The vast majority of teachers feel they are not being adequately consulted about the education reforms underway and deem them a fait accompli, a study commissioned by the teachers’ union reveals.

More than 80 per cent of teachers and other classroom staff feel they were not “adequately consulted” on the reforms while nearly 90 per cent feel decisions on the reforms have already been taken in spite of ongoing consultations.

The study was released during a conference yesterday organised by the Malta Union of Teachers.

However, these figures have been contested by two directors of the Education Directorate.

Grace Grima, who chaired the consultation, is quoted as saying in the study that this was “an over-generalisation”.

She said it was “very unfair that the results of the survey come out when the consultation process is still taking place”.

Commissioned by the MUT, the study recorded opinions and concerns about the college system and education reform. Questionnaires were distributed to around 1,500 people and interviews were conducted with schools principals, staff and the two director generals.

The study, carried out by Prof. Mark Borg and Dr Joseph Giordmaina, found that nearly half the teachers agreed that colleges should have greater autonomy and another 45 per cent said this system was being reinforced.

The college system, which clusters together groups of schools, had many “encouraging aspects” as schools became more inclusive and there was increased collaboration and cooperation. Senior management found that the principal fostered networking and provided support.

However, the study highlighted a “number of weaknesses” where the staff felt they were not prepared for the reforms.

Work pressure increased and job happiness and satisfaction remained unchanged as stress prevailed.

One of the education directors posed this question: “I want to know what volume of work means. Does this mean we are doing what we never did before, more bureaucracy, or does the volume of work mean we never used interactive whiteboards before and now the lessons are prepared differently?”

The question was too “generic” to answer and there was a constant dialogue process to strengthen the good and change what needed to be changed.

“Once the reform will be implemented and teachers become confident, it will not be seen as negative,” according to feedback from the study.

One of the comments was that some teachers felt the workload had increased because they did not want the change.

A member of the senior management team described the system as “complicated” and said that, for the first time, they had to bring in assistant heads over the summer months.

Children should not have been divided into sets except those who needed help. “Everyone has become nomads – running from one classroom to another. This system worked against the children it was supposed to help.”

The report concluded that ownership of the reform had to be strengthened and more opportunities for preparation and training were needed.

It also called for a more “rationalised rate” of implementation.

Findings

• 49% disagree they are properly prepared for the reforms.

• 89% felt they needed more support from superiors to reach the demands of the reforms.

• 94% of senior management said paperwork dominated much of their work.

• 77% of senior management said the college principal was instrumental in fostering networking and collaboration.

• 71% of senior management said the principal was very supportive.

• 57% of teachers said mixed-ability classes should not have more than 15 students while 31% said there should be a maximum of 10.

• 70% of teachers did not feel they were properly prepared to teach a mixed-ability class.

• Almost 50% were not in favour of mixed-ability teaching while 69% said they were not in favour and mildly in favour of the college system.