https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/137595 2026-04-27T06:00:38Z 2026-04-27T06:00:38Z Formosa, Laura Calleja, James https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/142774 2026-01-15T13:13:04Z 2025-06-01T00:00:00Z

Title: ‘Personal’ and ‘environmental’ influences on teacher learning in lesson study Authors: Formosa, Laura; Calleja, James Abstract: This study uses zones of enactment theory to analyse the case of a primary Art teacher and the influence of personal and environmental sectors on her learning through lesson study. Our analysis draws on qualitative data and findings indicate that lesson study created social enactment zones with pupils, the teaching resources she developed and her knowledgeable others. The lesson study context and the social aspect of teacher learning were heightened by the teacher’s personal resources. Her personal resources – beliefs, knowledge and disposition for learning – enabled her to recognise learning opportunities and became better informed about changes to improve her professional practices.

2025-06-01T00:00:00Z Saliba, Vanessa https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/142773 2026-01-15T13:09:18Z 2025-06-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Training needed for educators to work with autistic students in mainstream primary schools : the Maltese perspective Authors: Saliba, Vanessa Abstract: Due to the high proportion of learners with disabilities attending mainstream schools in Malta, Maltese educators encounter various challenges when working with autistic students in inclusive schools. In this article, the training needed by the senior management team (SMT), teachers and learning support educators (LSEs) when working with autistic students in mainstream primary schools in Malta is discussed in light of research showing that training for educators can ease the challenges of working with autistic students in mainstream schools, thus making it a positive experience. Data were collected through qualitative questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. All primary school educators in one college were invited to participate. A total of 172 educators accepted the invitation and filled out a questionnaire. Nineteen of the 172 participants agreed to participate in a semi-structured interview. The findings show that Maltese educators lack training in working with autistic students, resulting in a number of challenges for them. The findings include several suggestions put forward by the participants about what training they need.

2025-06-01T00:00:00Z Vella Haber, Pearl Marie https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/142772 2026-01-15T13:06:13Z 2025-06-01T00:00:00Z

Title: ‘Silenced voices’ : exploring the experiences of Maltese learning support educators working in state schools Authors: Vella Haber, Pearl Marie Abstract: This paper examines the roles, challenges, and lived experiences of three Learning Support Educators (LSEs) working in Maltese state schools, with a particular focus on the impact of socio-economic deprivation and systemic constraints. Two of the participants are based in primary schools. One supports a student in a socially deprived area who faces neglect and multiple life challenges. The other works as a Nurture LSE, offering essential emotional and behavioural support to children struggling with issues such as poverty, neglect, abuse, and poor hygiene. She reflects on the transformative potential of nurture groups in equipping students with coping mechanisms; while also highlighting the stigma such groups face from other educators, as well as the chronic underfunding that limits their impact. The third participant is based in a Learning Support Zone (LSZ) in a state secondary school, where she supports students dealing with complex issues including low self-esteem, family trauma, parental separation, and economic hardship. Despite holding qualifications equivalent to those of a teacher, she describes the persistent lack of recognition for her role, noting how LSEs are systematically viewed as subordinate within the educational hierarchy. Using a narrative research methodology, this study foregrounds the authentic voices of LSEs, providing insight into the often-invisible labour they perform. Their testimonies reveal the silencing and marginalisation they endure within a rigid system that undervalues their work. Bound by institutional hierarchies, resource limitations, and social stigma, these educators struggle to advocate for themselves—even as they play a crucial role in supporting some of the most vulnerable students. The findings call for urgent recognition, structural support, and a re-evaluation of the systemic positioning of LSEs within the education sector.

2025-06-01T00:00:00Z Baldacchino, Godfrey https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/137853 2025-08-01T05:58:14Z 2025-06-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Stretching boundaries of critical education : past, present and future possibilities [Book review] Authors: Baldacchino, Godfrey Abstract: What do I profess? I was once thus questioned at Heathrow Airport by an immigration officer, having jotted down ‘professor’ as my employment on an immigration form. It is not an easy question to answer, especially on the fly. As one of so many educators, I often worry and think about how best to engage with my classroom, and its human subjects, shaping this amalgam into an exciting and energising experience, with productive consequences beyond the lecture itself. But: what if my students are just interested in securing a grade and getting on with their lives? What does ‘education’ really mean to these persons? And do I bother to publish for my own self-aggrandisement, especially when so many students don’t read, even if they had time to do so? These hard questions keep piling up. We never successfully address them; and they never go away. But we can try and get to better grips with them by venturing in either of two directions: upstream, to better understand the contexts and dynamics that have led to the contemporary classroom; and downstream, to scrutinise how to foster specific educational settings that build respectful, dialectical, peer-to-peer conversations; that liberate and empower those involved. (Calling those involved ‘students’ here is quite unsavoury.) [excerpt] Description: Full bibliographic record: Carmel Borg and Peter Mayo (Eds.) (2025). Stretching boundaries of critical education: Past, present and future possibilities. Faculty of Education, University of Malta. ISBN: 978-9918-20-334-5.

2025-06-01T00:00:00Z