10 questions on improving the local education situation

This is an interesting time in Malta’s educational development because we are witnessing rapid changes and improvement which can only be of benefit to our children.

We have moved from a thoroughly selective system of education to one that is fairer and gives all children the opportunity to succeed.

We are making more daily use of modern technology to improve our teaching and enhance the learning of our students. Inclusion is the order of the day, making sure that the day of marginalised students will belong only to the past.

Still, however, we educators are not content with what has been achieved to date because there are still serious problems to be tackled if we really want Malta’s educational system to continue to improve and become the envy of other countries.

As such, it is important for us to ask questions about those areas of our education which need tackling for the sake of all the stakeholders in education in Malta.

The following questions are meant as constructive criticism with the sole aim of improvement and consolidation of achievement in mind.

Absenteeism: Why is it that despite the fact that we are making education more interesting, the number of students who still absent themselves without justifiable reason from state schools is still too high?

What is leading to such an unacceptable situation? Social problems at home? Defects in the educational product we are presenting the students with? Personal deficiencies in students’ characters?

Lifelong learning: Despite an impressive increase in lifelong learning opportunities and the training of adult educators, has the overall quality itself increased? Is it not true that the intrinsic aim of personal empowerment is being somewhat neglected in the frantic effort to increase the number of Maltese involved in lifelong learning programmes? Are we not concentrating too much on the vocational aspect of lifelong learning?

Teachers as professionals: The continuous training of teachers and the striving for better quality in daily lessons in schools is recommendable. However, are teachers really being treated as professionals? Are they not constantly being told what to do? Is it not true that they are very often being presented with programmes of action which they have had no part in drawing up? Is it not true that a good number of teachers are feeling demoralised and are seriously considering leaving the profession for more satisfying careers where they will be treated with more dignity and respect?

Homework: Does homework make any sense in today’s world? Why do we still accept this educational dinosaur and, at the same time, show our preoccupation at the way the childhood of our students is being destroyed through too much pressure? Are we not cognisant of the fact that homework is creating many social problems for students in families where both parents work?

Heads as glorified clerks: The head of school is first and foremost an educator. Why is it that today the heads have become little more than glorified clerks? Can they carry out their role effectively when they have to spend so much time on clerical work, especially the time-consuming work associated with Imprest Funds?

Is it not true that we badly need to rediscover the purely educational role of the head of school who is an educator first and an administrator afterwards?

Credentials: How can we ensure all our students acquire the credentials required for a successful working career? How can we make sure that no students leave our schools without the certification necessary to find work? Are we doing enough to help academically weak students? Is our educational product seen by our students as relevant to their life experiences?

School rules: Are we sure that certain school rules do not violate the rights of children? Are we sure that we are not negating our students’ subcultures when we impose certain rules which have no educational basis at all but are simply one view of the world among many others? Do we tolerate and celebrate difference as we should be doing if we want to impart a more modern type of education?

Home-based research: Are we concentrating enough on the realities and constraints of education in the Maltese context where research is concerned? Or are we still importing ideas, concepts, programmes of action which are the product of research carried out in an educational context quite different from our own? Have we eliminated the colonial mentality that we have to copy what others are doing overseas?

Coeducation: Does it make sense in 2011 to separate boys and girls in the secondary level of education? Is this not something that goes against all the principles of a liberal and modern type of education? We already have coeducational secondary schools in the independent sector of Malta’s educational system, so why not in the other sectors as well?

Sex education: Surely, the number of schoolgirl pregnancies should open our eyes to the absolute need for a full and thorough programme of sex education in all our schools. With even primary schoolchildren today being sexually aware at an early age, can we afford not to plan and immediately implement a programme of sex education that is absolutely relevant to students’ needs in 2011?

The above are some of the main questions that we have to answer in order to eliminate those obstacles which continue to hinder educational progress in Malta. Without a shadow of a doubt, a lot has been achieved in the last decades but a lot of work still remains to be carried out. The important thing is that all the stakeholders in Malta’s educational system do their part because if we all work together, progress will be assured.

We must continue the reforming drive which has the aim of making education in Malta among the best in the EU. We owe it to ourselves and to our children to succeed in this.

Have your say

If you wish to contribute an article or would like a particular subject to be tackled in the Education section, call Davinia Hamilton on 2559 4513 or e-mail dhamilton@timesofmalta.com.