Dr Rachael Agius is a Senior Lecturer and Clinical Practice Education Coordinator within the Department of Human Communication Sciences and Disorders at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta. She also coordinates the Master of Science in Literacy and Numeracy in Neurodiverse Profiles.
A Speech and Language Pathologist by profession, Dr Agius graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) in Communication Therapy from the University of Malta in 1999. She subsequently obtained an M.Sc. in Human Communication from University College London (UCL) and was awarded a Ph.D. by the University of Malta in 2012. Her doctoral research resulted in the development of the first bilingual literacy diagnostic assessment battery for Maltese children.
Before joining the University of Malta as a resident academic in 2015, Dr Agius gained extensive clinical experience within the Ministry of Health, working across health centres, schools, adult disability services and the Access to Communication Technology Unit (ACTU). During this time, she established the Literacy Specialised Division and coordinated professional training on communication disorders. She also worked as a Title I Reading Specialist at Broadway Elementary School in North Carolina, USA.
Dr Agius teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in speech and language pathology and has supervised and examined numerous Master's and doctoral dissertations. Her research focuses on bilingual literacy, dyslexia, written language disorders, neurodiversity, early intervention, and the development and validation of assessment tools. She has presented her work at national and international conferences and has contributed to several international research and Erasmus+ projects.
She serves as Board Director for Partnerships of the European Literacy Network (ELN) and is a member of both the Neurodiversity Committee and the Artificial Intelligence Taskforce of the International Association of Communication Sciences and Disorders (IALP). Her expertise has been sought by educators, clinicians and policymakers both locally and internationally. She serves on professional boards, collaborates with international research networks, and regularly reviews manuscripts for leading peer-reviewed journals. Her current work focuses on advancing evidence-based literacy assessment and intervention, fostering international collaboration, and promoting inclusive educational practices for neurodiverse learners through research, innovation and professional education.
HSC5005 - Applied Clinical Education in Health Care Practice
HSC5007 - Children's Health: Supporting Optimal Development
HSC5111 - Research Methods for Health Care Professionals
Past and ongoing collaborations:
- Management Committee member of COST Action IS 1401 (Strengthening Europeans' capabilities by establishing the European Literacy Network) since 2014. - Research conducted at the Agora Centre of Excellence in Learning and Motivation Research at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland. This was part of a short-term scientific mission (STSM) as part of Cost Action A33 (Cross-linguistically robust stages of children's linguistic performance), 2008. - In 2017, conducted a joint research project in collaboration with Texas A & M University, USA on Implementing the Framework for Accelerating Strategic Comprehension of Text (FASCT) to improve reading comprehension in Maltese schools. This research was partially funded by the University of Malta.
Past/Present Member of: - International Network of Health Workforce Education (INHWE) - European Literacy Network, Founding Member & Board Director (Partnerships) - COST Action European Literacy Network (ELN) IS1401 - The British Dyslexia Association (BDA) - The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) - American Educational Research Association (AERA) - The Society of the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR) - The International Association of Communication Sciences and Disorders (IALP) - United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA) - Association for Professionals working with Learning Disabilities (APLD), 2010 - 2012 - Quality Assurance Advisory Committee (QAAC) 2012, Speech-Language Department, Malta. - Speech-Language SOP Committee, 2013, Speech-Language Department, Malta. - Equality Certification Board, 2013, Speech-Language Department, Malta. - ISO Quality Manual Review Board, Speech-Language Department, Malta.
Peer reviewed articles for: - American Education Research Association (AERA) - Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics (CLP) - Educational Research and Reviews (ERR) - Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica - International Journal of Educational Research and Review (IJERR) - International Journal of English and Literature - International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders - Journal of Technology, Knowledge and Learning (TKNL) - Linguistics and Literature Studies - Nursing in Critical Care - Reading and writing - Science Journal of Psychology - The Literacy, Preliteracy and Education Journal - Universal Journal of Education Research
Awarded Projects: ECHOES – ExChange Of ExpertiSe in Healthcare Professionals’ Education - Erasmus+ KA220-HED Cooperation Partnership in Higher Education (Call 2023).
