Timing of Leaving Certificate Oral Examinations: Opinions and Perspectives of Parents, Students, Teachers, Examiners and Schools

The central objective of the study was to explore parent, student, teacher, examiner, school management and other opinions about the most suitable timing for the Leaving Certificate Oral Examinations from 2024 onwards. The report is divided into two sections as there were two phases of
the research. The first phase conducted in October/November 2023 comprised an online survey asking respondents to choose an appropriate timing for the oral examinations in the future and to reflect experiences of recent years. The second phase of the research involved a multisite case study, completed in April/May 2024, where school communities were asked to reflect on their experience of
the oral examinations in Easter 2024. As the two sets of data reflected different experiences and the research was conducted using differing instrumentation the results will be presented within this report in separate sections