'Chancers' will be disappointed

Leaving Certificate Home Economics: A practical and specific paper, with plenty of scope for the well prepared, was how one teacher described yesterday's Leaving Cert home economics higher paper.

It was not, according to Sandra Cleary of the Institute of Education, a paper to suit those who had "chanced their arms".

This is only the second examination of the new home economics curriculum, which was revised to include modules on Irish diet and the food industry.

"This paper was well laid out and very approachable - a vast improvement on last year," said TUI subject representative Maureen McGivern. Last year's paper was the first examination of a greatly expanded syllabus and many students had serious difficulties completing the paper.

"Today's paper was a more manageable affair at both higher and ordinary levels, but it doesn't address the fundamental problem of the volume of material to be covered on the new course," said Ms McGivern.

"I've been teaching home economics for a long time and I never had a student drop out until the new course was introduced. I've lost four students in the last two years."

Higher-level students were asked detailed questions about carbohydrate intake based on a survey of the eating habits of Irish people. They were also asked to explore the impulse-buying habits of consumers and to discuss how social and economic factors effect parenting roles.

The ordinary level paper described the lunch of a typical teenager and asked students to assess its nutritional value.

The teenager had brought chocolate, cola and sausage rolls for lunch. Students described four health risks associated with this type of diet. A question on the traditional family unit may have hit a nerve in some classrooms where many students came from single parent families, said Ms McGivern.

This year 13,174 students took Leaving Cert home economics - a drop of 2,295 on the previous year.