Eco-innovation in Malta

Malta is characterised by its small size, its climatological parameters and its long coastline. This sets the context for specific eco-innovation activities to be stimulated and developed not only for local use but also for international replication. Europe is going through difficult economic times which have had their knock on effect on most countries of which Malta is no exception. However, during 2010, GDP registered an increase of 3.2% in real terms and 6.2% in nominal terms. Malta’s Research and Innovation (R&I) strategy, Malta’s draft Energy Policy, Malta’s Operational Programme I as well as the financial incentives offered by Malta Enterprise set the context for the development of eco-innovation within the headline innovation bracket. In fact both Research and Development (R&D) and eco-innovation are recognised as a pillar for Malta’s economic development. Malta ranked in 17th place in the 2011 Eco-Innovation Scoreboard, up a place from last year. This shows that whilst Malta is registering notable progress, it is still catching up on the EU-27 average. Notwithstanding, it ranks 4th amongst the New Member States, a comparative rank worth mentioning. Government R&D outlay in environment and energy is the lowest with respect to the EU-27 in absolute and relative terms. Malta ranks 21st in the percentage of R&D personnel and researchers compared to total employment and fares poorly in the number of registered patents, the number of environmental management systems adopted as well as in the number of academic papers related to eco-innovation. Malta fares positively in the media coverage that it gives to eco-innovation events which demonstrates the growing interest in pursuing this avenue of growth. Malta ranks joint 1st with Luxembourg in material productivity and joint 1st with Ireland in energy productivity. The Water Footprint Network places Malta in 16th place. Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Water Resources, Tourism and Public Awareness seem to be the areas where most of the potential for eco-innovation lies. Malta’s dependency on imported fossil fuels, its scarcity of water resources, the newly available water resource resulting from full treatment of sewage prior to disposal which can mitigate water scarcity and the economic impact of tourism are the main factors which drive eco-innovation to focus on these areas. Malta’s incentives schemes could also be a catalyst to foster further growth. Although it has been identified that Malta is still in the early stages of tackling eco-innovation a focus on more tangible deliverables is required. Whilst its limited size and resources make it a country where replication activities are more easily grown, the innovative capacity needs to grow further. Malta’s human resources are considered to be of very high quality and it is therefore only logical to target efforts towards increasing this pool with a view to retain a competitive edge in the skills to cost ratio of such an important human capital asset.peer-reviewe

Streaming : knowledge and attitudes

Recently, there have been a number of contributions to the local press as to whether Government primary schools should be streamed or not. These letters discussed various issues such as the role of the teacher, the relationship between pupils and teachers; and the relationship between teachers and pupils of different abilities. Unfortunately, these opinions were only expressed by University lecturers, politicians and researchers. The voices of the teachers, parents and children involved in streaming were not heard. On 14 June 1988, the Department of Information, in a Press Release, stated that a committee set up by the Ministry of Education was attempting to investigate the opinions of parents and teachers on the system. However, no results have been published as yet. It was for this reason that in our study we concentrated on such an issue in order to open a new field where such attitudes are given primary importance. It was not the purpose of our study to make a case for or against streaming. The study was designed to gather ethnographical material on the knowledge and attitudes that the pupils and their parents have towards streaming. It also attempted to trace out the part played by these attitudes in determining the success of failure of a pupil's academic performance.peer-reviewe

School differences in physics examinations for grammar type schools in Malta

This paper studies the school differences in performance in Physics in the last two years of compulsory secondary education in Malta. Five grammar type schools are included in the study. Students' peiformance in their fourth year annual Physics examination and the Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) School leaving examination one year later are considered. The longitudinal study shows that although there is a correlation between the fourth form annual examination and the papers for SEC Physics up to a value of 0.68, a shift in performance from one year to another was observed in certain schools, especially in one girls' school which registered a drastic decrease in peiformance from one year to the next. It is argued that these school differences, which may also reflect gender differences since schools are single sex, reflect the still prevailing attitude in Malta for the male to be the family breadwinner. This seems to be the case mainly in families from a lower socio-economic level, as in the catchment area of the girls' school in this study. The implications of differences in performance within and across schools is then discussed.peer-reviewe

Empowering primary teachers to teach science

Science at primary level has always been the Cinderella of the educational system in Malta. Even though local legislation, the Education Act of 1988 and,the publication of a National Minimum Curriculum (NMC) for primary and secondary education binding all schools in Malta - state, church or privately run - recognised science as one of the principal aims of primary education, very little science is actually being done in schools. The main reason for this state of affairs is that science is not examined unlike the other core subjects: English, Maltese, mathematics, religion and social studies.peer-reviewe

Why physics seems to be beyond some students' grasp

It is quite common for many students to complain about having to study physics. Some clearly state that it is not a subject of their interest and even more find understanding physics to be beyond their capability. The rate of failure in the subject is quite high. As can be seen from the results in the SEC physics 1996 May session, about half the students (47%) did not get the required pass mark to proceed with their studies. In addition, most of the grades were in the 4-5 region, showing that performance was not of a high standardpeer-reviewe

The role of the community in enhancing learning

The education process of children has over time become the domain of educators, having taken more and more the responsibility off families and more so off the community. However, as society becomes more diverse and social cohesion essential to a knowledge base society, education professionals recognise that educating children has become such a complex process that it cannot be catered for by just one group of professionals as before. One way to best tackle this new challenge by schools is through the involvement of the families and the community collaborating together for the benefit of the children's education. This paper describes research conducted as part of the FP6 project INCLUDED of a successful school in Malta which is working with the community and families and registering significant improvement in the children's educational achievement. This study provides examples of successful practices from which other schools across Europe can obtain ideas and inspiration to bring about change in the communities where they operate.peer-reviewe

Science education around the world

Science bas been part of the Maltese curriculum at least as far back as the 19th century. This does not mean that its role and importance have not undergone changes through the years. Today, in view of the new millennium, the role of science is as dynamic as ever.peer-reviewe

D3.2 report on mapping and comparing recorded practices

Malta is a small country with only about 450,000 inhabitants. The yearly cohort of births is about 3800-4000. Compulsory education in Malta ranges from age 5 years. However, children can start pre-school, known as kindergarten, at the age of 3. Two years of kindergarten exist before compulsory schooling. The majority of children attend pre-school, with over 85%, starting at 3 years old and over 90% by the age of 4 years. Child-care at earlier age is also present even if supply is less than demand. Education in Malta and is provided by three sectors: the State 60%, the Catholic Church 30%; and the Independent sector 10%. It is regulated by the Education Act which allows the Minister of Education to regulate the curriculum provided in schools. The National Minimum Curriculum of 1999 is the current official legal document regulating the curriculum. In 2011, a proposed National Curriculum Framework for consultation to update the National Minimum Curriculum was published. The policy documents reviewed for this exercise include: National Minimum Curriculum; Towards a Quality Education for All: National Curriculum Framework Consultation Documents 1-4, A Vision for Science Education, Early Childhood Education and Care – A national Policy, National Standards for Child Care Facilities, Draft National Children’s Policy, Record of Development and Progress at Kindergarten Level, and National Policy and Strategy for the Attainment of Core Competences in Primary Education. Both the Curriculum framework and the Vision for Science Education specify the aims and objectives for science education at early years level and advocate the implementation of inquiry-based learning pedagogy at all levels of education. An argument is made to let children develop their knowledge and understanding of the world, as well as develop their scientific skills through engaging with and observing objects, events, animate and inanimate things. Creativity is hardly linked to science in the policy documents reviewed. There are no specific subject areas at pre-school level, with learning considered holistically. Science and Mathematics are considered as separate subject areas in the compulsory years of early years education. Both science and mathematics are considered to be core subjects in the primary curriculum by the National Minimum Curriculum. Learning outcomes for the early years (including the first two years of compulsory education) focus on the process aspects of doing science, mainly through the inquiry-based approach. Learning methods at pre-school level is informal and involves creating environments, both indoors and outdoors which ‘invite children to test their ideas’. There is reference to more structured science activities for the ages 5-10 years, these including the early years within compulsory schooling. Inquiry is considered to include: investigating phenomena and science processes including planning investigations, making predictions, deciding how to check predictions fairly, making observations and taking accurate and reliable measurements, analysing the evidence obtained, critically evaluating evidence, and drawing conclusions; as well as communicating scientific knowledge in different ways. The National Curriculum Framework documents talks about creativity coupled with innovation as one of five cross-curricular themes promoted across all subjects. Teachers are encouraged to use pedagogies which provide direct, hands-on experiences which promote interaction, engagement as well as involvement, considered essential for understanding, recall and development of mental representations. The main learning aspects highlighted included: story-telling; authentic real situations; child-centred approach; problem-solving; social perspective to learning; and using interactive media. In assessment, the approach in science is formative with the mention of experiments, portfolios and story-telling techniques mentioned as examples. Types of resources identified for the implementation of the new science curricula include: the production / selection of interesting and attractive curriculum materials; and adequate laboratory facilities, ICTs, equipment, chemical and biological resources, as well as suitable software, learning guides and other curriculum materials that are relevant to the local context. There is also a shift in the vision of learning towards socio-cultural learning theories which emphasise the importance of socio-cultural experiences in influencing development and that theories about learning suggest that students learn best when they engage with each other and learn from one another where learning occurs groups. Creativity was barely tackled in the documents with respect to science, and particularly so in the case of the Vision for Science education. There is a demarcation at the present stage in the initial teacher-training required to teach at pre-school level and at compulsory stage. The national legal framework regulating teacher qualification level at compulsory level is the Education Act and requires teachers to be at Bachelor level. In the pre-school years the main initial teacher-training is at vocational level. There has been the development of a Bachelor’s degree in the Early Years following this policy document, but teacher qualification requirements at this level have not changed. The duration of the courses are usually of duration of 2 years each for the vocational courses and 4/5 years for the Bachelors courses. All the courses have both a content and practice component aspect. The teacher-training staff for initial teacher-training are required to have experience in the educational field as well as higher post-graduate studies than the course level being taught. Teachers are requested to follow one in-service course every two years, and at times they are called for specific training. Overall, more attention is being given to the early years in recent policy documents, with sections dedicated specifically to the early years in contrast to the primary years of education. However, the distinction between the two is not yet clear. Science is given particular attention, this mainly due to the publication of the policy document Vision for Science Education.peer-reviewe

Science education in Malta

Science has been part of the Maltese curriculum at least as far back as the 19th century. This does not mean that its role and importance have not undergone changes through the years. Today, in view of the new millennium, the role of science is as dynamic as ever.peer-reviewe

The changing face of science education : preparing scientifically literate citizens of tomorrow

Science has social implications. Educating students in science involves more than the acquisition of ‘facts’ or the development of investigative skills. If students are to become independent and responsible citizens, they need to be capable of understanding scientific issues and their impact on society. An argument will be put forward in favour of a science education that considers the social implications of scientific activity on both a local and global scale. Teachers need to change traditional teaching methods to more innovative activities that are more child-centred and take into consideration the social and ethical aspects of the scientific enterprise.peer-reviewe