Evarist Bartolo, Minister for Education and Employment
Evarist Bartolo.
A few weeks ago, a young man from the Alternative Learning Programme was interviewed about the education system. The ALP is an educational programme, which focuses on vocational and applied learning. Started in 2013, it has helped many students in learning by doing.
The young man, Owen, spoke about how different this programme is from traditional schooling, and highlighted the interesting approach. He felt let down by his previous set-up. He was asked to do things he clearly did not want to do. The system simply did not fit him as an individual.
A popular quote which often comes up in relation to this is: if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. This is very true. Not everyone enjoys learning by sitting down eight hours a day. Things such as engineering, science and computer hardware are much more interesting, and engaging, when taught in the appropriate environment.
The ALP is not the only option we’ve introduced over the past four years. The XL/Achieve, through The Prince’s Trust, and the introduction of vocational subjects as O’levels, are other important changes.
Results published recently by MATSEC show that a very encouraging 89.1 per cent of students, assessed in one of the five vocational subjects at SEC level, achieved a pass. This is a promising sign that the changes we’re introducing are for the better.
We will be offering each secondary level student a wider pathway to choose from
These are all initiatives that show that different pathways, rather than a one-size-fits-all model, are crucial to make sure more students further their education. They cannot be in silos - they have to be paired with a number of things: improved continuous assessment methods, a bigger focus on soft skills and student well-being, social integration, improvements in curricula, an overall human approach, a further increase in school and educator empowerment and a more modern environment.
Through ‘My Journey’, we will be offering each secondary level student a wider pathway to choose from. Opportunities will expand considerably, and finally students will be able to learn different things in new ways. This is no simple change. All programmes must be at par in terms of accreditation and quality.
Joining a different pathway cannot mean joining an inferior programme. Buildings will have to be remodelled so that the technical aspects and requirements of the vocational and applied pathways have the necessary environment to work.
As Education Minister, and before that, I have been one of the most ardent critics of the educational system. It needs to continue changing not only to keep up with the times but also to get the best out of our teachers. A rigid, top-down system suffocates the creativity and commitment of teachers. Education is about teamwork, working together at school but also beyond. Education is much more than schooling, 70 per cent of how children behave and perform depends on their lives outside school.
At the same time we need to move from standardisation to personalisation. Talented and full of potential, they simply don’t fit. It’s too exam-oriented, too focused on the traditional classroom model and testing where memorisation dominates over debate, analysis, conversation, inquiry and problem solving. We need to ensure that our schools have time for education and deep learning. We must not lose the human touch. We are teaching students not subjects.
When you put the Maltese educational system into context, and the changes we’ve implemented, we’re not in a bad place, but there’s a long road ahead. We can never be complacent. As to the young man, I am glad to report that he will continue his studies this scholastic year. His last interview question asked what he aspired to become. His reply? A teacher.
Justin Schembri, PN candidate
Justin Schembri.
A very fundamental distinction which we may be missing is that between schooling and education, for education is inherent to the very essence of life itself. A very famous saying goes that by giving a man a fish, he’ll be fed for a day, but teaching him how to fish is to feed him for a lifetime.
Hence, one of Malta’s very challenging obstacle in education is the ‘teaching philosophy’ which has, for long enough, persisted over the importance of examinations and testing. As a politician I am in no way motivated by the idea of abolishing the traditional means of testing, but I am open to bring forward an open and realistic debate about the means by which our students are being tested.
We steadfastly underestimate the importance of traditional academic ways and rethink. As an educator myself, I strongly seek a system that combines the traditional way of examinations where all students are obliged to sit for all subjects and an alternative new way, say, where students get to choose an identified amount of subjects in order to get an identified number of ‘credits’, giving children the option not to sit for examinations for which they have studied but may prove to be humiliating in terms of grades. Formative assessment will be noted in this case.
Educators are not being empowered and respected as professionals but are meant to follow a dictated curriculum
In the Maltese educational culture, grades matter and are in the end the ultimate of goals; the most debated and the most sought after in a society which is continuously undervaluing the profession behind our education system. And yet, there is a missing link between both, since countries achieving the best results globally have proven that their most important asset towards the cause is their educators. Therefore as much as it is important to fish for life, it is more important to learn the skill from the fisherman himself.
During the past few years the Malta Union of Teachers had been urging the government to address the very pressing situation that sees students taking courses leading to teaching drop significantly and in an alarming way. Despite the fact that other European countries are facing similar worrying situations, in 2012, a Helsinki university accepted only 120 students for teaching courses out of 2,300 applicants.
It is important to note, however, that in Finland, the teaching profession is well sought after and is the most desirable. The profession is highly respected. One underlying factor is not related to salaries, as they haven’t got inflating salaries, but to teaching autonomy as Finland gets to choose the very best of teachers.
Comparatively, locally, educators are not being empowered and respected as professionals but are meant to follow a dictated curriculum which in the end leads to routine teaching. Teachers are not considered to be the best, and yet parents and society on the whole underestimate their importance.
I believe that this country has a very good amount of great educators, but they are being restrained. Educators are creative people, but their creativity is not being pushed to the limit. If we are to pursue new alternative teaching techniques, we must set the targets but never set the pathway. When teaching is fun, education serves a purpose, and when education serves that very purpose, our students will enjoy schooling.
When schooling is enjoyable, we will be dealing less with ‘disruptive students’ and as we achieve harmony within our schools, we open our University doors and use our country’s money wisely, pay the leaders of tomorrow’s society, trust their knowledge and make them feel worthy of their profession. After all, they teach all other professions and politicians.
Unless our educators are inspired and motivated to love their profession, our young ones will never learn how to fish for themselves. Mark Twain wrote: “When you fish for love, bait with your heart, and not your brain.”
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