learning

Assessment

Summary of main findings and recommendations

 

 

 

 

Report on the Quality of Learning and Teaching in CSPE

 

 

Subject inspection report

 

This report has been written following a subject inspection in Breifne College, conducted as part of a whole-school evaluation. It presents the findings of an evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning in Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) and makes recommendations for the further development of the teaching of this subject in the school. The evaluation was conducted over two days during which the inspector visited classrooms and observed teaching and learning. The inspector interacted with students and teachers, examined students’ work, and had discussions with the teachers. The inspector reviewed school planning documentation and teachers’ written preparation. Following the evaluation visit, the inspector provided oral feedback on the outcomes of the evaluation to the principal and subject teachers.

 

 

Subject provision and whole school support

 

The organisation, teaching and learning of Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) is very well supported by the school community. Reference to the subject is made in the school’s prospectus, on reports to parents and at some parent-teacher meetings. A CPSE notice board was observed on a corridor, the school is involved in the Green-Schools movement and hopes to apply for the Green Flag in the near future. A school garden has been established and during the evaluation visit, plans for its further development were outlined. Students and teachers have been involved in raising funds for a number of projects, including local charities and a project in Zambia. In discussions with students it was clear that they were very much aware of the needs of others and showed a willingness to get involved in addressing social issues. The school has an active student council and has been involved in Dáil na nÓg. A notice board is provided for the student council and it was reported that members of the council visit classrooms to gather suggestions from students. Newcomer students are welcomed to the school and for International Day the flags of their countries of origin are displayed in the school mall. The school is very highly commended for these initiatives as they provide students with opportunities to become active citizens and they give a practical expression to the core concepts of the CSPE syllabus. As a means of informing and involving parents in the CSPE programme, it is recommended that a brief written outline of the subject is provided to parents of first-year students. This could be done at an open night, at a parent-teacher meeting or included with a school report.

 

CSPE is a compulsory subject within the junior cycle curriculum. It is allocated one and sometimes two class periods of thirty-five or forty minutes per week in each of the junior cycle years. This time allocation is broadly in line with syllabus recommendations. The good practices of teachers continuing with their classes from first year to third year and of teaching another subject to their CSPE classes were evident. These allow for continuity in programme planning and facilitate the organisation of the action projects required by the Junior Certificate programme.

 

A core team of teachers delivers the CSPE teaching programme and its members have developed considerable expertise by availing of continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities provided by the Citizenship Education Support Team. New members of the team are supported by the subject coordinator and are encouraged to attend in-service. This is a further example of good practice.

 

Teachers have at their disposal a wide range of resources, to support teaching and learning. These resources have been catalogued and this inventory is included in the subject department plan. School management has provided a room where these resources can be stored and they are accessible to all members of the CSPE teaching team. Information and communication technology (ICT) has been provided in classrooms, in the staffroom and students have access to the school’s computer room. Teachers share resources by saving them on the school’s server and this is commended. The school has recently introduced an ePortal system.

 

 

Planning and preparation

 

A very comprehensive subject department plan, based on the School Development Planning Initiative (SDPI) template, is in place. Planning is very well supported by the subject coordinator and school management. The plan was arrived at following discussions amongst members of the CSPE teaching team and this collaborative approach to planning is highly commended. The teaching plan has been amended in the light of a review where areas that were working well along with those in need of development were identified. Current priorities include: the acquisition of additional data projectors, extra time for collaborative planning, the acquisition of additional teaching resources, the promotion of participation in CSPE competitions and a further review at the start of the next school year. The planned review of the effectiveness of the teaching programme is the essence of high quality planning.

 

Notable features of the subject department plan are references to co-curricular activities, arrangements for assessment, recording and reporting on student progress as well as provision for students with additional educational needs. In line with best practice it is planned that students will carry out two action projects. It is recommended that in reviewing the subject department plan a focus be given to identifying learning outcomes linked to curriculum content, teaching methodologies, resource provision and methods of assessment. As the school plans to introduce the Transition Year programme (TY) it is recommended that the good work done in CSPE in the junior cycle is further developed by including a module on CSPE within the planned teaching programme. Accessing the website of Young Social Innovators at www.youngsocialinnovators.ie and the website of ECO-UNESCO Ireland’s Environmental and Youth Organisation at www.ecounesco.ie may prove to be useful in this regard.

 

Planning and preparation by teachers for individual lessons was excellent. Lessons had very clear aims which were shared with the students at the beginning of each lesson. This approach provided a focus for students’ attention and linked effectively the new lesson with the previously taught skills and subject matter. This is particularly important given the spacing between lessons in CSPE. There was very effective planning of the resources used during the lessons observed; these included: handouts with major learning points outlined, worksheets, texts for use in role plays, PowerPoint presentations and internet websites. Teachers had produced these resources which were tailored to meet the learning needs of specific class groups. During the evaluation, some teachers made available an extensive range of resources they had developed over a period of time. The development of such resources by teachers is highly commended and reflects their desire to provide rich learning opportunities for their students.

 

 

Teaching and learning

 

Teachers are fully supportive of the educational importance of CSPE and used a wide variety of teaching methodologies that actively engaged students in the learning process. There was an appropriate balance between teacher input and student activity. Students willingly engaged in the planned learning activities and their sense of enjoyment was obvious. Particularly effective was the use of role-play in one of the lessons observed. The topic was carefully introduced by the teacher to awaken students’ interest and students were encouraged to contribute to the discussion using their personal experiences. A number of students in the class had additional educational needs and the teacher had carefully scripted the role-plays with this in mind. One student was effectively and sensitively supported by a special-needs assistant (SNA). Students were impressive in their willingness to participate in the role-play and read their parts clearly and effectively. The processing of the role-play was also impressive as the discussion was clearly linked to one of the core concepts of the CSPE syllabus. The teacher recorded the main learning points on the whiteboard. These were used to re-cap on the lesson thus ensuring that content, as well as the development of appropriate skills, was catered for. This approach is in line with syllabus recommendations.

 

In another lesson observed, the website of the local authority was accessed and the students were guided through the major functions of the authority during a question-and-answer session. They were then asked to identify the two functions of the authority they considered to be most important. This was followed by the distribution of a worksheet where students recorded the functions of the local authority. This worksheet was highly visual and catered effectively for the ability level of the students in the class.

 

Students in another classroom visited had carried out an accessibility survey of the school linked to the concept of Human Dignity. Different areas of the school had been assessed by groups of students and one student from each group reported on their findings. These were recorded by students and by the teacher in a very visual manner on the whiteboard. Students were impressive in their identification of problem areas and were developing appropriate skills in delivering reports to the class. The practical outcome of the survey was to present the findings and recommendations to school management. This is good practice as it has potential to enable students to see a practical outcome from their work.

 

Documentation provided by teachers indicated that they were aware of students with additional educational needs in their classrooms. Support for students was provided by the preparation of appropriate worksheets and materials to scaffold student learning. While teachers moved around the classroom they frequently provided one-to-one support for students as appropriate. Some examples of very good practice were observed in this regard. As a means of further supporting students for whom English is an additional language (EAL) it is recommended that key terms in relation to topics under discussion be provided by teachers and that students be encouraged to use a dictionary to write and learn these terms in their first language. Support for language development is available from the Integrate Ireland Language and Training (www.iilt.ie) website and teachers are encouraged to access it.

 

Classrooms had displays of items from the print media relating to current events, charts and student work and this helped to create a stimulating learning environment. Notice boards in classrooms could be used by students to develop displays of photographs of political figures thereby making the role of government more meaningful.

 

Classroom management was excellent. Teachers were affirming of students and had created a safe environment where students willingly expressed their often strongly-held views of the topics under discussion. During interactions with the inspector and during class discussions students showed a good knowledge of their courses, were aware of the concepts of CSPE and were developing appropriate skills. Classroom organisation was traditional with students seated in rows. Consideration might be given, where possible, to creating a seating plan which would be more conducive to discussion and interaction between students.

 

 

Assessment

 

Assessment of students’ progress is ongoing as teachers use focused questioning, short class tests and formal assessments at the end of terms. Students in third year sit pre-examinations in the second term. The use of a short class test at the start of one lesson observed was particularly effective in reviewing material covered the previous week. This helped students recall the issues discussed and enabled the teacher to gauge student progress. Students swapped their test papers with a student beside them and as the work was corrected they were able to learn from each other’s mistakes. A question-and-answer session facilitated the correction of the test and the teacher used this opportunity to affirm students and to add clarification as necessary. Results obtained by the students were impressive and indicated that they had acquired an excellent knowledge of the topic. Test papers were then collected so results could be recorded later.

 

Best practice was observed where students had a CSPE folder where they kept supplementary material, worksheets and tests. This is used as a means of retaining material which can be used for revision purposes. This good practice should be extended to all class groups.

 

The subject coordinator arranges for the storage of assessment documentation issued by the State Examinations Commission. Students to date have been using the Report on the Action Projects (RAPs) proforma booklet. Completed booklets are returned by individual teachers to the office for secure storage. It is recommended that consideration be given to using the Coursework Assessment Book (CWAB) for some students as a means of more effectively catering for the wide range of student abilities in the school. The interests of students influence the choice of Action Projects undertaken and this is commended. It was reported that students complete a first draft of the report on the action project and receive constructive feedback from their teachers before completing the final report which forms part of the assessment for the award of a grade in the Junior Certificate examination. The use of assessment for learning (AfL) principles, particularly ‘comment-only’ marking should be developed further as a means of effectively supporting students in preparing for the certificate examinations. The CSPE team analyses the results obtained by students in Breifne College in the certificate examinations in relation to national norms and these analyses are included in the subject department plan. This good practice is commended.

 

 

Summary of main findings and recommendations

 

The following are the main strengths identified in the evaluation:

 

 

 

As a means of building on these strengths and to address areas for development, the following key recommendations are made:

 

 

Post-evaluation meetings were held with the teachers of CSPE and with the principal at the conclusion of the evaluation when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and discussed.

 

 

 

 

Published November 2008