An improvement in reading and writing skills in Maltese children has been registered over the past years. Stephanie Psaila looks at some of the programmes, courses and initiatives available to improve the standard.

Literacy is not a luxury; it is a right and a responsibility, President Clinton said on International Literacy Day, September 8, 1994. A decade later, more than 100 million youths around the world are still illiterate.

The international community is involved in several initiatives that focus on education and development. The international commitment Education For All (EFA), launched in 2000 and dubbed "the first and most important event in education at the dawn of the new century", set the goal of increasing the global literacy rates by 50 per cent in 15 years' time. Two of EFA's specific goals are included in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals adopted by 189 countries, civil society groups and development agencies worldwide. A year later, the United Nations adopted a resolution to make 2003 to 2012 the Literacy Decade to ensure renewed, coordinated and sustained efforts to provide education for all.

Another global initiative is the International Literacy Day, which is celebrated every year on September 8. Spurred by the goal to eradicate illiteracy, in 1966 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) declared September 8, 1967 the first International Literacy Day. The day coincides with the beginning of a new scholastic year in many countries, making the celebration an ideal time to recognise the role literacy plays in everyone's life. In Malta, school will not have started by next Thursday, and although major emphasis is placed on World Book Day, celebrated annually in March, the awareness on literacy, which the International Literacy Day is meant to bring about in schools, is very little.

Charles Mifsud of the Literacy Unit, University of Malta, said that an improvement in literacy levels among children has been registered in the past couple of years.

"The two national literacy surveys held with all Year 2 and Year 5 pupils in Malta, and a value-added study which has been conducted based on these two national surveys, have shown that progress has been registered in some aspects of literacy over the years."

The surveys and study have drawn up a detailed profile of every Maltese child, class and school and therefore provide detailed information about the progress or otherwise registered in different aspects of literacy, Dr Mifsud explained.

Apart from earning international recognition, detailed reports of this scientific work in the field of literacy have been featured in the journal Research In Education. This month, a detailed 46-page research article on the work carried out in the field of literacy as a template to be emulated by other countries, co-authored by Dr Mifsud and Rowena Grech of the University's Literacy Unit, will be featured in the journal Research Papers In Education.

"These literacy studies also identify areas which require particular attention, specific to different aspects of the language curriculum, region and school. This is valuable research which can be used to guide policy and practice and to ensure that the vast resources being put into intervention programmes are deployed in a focussed and cost-effective manner," Dr Mifsud said.

"With the ever-increasing importance given to English in most countries, Malta cannot afford to be complacent, especially with regard to the importance of English in the scientific and technical fields," Dr Mifsud said. "Other countries are investing heavily in this sector in view of its implications for Foreign Direct Investment."

Claude Sciberras, communications coordinator at the Ministry, of Education, Youth and Employment, said the Ministry of Education, Youth and Employment is strongly committed towards ensuring that learners get their entitlement especially insofar as literacy and numeracy are concerned.

"It is the ministry's aim that no child should lag behind, especially with regard to the acquisition of basic skills. The main objective of For All Children To Succeed, the recent document published by the ministry is to ensure that all children are provided with quality education that will help them develop to their full potential," Mr Sciberras said.

"With regard to literacy several initiatives and programmes have been put in place over the years and the literacy survey carried out in recent years shows that a marked improvement has been noted after services have been activated. Through the National Curriculum, schools place absolute emphasis on the attainment of literacy and other basic skills.

"For those children who need to be provided with other forms of teaching methodologies the ministry provides specialised services."

Mr Sciberras explained that the Education Division's Curriculum Department offers intervention programmes for primary school learners who have not mastered the basic skills or who have fallen behind in the class. Literacy and numeracy programmes are held. The number of teachers providing this service is 84. Complementary education is available to pupils in Years 2 to 4 in all state schools in Malta and Gozo. In some state primary schools the programme starts in Year 1 in January after learners are identified and it is extended to Years 5 and 6. The majority of learners given this additional help are found in Years 2 and 3. This year, 690 children in Year 2 and 728 in Year 3 received complementary education.

The department is also responsible for the Specific Learning Difficulties' Centre (Dyslexia). The work of this branch is not focused just on learners, but a service is also provided to schools and to parents of those suffering from this condition. Six teachers support dyslexic students, assess students and talk to parents, individually and collectively, giving suggestions for working with children at home.

The department works collaboratively with the university through the Literacy Unit which runs a literacy programme. This was set following the 1999 and 2002 National Literacy Surveys. Mr Sciberras said that five literacy tutors are involved in this programme, the aims of which include: to raise awareness about the importance of literacy, to support schools in drawing up and implementing literacy policies, to promote and support school-based literacy activities, and to ensure a literacy-rich environment. This year, 26 primary schools and seven secondary schools were involved in the Literacy Programme.

Curricular projects, including those aimed at improving literacy, are also supported by the National Curriculum Council. This service is not restricted to state schools but is also available to non-state schools. The Curriculum Department also supports school initiatives at the secondary level where provision is made for learners who face difficulties in literacy and numeracy. The Education Division also provides basic literacy courses for adults and is currently accepting applications from adults who would like to follow one of the courses available. Last year, over 300 adults followed courses at the Literacy Centre and another 120 participated in literacy courses organised in collaboration with 10 local councils. The division is also running a pilot project to improve literacy through ICT.

The ministry also set up the Foundation for Education Services (FES) in 2001 with the aim of further emphasis in the field of literacy. Since its inception, FES has adopted a multi-pronged approach, enabling the state educational system to raise standards and help families achieve acceptable literacy competence. FES provision is on three parallel standards: technical support to schools, after-school literacy support to children at risk and their families, and parental empowerment for their own lifelong learning.

Technical support to school ranges from professional development sessions to systematic training, provision and follow-up to whole school communities. In fact, to date the FES has provided 116 professional development sessions to 2,169 educators in Malta and Gozo. Examples of whole-school support are the training and follow-up of Year 1 and Year 2 teachers and parents in the phonic approach to literacy attainment.

Mr Sciberras explained that during the past scholastic year, a pilot project was carried out at Hamrun A and Zabbar A primary schools, and it proved so successful that this methodology will now be implemented in all state primary schools in the Cottonera region.

After-school literacy support comes mainly in the form of the Hilti primary prevention family literacy programme and the Nwar secondary prevention family literacy programme. To date 190 programmes have been delivered in over 30 communities in Malta and Gozo. Nwar, which caters for children at severe risk of educational failure, has so far catered for 302 children in Malta and Gozo from the ages of eight to 13.

Parent empowerment programmes are a key component in enhanced family-school links that in turn enhance literacy attainment.

To date, 56 courses and 27 meetings have been run by specially trained parent leaders and teacher tutors for over 3,500 adults.

Courses have also been organised for parent leaders and to train parents as voluntary library assistants.

The FES practises a coordinated provision model; schools are encouraged to integrate a range of FES services, along with other services offered by the Education Division, as part of their own literacy strategy. This model will be further enhanced with the setting up of the new colleges.

Mr Sciberras said the Ministry of Education, Youth and Employment will continue to strive, especially through its proposed development of the educational system, to improve the quality of education provided to children, as well as, the achievements acquired

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