Context
NCCA advises the Minister for Education on curriculum and assessment for early childhood education, for primary and post-primary schools. As part of the broader reform of Senior Cycle, it is envisaged that a new specification for LC Arabic will be introduced in schools from September 2025. The Development Group for Leaving Certificate Arabic will have a key role in this work. The Group includes nominees of the education partners, the Department of Education and other key education agencies.
You can find out more about the redevelopment of Leaving Certificate Arabic below.
The draft specification for Leaving Certificate Arabic has been approved for public consultation.
The consultation period runs from Friday the 8th of December until Friday the 23rd of February.
The consultation involves in-depth engagement with a wide variety of stakeholders across Ireland. NCCA have also contacted schools to participate in school-based focus groups involving teachers, students, and school leaders.
We invite you to get involved and have your say on the draft specification. You can:
The feedback from this consultation will help to inform the work of the Leaving Certificate Arabic Development Group in refining the draft specification prior to final approval and publication.
The first step in the redevelopment of Leaving Certificate Arabic was the research and publication of a Background paper and Brief for the review of the subject, which was published in November 2020.
A public consultation on the Background Paper and brief took place from 26th January 2021 to 28th March 2021 and a report on the consultation was published in May 2021.
The development group for Leaving Certificate Arabic was convened and progressed the development of a new specification guided by the brief and the findings of the consultation on the Background paper. The group developed a draft specification for Leaving Certificate Arabic, which can be read below:
A public consultation on the draft specifications for Leaving Certificate Arabic took place from 4th November to 16th December 2021 and a report on the consultation was published in February 2022. The report can be read below:
NCCA Council paused the work of Senior Cycle Development Groups in May 2022 to allow for further research on curriculum development and assessment, arising from the publication of the Senior Cycle Review: Senior Cycle Review: Advisory Report (NCCA, 2022). The guiding principles, as described in the Advisory Report, provide a touchstone for the Development Group as they undertake the task of preparing curriculum specifications for Leaving Certificate Arabic.
On completion of this research the Development Group for Arabic was reconvened in May 2023. The group is currently progressing the redevelopment of the LC Arabic Curriculum Specification.