Adult education in small states : the case of Malta

A small state faces several challenges with regard to adult continuing education and training. The paper discusses some of these challenges with specific reference to the Mediterranean small island state of Malta. It starts with a general discussion of some of the issues affecting adult education in a small state such as Malta that paves the way for the more focused analyses in the second and third sections. These sections focus on a selection of just two topics from among the many that affect adult education in Malta, namely those of adult education and work and adult education for sustainable development. These analyses are tackled from the perspective of the small state condition.peer-reviewe

Self-evaluation as a tool in developing environmental responsibility

The purpose of the paper is to share the findings of an action research project aimed at exploring the impact of transformative pedagogies on pre-service teachers following an environmental education programme (EEP), offered by the University of Malta. Assessment and evaluation practices of environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable education (ESD) programmes tend to cater just for knowledge content and skills, usually failing to target the development of attitudes and values that promote sustainable lifestyles. The EEP was specifically designed to target the development of pro-environmental values by actively involving students in their learning mainly and providing opportunities for reflection and self-evaluation. The paper analyses qualitative research data obtained from evaluation questionnaires about every study unit in the programme; reflective questionnaires drawing upon the studentsí reflective journals; a focus group interview and in depth one-to-one interviews with individual students. The paper provides studentsí evaluations about the course design and effectiveness that should provide insights for course developers and evaluators seeking to develop EE/ESD programmes that address individual needs through learner centred pedagogies.peer-reviewe

Integrating knowledge, feelings and action : using vee heuristics and concept mapping in education for sustainable development

Although children are regularly showered with environmental knowledge, this is rarely transformed into concerned action, probably because it is not meaningful for the learner and/or is highlighted at the expense of a personalized process of learning. Research in Education for Sustainable Development shows that besides knowledge acquisition feelings, psychological factors and active participation while learning are important determinants of commitment. Fostering an attitude of responsible environmental action is not dependent on what knowledge is delivered, but on how it is delivered and experienced. This paper describes the use of Vee Heuristics and Concept Mapping as pedagogical tools within the context of primary school learnersí different learning patterns. It provides illustrations of Concept Maps constructed before and after the learning programme and discusses some implications of the findings. This paper suggests that the use of Vee Heuristics and Concept Mapping along with an awareness of how the child prefers to learn may be steps towards tapping-in the childís internal talking so that educators can understand how each learner responds to incoming information. Learning about environmental issues becomes relevant, meaningful and, in the long run, conducive to improved environmental responsible behaviour.peer-reviewe

The impact of site-visits on the development of biological cognitive knowledge

Classroom-based science teaching tends to be dominated by teaching that stifles the students’ natural curiosity and eagerness to discover their surroundings. Knowledge makes sense to students particularly when it is learned within the context of an authentic experience. Thus classroom-based science needs to be complimented by out-of-classroom activities which offer direct and relevant information that influences students’ learning. Students build new knowledge on already existing schema, thus it is important for both teacher and students to question and evaluate their knowledge to be able to build on solid grounds. This paper illustrates examples of meta-cognitive tools (i.e. Vee diagrams and concept maps) used before and after site-visits to explore the contribution of out-of-classroom activities to the students’ biological cognitive development. This research shows that site-visits are a necessary part of science learning because they help students develop observational and reasoning skills, link biology to personal life experiences and contextualise inert classroom knowledge, making it more meaningful and easier to remember.peer-reviewe

Teaching education for sustainable development : implications on learning programmes at higher education

This paper considers the basic elements associated with teaching education for sustainable development and outlines the implications on learning programmes at higher education institutions. In particular, the paper considers the extent to which the formation of educators influences this process, and defends the view that an emphasis on the long-term pre-service and in-service training of educators should be a top priority.peer-reviewe

Portfolios in environmental education : the TEPEE project

Teaching and assessment in Environmental Education (EE) is rather complex because it needs to address the learners’ ability to ask questions, solve problems, and develop positive values. Portfolio assessment is a holistic way to evaluate the growth and development of skills and values in EE by providing a cumulative record of work carried out by students in a variety of contexts and allowing students to reflect on the process of how their views and values change. The main aim of this paper was to discuss the process of the development and implementation of a European Portfolio for Environmental Education by TEPEE (Towards a European Portfolio for Environmental Education) Network, within seven European countries. The paper narrates the development and implementation of EPEE through the eyes of the TEPEE scientific committee coming from the seven partner countries. Their views about the advantages and disadvantages of the use of portfolios within the context of EE were collected by means of questionnaires using open-ended questions. The results of the study suggest that the main advantage of using portfolio assessment is that it provides a holistic picture of the learning and growth of students in different contexts and situations. The major asset was the enthusiasm and motivation it raised among the teachers using it. The major difficulty was trying to change the assessment culture of teachers who were used to more traditional forms of assessment.peer-reviewe

Education for sustainable development : current discourses and practices and their relevance to technology education

Technology education is a well-established field of knowledge whose applications have many ramifications. For example, technology education may be used as a tool in meeting the challenges of sustainable development. However, the usefulness of technology education to the sustainability debate as a whole and to education for sustainable development in particular, has largely been overlooked in the past. Indeed, there is a paucity of academic studies which examine the contribution technology education may provide to education for sustainable development. On the basis of the need to address this knowledge gap, this paper reviews the state of affairs in relation to education for sustainable development and considers its links and appropriateness to technology education. A further objective of this paper is to present examples of initiatives and existing practices around the world, drawing partly from the results of the 1st European Conference on Education for Sustainable Development held in Greece in October 2007, as well as from other initiatives undertaken in Europe and North America. Finally, some measures that may be adopted in order to enhance the contribution of technology education to education for sustainable development are outlined.peer-reviewe

Dynamic automata in Larva

As computer systems become larger and more sophisticated, they bring about an increased level of possible execution paths and environment configurations, which, generally, cannot be reliably catered for by testing due to its inherent lack of coverage. As such, many developers are turning onto runtime software verification to be able to provide higher system quality assurance, intercepting undiscovered bugs as they arise. However, sophisticated systems tend to involve large specification properties and thus pose a considerable overhead when the states of such properties are fully enumerated to perform runtime verification. The problem is even more intricate with infinite-state properties where enumeration is not possible. A solution to this issue is through the use of on-the-fly state generation techniques where the next state is dynamically computed at runtime. In this paper, we present dLarva — an extension of the Larva runtime verification tool supporting on-the-fly state-generating automata. This enables the definition of automata in a symbolic manner while also making it possible to traverse infinite state properties. To demonstrate the possibilities of dLarva, we provide an implementation of dLarva that accepts properties using regular expressions which are dynamically evaluated at runtime using derivatives. This implementation is used as the basis for a simple rule-based intrusion detection system for the AnomicFTPD FTP server.peer-reviewe

Environmental education : providing a context for a meaningful science education

The paper initially highlights the main principles and methods of environmental education and the opportunities and challenges it offers to a fragmentary curriculum structure with special reference to science curricula in Malta. The results of a survey about teachers' attitudes about environmental education are then analysed in relation to the possibility of promoting environmental education as a cross-curricular unifying theme. The paper proposes specific guidelines for the development of science curricula that are both interdisciplinary and socially relevant.peer-reviewe

Science education in Malta : quo vadis?

The low number of students who choose science and who eventually pursue a career in science (Cauchi, 1996) is a clear indication of the need to revise our present policy regarding science education. In our strategy to improve the situation we should be extra careful not to waste too much energy on attempting to cure the symptoms of this problem. What we really need is to recognise our responsibilities. be bold enough to address the deep rooted causes of the problem and to do our utmost to resolve them even though solutions might imply radical changes in our present educational policies.peer-reviewe