/library/oar/handle/123456789/6602 2025-12-26T20:01:39Z 2025-12-26T20:01:39Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/6655 2017-08-10T07:32:48Z 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The experience of Mathematics multipliers in the PRIMAS project : a comparative study between Malta and Cyprus Abstract: This qualitative research takes a comparative case study approach to explore the experiences of Maltese and Cypriot mathematics multipliers who participated in the EU-funded PRIMAS project (2010-2013) which sought to promote the dissemination of inquiry-based learned (IBL) in mathematics and science across Europe. The aims of the research were to investigate: (i) the professional development of the mathematics multipliers during the PRIMAS project; (ii) the effect of the multipliers’ work on the professional development of the mathematics teachers falling under their responsibility during the PRIMAS project; and (iii) the relationship between professional development and community of learners. Using a methodology that also draws on insider research, the data was collected during the 2013-2014 scholastic year primarily through semi-structured interviews with the national PRIMAS coordinators in Malta and Cyprus and with all five Maltese mathematics multipliers and three Cypriot mathematics multipliers. The other main data sources were the PRIMAS project official documentation. The research indicates that the participating multipliers were committed to the project’s aim of disseminating IBL and that their participation was a positive professional development experience for all of them and for a good number of teachers under their responsibility during the project. The findings of the study suggest in turn that the continuous professional development of teachers is likely to be more effective when it is school-based, when it addresses teachers’ perceived needs and when it is an on-going process that occurs within a supportive school environment. Description: M.A.COMP.EURO MED.ED.STUD.

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/6631 2017-10-17T08:46:32Z 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The ħamalli’s (un-)education in a comparative political engagement Abstract: This study concerns the exploration of the relationship between education and a set of people who are pushed outside its remit, in this case people who are constructed as ħamalli. It is a (mainly postcolonial) consideration of a dominant form of education which seeks to dominate, to marginalize and paralyze. Yet, it is also a consideration of spaces in which resistance to or actions against such knowledge can take place. In synch with the extension of de Sousa Santos’ metaphorical use of the ‘South’ as a re-occupation of spaces and a creative/pedagogical encounter, the ħamalli enter into our dominant field of vision, inviting us for an engagement, a dialectical relationship. Therefore, my aim is to recognise who these people being marginalised by the educational set-up are, read the present contexts in which such effacing is taking place and suggest ways in which education can regain its role as an emancipatory practice. In the different moments of this dissertation, I shall be contending with education from two quite different perspectives. One of my main aims, which will come together in the latter part of the dissertation, is to consider a pedagogy of engagement with the ‘ħamalli,’ making sense of what authors such as Boaventura de Sousa Santos and Gayatri Spivak call ‘Learning from the South’ and ‘Learning to Learn from the Others’ respectively. Such an engagement entails a lot of ethical considerations and judgements. On the other hand, throughout this dissertation I will also be looking at education as a site of struggle in which pedagogical forms of dominant epistemological impositions are met by different forms of resistance and re-narrations. Description: M.A.COMP.EURO MED.ED.STUD.

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/6630 2017-07-21T09:11:46Z 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Camouflaged or visible : a comparative study in the integration of EU migrant adolescents within the Maltese formal and informal education Abstract: Integration of EU migrant adolescents in formal and informal education settings is seen as a research gap in Malta. With a current local discourse of ‘dumping’ of these migrants within the Maltese Education System, it is felt that the research area of this thesis is a need, since it addresses the local pitfalls and possibilities for integration. The dichotomy of whether EU migrant students are camouflaged or visible in our education system is explored through interviews with Heads of school, teachers, EU migrant adolescents and informal educators. This comparative study uses a critical theoretical paradigm and a constructivist grounded theory methodology to explore the way and the extent in which these adolescents are integrated in formal and informal education structures, the factors that facilitate or hinder such integration and the perceptions of different stakeholders about integration of EU migrant adolescents. Results show that there are various factors that influence integration; however one has to consider their intersectionality. This is done by not restricting the analysis of the situation to just one factor, but to the mutual influence of all these factors. In fact, age, years of residence, nationality, ethnicity, religion, personality characteristics, migration trajectories, participation in informal and extra-curricular activities at school, friendships and language are not considered as standalone factors but as a set of factors that mutually influence the degree of integration of these adolescents in both education institutions. In addition, the study also shows that there are various strategies used by different stakeholders that helped the integration process. Nevertheless, it was observed that these strategies are not common in all schools, and perceptions about integration are both positive and negative. This is because to date there is no clear policy that guides the integration process or specific guidelines which support educators. This research suggests that there is an urgent need for a national policy about integration; together with more planning, guidance and assistance on a national level and on-going strategies in formal and informal education institutions. Further recommendations include the introduction of an integration officer in each College, pre-schooling integration practice and revised teacher-training at University which equips and trains prospective educators to teach multi-cultural classes. Description: M.A.COMP.EURO MED.ED.STUD.

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/6629 2015-11-24T17:51:49Z 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Homework policies : a comparative discourse analysis of six primary schools in Malta, Scotland and England Abstract: Homework has always been an important phenomenon and it is assigned for both academic and non-academic purposes. However, views about homework are contrasting. In fact homework has become a debatable issue so much so that in some countries it has been abolished. Whereas homework can be beneficial, it can also be a source of stress to the students and within families. Nevertheless, schools still set guidelines for assigning homework and develop their own homework policies. After looking at literature about homework, this dissertation explores six homework policies; two in Malta, two in Scotland and two in England. A critical discourse analysis is carried out by looking at the construction of the roles of the ‘student’ and the ‘parent’ in the policies. It is argued that the policies are driven by neo-liberal discourse which aims at placing responsibility on students for their own learning. The parents are also given responsibility for their children’s educational achievement. In so doing issues of social inequalities in terms of opportunities and outcomes emerge. This is explained by drawing on Bourdieu’s (2004) concept of cultural capital. Description: M.A.COMP.EURO MED.ED.STUD.

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z