Suchergebnisse

The education process of children has over time become the domain of educators, having taken more and more the responsibility off families and more so off the community. However, as society becomes more diverse and social cohesion essential to a knowledge base society, education professionals recognise that educating children has become such a complex process that it cannot be catered for by just one group of professionals as before. One way to best tackle this new challenge by schools is through the involvement of the families and the community collaborating together for the benefit of the children's education. This paper describes research conducted as part of the FP6 project INCLUDED of a successful school in Malta which is working with the community and families and registering significant improvement in the children's educational achievement. This study provides examples of successful practices from which other schools across Europe can obtain ideas and inspiration to bring about change in the communities where they operate. ; peer-reviewed

The aim of this working document is to assess the impact of the Bologna Process on Higher Education institutions in Malta by providing an overview of the targets and initiatives within the Higher Education sector. A number of indicators have been taken as points of reference of this research namely: the European Credit Transfer System, the Diploma Supplement, Quality Assurance, mobility of students and staff, research and innovation and industry's opinion on the quality of our graduates. The results evidenced in this document are encouraging and challenging at the same time. This is one sector in which Malta is on track with other countries within the European Union. Of course this does not imply that we have achieved all targets set within the Bologna Process but the initiatives taken and the quality and standards of our learning institutions show that Malta has a solid Higher Education system in which learners are well prepared to meet the challenges of the labour market. If results achieved, particularly within the University of Malta, are encouraging, the same can be said of the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, the Institute of Tourism Studies and other public and private Higher Education Institutions that are aware of such challenges and are seriously working towards achieving higher standards of quality in their teaching and research sectors. Malta was one of the founding signatories of the Bologna Process. Malta has followed every Bologna Follow Up Group (BFUG) and Bologna Ministerial Meeting with keen interest. Timely and adequate actions have been taken to ensure that innovation and change match tradition and acquire standards through the experience gathered in this sector since the founding of our Alma Mater in 1592. The response from our Higher Education institutions has been encouraging even though a Bologna Culture is still in the making in some of our Higher Education Institutions. Seven Bologna Meetings have been organised during the past few months as part of the 2009-2011 Bologna cycle. The objective of these seminars is to raise more structured awareness on our campuses of the strengths and benefits of the Bologna Process for both students and Faculty members. A significant contribution has been given to the Bologna Process in Malta by the setting up, in June 2007, of the Malta Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning based on the level descriptors as defined by the Dublin descriptors for Higher Education and those of the European Qualifications Framework as adopted by the European Parliament in April 2008. The framework has also been complemented with the publication of the Referencing Report by the Malta Qualifications Council, which further delineates the qualifications' structure and the Higher Education System in Malta. This Framework has helped Malta become more attractive as a destination for Higher Education; it provides the foundation for making Malta a centre of excellence in Higher Education. I would like to thank the European Union Programmes Agency for the sterling support it provided to all the colleagues on the National Team of Bologna Experts (NTBE) for their professional contributions made throughout these past years. I wish to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Suzanne Gatt for preparing of this research paper and Ms. Mary Jane Mifsud and Mr. Karl Mintoff, of the European Union Programmes Agency, for providing the administrative and technical support to the NTBE. A final word of thanks goes to all my colleagues at the Malta Qualifications Council and the National Commission for Higher Education particularly Ms Debbie Lora Dimech who coordinated all events and publications. ; peer-reviewed

Science at primary level has always been the Cinderella of the educational system in Malta. Even though local legislation, the Education Act of 1988 and,the publication of a National Minimum Curriculum (NMC) for primary and secondary education binding all schools in Malta - state, church or privately run - recognised science as one of the principal aims of primary education, very little science is actually being done in schools. The main reason for this state of affairs is that science is not examined unlike the other core subjects: English, Maltese, mathematics, religion and social studies. ; peer-reviewed

EQAVET, the quality assurance tool in vocational and educational training, was developed in response to the need for a supply of a trained workforce for labour market needs. Implementation of EQAVET at national level, however, remains a challenge. The research reported here focused on the implementation of QA processes by VET providers in 4 countries: Malta, Italy, Turkey, and Sweden. Data was collected through a questionnaire with 62 VET providers. Responses showed that there is an overall commitment to quality. There is, however, little knowledge of EQAVET across the countries, with the exception of Malta. None the less, all VET providers have implemented some aspects of EQAVET, even if not always intentionally. The situation is, however, far from EQAVET being fully implemented. Reflections are made on whether the EQAVET model specifically or qualification assurance principles assurances should be promoted across Europe. (author's abstract)

The socio-cultural context shapes learning and development. Thus, schools cannot ignore neither the transformations shaping their surrounding societies, but be an active part of them, nor what those transformations mean for school learning. In this regard, technology has changed the way we think and learn, and learning has been shown to be deeply linked to the community of which we are part. However, benefits of involving the community in the ICT use in schools are barely explored in the literature; this article is aimed to shed some light on that aspect. We draw from a successful case, the Ariño school, and based on the dialogic learning theoretical framework, different strategies that promote a dialogic use of ICT are presented: community involvement in self-sufficient classrooms, community involvement outside the school settings, and community digital literacy. This analysis leads to the proposal of a community-based and dialogic approach to technology in schools. ; peer-reviewed

Europe, through the European Commission and the EU Member States have long recognised education as the key to strengthening the European economy and for promoting social cohesion in society (Green et al, 2003). It was with the Maastricht Treaty, back in the beginning of the 90s that the EU expanded its remit beyond being only an economic agreement. It is for this reason that the White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and employment (European Commission, 1993) recognised education and training as part of the responsibilities of the European Union. The European Commission also views education as the cohesive force behind the European social model (European Council, 2000) through which many social problems such as social exclusion, intolerance and racism can be tackled successfully. Education plays a major role in securing an open political system, in achieving civic responsibility, social cohesion and last but not least economic success (Reiterer, 2003). Education gained importance as the relationship between education and the labour market became closer and stronger. More recently, one finds that the publication 'New Skills for New Jobs' (European Commission 2010), sets the agenda and core priorities of the European Union with which to anticipate the skills that European citizens and companies will need. In working towards 2020, as the Expert Group Report (European Commission, 2010) highlighted, improving people's skills is a real 'win, win' situation in all aspects: for the economy; for society; for employers; and, of course, for the individuals themselves. The economy benefits through increased productivity and competitiveness as it leads to increased employment and entrepreneurship. Employers experience better business performance and greater profitability. Society benefits through improved health, increased citizen participation, and more social cohesion. Finally, individuals also gain through improved job entry, sustainability, mobility, better work opportunities, more start-ups as well as higher job satisfaction. It has, however, to be kept in mind that preparing people for future jobs requires a future looking education provision. This has resulted in the implementation of reforms in the education and training systems across Europe to achieve better coordination between employment and education policies, not only at national level, but also across the EU Member States and thus European level. ; peer-reviewed

Malta is characterised by its small size, its climatological parameters and its long coastline. This sets the context for specific eco-innovation activities to be stimulated and developed not only for local use but also for international replication. Europe is going through difficult economic times which have had their knock on effect on most countries of which Malta is no exception. However, during 2010, GDP registered an increase of 3.2% in real terms and 6.2% in nominal terms. Malta's Research and Innovation (R&I) strategy, Malta's draft Energy Policy, Malta's Operational Programme I as well as the financial incentives offered by Malta Enterprise set the context for the development of eco-innovation within the headline innovation bracket. In fact both Research and Development (R&D) and eco-innovation are recognised as a pillar for Malta's economic development. Malta ranked in 17th place in the 2011 Eco-Innovation Scoreboard, up a place from last year. This shows that whilst Malta is registering notable progress, it is still catching up on the EU-27 average. Notwithstanding, it ranks 4th amongst the New Member States, a comparative rank worth mentioning. Government R&D outlay in environment and energy is the lowest with respect to the EU-27 in absolute and relative terms. Malta ranks 21st in the percentage of R&D personnel and researchers compared to total employment and fares poorly in the number of registered patents, the number of environmental management systems adopted as well as in the number of academic papers related to eco-innovation. Malta fares positively in the media coverage that it gives to eco-innovation events which demonstrates the growing interest in pursuing this avenue of growth. Malta ranks joint 1st with Luxembourg in material productivity and joint 1st with Ireland in energy productivity. The Water Footprint Network places Malta in 16th place. Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Water Resources, Tourism and Public Awareness seem to be the areas where most of the potential for eco-innovation lies. Malta's dependency on imported fossil fuels, its scarcity of water resources, the newly available water resource resulting from full treatment of sewage prior to disposal which can mitigate water scarcity and the economic impact of tourism are the main factors which drive eco-innovation to focus on these areas. Malta's incentives schemes could also be a catalyst to foster further growth. Although it has been identified that Malta is still in the early stages of tackling eco-innovation a focus on more tangible deliverables is required. Whilst its limited size and resources make it a country where replication activities are more easily grown, the innovative capacity needs to grow further. Malta's human resources are considered to be of very high quality and it is therefore only logical to target efforts towards increasing this pool with a view to retain a competitive edge in the skills to cost ratio of such an important human capital asset. ; peer-reviewed

Background The 1990s have seen the percentage of gainfully employed youths drop to a level of 49.6%. This drop must be seen in the context of the increasing number of young people pursuing post-secondary education complemented by the rise in the unemployment rate of young people. Youth unemployment in Malta has risen these past years. In view of this problem government advocates that educational attainment must be sustained and improved upon by addressing the skills shortages particularly in the I.T. and construction industry, certain professions as well as in the middle management sector. Youth unemployment is also a problem within the EU. It is the EU's policy to upgrade labour skills and support in order to offer low-skilled workers a route out of unemployment an to reach the Lisbon targets. Objectives The project commissioned by the ETC focuses on how youths experience the school to work transition. It aims to : • review the opportunities available to youths in their transition from education to work; • identify the main factors that influence job aspirations and choices; • evaluate the adequacy of training available for the jobs on offer; and • identify programmes which can make the school to work transition smoother. Methods The project methodology involves collection of data in different forms from different players. It consisted of: a literature review on the school to work transition; an analysis of the tracer studies done by the Education Division over a ten year period; interviews with key players in post-secondary education; focus group interviews with youths at different points and paths of their school to work transition; interviews with employers and a survey with 500 youths who have undergone the school to work transition. The study was carried out during the period 2001- 2003. The main findings There were a number of significant findings with respect to the school to work transition in Malta. The main findings were the following: • The type of secondary school that a young person attends will determine to a great degree the type of path followed. Both from the tracer studies and the questionnaire it was found that those students in Area Secondary school tend to stop at compulsory education, moving to factory or elementary types of jobs. Many of them end their education without any qualifications. Students in Junior Lyceum, Church and Independent schools had a greater chance to continue with post-secondary Education; • The provision of guidance in secondary schools tends to be biased towards the academic path. The different sources of data collected show that often guidance teachers are concerned with the subjects that students choose and often assume that all the students intend to follow the general education path. Secondary students get very little information about the opportunities within the vocational postsecondary system and how the different apprenticeship schemes work. Preparation for the actual world of work is very little; • Schools are still detached from the world of work. Young persons are not learning how to deal with situations that may arise when at work and how to face them and so they feel vulnerable when they start working, ending up either being too aggressive or else allowing their employers and/or colleagues to take advantage; • Preparation of young persons for the world of work: Whereas academically it appears that young persons are of quite a good quality, there is much to be desired with respect to soft skills;• Work opportunities for 16-18 year olds are few. The reasons for this situation include: too young and immature; lack work experience; and have little or no qualifications; • Young persons appear to make the transition from school to work smoothly. About half of the young people in the survey just moved from school to the workplace and stayed there. The amount of job mobility of young persons during their transition is overall low; • Few young persons have endorsed the concept of lifelong learning. Less than one third of the respondents in the survey stated that they wished to have further training; • Employers have a very limited role within the present education system. The way through which employers are currently involved in the school to work transition is often limited to sponsoring workplaces to apprentices and summer jobs; • There is a number of young persons who have the initiative and willingness to be selfemployed. In certain cases young persons complained that in their post-secondary course they were only being prepared to work as an employee and not to be self-employed. Although it appears that the transition is smooth for most young people in that they do not appear that they have problems settling down at work, one must also ensure that they have been well informed when making their choices. It is not only a question of getting used to work but that young persons are working within the full potential of their capabilities. Based on these findings, a number of recommendations are made. ; peer-reviewed

The project Pri-Sci-Net has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7 2007 /13) under grant agreement No.266647. Any opinion expressed is solely of the authors and does not reflect that held by the European Commission. ; One of the challenges of Science Education in the 21st century is that of engaging learners in meaningful learning. Learning science from books does not equip them with the skills and competences necessary to become scientists. The European Commission has recognized this challenge and advocated inquiry-based learning as the main pedagogy to be adopted for teaching science. This paper presents the work in progress of the FP7 project Pri-Sci-Net which aims to promote inquirybased learning approaches at primary level of education with children from age 3-11 years across Europe. There needs to be a shared understanding among teachers of inquiry with reference to young children, and consequently identifying the required pedagogical skills. In addition, teachers needresources which they can gain through sharing their experiences with other teachers. The paper puts forward a vision for inquiry-based learning, highlights the need for the training teachers, and explores the potential of a virtual platform which can promote CPD for the use of IBSE among teachers. ; peer-reviewed

The global financial crisis across Europe has created great societal demands. Social inclusion has become one of the main challenges of the millennium with those hit hardest being the most vulnerable people. It is at such times that it becomes crucial to provide positive welfare. This article presents research results from a transnational study, INCLUD-ED, an FP6 project of the European Commission, which focuses on educational practices promoting social cohesion as a form of positive welfare. The research focuses on six successful schools in five countries that have demonstrated that they can transform children's academic performance as well as have an impact on the community itself. A number of positive transformative approaches beyond better academic performance included a spill over of benefits to the schools' neighbouring communities and an increase in social cohesion and community in health, housing, employment and social and political participation was also identified.

The research reported here is part of the FP6 Integrated Project INCLUD-ED funded by the European Commission. ; The global financial crisis across Europe has created great societal demands. Social inclusion has become one of the main challenges of the millennium with those hit hardest being the most vulnerable people. It is at such times that it becomes crucial to provide positive welfare. This article presents research results from a transnational study, INCLUD-ED, an FP6 project of the European Commission, which focuses on educational practices promoting social cohesion as a form of positive welfare. The research focuses on six successful schools in five countries that have demonstrated that they can transform children's academic performance as well as have an impact on the community itself. A number of positive transformative approaches beyond better academic performance included a spill over of benefits to the schools' neighbouring communities and an increase in social cohesion and community in health, housing, employment and social and political participation was also identified. ; peer-reviewed

The global financial crisis, increase in migration from troubled zones and the resulting more diverse multicultural and multilingual social settings across Europe have led to greater societal demands. As countries combat financial deficits and cut public spending, support to those in need decreases. Social inclusion has become one of governments' crucial societal challenges. Those hit hardest by the current crisis are the most vulnerable, particularly children and youths, who experience an increase in unemployment and decrease in general well-being and emotional health across all ages 1. Schools, together with the community, can work together to help tackle this challenge without additional financial burden. This paper presents research results from the transnational study INCLUD-ED funded within the FP6 programme of the European Commission. This project focuses on how educational practices involving the community can promote social cohesion without additional costs. Six schools in five European countries with a successful track record of transforming children's academic performance were researched through a longitudinal study over a period of four years. A number of positive transformative approaches leading to better academic performance, positive attitudes and tolerance amongst schoolchildren have been identified. Different dimensions of community involvement: family education; participation in decision-making; participation in school and curriculum and evaluation; as well as participation in the classroom have all had a significant educational impact. The research has also shown that community involvement led to benefits beyond the school walls with impact on improved housing, employment, health, social and political participation within the neighbouring communities. ; peer-reviewed

The scientific community has provided a wide range of evidence that family and community involvement in schools benefits not only students' learning but also their surrounding community. The INCLUD-ED project has conducted case studies of successful schools around Europe that have strong community participation. Some of them are engaged in the Learning Communities project, an international project of educational and social transfonnation aimed at overcoming school failure. Through these case studies, INCLUD-ED has gone beyond the state of the art in the field and has provided a classification of types of family and community participation and identified forms of involvement that improve students' academic achievement. This article presents the benefits of those fonns of participation and focuses on some forms of commooity involvement in the Learning Communities that have been found to improve students' school learning and other education-related aspects, such as living together. ; peer-reviewed

The document on Youth unemployment in The Netherlands prepared by the Dutch Colleagues, Jaap de Koning, Arie Gelderblom and Pater van Nes provide an insight of the problems youths experience in entering the labour market and initiatives governments can take to facilitate this transition, particularly with youths at risk. In quoting existent data and describing actions taken by the Dutch workforce set up, a number of issues relating to youth and unemployment are highlighted. These issues are relevant to the Netherlands, Malta and most probably, to the other member states within the EU. Many of these issues will be touched upon at different points in the document. ; peer-reviewed

Schools alone cannot reverse the high rates of school failure in the poorest communities in Europe; they need the contributions of the entire community. Coordination between families, the larger community, and the school has proven crucial to enhance student learning and achievement, especially for minority and disadvantaged families. However, families from such backgrounds often participate in their schools only peripherally because the schools take a 'tourist' approach, call parents to inform them about school projects and teachers' programmes, or consult them about decisions to be made by professionals, rather than engaging them in their children's education. In contrast, the INCLUD-ED project studied schools across Europe whose students are culturally diverse and from low SES backgrounds; here, the communities are deeply involved in the schools and the students do well academically. This article focuses on three strategies used by these successful schools to engage immigrant and minority community members in more active, decisive, and intellectual ways and thus have greater impact on the school and the students' learning. It also describes some specific practices of involvement grounded in those strategies and the improvements they generate. Though the schools studied use different practices, the three strategies have been found to contribute to a transformative result in all schools: moving minority and disadvantaged families from the periphery of school participation to the centre. ; peer-reviewed