In the Western World since the times of Ancient Greeks, education has become an object of study. Plato’s (circa 420 BC) book The Republic is a testimony of this. The study of education often questions what knowledge is and who produces it; it is also fundamentally linked to societies’ wellbeing and individual personal growth.
A hallmark of the Department is its attempt to develop and sustain a dynamic relationship between educational theory and practice, particularly by bringing analysis and empirical research to bear on educational issues that are topical in Malta and elsewhere. The Department has a very high national and international research profile, with publications by its members guiding local and international educational decision-making and appearing in top-refereed journals. Members of the Department have published widely in the areas of scholastic achievement, comparative education, philosophy of education, career guidance, school bullying, feminism, educational equity, teenage learners and the workplace, and specific learning difficulties, among others. A number of staff members also serve as advisers to the editorial boards of several journals and have been involved as consultants with both local and foreign governmental and non-governmental organisations on a variety of local and EU funded projects.
The Department of Education Studies is responsible for developing, researching and teaching the area of educational theory, particularly the constituent subjects of Philosophy, Sociology and Psychology of Education, as well as educational research in general. Our teaching is underpinned by a broad approach to inclusion in its widest sense. The members of this Department service other kindred departments, within the Faculty of Education, in their areas of knowledge, expertise and proficiency, providing the students with the necessary knowledge base to inform their interactions with children within their specific subject area. Our research also focuses on:
Additionally, the Department is responsible for the training and formation of teachers specialising in the teaching of Ethics and in the teaching of Personal, Social and Career Development (PSCD) across the Primary and Secondary School curriculum. The teaching of Ethics in Schools and the teaching of Personal Social Career Development, given the nature of these two curricular subjects, are housed in our Department.