Teacher education in Malta : national agendas and the reform process

Abstract

This chapter sets out to provide a description of a process of reform that was initiated at the Faculty of Education of the University of Malta. The focus is on the process of reform, and on the strategies that were employed in order to help teacher trainers (a) discover the strengths and weaknesses of current pre-service teacher education programs; (b) to systematically compare their practice with that obtaining in other countries; (c) to identify trends in order to develop insights in addressing perceived problems; and ( e) to make recommendations regarding changes in structures and practices that lead to an improvement in the institution's contribution to the national educational enterprise. The reform process identified twelve key categories around which discussions on teacher education reform could focus. Each of these categories constituted the focus of a Working Group led by a Faculty of Education coordinator, with members being co-opted from various national bodies and organizations. Research-based position papers were produced by each working group, with each paper being tabled at national fora in order to generate debate about the form and direction of teacher education.