Subject Specialisation for Primary Education Students The start of this academic year saw the introduction of a B.Ed.(Hons) course by the Faculty of Education, which prepares students specifically to become primary school teachers. The Department of Primary Education has long felt that students wanting to become primary school teachers require more training than that which was being provided by the previous course. The new B.Ed.(Hons) has been developed in response to this need.

The course is different in that it focuses solely on primary education with a specialisation in Early or Junior years and at the same time, it also gives students the possibility of specialising in the teaching of a particular subject at primary level. First year students were offered a choice from a selection of eight subjects: English, Maltese, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, Religion, Creative and Expressive Arts, and Physical Education. The selection process was coordinated by Ms Suzanne Gatt and was based on qualifications. There was a good distribution of students within the various options and even though a minimum qualification of grade C at Intermediate level was set as a baseline, most of the students in fact had an Advanced Level in the subject to be specialised in.

The purpose of offering subject specialisation is to equip students with additional expertise as primary teachers over and above pedagogic skills. The training provided by the new curriculum is designed to furnish students with a deeper background in subject knowledge whilst also enhancing their professional development and I.T. skills in preparation for the demands of their future career.

3 July, 2000