Special Issue: Emerging Scholars of Education in Malta /library/oar/handle/123456789/124468 2025-11-09T14:10:29Z 2025-11-09T14:10:29Z Mouslim, Julia Alegre /library/oar/handle/123456789/124676 2024-07-17T07:32:21Z 2024-06-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Ethnographic research and activism : a critical, feminist, and sensory approach to Moviment Graffitti Authors: Mouslim, Julia Alegre Abstract: In many fields today, there is a call for educators to move out of their ‘ivory towers’ and into public spaces (Sandlin et al., 2017, p. 825). This critical turn toward public pedagogy, emancipatory research, and participatory (action) research has become increasingly crucial within academia. But what are the risks when educators and researchers move into public spaces where activist communities gather? This paper discusses some methodological concerns with researching activism. In this paper, I attempt to counter these concerns by employing a critical, feminist, and sensory methodology to research activist communities and their lived, embodied, and affective experiences.

2024-06-01T00:00:00Z Farrugia, Danielle Martine Pace, Paul Duca, Edward /library/oar/handle/123456789/124675 2024-07-17T07:30:58Z 2024-06-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Citizens’ participation in informal science activities in Malta Authors: Farrugia, Danielle Martine; Pace, Paul; Duca, Edward Abstract: Science has a complex history in the Maltese Islands, sketched by who defines it, how it is conducted, and who engages with it. Citizens’ science capital is a theoretical lens that explores uneven patterns in science participation (Archer et al., 2015). It delves into what influences individuals’ perceived self-efficacy and how they engage with science and scientific research if and when they do. This paper will focus on three factors affecting Maltese residents’ science capital: whether they attend science activities, which entities they visit, and their relationship with institutions that conduct Public Engagement with Science (PES). While the conceptual approach to theorising science capital was designed as a tool for use with school students, this analysis will extend the concept to citizens’ participation in science activities in Malta in 2019/2020. A questionnaire was distributed to Maltese residents to determine their engagement with science and science activities. The specific results on residents’ interest in science and their tendency to attend science activities will be presented in this paper. Most of the respondents expressed their interest in science (n = 461, 80.2%), with only a small sample of 69 respondents (12.0%) stating otherwise. The highest percentage of the respondents attending science activities were from the 18–24 age group (65.2%). The 55–64 age group had the lowest percentage (29.4%), followed by the 65+ group (32.7%). Results also show that 36.6% of the respondents had never visited Esplora, the Interactive Science Centre, and a further 7.7% were unaware of it. Activities can be more inclusive if entities conducting PES include citizens in the design of the activities. A national PES strategy might act towards a better-coordinated approach among stakeholders conducting PES.

2024-06-01T00:00:00Z Camilleri, Therese /library/oar/handle/123456789/124674 2024-07-17T07:29:50Z 2024-06-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Tracing the evolution of work-based learning and apprenticeship schemes in Malta (1940s–1960s) Authors: Camilleri, Therese Abstract: This paper is part of a research project that explores Malta’s educational pathway of work-based learning programmes between the 1940s and 2020, particularly emphasising apprenticeship schemes as a leading model for technical education and training. The main goal of this paper is to shed light on how educational policies and legal initiatives shaped apprenticeship and work-based learning between the 1940s and the 1960s. The paper employs repository consultation and parliamentary discourse analysis as a methodological approach centred on the analyses of parliamentary debates, national legislation, and government reports. The paper sheds light on the pedagogical advancements within the work-based and apprenticeship technical education field, explaining the intricate processes that shaped the development of technical education in Malta. By contributing a nuanced understanding of the socio-economic and, at times, political factors that influenced these educational frameworks, the paper aims to provide valuable insights into the historical underpinnings of apprenticeship schemes and work-based learning initiatives in Malta. Ultimately, this research enriches vocational education and training discourse, offering valuable insights for educators and stakeholders invested in enhancing employability education strategies.

2024-06-01T00:00:00Z Callus, Rose Marie /library/oar/handle/123456789/124673 2024-07-17T07:27:10Z 2024-06-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The relativisation strategies in the production of Maltese advanced learners of Italian L2 Authors: Callus, Rose Marie Abstract: Maltese and Italian exhibit parametrically different choices regarding restrictive relative clause formation. This study focuses on the interlanguages of non-native, intermediate, and advanced Maltese students studying Italian as a second language in a formal context. Relative clauses were classified and analysed following Keenan and Comrie’s (1977) noun phrase accessibility hierarchy (NPAH), a theoretical framework adopted to examine the structure of relative clauses. Given that relative clauses are islands for extraction in Italian, this study also incorporates findings from a self-paced experimental design adapted from Beltrama and Xiang (2016) to investigate the extent to which a [-wh-movement] L1 (Maltese) and a [+wh-movement] L2 (Italian) influence L2 processing of complex relative clauses in the final stage of L2 acquisition. The results indicate that the acquisition process of relative clause syntactic structures is affected by the level of L2 proficiency and frequency of L2 syntactic structures. As proficiency increased, the output of advanced learners became more similar to native speakers, with the advanced group exhibiting native-like attainment. This research contributes new evidence in three main areas: (i) how the noun phrase acceptability hierarchy, as a theoretical framework, complements an experimental methodology design; (ii) what factors contribute to describing and interpreting degrees of language acceptability in experimental designs of complex syntactic structures; and (iii) the possible factors that lead non-native language learners to acquire and produce complex syntactic structures that go beyond the limit of possible experience while making developmental progress in both the accuracy and processing efficiency of relative clauses.

2024-06-01T00:00:00Z