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growing pains
Raising the status quo

It is Education Minister Louis Galea’s conviction that Malta’s children deserve a world class education and that is exactly what should be provided for them provide. In the final segment in our series on the plight of today’s Maltese children, Dr Galea speaks about the latest disappointing SEC exam results, the new National Minimum Curriculum and on enhancing facilities for children with special needs.

The opposition’s education spokesperson, Evarist Bartolo, recently commented that today’s students have taken on too many subjects rather than concentrating on core subjects, with the result that pass rates have been very poor recently.
Dr Galea describes such results as worrying, while adding that perhaps the problem does lie in the fact that students do concentrate on too many subjects.
However, Dr Galea explains that, when it comes to delicate curricular and assessment policies, politicians need to be extremely careful on how to formulate the national direction and policies.
He explains, "Everyone with responsibility for education and a commitment to quality education for our young people is bound to feel concerned over the poor results in an examination like the SEC examination, even if these results are not a full indication of how successful these students’ education has been.
"Academic achievement at SEC level is most desirable and is a goal that students, schools and parents work towards but there are other very significant achievements within the students’ holistic education that are not of a purely academic nature."
Dr Galea contends that one reason behind such disappointing results may be the fact that students have to tackle too many subjects, coupled with the fact that curriculum overload starts rather early in our children’s education.
He cites that in government schools, there have already been two major attempts to address the problem. The syllabuses for secondary schools have been designed to have less content and also to have a different bias, one that is more practical and also more relevant for these students.
Moreover, students are given three basic years with the core curriculum and when they choose their options at the end of the third year, they choose only one subject instead of two.
He explains, "It is relevant to note that our tripartite system has conditioned us to the extent that we look at the Junior Lyceum programme as the most desirable one.
"Teachers themselves, as well as students and their parents, look rather suspiciously at arrangements in secondary schools that are meant to lessen the curriculum overload. "They repeatedly ask that students in secondary school revert to a programme that is an exact replica of that in the Junior Lyceums.”
Dr Galea insists that a more effective answer to this need is likely to be found in the provision of the New National Curriculum, which not only emphasises the need for programmes tailor-made to students’ particular needs but also allows schools to design such programmes.
However, contrary to the idea of ‘one size fits all’ that seems to have been prevalent so far, the new curriculum repeatedly emphasises the need for programmes that recognise not only different needs but also the different learning styles of our students. The new curriculum does this explicitly through its principles and guidelines.
However, Dr Galea emphasises that sheer subject matter cannot be held to blame, as he explains, "One would be rather short-sighted to stop at the idea of curriculum overload as the only reason for lack of academic success. We need to address two other major issues. The first is the issue of effective methodologies, of relevance in our educational programmes and of attention to differentiation and to different learning styles. The second issue is one of assessment, particularly of alternative forms of assessment.
"The National Curriculum has several answers in the importance it gives to formative assessment, in its attention to profiling and portfolios and even in its emphasis on the need for the MATSEC exams to reflect new assessment principles. The new National Curriculum Council has been enjoined to devote particular attention to this issue."
However, Malta has a surplus of graduates in some sectors and a dearth of employees in others – a point that leads Dr Galea to question whether students are receiving enough advice to ensure they choose subjects and consequently a career which will provide them with employment when they leave school/university?
The answer, Dr Galea explains, is that Malta’s education system definitely needs a much more sophisticated and effective system of career guidance.
At the moment, students receive varied forms of assistance regarding their career choice. In schools, guidance teachers give talks to classes and to parents. Form 5 students in Junior Lyceums and Form 4 students in secondary schools attend careers seminars. There is individual counselling on demand in school, while every year the Department of Student Services organises a careers convention.
Meanwhile, for students who have finished Form 5 there is a walk-in service on career choice during the summer months.
Additionally, this year a CD showing a career path was issued in March together with a magazine giving details of all the qualifications necessary for post 16 courses and online career path information is currently in the pipeline.
Training booklets, intended mainly for use with Form 1 and 2 students but good for any students according to ability, were issued in 2000 and delivered to schools.
A booklet describing guidance and counselling services was published and circulated and a student services booklet is also in the pipeline.
Dr Galea explains the education department also intends to create a synergy between the various psycho-social services in order to make services offered to students more holistic.
Finally, at University level, Dr Galea explains that students are on their own and it is up to them to choose their career path. However, the government does give an incentive, in the form of a higher stipend, to those students who choose subjects in which we feel there is need for more teachers.
Dr Galea sees a variety of issues that need to be addressed with the advent of the forthcoming National Minimum Curriculum, the first of which is a quality education holding a true and effective inclusiveness that makes the best provision for all children whatever their educational needs.
Closely related to these issues, Dr Galea explains, is an assessment system that supports a quality education, one that promotes students’ achievements and safeguards standards.
Equally integral is the on-going professional development for the teaching profession. This will mean a commitment among all the teaching profession to professional growth and to the use of professional tools such as action research.
Meanwhile, Dr Galea explains that schools must be empowered to transform themselves into centres of curriculum development, autonomous and accountable, and capable of designing and providing the best education for their students . A mainstay of this commitment is School Development Planning.
Meanwhile, a guarantee of quality would be the building of a system of internal and external evaluation – one that monitors and safeguards the students’ entitlements.
Additionally, as described in the National Minimum Curriculum, Dr Galea explains that schools should be transformed into Community Learning Centres
Dr Galea comments that both the Education Ministry and the Education Division have taken several steps to ensure that these issues are all addressed.
Commenting on the need to do more in schools for children with special needs, Dr Galea explains that it is hard to say that the system is doing enough, in any area, especially in an area such as that of special needs, where demands are forever growing and almost unlimited.
He elaborates, "In Malta, we took a step in the right direction by introducing the inclusion policy but unfortunately, it was introduced quickly and at a time when the country lacked structures, the right personnel and the right culture.
"The Students' Services Department is working hard in this sector but at best it can only patch up things under the circumstances. What is needed is a strategic plan.
"The present one-to-one system is unsustainable and detrimental to students. Unrealistic claims are often made by individuals and the myriad associations that have sprung up. For the sake of realism, the MUT must be involved at every stage of the drafting of the plan.
According to Dr Galea, the strategic plan should cover four to five years, while taking into account the work done by the National Curriculum Working Group.
This should include the training of staff at all levels and the setting up of certain structures including the introduction of Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators and the recruitment of educational staff.
He adds, "Another sine qua non is a well-resourced and fully functional resource centre. The National Resource Centre has been moved to larger premises but the site is still occupied by students that need to be moved elsewhere. A trained Centre manager would maximise the benefits that can be derived from the place.
"An official policy should be drawn up making the Commission handle all claims by individuals and associations. This would save significant time for key personnel, time which could be dedicated to planning and implementation?”