Developing a new template for designing syllabi for Irish secondary school subjects

This paper “Developing a new template for designing syllabi (“curriculum specifications”) for secondary school subjects in Ireland” addresses curriculum and syllabus design in Ireland in the past decade. The issue has been a contentious one in recent years since a new approach for designing curriculum was introduced by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) at the beginning of the millenium. Taking account of concerns expressed by teachers and academics about the current design template being used by the NCCA, this paper proposes a new template for the design of Leaving Certificate syllabi, based on examples of good practice internationally.