/library/oar/handle/123456789/18581 2026-05-23T19:27:47Z 2026-05-23T19:27:47Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/146484 2026-05-15T10:01:15Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Transformation through decentralisation : learning, democracy and technological sovereignty Abstract: Taking inspiration from the Barcelona smart city, European Commission policy and prominent European universities and organisations, this paper argues that pedagogical strategies and technological infrastructure for citizen lifelong learning should be incorporated within a paradigm of the digitally sovereign individual, city and nation state. In support of the proposed European Union Single Market fifth freedom of knowledge, the author suggests that lifelong and lifewide learning are a crucial part of digital epistemic human rights for access to and interactions with digital knowledge as a digital public good that sustains democratic society. The right of the citizen to learn, share and contribute to information and knowledge is considered in relation to individual agency, autonomy and personal data sovereignty, within the idea of an authentic learning city. In this context there is a pressing need to adopt self-hosted, open source technical solutions for provision of information management and social channels that are supported by civically owned, decentralised and federated knowledge resources, open and freely accessible to all.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Lister, Pen /library/oar/handle/123456789/146482 2026-05-15T09:14:47Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Hacker–maker urban spaces as infrastructures of incidental civic learning Authors: Lister, Pen Abstract: This conceptual paper explores existing debates related to urban local communities who hack the city to make their own spaces for meeting, making and learning. Referring to these as ‘hacker-maker’ spaces acknowledges the alternative cultural activist roots of hacking and making, shifting focus from technological innovation to the social activism of occupying unused urban spaces for development of mutually supportive networks and shared resources. This paper argues that these spaces, activities and networks lead to emergent forms of incidental civic cultural learning as an authentic part of lifelong learning in smart learning cities. The smart citizen is therefore considered in terms of a culture of mutual self-realisation and right to the city, within citizen-led efficient, effective, collaborative smart learning environments. Areas of debate lead to reflections on the pedagogical foundations of civic learning for smart citizen self-realisation, with combinations of situated, dialogic and social activist pedagogies in an action-research orientated, learner-experience based context. Envisaged as a ‘pedagogy for urban space incidental civic learning’, this flexible framework would seek to support incidental civic cultural learning in these hacker-maker spaces for building value and mutual trust within urban communities.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Matić, Ljerka Jukić Palha, Sonia Huhtasalo, Jenni Busuttil, Leonard Calleja, James Leino, Mirka Gomes, Isabel /library/oar/handle/123456789/145875 2026-04-23T13:55:30Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Designing player experience goals to support learners in a digital game about mathematics anxiety Authors: Matić, Ljerka Jukić; Palha, Sonia; Huhtasalo, Jenni; Busuttil, Leonard; Calleja, James; Leino, Mirka; Gomes, Isabel Abstract: Mathematics Anxiety (MA) is a multifaceted academic anxiety that disrupts learning and performance, often leading to lifelong avoidance of mathematical contexts. This paper details the early preparatory phase of the MathifyMe project, an Erasmus+ initiative aimed at developing a digital learning game for students aged 8–15. Adopting a playcentric design and design-based research (DBR) approach, the authors establish design principles focused on emotional self-regulation, autonomy, and collaborative play. By integrating Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and positive psychology, the game aims to create a low-stress, failure-tolerant environment that enhances self-efficacy and fosters a growth mindset through multisensory tools and storytelling.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Calleja, James /library/oar/handle/123456789/145609 2026-04-15T09:05:18Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Voices from research and practice : leadership, professional development and policy insights for sustainable school improvement in Malta Authors: Calleja, James Abstract: This essay examines leadership, professional development (PD), and sustainable school improvement in Malta. Drawing on 22 selected studies published over two decades in the Malta Review of Educational Research (MRER), alongside the author's professional experience of working with schools, the essay brings research and practice into dialogue to explore how decentralisation, school autonomy, and collaborative professional learning have been conceptualised and enacted. It highlights persistent tensions between policy intentions and school realities, particularly in relation to leadership capacity, teacher agency, and the conditions necessary for meaningful PD. Through a focused discussion of collaborative Lesson Study, the essay illustrates how schools can operate as centres of inquiry and learning when leadership is enacted as shared practice. The analysis concludes by distilling key policy insights, arguing that sustainable improvement depends on trust, coherence, and sustained investment in school-based professional learning communities chat empower educators as agents of change.

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