https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/1054 Sun, 05 Apr 2026 15:57:07 GMT 2026-04-05T15:57:07Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145292 Title: Physical education : my fitness journal [Student’s handbook] Authors: Bonnici, Sarah; Decelis, Andrew Abstract: This student’s handbook, titled "Physical Education: My Fitness Journal," is a comprehensive pedagogical resource designed for secondary school students to actively engage with their physical health and skill development. Authored by Sarah Bonnici and Andrew Decelis and published by the University of Malta, the journal serves as a personalized tracking tool and educational guide.; The handbook is structured around two primary pillars of physical literacy: Health-Related Fitness (focusing on body composition, flexibility, muscular strength, and cardiovascular endurance) and Skill-Related Fitness (focusing on agility, balance, coordination, power, and reaction time). It provides students with standardized testing protocols and monitoring logs to document their progress over the scholastic year. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145292 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145274 Title: Is Maltese like water or stone? Abstract: This opinion piece argues that the future of the Maltese language does not depend on preservation through rigidity but on its ability to adapt and thrive within contemporary digital and cultural environments. Drawing on the metaphor of water versus stone, Żammit contends that true resilience lies in flexibility and movement rather than resistance. While Maltese remains widely spoken, it is increasingly absent from digital spaces where children form their identities, creativity, and sense of belonging. This absence risks rendering the language irrelevant to younger generations, who encounter and therefore choose languages based on their presence in lived experience. The article emphasises that language survival is not guaranteed by tradition or usage alone but by relevance and desirability, particularly in digital media, games, and online platforms. It calls for a shift from preservation to transformation, advocating investment in Maltese digital content and creative engagement to ensure the Maltese language remains a living, evolving medium. Ultimately, the piece warns that without intentional action to integrate Maltese into the everyday digital worlds of children, it may gradually fade; not through rejection, but through neglect. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145274 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145257 Title: Physical education : my fitness journal : teacher’s handbook Authors: Bonnici, Sarah; Decelis, Andrew Abstract: Supporting students in leading healthy and active lifestyles is becoming an increasingly central responsibility for physical education (PE) teachers (Cale & Harris, 2019). In light of the growing prevalence of health issues related to physical inactivity among adults and younger people, PE teachers are moving beyond traditional sport-based teachings alone to incorporate a more holistic and health-related approach to PE.; My Fitness Journal and this teachers’ handbook aim to support educators further achieve the meaningfulness of PE and to develop better physically educated learners. In doing so, students are also encouraged to look into and embed in their practices the Health-Based Physical Education (HBPE) pedagogies to motivate learners in learning and participating regularly in physically active daily routines to help sustain a healthy and active well-being (Cale & Harris, 2022). This is acquired through assigning physical tasks that learners could try out after school and also referring to the healthy tips found in the journal. Additionally, the journal will draw upon the pedagogical works of Donald Hellison (2010), Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR). Here, the students will encompass diverse values derived from various situations in the PE lessons. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145257 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145214 Title: Gramsci, religion and education as hegemonic and counter-hegemonic discourse Authors: Borg, Carmel Abstract: This article examines Gramsci’s analysis of education and religion as hegemonic discourses. An attempt is made to critique Gramsci’s analytical framework—his notions of ideology, education, religion and hegemony, and his concept of the ‘organic intellectuals’, the ideological role of the intellectuals as consciousness builders, and the emergence of the counter-hegemonic strategy during the transformation of power relations in society. The article evaluates the revolutionary curriculum—the transformational pedagogy, as envisaged by Gramsci, that would create a new world.; In reality, the internal relations of any nation are the result of a combination which is ‘original’ and (in a certain sense) unique: these relations must be understood and conceived in their originality and uniqueness if one wishes to dominate them and direct them (Gramsci, in Hoare & Nowell Smith, 1971: 240). Tue, 01 Jan 2002 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145214 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z