Politics and Society · 5th Year · Active Citizenship and Participation · 2.º Período

Planning a Citizenship Project

Students will learn the practical steps of designing and implementing a citizenship action project. This prepares them for the practical coursework component of the Leaving Certificate assessment.

TL;DR:This topic provides the roadmap for the Citizenship Project, a cornerstone of the Politics and Society Leaving Certificate. Students learn how to move from an abstract interest in a social issue to a concrete, actionable plan. The unit covers the essential stages of the project: research, action, and reflection, ensuring students understand the NCCA's criteria for a successful 'active citizenship' experience.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• Leaving Certificate Politics and Society, Strand 2, LO 2.7
• Leaving Certificate Politics and Society, Strand 2, LO 2.8

About This Topic

This topic provides the roadmap for the Citizenship Project, a cornerstone of the Politics and Society Leaving Certificate. Students learn how to move from an abstract interest in a social issue to a concrete, actionable plan. The unit covers the essential stages of the project: research, action, and reflection, ensuring students understand the NCCA's criteria for a successful 'active citizenship' experience.

Planning a project requires students to think like social entrepreneurs. They must identify a 'pressing issue,' analyze the power structures involved, and choose an action that is both ethical and effective. This topic is the ultimate application of everything they have learned in the course. This topic comes alive when students can physically model the project lifecycle through collaborative brainstorming and peer-review sessions.

Key Questions

1. How do we identify a pressing community issue?
2. What are the most effective action strategies?
3. How do we evaluate the impact of our civic actions?

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

The project has to be a massive, world-changing event to get a good grade.

What to Teach Instead

The NCCA rewards the *quality of the process*, the research, the planning, and the reflection, more than the scale of the outcome. A well-executed local project is better than a poorly planned national one. Peer-reviewing past project reports helps students see what 'good' looks like.

Common Misconception

The 'Action' part is just doing a fundraiser.

What to Teach Instead

While fundraising is an action, the best projects often involve advocacy (writing to a TD) or awareness-raising (creating an educational campaign). Encouraging students to think beyond 'charity' toward 'change' is a key goal of this unit.

Active Learning Ideas

Think-Pair-Share

The 'Issue Sieve'

Students brainstorm five issues they care about. In pairs, they put these issues through a 'sieve' of three questions: 1) Is it specific enough? 2) Can I actually do something about it? 3) Is there enough research available? This helps them narrow down a viable topic for their 6th Year project.

30 min·Pairs

Inquiry Circle

The Action Menu

In small groups, students are given a sample issue (e.g., 'Lack of youth spaces in our town'). They must come up with three different types of action: an 'Awareness' action, an 'Advocacy' action, and a 'Direct Service' action. They then discuss which would be most effective for this specific problem.

45 min·Small Groups

Peer Teaching

The Ethics of Action

Students are given short scenarios of citizenship projects that went wrong (e.g., a project that accidentally offended the group it was trying to help). In groups, they identify the ethical mistake and 'teach' the class a rule to prevent it. This builds the 'ethical awareness' required by the NCCA.

40 min·Small Groups

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I help students choose a project topic?

Encourage them to look at their own lives and community first. What annoys them? What feels unfair in their school or town? When a student has a personal connection to the issue, they are much more likely to stay motivated through the research and action phases. Use a 'mind-mapping' session to draw out these personal interests.

What are the best hands-on strategies for project planning?

Use 'Backwards Mapping.' Start with the desired outcome (e.g., 'The school board agrees to a new recycling policy') and work backwards to identify every step needed to get there. This makes a large project feel like a series of manageable tasks and teaches students the logic of strategic planning.

How much of the final grade is the Citizenship Project worth?

The Citizenship Project is worth 20% of the total marks for the Leaving Certificate Politics and Society exam. It is submitted as a written report (the 'Citizenship Project Report') in 6th Year, but the planning and initial research should ideally begin in 5th Year.

Can students work in groups for the Citizenship Project?

Yes, students can work together on the *action* phase of the project. However, each student must submit their own individual *report*, which must reflect their own personal research, their specific role in the action, and their individual reflection on the process.