The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013

Leaving Certificate

RELIGIOUS EDUCATIONCoursework.

The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013

General Information• Each Year, 2 sections from Part 3 of syllabus are

designated for coursework. These sections will not appear on the exam paper,

• Coursework is 20% of total mark, i.e. 80 marks.• Candidates select one title from a list of four

prescribed titles. Coursework is written up in pro forma booklet and submitted to the State Examinations Commission.

The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013

Aims of LC Coursework

• To allow students an opportunity for personal engagement on an issue of interest or concern.

• To develop students’ knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes as outlined in the objectives of the section designated for coursework.

• To provide an opportunity for students to engage in extended research, analysis and reflection on the chosen topic.

• To develop skills of research, analysis, evaluation, critical thinking, communication and reflection.

The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013

Structure

• Coursework is divided into sections, Part A & Part B.

• Guidelines indicate a word count of 1500 words in total.

• Candidates should be familiar with exam terminology e.g. Profile, Examine etc. See LCRE Teacher Guidelines, pg 130

The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013

Section A-Findings(40 marks).

• Summary of candidates investigation into prescribed title.

• Outline your work in steps, e.g. The first step is...

• Highlight your sources of information that you used to find out your information.

• Indicate skills you acquired during your research on prescribed detail.

The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013

Section B-Personal Reflection (40 marks).• 5 key questions to be covered.• 1.) Why was the title of interest to you?• 2.) What different perspectives did you encounter in

doing your coursework?• 3.) What questions arose for you in doing this

coursework?• 4.)What personal insights did you gain from doing

coursework on this title?• 5.)What was the most valuable part of doing this

coursework?

The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013

Marking Scheme

• Marking Schemes are available on www.examinations.ie

• Candidates should make appropriate reference to their chosen title.

• Candidates should also be familiar with examination terminology, e.g. ‘Substantial’, ‘drawing conclusions’ etc.

The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013

Links

• Where possible it might be worth linking to other sections of the course. This can be done as a revision exercise once candidates have presented coursework.

• E.G. If candidates are doing coursework on Section I 2.1, this might remind them of Section A 2.2 and state the reason why?

The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013

Extended Research

• Candidates should show evidence of ‘substantial’ engagement in their chosen title.

• Using a variety of sources is to be encouraged and drawing conclusions on these during personal reflection could be important, i.e linking to current news events, novels ‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini