Citizenship Project (Leaving Cert Politics and Society): Revision Notes

Citizenship Project

Overview of assessment structure

Assessment in Leaving Cert Politics and Society consists of two main components that work together to evaluate your understanding and practical application of course content. The assessment framework is designed to test both your theoretical knowledge and your ability to apply political and social concepts in real-world situations.

The assessment is divided into:

• Citizenship project report - worth 20% of your final mark
• Written examination - worth 80% of your final mark

This dual approach ensures that you can demonstrate both academic understanding and practical civic engagement skills.

The citizenship project component

Purpose and importance

The citizenship project serves as a practical application of everything you've learned in Politics and Society. Rather than simply memorising political theories, this project requires you to engage actively with your community and apply course concepts to real-world situations.

The project develops several crucial skills:

• Reflective decision-making - thinking critically about choices and their consequences
• Planning and evaluation - organising activities and assessing their effectiveness
• Collaborative working - cooperating effectively with others
• Research skills - gathering and analysing relevant information

These skills are not only valuable for your academic assessment but also prepare you for active citizenship throughout your life.

Project selection and brief

Each year, the State Examinations Commission (SEC) issues an annual brief containing multiple topic options for your citizenship project. This brief also outlines the specific parameters and requirements that your project must meet.

You'll choose one topic from the options provided, allowing you to focus on an area that genuinely interests you or connects to your local community's needs.

Structure of the citizenship project report

Your citizenship project report must contain three distinct sections, each serving a specific purpose in demonstrating your learning and civic engagement.

Section A: Rationale and research

This foundational section establishes why you chose your particular project and demonstrates the research that informed your approach. Your rationale should include:

• Clear connection to course learning - explain how your Politics and Society studies influenced your project choice
• Justification of chosen action - demonstrate why your approach was most appropriate compared to available alternatives
• Project aims and action plan - outline specific goals and the methods you'll use to achieve them
• Research summary - present key findings that shaped your project decisions and approach
• Source documentation - detail your information sources, including websites, literature, interviews, discussions, and other research materials

This section proves that your project is grounded in solid research and connects meaningfully to your academic learning.

Section B: Execution of citizenship project

This section documents the practical implementation of your project and demonstrates your ability to apply theoretical knowledge in real situations. You should provide:

• Process summary - describe how you applied Politics and Society concepts and knowledge during project implementation
• Outcomes documentation - present the concrete results and achievements of your project
• Critical analysis of action plan - evaluate different elements including roles, resources, targets, and timeframes
• Challenge analysis - identify obstacles you encountered and explain how you addressed them

This section shows your capacity to move from theory to practice and handle real-world complexities.

Section C: Reflections on knowledge gained and skills developed

This crucial section demonstrates your ability to learn from experience and connect practical activities to broader educational goals. Your reflections should cover:

• Knowledge and skills gained - identify specific learning outcomes, particularly focusing on judgement and decision-making abilities developed through civic engagement
• Role analysis - evaluate your personal contribution using self-reflection, feedback from others, and insights from course learning
• Learning facilitators - identify what factors helped you develop these skills most effectively
• Learning barriers - recognise what made skill development challenging
• Concrete examples - provide specific instances that illustrate your points and demonstrate genuine learning

This section transforms your project experience into meaningful educational insights.

Assessment criteria and achievement levels

Your citizenship project report will be evaluated using specific criteria that focus on both the quality of your civic engagement and your ability to learn from the experience.

Key assessment criteria

• Clear rationale - demonstrate logical reasoning for your chosen group, initiative, or organisation and activities
• Evidence of planning and research - show thorough preparation using relevant sources
• Application of course concepts - use Politics and Society knowledge to make informed judgements about community engagement
• Understanding of effective citizenship - demonstrate knowledge of what constitutes meaningful civic action
• Personal learning demonstration - show clear evidence of insights gained through project participation
• Skills documentation - provide concrete evidence of abilities developed during the project

Achievement levels explained

High achievement is characterised by comprehensive and insightful responses that go well beyond basic requirements. Your report demonstrates excellent planning, research, and application of course knowledge. Most importantly, high-achieving reports focus on genuine insights and learning rather than simply retelling events. You show outstanding ability to reflect on how the experience influenced your skills, attitudes, and understanding. If working in a group, you clearly articulate your individual role and contributions.

Moderate achievement represents solid work that meets the basic requirements with good personal engagement. You provide adequate rationale for your activities and demonstrate competent use of Politics and Society concepts. Your reflexion shows some genuine insight into learning gained, though it may not reach the depth of higher-achieving work. Group project reports at this level adequately distinguish your individual contribution from collective efforts.

Low achievement indicates basic completion of the task with limited personal insight or deep reflexion. While you provide some rationale for activities, there's minimal evidence of sophisticated planning or research. Your ability to apply course concepts to community judgements is restricted, and reflexion on personal learning and skill development is superficial. Individual contributions within group projects may not be clearly distinguished.