Education, Pedagogy and Social Inclusion
16:05 - 17:25 | Lecture Room 201 (Level 2)
Chair: Prof. Valerie Sollars
Prof. Josephine Milton and Prof. Josephine Deguara | Co-researchers: Dr Rosienne Camilleri, Dr Tania Muscat and Dr Charmaine Bonello
Department of Early Childhood and Primary Education, Faculty of Education
Contemporary global mobility has intensified linguistic diversity in educational settings, creating opportunities and pedagogical challenges for teachers and learners. This is evident across the European Union, where migration has expanded multilingual and plurilingual practices. According to the NSO, Malta reflects these wider European trends, with 29.4% of its population being non-Maltese. Consequently, classrooms increasingly include children with diverse linguistic repertoires, varied levels of proficiency in Maltese and English, and in many cases, additional home languages. This complexity reshapes everyday teaching and learning, particularly during language and literacy development in early and primary education.
Grounded in Affordance Theory, this study explores how the dynamic linguistic ecosystem in schools provides social and linguistic affordances for children's language use and learning in multilingual classrooms. The research forms part of a larger project involving both in-service and pre-service teachers and reports findings from a survey conducted with pre-service educators (n=109) undertaking teaching placements with children aged 3–11 years across Malta and Gozo within UM’s Initial Teacher Education programmes.
Findings highlight the extent of linguistic diversity in Maltese classrooms, with more than half of respondents reporting that the children in their class speak three or more languages. Results also reveal a complex picture of emerging multilingual pedagogies and flexible instructional language practices alongside persistent challenges. The study illustrates the need for inclusive pedagogical approaches that position linguistic diversity as a resource with implications for teacher education, curriculum development, and policy.
Ms Michela Vella | Co-researchers: Ms Rebecca Camenzuli, Dr Charmaine Bonello, Prof. Josephine Milton, Prof. Josephine Deguara, Dr Rosienne Camilleri and Dr Tania Muscat
Department of Early Childhood and Primary Education, Faculty of Education
This study explores how multilingualism is conceptualised in early and primary education language policy in Malta, using the European Schools Language Policy as a point of contrast. Drawing on a focused comparative reading of key Maltese policy texts, the analysis examines whether multilingualism is framed as an additive, child-centred practice or as an extension of established bilingual provision. The findings indicate that Maltese policies consistently prioritise Maltese–English bilingualism and, despite references to linguistic diversity, retain a largely monoglossic orientation. Children’s home and community languages are acknowledged in principle but remain marginal in terms of policy guidance, pedagogical visibility, and learner participation. In contrast, the European Schools Language Policy articulates a more explicit plurilingual approach, embedding first-language maintenance and structured additional language pathways within mainstream schooling. By foregrounding this conceptual divergence, the presentation highlights how language hierarchies continue to shape policy orientations in Malta, reflecting enduring historical and ideological influences. It concludes by arguing that a shift from declarative bilingualism towards a clearly articulated plurilingual framework is necessary if policy is to reflect the linguistic realities of increasingly diverse classrooms and align more closely with contemporary European multilingual education agendas.
Dr Loredana Muscat
Department of Human Communication Sciences and Disorders, Faculty of Health Sciences
This study explored reading services and teaching methods for students with intellectual disabilities in Malta using a mixed-methods approach, the first in Malta. It analysed Individualised Education Plan data of students with intellectual disabilities and, in addition, the researchers interviewed 12 Inclusion Coordinators from all school sectors. Results show early intervention in language and literacy is prioritised, but literacy support declines in secondary education. Church schools tend to have more structured, inclusive practices, whereas state schools often lack consistent frameworks, leading to fragmented implementation. Key barriers include gaps in professional development, strict inclusion policies, and inconsistent leadership. Professionals also show uncertainty in advocating for bilingual literacy training. The study recommends developing a national literacy framework based on evidence-based practices, improving educator training, and establishing flexible, tiered intervention systems to support the inclusion and reading development of students with intellectual disabilities across all school sectors.
Dr Ben Matthews
Institute of Linguistics and Language Technology
Maltese Sign Language (LSM), recognised as Malta’s third national language in 2016, has a relatively small population and a recent history. It is also one of Europe’s least systematically described languages. It exists within a uniquely multilingual ecology, alongside Maltese and English, and within a Deaf community whose social and educational experiences have shifted dramatically since the mid-twentieth century. LSM is a fully autonomous natural language with its own grammar, lexicon and discourse patterns which do not derive from spoken language.
LSM is both a linguistic system and a community resource, with features that reflect Malta’s historical and international connections. In particular, historic contact with British Sign Language (BSL) through Deaf education, family mobility and teacher training has left a clear imprint on LSM. While the two languages share significant vocabulary and grammatical patterns, close analysis reveals important differences in areas such as phonotactics, verb agreement, and temporal marking. LSM has also developed a highly productive one-handed fingerspelling system, which supports initialisation and is therefore a productive route for influence from spoken languages.
Recent and ongoing research at UM includes a dictionary and documentation projects, phonological and morphosyntactic studies, sociolinguistic research, and a narrative history project involving 25 interviews across four languages. These initiatives are now embedded in strong partnerships with Deaf-led organisations.
Future directions, such as the development of an LSM corpus and teaching resources, are highlighted, as well as the urgent challenge of ensuring language transmission to younger Deaf Maltese people.
Dr Doreen Mizzi | Co-researchers: Dr Josette Farrugia and Dr James Calleja
Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Faculty of Education
Job shadowing is increasingly recognised as a professional learning strategy in Initial Teacher Education, enabling teacher educators to observe, reflect on, and exchange pedagogical practices across diverse contexts. This presentation reports on a job-shadowing case study conducted within the EU-funded Erasmus+ project ICSE Academy – European collaboration and mobility in professional development of pre- and in-service STEM teachers (2022–2025).
The job-shadowing activity consisted of two phases. In the first phase, a professional learning session was delivered to pre-service science teachers enrolled in UM’s Master’s in Teaching and Learning programme. The session focused on developing pedagogical content knowledge through lesson sequencing and the preparation of a scheme of work. Two international teacher educators from different European universities observed the session. In the second phase, the observers adapted and transferred the shadowed session to their own ITE courses within their respective contexts.
This presentation addresses the following research question: To what extent are individual activities accessible and transferable to different contexts? Data were collected through reflective accounts from the lecturer and the visiting teacher educators. The analysis focused on the accessibility and transferability of the learning activity.
Findings indicate that the session met the needs of the observers, who reported professional learning gains related to lesson sequencing and curriculum planning. Both observers successfully transferred the pedagogical approach to their own contexts. Overall, the study highlights job shadowing as a mechanism that supports professional development, reflective dialogue, and international collaboration in science teacher education.
Dr Nathalie Buhagiar
Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences
The Children’s Policy Framework for Malta 2024 to 2030 states that ‘children must be protected from harm, have what they need to grow, and be able to share their ideas about things that affect them.’ It also states that every child deserves the same chance to succeed, no matter who they are, and to get the support they need. Children and their families should always receive high-quality support, such as good education, healthcare, and other services, to meet their needs.
Children with disabilities and diverse needs have the right to be supported in the school system alongside their peers. This is best actualised by providing support services that are embedded into the school system rather than by pulling children out of their natural context. Research supports the inclusion of occupational therapy services within school environments to promote participation in academic and non-academic activities, enhance motor and cognitive skills, and support social-emotional development. The ultimate aim is to provide children with what they need to participate in their occupational routines that make up home, school, and community life.
With the above preamble, a pilot project using a tiered model of school-based occupational therapy in the early years for Malta was initiated in September 2023. This approach aligns with contemporary best practices in paediatric occupational therapy, emphasising universal, targeted, and intensive interventions to support children in their natural learning environments. It used a framework that originated from the author's doctoral research in schools for over seven years. This pilot project is now being evaluated in the Maltese context and is most likely to become a permanent, non-paying service for all children in Maltese schools. Spearheaded by a team of professionals from the Directorate for Health, managed by the Professional lead Occupational Therapist and her team of six OTs, and supported by UM academics, this service will expand to a larger team in the coming years.
This presentation will present findings from the authors doctoral research – a longitudinal instrumental single case study with elements of action theory. An overview of the process and product of developing a tiered model of school-based practice will be the focus of this presentation.
The benefits of school-based occupational therapy include improvements in functional performance, classroom participation, and social engagement, as documented in previous studies. An outline of a tangible toolkit that paediatric occupational therapists working in schools can access and contextualise to their own school system will be presented. Insights for future improvements and refinements to this toolkit will also be discussed.
Dr Zoi Arvanitidou | Co-researchers: Dr Lorraine Portelli
Department of Gender and Sexualities, Faculty for Social Wellbeing
FAME (Fashion Empowers NEETs) is a 30-month Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership project (KA220-VET) that commenced in September 2025. Led by UM in collaboration with partner organisations from Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy, the project addresses skills development and inclusion within Vocational Education and Training (VET) through an innovative approach to fashion construction and design education.
The primary aim of FAME is to develop an open and inclusive vocational pathway in creative fashion construction and design, targeting learners who are not in education, employment, or training (NEETs). The project adopts a multifaceted, evidence-based design methodology implemented across successive phases. Phase one focuses on a systematic needs analysis to identify labour market demands and learner requirements, followed by the development of a conceptual framework to inform curriculum design. Subsequent phases involve creating a modular training course and an accompanying practical toolkit for trainers, along with iterative piloting and evaluation. The evaluation focuses on usability, learner experience, pedagogical effectiveness, and potential impact across diverse VET contexts.
A core innovation of the FAME project is the integration of an educational game designed to reinforce course content and enhance learner engagement through game-based progression and applied problem-solving challenges. In addition, the project includes a structured training-of-trainers programme to support capacity building, quality delivery, and long-term sustainability, with continuous refinement based on implementation feedback.
Dissemination and exploitation activities are embedded throughout the project lifecycle, including multiplier events aimed at VET providers and key stakeholders. All project outputs will be made freely available online as open educational resources, in line with Erasmus+ open access and licensing policies, enabling reuse and adaptation across comparable VET environments.
Dr Amanda Bezzina
Centre for Resilience and Socio-Emotional Health
Reach Out Job Crafting Experiential Programme is a programme aimed at enhancing the wellbeing of educational professionals, including Education Managers, Policy Makers, School Leaders, Educators, and Youth Workers. The research is situated within a prevailing climate of chaos that sharpens the focus on wellbeing in the educational context. The Reach Out Programme, which is a 75-hour job crafting intervention, aimed to empower participants to actively sculpt their roles to enhance wellbeing dimensions such as positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment, and life satisfaction. Job crafting is defined as self-directed strategies for employees to align their job roles with their personal needs, capabilities, and strengths. The Programme specifically focused on promoting task, relational, and cognitive crafting by equipping participants with competencies, such as boundary setting and cognitive reframing. A mixed-methods research design was employed to evaluate the programme's impact. Quantitative data was collected using validated instruments, including the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), WHO-5 Well-Being Index, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). These were administered pre- and post-intervention. This was complemented by qualitative data from in-person focus groups, which provided rich, contextual feedback. The analysis uncovered statistically meaningful improvements in participant scores across various domains of wellbeing and psychological capital. While literature supports individual-level job crafting interventions, the study also highlights the critical need for institutions to address systemic pressures and organisational barriers that constrain individuals' capacity to craft their roles.