School reforms don’t add up for teachers

Teachers do not yet feel prepared to cope with mixed ability classrooms, according to a study.

And they are overwhelmed by multiple changes brought about by various education reforms.

“Although the majority of educational staff in state schools agree with reforms, the study reveals concerns by teachers who feel they are not being prepared to deal with the demands of change,” Malta Union of Teachers’ president Kevin Bonello said.

Seventy one per cent of teaching staff do not feel prepared to cope with students of different abilities, 89 per cent say that the education authorities have introduced too many reforms at one go and 76 per cent are unprepared to deal with them.

The study was commissioned by the teachers’ union to look into the way teachers and school staff perceive the reforms.It was carried out by Prof. Mark Borg and included questionnaires sent to college principals, senior school management and teachers of various grades.

The findings show that teaching staff feel they are not adequately consulted by the authorities who drafted the reforms.

Over the past few years the education authorities have launched various changes that include the reform of the transition from primary to secondary school, the phasing out of streaming, the college system, e-learning strategy and a major revision of the national minimum curriculum on the way.

Learning curve

• 69% of teachers are in favour of the college system
• 94% are in favour of setting
• 87% are in favour of benchmarking
• 83% are in favour of new forms of assessment for students
• 53% do not feel the reforms are resulting in a better quality education for all children
• 69% feel that the many reforms are having a negative effect on teachers’ work in class
• 67% do not agree that the pace of reform implementation is reasonable
• 66% do not agree that the abolition of streaming was a good decision