Fiona Galea Debono
PM acknowledges need for in-depth look at streaming
The streaming of schoolchildren and the rat race to the Junior Lyceum examinations were high on the agenda yesterday, spearheaded by professor Kenneth Wain who called for an immediate stop to the submitting of young students to a selection process, based on their abilities.
Prof. Wain, a former dean of the Faculty of Education and one of the main architects of the national minimum curriculum, also underscored the need for a national strategic plan for lifelong learning.
Malta, he said, has not yet completely understood the concept of lifelong learning, or taken it seriously, while it appeared in every EU policy paper.
Junior Lyceum and common entrance examinations should be "abandoned" because they are doing no good to the country's educational system, Prof. Wain insisted. The system, he said, is introducing a culture of failure among eight-year-old schoolchildren and their selection has to be delayed as much as possible.
Prof. Wain was speaking from the floor at a business breakfast at the Grand Hotel Excelsior in Floriana, the first in a series organised by the Nationalist Party in the run-up to the Independence Day celebrations.
The subject was also broached by Paul Attard, president of the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology's board of directors, in his opening presentation.
Over the decades, too much importance has been given to exams lasting a couple of hours and whose results have often dictated a child's future.
He appealed for continuous assessment to be extended into secondary schools and for the Junior Lyceum exam to develop into a formal test that indicates the level students have reached, according to national benchmarks, but does not condemn their future.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who closed the discussion, acknowledged that the streaming of schoolchildren is a passionate, ongoing and controversial debate. A culture change is required not only by policy makers but also by parents, he said, pointing a finger at himself, who had urged his children to study when push came to shove and they had to sit for that "exam of two hours that decides the entire life of a person".
Dr Gonzi acknowledged that, like adults, children too need "job satisfaction" in class - and that also depends on the teachers.
He described the issue as a dilemma that has no easy solution and which has to be examined in depth.
Dr Gonzi had no doubt that, when it came to deciding where to invest the country's financial resources, the priority was definitely education. "Let us put our money where our mouth is," he said.
This was underlined further by the fact that a potential, major foreign investor from the financial services sector, which would generate lots of employment and government revenue, was basing its choice of Malta primarily on whether the country could provide the necessary human resources.
The answer lay in education decisions taken decades ago, Dr Gonzi said. They had a bearing on investment opportunities today.
He described the current scenario as "an amazing window of opportunity" thanks to technology that had broken barriers, saying it would be a shame if the country did not exploit it.
In his intervention, the president of the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT), John Bencini warned that the St Benedict College pilot project, which brought together students of varying levels under one roof, is destined to fail without strong structures and support for the teachers.
Mr Bencini said the union has learnt from first-hand accounts that the teachers are under pressure and that problems would arise because of this.
Unacceptable student behaviour was another educational issue and teachers were wasting most of their time controlling their class.
The MUT also needed to enter discussions with the government and the University on the lack of teachers, particularly at primary school level.
While listing Malta's accomplishments in education, Mr Attard said it still has to achieve the high levels of other developed European countries. Quoting a 2008 EU report on education and training, he said that, although still below the EU-15 average, Malta registered notable improvement in terms of education and lifelong learning indicators.
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G Schembri
Sep 5th 2008, 17:16
With the removal of exams it is the government school students who will fair worst. At age 3 or 5 children will be put in a particular school, people who can afford private schooling will opt for that, many more than we have now will try their luck with church schools. we will end up with the education of our children depending on a lottery. Presently at least their future depends on an exam they sit for at age 11. With this proposition their future will depend either on how well off their parents are or how lucky they were in the lottery. The rest who end up in a government school will have no chance to better their chances, now children from state schools get enough qualifications to enter University, but with such a system they will have to depend soley on private tuition.
Randolph Peresso
Sep 5th 2008, 15:26
The assessment system I am proposing would a very good formative assessment, where the student and parent/guardian would know which topics s/he has to work on. It would also be of benefit for the teacher, as with the present system, someone who does not grab the basic concepts, is being examised on harder concepts, which are impossible for him to her to answer. This system would enable slow learners to learn with their own pace. Although, most probably, slow learners would never reach the level attained by high flyers, this system will empower them to reach the maximum of their possible capabilities. I am 100% sure that such a system would yield much better results to all students.
Having said this, teachers in state schools, who teach low streamed students, have already adopted a system were they help their students to grab the most basic skills, and moving on at their students' pace. However, then, these students have to sit for the same exam as the high streamed students!!!!! This is having a bad influence on both the students and their teachers' morale!!!!
Victor Buttigieg
Sep 5th 2008, 14:10
Not everyone has the same capabilities. The worst thing that we can do is to put our children in one basket. That is what will happen if we remove streaming. I speak from experience. When I was a student, the government of that time decided to remove exams and it was the biggest failure possible. In one class you had students who did not know how to read or write, and others who were feeling frustrated because they were bored with what the teacher was giving. The end result was that the ones who couldn't read still couldn't read and the academically oriented students did not reach their full potential. Everybody was a loser. Yes definitely it is not acceptable to have students who consider themselves failures when they are 11 year old. Let's see how we can solve this problem. But please let's not solve this at the expense of our brightest students. They too have their right to learn fast as they are capable of and to the appropriate level. Education is too important to let people experiment with it.
J. Huber
Sep 5th 2008, 14:00
During my teaching years and particularly as a school administrator, I frequently confronted parents with the question: What does education mean to you? Parents were invariably taken aback and practically never had a clear answer.
The idea of comprehensive education clearly doesn't go down well especially with the generation of parents who lived the years of the botched up introduction of the system. So, changing the mentality is even harder than one would like to believe. A research carried out by the University of Malta has found that the most elitist when it comes to streaming students are parents and teachers themselves.
I fully understand that teachers are finding it ever more difficult to keep control of their class. Here is another problem which needs to be studied in depth. Corrective steps may not necessarily mean new structures. One can start by acknowledging that students (and their parents) are responsibile for their actions. So school leaving certificates must honestly portray the student both in his/her positive and negative attitudes. Through experience I can say that this approach goes a long way towards solving this problem.
Randolph Peresso
Sep 5th 2008, 13:54
......I would go for more detailed assessment, where the students knowledge of all the single points mentioned in the syllabus would be tested. This could be spread throught the whole year. Therefore the students would not have to stuff in a year's long learning, and reproduce it on paper. Very much like the ECDL method of testing, or like the sysytem used in University, where a test is done after the termination of each credit. In this way, fairing bad in one area would not determinate a possible failure. Then students will be streamed according to their abilities. This could be done from as early as yr2, where it would obviuosly invole an interview with the student's teacher in the presence of an Educational official. As students get older, the influence of written assessment should increase. I think this is a system which, if discussed deeply and fine-tuned, can yield much better results.
Randolph Peresso
Sep 5th 2008, 13:51
am a qualified teacher in a state primary school. I have taught yr 4 students, in a mixed ability setting, and years 5 and 6. With regards to yr 6, I have practically taught all streams.
Although seeing very valid points in Profs. Wain's comments, I don't think there is a one-fit-for-all sysytem. Pisani is very correct when saying that we have to stay very carefull not causing high achievers to fall back. From my personal experience, I have noticed that high-flyers tend to do better if they have good competition from other high-flyers. More-over, it is very difficult for a teacher to use the differentiated teaching approach, where practically s/he has to prepare 3 different lesson plans - 1 for the high-flyers, another for the average students, and another for the slower learners. Even more so if s/he has a class of 25-30. It is very difficult to give individual attention in such situations. I personally believe that streaming is of benefit to the high-flyers, average students and slow learners. What I am against is the present method of assesment. I would rather go for a more detailed assesment........
E deguara
Sep 5th 2008, 13:14
If streaming is removed but classes retain the present popultion the move will fail. it is aready stessful for a teacher to teach a class of 30 having the same level let alone a mixed ability class. Furthermore, why are we always mentioning I.T. and science and neglecting other areas of education? being computer literate is important in this day and age but that alone doesn't make you a whole person. where is the holistic approach so preached about? a uni degree isn't a guarantee that a person is educated or even intelligent. I've heard degree students speaking the most horrid english while I've met people who can't even write their name and yet run a successful business. Intelligence comes in many forms. we only need to tap into a person's resources and provide that person with the tools to succeed.
G Schembri
Sep 5th 2008, 12:12
It is not enough to remove streaming from schools. The most important thing is to have good support for children who are left behind. In a mixed ability class, the high flyers tend to stick together and intimidate the slow learners. This is a worst situation than streaming. If children, especially, those who have no backing from home, are not given good support by the school system, more harm will be done. I believe it's the teachers who should be consulted.
Mario Gauci
Sep 5th 2008, 11:11
One of the greatest pains in life is to see your children failing or falling behind in education, today more so than yesterday. I'm sure that every parent will agree and is ready to do whatever it takes. Please enough of excuses and lets all get together for the sake of our children, our country.
Well done professor Wain and keep it up.
John Meilak
Sep 5th 2008, 10:15
Everybody has a talent in something, be in the sciences, languages, crafts, art, music, drama, handiwork and so on. However, not everybody is good in academic subjects. That is a fact. However, one should not feel disheartened at this thought. The country greatly requires carpenters, builders, craftsmen, panel-beaters, welders. We must portray to the children that these jobs have the same importance as other jobs and that they can be well paid too. I've seen craftsmen earning more money than a doctor/consultant. Why? It is their creativity and industriousness. That is what we should also teach children, apart from math, english, physics and so on.
carmel taliana
Sep 5th 2008, 09:51
Streaming of children in Maltese schools should and hope would be stopped and also abolished. The Education Ministry when embarking in such a procedure is virtually
saying that slow learning children has no place in society now or even when they
reach working age. It is a shame that even the top people in government seem to agree
to this unpopular system. Dont these people who advocate this system read or watch
new from Britain. Britain is slowly dismatling this system as the Education Minintry
has acknowledged that it iwas a mistake when introduced and serves to no purpose.