The teaching of history in Maltese secondary schools

Abstract

As part of the study about the teaching of history in Secondary Schools, a questionnaire was distributed among teachers. The teachers had to give their opinion about: (i) textbooks (ii) teaching less able students (iii) assessing achievements. Analysis of the results about textbooks shows that, (i) the majority of teachers find the Grajjet Malta series adequate and (ii) most of the teachers still depend to a great extent on the use of the textbook in class. When teaching the less able the survey indicates that, (i) new ideas are mostly unknown, (ii) story telling is extensively used and (iii) students see no practical use of history for their future career. Teachers, in assessing their students prefer, (i) a combination of monthly and yearly testing and (ii) argumentative answers rather than factual ones. Suggestions for improvement are also given in each part of the dissertation about, (i) improving the existing textbooks, (ii) new ways of teaching less able students and (iii) other methods of assessment.