A proposed new national minimum curriculum, launched for consultation today, proposes to group related subjects so that pupils will not have a segmented view of knowledge.

It also proposes education for sustainable development, inter-cultural education, and education for entrepreneurship among essential cross-curricular themes, along with e-learning, creativity and innovation.

The document was launched at a school activity at Mellieha primary this morning.

Grace Grima, director-general for quality standards in education, explained that the current system of partitioning the primary and secondary curricula into independent single subjects presented learners with a segmented view of knowledge. The new document, however, is proposing learning areas grouping related subjects such as languages, mathematics, science, religious education, citizenship education (including history geography and social studies) technology, arts and health education.

The curriculum document is based on 10 main areas, which are:

The development of lifelong learners who are engaged and responsible citizens and active in the economy;

Support to all learners to achieve and succeed whatever their backgrounds, needs and aptitudes;

A clear focus in colleges and schools on meeting the needs of all learners through increased curricular autonomy;

Creation of active inclusive learning communities which put learning and learners at the heart of all that they do and they are accountable to stakeholders.

Seamless progression through the early primary and secondary years in the skills and competences required for lifelong learning;

Learning which is active, personalised, relevant and purposeful.

Learning that places emphasis on the application of knowledge and skills in different contexts and settings;

A curriculum framework that focuses on learning areas creating links and synergies across traditional subjects;

Assessment and evaluation which use information and feedback formatively for better planning for improvement;

Cycles of quality assurance and evaluation.

The document will be uploaded on the Education Division website in the near future, along with a new document – Vision for Science Education in Malta – which aims at making science subjects more attractive for students.

Education Minister Dolores Cristina during the launch reiterated the main points of the document and stressed that education should not be about students learning things by heart but about understanding and also about having a willingness to experiment and try out new things.