SAB POSTU F’AMBJENT TA’ TAGĦLIM ADDATTAT GĦALIH

A student speaking about his experiences at a vocational school. He says that he is very happy as this is the ideal place for him to learn and thrive.

This school is found in the central town of Paola and caters for students aged 15 to 18 years.

Education Exposed: Leading a school in a time of Uncertainty

I read this book, which was published at the end of January, in just three days. As an assistant head of school, I got to know about it through twitter. Further perusal of it, made me conclude that this book would be useful to me and I pre-ordered this book, so that I could read it as soon as it got published. Even though my context is different, as I live in Malta, I could very well understand and empathize with what the author was stating.

This book has many interesting topics which are all important for school leaders. The book starts with behaviour, which is a crucial aspect of any school. The salient point about behaviour is that behaviour has to be taught. I fully concur with this. The school should show to students where the boundaries lie and what it does and does not accept.

The author also comments on the learning outcomes. This method of teaching is being introduced slowly into Maltese schools, along with continuous assessment. I concur with Strickland in that the children knowing the learning objectives is not beneficial to them.

Strickland also mentions another point: that of the importance of team work among teachers in a school. It is also essential that the school head invests in the people who work around him. As he states, a good school is one where students have one good teacher after another.

I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to all those who like me are in a position of
leadership in a school, as it gives you much to think about.

Continous Assessment and changes in the Maltese education system

Last Friday, at school, we had training about continuous assessment. This will be introduced as from next scholastic year, in year 9 in all subjects. This change will affect all Maltese schools. The students will be made to complete between three to five tasks , spread over three years, that is, from year nine to eleven.

While I am not averse to continuous assessment per se, I have my doubts whether this system will be successful. The Education Department is assuming that we live in an utopian world where all students are keen to learn, where they will all do their tasks and complete them by the deadline date. The stark reality for those who work in schools could not be further away from this. Nowadays, with the inclusive system in place in Maltese schools, schools are co-ed, and all academic abilities are grouped together in secondary school. Students with challenging behaviour are always a force to be reckoned with. The intake in schools depends on the catchment area, which severely defines the school culture.

These changes being wrought to the Maltese education system have all been done in the last few  years. These changes have occurred at such a fast pace that sometimes, it becomes quite a headache to keep up. Thus, next year, teachers at my school will be facing the advent of the learning outcomes framework and also this new system of continuous assessment. Half yearly exams have also been scrapped.

While I will be there to support teachers in the implementation of these system, I have very grave reservations about these. Will they lead to a better education for our students? Are these systems equitable for all students? While I am in favour of inclusion, only time will tell whether these changes will be a success or not.