From structural education reforms to paradigm shifts in attitudes

Success in education is primarily concerned with what you can become rather than what you have been. This a basic pedagogical principle that should motivate students and teachers in all their educational endeavours.

Successful schools are characterised by flexibility and creativity, by their openness to renewal and innovation, with students and teachers themselves being catalysts of change. Change is the key to success for the acquisition of knowledge and economic development. Education is not an isolated profession. It draws on change taking place in society and contributes to the process of socio-economic renewal. A learning society's success in the spheres of the economy and knowledge depends on its ability to share ideas across disciplinary and organisational boundaries.

The challenge for education is how to bring about change while supporting tradition for innovation and continuity (Hargreaves, 2006). Change and tradition are complementary and can co-exist with innovation and growth. Success in renewing a project lies in learning the lessons of history within the creative activity of laying new roads.

From 'product' to 'process'

The modern 'forces of change' in the new socio-economic order have in their wake driven innovation and growth in education. Important paradigm shifts from the old concept of education as a 'product' to the new concept of learning as a 'process' are witnessed in the change from:

• Regurgitating memorised answers to asking the right questions and learning to construct one's knowledge;

• Conforming to rigid structures and centrally prescribed curricula to flexible learning experiences, where students are encouraged to be autonomous learning partners;

• Concern with norms and rules to interest in individual potential;

• Abstract knowledge to experiential and meaningful knowledge;

• Bureaucratic disengaged input to committed action based on school partnerships and networking with the community;

• Education which inculcates training and skills as utilitarian necessities to education as a life-long process that moves beyond schooling as a means of self-development.

Education reform reviews

It is within this broad framework of global educational change that one can understand and appreciate the recent reforms in the Maltese education system. Mario Cutajar has provided a comprehensive review (The Times, September 7) of the 'contemporary education reforms' initiated by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Employment, and being introduced by the Education Division in collaboration with the Malta Union of Teachers.

Cutajar systematically delineated keynote historical developments in Maltese education, ranging from the Compulsory Attendance Act of 1924 to the publication of the amendments to the Education Act in August last year. These educational landmarks were given real direction and relevance in the second part of his article (The Times, September 14) wherein he analysed the role and function of 'school networks, leadership and research'.

The Education Minister elaborated on these reforms in his review of "education initiatives to help children with behavioural problems" when closing the first European conference in Malta on Social, Emotional and Behaviour Competence Difficulties (SEBCD) in Children and Young Persons' (Sunday Times, September 16).

Sandro Spiteri, senior executive at the Foundation for Educational Services (FES), has also traced the development of educational reforms in Malta in an interesting and comprehensive series of three articles (The Times, September 18, 19, 20), centring on the government - MUT agreement, which he qualified as based on the four 'operant principles' of 'quality, support, flexibility, accountability'. Each principle was commented upon and illustrated with key examples of innovative educational practices provided for in the agreement (Part 3, September 20).

Promoting the capacity to change

This latest overhaul in our education system is now an officially declared policy and a statement of fact, ratified and confirmed by education authorities. What is now required, besides these structural changes, is a change in culture and attitudes.

As productive agents of change in education, school leaders and teachers need the right dispositions, skills and competencies to assimilate, integrate and implement change. One model in this direction, proposed by Michael Fullan (1994) and which the majority of educators are surely familiar with, is that based on 'Vision, Enquiry, Mastery and Collaboration'. A few suggestions to translate this model in school and classroom practice (adapted from www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/educatrs/leadership) may be relevant here. These include capacity-building processes wherein:

• Leaders and teachers locate their school within the change process and determine the appropriate next step;

• Before discussing the change process, stakeholders familiarise themselves with the school's development planning. It is important to distinguish between the school development planning and the stages of the change process;

• Discussions about the history of change in education and the school can be organised in order to see what has worked or failed;

• The school is encouraged to harness the staff's personal resources and build their capacity by bringing in change experts when it is ready to start the improvement process. It is suggested that the school draws on the expertise of central administration personnel, Education Faculty members, professional staff developers, and foreign consultants;

• The contribution of school leaders, teachers, students and parents is used and cultivated by involving them in school improvement initiatives;

• Departmental meetings, workshops and cross-grade study groups are introduced to provide time for collegial work. This helps to create commitment and a collaborative school culture;

• School leaders and administrators show confidence in all school stakeholders, and communicate high expectations by participating in a variety of programmes to improve teaching and learning;

• Stakeholders establish clear guidelines and set timeframes to implement school improvement initiatives.

Concrete measures that help to implement these processes include good habits such as asking questions, reflecting on practice, conducting calculated experiments, mentoring, keeping personal journals and conducting action research.

No change without tension

Meaningful educational change does not happen without tension: old ways of thinking have to give way to the new mentalities that accompany new structures and institutions, while traditional methodologies of rigid curricula have to surrender to new demands of excellence, the need for more inclusive classes, and the call for equity.

However, it is this very tension that puts teachers precisely in the business of change and growth. Being a catalyst of change means contending with, and managing, the forces of change (Fullan, 1994). The more one learns to contend with change, the more one understands that stressful change is followed by interesting periods of newness and confidence as purposeful change unfolds.

This latter notion of the change process proposed by Rosenholtz (1989) cherishes a sense of optimism and encouragement in teachers, parents and students - as the key stakeholders of educational change - in this exciting time of change, innovation and growth of Malta's education system.

Mr Said is a former Education Officer in the Curriculum Management Department within the Education Division, and part-time lecturer at the Faculty of Education, University of Malta.