The Malta Union of Teachers is the third largest union in Malta. Franklin Barbara and Marco Bonnici are vying for the post of president in a two-horse race. Matthew Xuereb asked them both for their views on some of the major issues in education today.
The questions
Q1. The MUT is a trade union and is there to make teachers happy. Should the aim of the profession not be the well-being of the students?
Q2. At the Ħamrun secondary school, the MUT took industrial action, even though remedial action was in the process of being taken. There are concerns that the union exploited the situation in view of the upcoming election, to the detriment of the well-being of the students. How do you comment?
Q3. The MUT has said that one size should not fit all in education. Does this mean that the MUT has reversed its position, which has been in place at least since the 1970s, against the streaming and segregation of learners by school?
Q4. Is the teachers’ union satisfied that mixed-gender classrooms are leading to a better social experience and improved academic results?
Q5. What would the union propose to improve the academic competence of male students, which is generally lagging?
Q6. What has the reaction of teachers been to the introduction of tablets for Year 4 students? Have they helped improve teaching methods?
Q7. What would the MUT recommend as the three most important priorities to improve student achievement and the learning experience?
Q8. What are the greatest problems that teachers are facing today?
Q9. Do you think that Malta’s educational system has been too heavy on exams, rather than being based on assessments throughout the entire scholastic year?
Franklin Barbara
▪ Age: 38
▪ From Żurrieq
▪ In a relationship
▪ PSCD and sociology teacher
▪ Has been teaching for nine years in secondary education
▪ Involved in trade unionism for 10 years as general secretary of the MUT
▪ Personal motto: Together we can make the difference
Q1. Teaching is a noble profession, as teachers seek to educate the hearts and minds of youngsters, imparting knowledge and skills while instilling ethical values which guide them through life. This is why we need a strong union to take care of teachers’ conditions, since their deep sense of giving is liable to be taken advantage of, if not exploited, to the detriment of their well-being and financial stability. In the end, students are better served by happy educators who are highly regarded and concretely appreciated.
Q2. At Ħamrun Secondary, there is a very dedicated group of teachers and LSAs. I used to teach there for a number of years and can vouch for their hard work and effort. School discipline certainly needs to be addressed as a matter of priority on the national level. Unfortunately, there is little systemic and legal support for educators and school administrators to take effective action. Moreover, street-wise students are taking advantage of the situation to the detriment of their peers who want to learn. This particular school already experienced a very similar situation two years back, and it is evident the authorities have not learnt their lesson. We need the revision of the legislation which raised the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years of age, the introduction of specialised programmes for students with severe behavioural problems and a legal back up for effective student behaviour policy implementation.
Q3. The MUT should be responsive to its members’ experiences and views and convey them for the authorities’ consideration. Unfortunately, to date, educational policy making has been very much a top-down process – little heed is afforded to the professional views of educators and their recommendations for effective teaching and learning. Needless to say, educators are quite critical about the present state of affairs. Due to the frantic pace of reforms, the work of teachers has been extended and stretched to the limit. This scenario inevitably brings calls rethink our educational provisions.
It is time to give educators power over their profession, their work and their work-life balance
Q4. As with all educational reforms, there is no official data whatsoever to back up any claim for or against mixed-gender classrooms. Educators’ opinions vary, but I gather that the general feeling is that academically, there was no significant impact. As regards the social dimension, there are observations that in certain instances, students are overly preoccupied with personal appearance and are engaging in dating much earlier than before.
Q5. There is no quick-fix solution. I believe we have to trust our educators and give them the professional autonomy needed to cater for the particular needs of their students, be they male or female. Moreover, improvement in school discipline will definitely assist teachers to provide an environment conducive to effective teaching. Educators’ professional authority must also be recognised and strengthened.
Q6. There are mixed reactions. On the one hand, tablets can provide educators with the opportunity to utilise material in a more attractive and engaging manner. On the other, there is a risk of over-reliance on technology for teaching and learning processes.
Q7. We need to listen more and take heed of our members’ recommendations as the professionals who know what is best for their students. It seems that educators are yearning for greater discipline in schools, a rethinking of the current system of ‘total inclusion’ and greater professional autonomy and discretion to enact appropriate teaching methods.
Q8. Discipline is an issue of major concern. Effective teaching and learning cannot take place unless educators are accorded the structures and back-up needed to control the environment they work in. Specialised programmes for students with severe behavioural problems must be strengthened. Likewise, educational establishments must provide security and safety for educators to work serenely. Heavy workloads and continuous changes in work practices are also leaving their toll on educators, so much so that burnout is becoming a worrying reality. The well-being of educators is at risk due to limited professional stability, meagre financial compensation and to top it all off, a lack of work-life balance.
Q9. I think that this was more of a reality in the past, when students used to sit for competitive examinations at quite an early age. I think that the general feeling of many educators is quite the opposite: that students are being brought up in a ‘protective’ system which shuns competitiveness only to be faced with a completely different reality once they enter the labour market. We have gone from one extreme to another, and you cannot blame educators for that, since educational policy has always been the preserve of a few high-ranking officials. As a nation, we must learn how to trust educators as the professionals who know what needs to be done. It is time to give educators power over their profession, their work and their work-life balance.
Marco Bonnici
• Age 41
• Lives in Msida
• Married
• Physics and mathematics teacher
• Has been teaching for 18 years
• Has been involved in trade unionism since the beginning and the last six years as a full-time union official
• Personal motto: A vision for the MUT
Q1. I do not agree with simplistic, off-the-shelf slogans which mean nothing, since they do not provide any concrete objective and means to achieve it. The values that have guided the MUT since its foundation are being enshrined in the vision for the leadership of the MUT that I am proposing together with a number of educators and colleagues. The sense of unity, strength and determination that led the MUT founders to join forces against a proposed civil service reform in 1919 are the same principles that guide the 50 proposals aimed at addressing the current crisis in the teaching profession. The well-being of students is central to our operation, as they will be the first to suffer unless we reverse the trend whereby experienced educators are leaving the profession while young people are not being attracted to courses leading to the profession.
Q2. The union suspended industrial action (a one-hour strike) following a conciliation meeting held with the ministry, where it was agreed that a number of measures were going to be implemented to address the situation. Some measures were implemented while others were not. Situations which were being reported to the union required immediate action to safeguard the well-being of educators and students. These included serious misbehaviour, which was affecting the teaching and learning process, and the constant difficulties faced from a minority of students unwilling to adhere to basic rules concerning school uniforms. The union acted responsibly. These directives were not detrimental to students, as they helped to reinforce discipline and order, which are essential in any educational setting.
Q3. The MUT needs to be a reflection of its members, and any policy direction being issued must always take into consideration the feedback received from members. The streaming and segregation of students reached an extreme level, as it resulted in first-class, second-class and third-class schools before it was abolished. On the other hand, the introduction of mixed-ability groups also reached extreme levels when there were unrealistic expectations that when students with different abilities (including learning difficulties) were placed in large groups, they could benefit from each other, with teachers expected to run individualised programmes during the same lesson.
Q4. We are not informed about any local scientific evidence that co-education as introduced in State schools is leading to improved academic results or otherwise. The social experience may have improved, but the feedback that is being received indicates that the majority of senior schools are using most of their resources in addressing the new realities faced with the new intake of co-ed students in Form Three. Secondary schools that have boys in upper forms and an intake of girls in Form Three are very often struggling to protect the girls.
The values that have guided the MUT since its foundation are being enshrined in the vision for its leadership that I am proposing
Q5. The MUT is a trade union and a professional body, but the academic competence of students is not directly linked to the union’s work and cannot be attributed solely to the teaching and learning process. Various studies indicate schools can only contribute up to 30 per cent of a student’s achievement. Flexibility in subject choices and timing may address situations pertaining to development issues in both males and females, but it would be premature to comment on any decline in the competence of males unless we have scientific evidence to indicate it, attributed to the schooling process.
Q6. The union gathered initial feedback from teaching grades upon the conclusion of the pilot project of tablets. At the time, over 65 per cent of respondents found the experience positive. However, only one in two respondents reported that they were looking forward to the implementation, due to a number of concerns regarding measures that were being requested. Initial feedback following the implementation earlier this year indicates that there are still some difficulties due to the infrastructure, particularly the connectivity in non-State schools and the required level of support across all sectors. I am proposing a consultation process with teaching grades regarding the implementation of this project at the end of this scholastic year to discuss amendments regarding the implementation. However, it will be difficult to determine whether the use of tablets improved teaching methods at such an early stage of the implementation.
Q7. Support schools in decision making towards more autonomy. This is fundamental, as unfortunately the majority of school administrators cannot take even the most basic decisions unless they have approval from personnel outside schools. Provide services in schools, not in colleges or in centres which are detached from schools. The number of services have increased in the past years, but schools are losing the immediacy of actions, such as disciplinary measures, as they have become so bureaucratic that the student will face consequences for actions when everyone has forgotten about the misbehaviour episode. Listen to what educators have to say about their experience in school and do not blame them for shortcomings. Unfortunately, we may have a repeat of a situation which we faced some years ago, where educators were targeted for shortcomings due to decisions which were beyond their control.
Q8. Teaching grades are facing myriad difficulties, including a lack of trust in their professional expertise, unattractive salaries, stretching of working conditions impacting heavily upon the work-life balance, students’ and parents’ complete disregard for authority, ongoing changes without evaluation, fear about unfounded allegations of abuse which may ruin their career or reputation and the high level of uncertainty about the future in view of reforms proposed.
Q9. Decisions taken in past years leading to the removal of exams are still haunting our educational system. At the time, the removal of exams and the resulting vacuum led to chaos and no sense of direction for both educators and students. These vivid memories are resulting in the current, cautious approach in effecting amendments to examinations. Even the removal of the Junior Lyceum and the Common Entrance exams had to include a compromise through the introduction of the Benchmark exam. Recently, there were proposals to shift towards more forms of continuous assessments, but any implementation requires teaching grades to be on board and agreement with the union in view of its impact on working conditions.