Malta

In an era where it has been increasingly recognised that ‘inclusion’ is not simply placing a child in a mainstream setting (Arnot, 2013) but that its aim is to ensure that each learner is an active member in the school life, it is crucial that educators become well-informed about which practices would lead learners to achieve effective outcomes. Such necessity is particularly important in the field of autism as the implementation of methods which are not classified as evidence-based might impede learners to develop their full learning and developmental potential (Simpson, 2005). Due to the limited research in relation to which approaches are being implemented for students on the spectrum within the primary educational context in Malta, this research explored which practices are being included throughout their support programmes. The purpose of gathering such data was to identify the extent of the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) across educational programmes. Through a mixed-methods approach embedded within online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, and which included the participation of teachers and Learning Support Educators (LSEs), this research revealed that three EBPs tend to dominate the support programmes of learners on the autism spectrum. This research also found that other strategies which are not yet classified as EBPs are also being included across programmes. Hence, a gap in relation to research and practice across the programmes of learners on the spectrum was identified.

The impact of postcolonialism on primary, secondary and tertiary education in small island states (SIS), is well documented. This study explores the origins and character of colonial lingering in the pedagogy and practice of early childhood education (ECE) in SIS, with special reference to Malta and Grenada, both former British colonies. Interviews, observations and focus groups have been conducted in both countries. An online questionnaire was completed by 64 individuals residing in the world’s 27 small island states, (and of which 20 secured independence from Britain). The research findings suggest a colonial lingering in ECE in small island states. Manifestations of this include: the preference for school uniforms; the widespread use of standard English as the language of instruction; top-down pedagogy that obliges an early start to schooling; a strong focus on literacy and numeracy in the early years; restrictions in play-based learning; and story books, weather and alphabet charts that are not necessarily relevant to the country’s culture and tradition and written in the English language, even though both countries have their own vernacular. The findings encourage a sober and critical reflection of the policies and practices governing ECE in SIS.

Transferable skills are internationally acknowledged as an important tool to reduce the friction generated through skills mismatch between education and the labour market. This paper examines some challenging aspects of transferable skills that may reduce their effectiveness, such as their unclear definition and delineation, difficulties in translating policy into practice, and the challenge of convincing employers to invest in such skills. While over the years, elements of transferable skills were added to the Maltese educational curriculum, the country requires a comprehensive policy that tackles the barriers hindering the dissemination of transferable skills. This paper proposes the adoption of a comprehensive skills policy that includes a focus on demand and supply skills audit research, the revision and development of curriculum and teaching methods, the training of stakeholders, and quality assurance, assessment and recognition of transferable skills.

It has become the norm for primary classrooms in Maltese state schools to host a primary school teacher and one or more Learning Support Educators. Although these two roles are distinct in their nature and description, they are equally important for effective classroom management. The most successful and inspiring scenarios, enabling all students to succeed, occur when both roles within the teaching team collaborate successfully (Mulholland & O’Connor, 2016). Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020, schools in Malta were closed until the end of the scholastic year. Teaching and learning processes saw a shift from the four walls of the physical classroom to remote classrooms in the online world. The purpose of this study was to explore remote teacher collaboration during the physical closure of schools in Malta through the lens of a model which was identified for the purposes of this work – the COACTION Model. This model was developed through a systematic literature review grounded in evidence-based exemplar characteristics for teacher collaboration. A qualitative study based on the experience of six teaching teams was conducted through semi-structured interviews. A deductive thematic analysis followed the interviews. This paper discusses the experiences of teachers and Learning Support Educators working remotely, and shows whether and how they implemented the elements outlined in the COACTION Model.

In spite of recent progress in the area, Malta scored just below the EU-27 average in a recent European report on gender inequality. Among the key issues flagged, were uneven concentrations of women and men in education, as well as gaps in employment and unadjusted pay. This paper explores some of the prospective underlying mechanisms continuing to drive such forms of inequity in Malta, with a special focus on sex-segregation in further and higher education. An empirical, quantitative research methodology based on various forms of contingency table analysis was selected, combined with a Popperian post-positivist approach to null hypothesis-testing. Binary logistic and log-linear modelling techniques were applied to secondary public data from the Maltese National Statistics Office, on the distributions of student and worker populations by sex and field from the 2016/17 academic year. The findings showed that Maltese women in the academic track were more than twice as likely to challenge gender stereotypes by taking up traditionally masculine-labelled courses than their peers in the vocational tracks. Women in the academic track were also less likely to end up in feminine-labelled roles in the workplace. The Maltese further and higher education system was nonetheless heavily sex-segregated overall when compared to the workplace, with Maltese women three times as likely to find themselves in feminine-labelled fields at college or university, than they were at work. Declining occupational sex-segregation was interpreted within the context of ever-increasing competition for available work, and thereby construed as a symptom of the devaluation of labour power inherent in capital-labour relations. In an increasingly neoliberalist and gender-essentialist ideological climate, the paper goes on to argue that such a devaluation places women, specifically, at heightening risk of intensifying capitalist exploitation, engendering a heightened impetus towards emancipatory curricular reform, and authentic system-wide deconstruction of enduring gender stereotypes in Maltese further and higher education.

By differentiating public perceptions of relatively new vocational institutions from those of more traditional forms of academic further and higher education, the study aimed to explore how attitudes vary as a function of social class in Malta. A survey of 573 adults was carried out to measure variations in attitude towards three specific Maltese state-sponsored further and higher education institutions, two vocational, and one traditionally academic. Framed conceptually according to a critical interpretation of the parity of esteem debate, the main dependent variable was defined in terms of difference in attitudes toward the new vocational, as opposed to traditional academic institutions. One-way analysis of variance was carried out to explore these differences according to self-identified social class, as well as socioeconomic markers including income, education level and occupation. The findings revealed small but statistically significant effects of self-identified social class, income and level of education. As social class and other socioeconomic values increase, positive perceptions of vocational as opposed to academic tracks, tend to decrease. No significant effect emerged with respect to occupation type. In this article, we discuss some of the implications of these findings for Maltese further and higher education providers from a critical theoretical perspective. Furthermore, we argue that arbitrary prestige-attribution to specific institutions reduces qualifications to mere referents of otherwise fixed social status, and more broadly undermines the prospect of a truly meritocratic society.