https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/52972 2026-04-14T22:50:13Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/52955 Title: Kenneth Wain : The Maltese national curriculum : a critical evaluation [book review] Abstract: There is hardly an area which falls within the experience of so many people and affects their lives to such an extent as schooling does. Because of this, one would be justified to expect that educational reform and innovations would attract the attention and reaction of an overwhelming majority of people. And yet in the space of two years we have seen the publication of three National Minimum Curricula, one for the primary, another for the secondary and a third for the tertiary level, without much of a response on the part of teachers, parents, students, or the community generally. It is this rather disquieting silence over the educational developments of crucial importance that has driven Professor Kenneth Wain to write and publish the monograph under review. It is the first in what promises to be a controversial and timely series of publications, authored by different- educational theorists and under Wain's general editorship, aimed at critically appraising the Maltese educational system and pointing towards alternative practice. 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/52935 Title: Education, power and personal biography : an interview with Professor Michael Apple Editors: Farrugia, Charles Abstract: The following is the transcript of an interview with Professor Michael Apple. This interview was held on April 28, 1989 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where Professor Michael Apple lectures in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Policy Studies. Also in attendance were Dr. Morrow from the Department of Sociology, University of Alberta, and Dr Carlos Torres, Department of Educational Foundations, University of Alberta. This interview was published with Professor Apple's permission. 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/52934 Title: A preliminary study of modifying school children's attitudes towards students with specific learning disabilities Authors: Sandling, Ingvar Abstract: Classes for children with specific learning disabilities in Sweden have for many years been located in ordinary schools. Nevertheless many studies indicate that there are relatively few· contacts between children in regular classes and children in classes for the learning disabled. This study aimed to determine whether children's attitudes toward learning disabled schoolmates could be favourably modified by a program designed to provide specific information about retardation as well as to encourage cooperation between the two groups. A series of structured questions was developed to determine present knowledge and attitudes toward the learning disabled. These questions were presented both at the beginning and end of a school semester (6 months). Interventions attempting to modify children's attitudes about the learning disabled included information sessions, role playing and a joint field trip. The study suggests that children's . attitudes can be changed in the direction of greater acceptance of the learning disabled. 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/52933 Title: Language and the science curriculum Authors: Ventura, Frank Abstract: Current interest about which language (Maltese or English) is more suitable for teaching certain subjects in the secondary school touches upon important educational issues (1). Language is not simply the medium of exchange of ideas but, once acquired, it becomes the instrument that the learner can then use to bring order into his/her environment (2). In the absence of a prescribed language policy, many teachers opt for the language which in their judgement best helps pupils to understand the subject and to perform well in tests and examinations. In practice this means that they use a mixture of languages depending on the objectives of their lessons. This article focuses on the language used in science teaching and it is based on research carried out in June 1984 as an off-shoot of an evaluation of the science curriculum in the first two years of the Area Secondary schools (3). At that time, excluding pupils attending Junior Lyceums and private schools, the Area Secondary schools catered for 60 percent of all boys and 66.5 percent of all girls at Form 1 and Form 2 level. 1991-01-01T00:00:00Z