Language and the science curriculum

Current interest about which language (Maltese or English) is more suitable for teaching certain subjects in the secondary school touches upon important educational issues (1). Language is not simply the medium of exchange of ideas but, once acquired, it becomes the instrument that the learner can then use to bring order into his/her environment (2). In the absence of a prescribed language policy, many teachers opt for the language which in their judgement best helps pupils to understand the subject and to perform well in tests and examinations. In practice this means that they use a mixture of languages depending on the objectives of their lessons. This article focuses on the language used in science teaching and it is based on research carried out in June 1984 as an off-shoot of an evaluation of the science curriculum in the first two years of the Area Secondary schools (3). At that time, excluding pupils attending Junior Lyceums and private schools, the Area Secondary schools catered for 60 percent of all boys and 66.5 percent of all girls at Form 1 and Form 2 level.peer-reviewe

Sex differences in science achievement at G.C.E. 'O' level

It is usually taken for granted that boys are better than girls in science subjects. A recent study that shows science achievement of males and females separately indicates that this assumption has an empirical basis. Thus the I.E.A. (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) study of science education in nineteen countries shows that boys consistently achieve significantly higher than girls in the physical science items at each of the three age levels sampled in every country, and the differences widen with increasing age.peer-reviewe

The cart tracks at San Pawl tat-Targa, Naxxar

A notable concentration of cart tracks occurs at T'Alla u Ommu also known as Naxxar Gap at San Pawl tat-Targa, limits of Naxxar. By focusing on the ancient tracks in one specific area, this paper attempts to illustrate which characteristics can be meaningfully described, how the tracks can be measured and whether the results correspond with selected published hypotheses.peer-reviewe

Possible tally stones at Mnajdra, Malta

This article describes the investigation of the orientations of the temple complexes of Malta and Gozo, which date from the period 3600-2500 B.C. It was accepted only those axes that were clearly axes of symmetry, and which were directed towards an entrance with a view of the terrain external to the temple. 15 such axes were identified, and it was found that the orientations of the axes were far from random. Indeed, with one exception, they faced in a southerly direction, between 125.5° and 2040 azimuth. The exception is Temple I at Mnajdra, Malta.peer-reviewe

Language and achievement in science in a bilingual context : a Maltese perspective

The great majority of international studies on language in science education relate to oral interactions in monolingual settings. Only a few local studies focus on the bilingual setting of Maltese science classrooms. This paper reviews a small number of research studies on the influence of language on the Maltese students’ performance in science tests and examinations. The research includes a study of correlations between achievement in English language and in a science examination at Ordinary level, an investigation of the Cummins thresholds hypothesis that proficiency in both Maltese and English produces differences in achievement in a Physics examination, and an extensive study of the influence of students’ passive and active English language skills on their performance in Advanced level Physics. Another two studies investigate the effect of setting tests in a different or modified language. In one study, three versions of a science test with questions set in English, in English and Maltese side by side, and in modified English were randomly distributed to 380 Form 5 students. The other study set a Maltese and an English version of a carefully designed Integrated Science test to a sample of 284 Form 1 students. The implications of these studies are discussed.peer-reviewe

Predictive validity of examinations at the Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) level

This paper presents the predictive validity of results obtained by 16-year-old Maltese students in the May 2004 Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) examinations in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Computing, English and Maltese for the Advanced level examinations in these subjects taken by the same students two years later. The study checks whether the SEC level is a good foundation for the higher level, the likelihood of obtaining a high grade at A-level from particular SEC results, possible gender differentials and differentials between students who obtained grades 4 and 5 from optional SEC papers. The results show moderately high predictive validity values ranging from 0.76 to 0.52 and no fixed pattern in the likelihood of obtaining a high A-level grade. No significant gender differences and no fixed pattern of differences in the Advanced level results of students who had obtained SEC grades 4 and 5 from Paper 2A or 2B were noted.peer-reviewe

An analysis of the content and questions of the physics textbooks of the basic education level (ages 13-15) in Libya

This study aims at determining the extent to which the physics textbooks contribute to the achievement of the stated objectives of physics teaching at the basic educational level (ages 3-15). The cognitive demand of the content of the textbooks of the 7th, 8th and 9th grades and the questions at the end of each chapter are analysed. Chi-square tests are used to compare the distribution of the textbooks' (questions among the levels of Bloom's cognitive domain with a suggested distribution from the literature. The findings show that the contribution of the content to the achievement of the stated objectives is limited to the students' acquisition of facts and basic concepts. Most of the questions (51.6%) require knowledge by simple recall which puts them in the first level of the cognitive domain, while upper levels are only tested by 2.5% of all the questions. There is a significant difference (p<0.001) between the observed and the suggested distribution of questions among levels. These results reflect the importance of the objectives concerning the acquisition of specific scientific knowledge given by the content and questions of the textbooks at the expense of other objectives of physics teaching, such as the development of scientific thinking skills, interests and attitudes. In conclusion, some suggestions are made to promote the acquisition of objectives in the higher levels of the cognitive domain.peer-reviewe

The impact of measures to promote equity in the secondary education certificate examinations in Malta : an evaluation

When the national Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) examination system was established in Malta in 1994 as an alternative to the General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (GCE O-Level) offered by English examination boards, the opportunity was taken to promote equity among candidates of different attainment levels, gender and social backgrounds. The measures included the setting of examination papers at different levels; the introduction of an element of school-based assessment in several subjects; relatively low examination fees; avoidance of cultural and gender bias in the examination papers, and restriction of registration to "those candidates who were either in the final year of compulsory schooling or aged 16 or over. These measures were expected to attract candidates with a wider range of abilities and social backgrounds than those sitting for the GCE examinations, and to avoid cultural and gender bias. These targets had to be reached against a background of scepticism about the worth, credibility and viability of examinations set by a local examination board when compared to the prestigious GCE examinations set by well-established English examination boards. This paper evaluates the results of the first three years of operation of the SEC examination in order to gauge its impact on equity. The analysis is based on examination statistics, examiners' reports and comments on each of the measures. Access and performance in six major subjects (Maltese, English, Mathematics, Physics, and Italian) are analysed by gender and type of school. Some conclusions are offered about the influence of examinations on promoting equity in an intrinsically inequitable education system.peer-reviewe

Access to Barrier Perches Improves Behavior Repertoire in Broilers

Restriction of behavioral opportunities and uneven use of space are considerable welfare concerns in modern broiler production, particularly when birds are kept at high densities. We hypothesized that increased environmental complexity by provision of barrier perches would help address these issues by encouraging perching and enhancing use of the pen space across a range of stocking densities. 2,088 day-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to one of the following barrier and density treatment combinations over four replications: simple barrier, complex barrier, or control (no barrier) and low (8 birds/m2), moderate (13 birds/m2), or high (18 birds/m2) density. Data were collected on focal birds via instantaneous scan sampling from 2 to 6 weeks of age. Mean estimates per pen for percent of observations seen performing each behavior, as well as percent of observations in the pen periphery vs. center, were quantified and submitted to an analysis of variance with week as the repeated measure. Barrier perches, density and age affected the behavioral time budget of broilers. Both simple and complex barrier perches effectively stimulated high perching rates. Aggression and disturbances were lower in both barrier treatments compared to controls (P<0.05). Increasing density to 18 birds/m2 compared to the lower densities suppressed activity levels, with lower foraging (P<0.005), decreased perching (P<0.0001) and increased sitting (P = 0.001) earlier in the rearing period. Disturbances also increased at higher densities (P<0.05). Use of the central pen area was higher in simple barrier pens compared to controls (P<0.001), while increasing density above 8 birds/m2 suppressed use of the central space (P<0.05). This work confirms some negative effects of increasing density and suggests that barrier perches have the potential to improve broiler welfare by encouraging activity (notably by providing accessible opportunities to perch), decreasing aggression and disturbances, and promoting more even distribution of birds throughout the pen space

Using multilevel random coefficient models to assess students’ spelling abilities

This paper presents statistical models that analyze cross- sectional data related to student attainment in English and Maltese spelling. For each spelling test a random sample of 2040 students, whose age ranged from 6.5 to 16 years, was selected to examine the progression of spelling skills over time. The sample comprised equal numbers of male and female students attending state, church and private schools to investigate gender and school bias in students’ spelling abilities. This hierarchical nested data can be deemed as a type of two-level data, in which the students spelling scores are level-1 units and schools are the level- 2 units. This multilevel approach provides an adequate framework for modelling hierarchical data at several levels of nesting. To inspect the effect of age on student performance in English and Maltese spelling in different schools, a random coefficient model is fitted. This allows the school-specific coefficients describing individual trajectories to vary randomly when the spelling scores are regressed against the student age.peer-reviewe