Exploring the influence of COVID-19 on initial teacher education in Malta : student participation in higher education

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a rapid transition from onsite to online learning spaces for initial teacher education (ITE); with Universities adopting new modes of pedagogy and assessment. This study explores: (1) how Maltese ITE undergraduate early years and postgraduate primary education students dealt with remote forms of learning during the early stages of the pandemic in Malta, and (2) the teaching/lecturing modes used, by lecturers, for remote learning, assessment and the impact on student wellbeing. The data were gathered through an online quantitative survey designed to collect information about ITE students’ views. Students’ responses obtained strongly suggest that in the eventuality of an ongoing ‘postvaccination COVID’ era, ITE within HE programmes should consider revisiting the course content and delivery, supporting and fostering, blended and online approaches. A ‘blind spot’ reflecting the struggle for independence, autonomy, and control during COVID-19 in a postcolonial Maltese Higher Education context also emerged. The insights gained highlight how ITE students’ views on their experiences of predominantly online pedagogy and assessment, and how the impact on their wellbeing within a Maltese HE context can serve to promote the development of ITE programmes. These results also emphasize the need to promote participatory research amongst university students as key to inform HE policy and practice.