Dr Rachael Agius graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Communication Therapy from the University of Malta in 1999. She worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist within the Ministry of Health in a range of settings that included Health Centres, Schools, Day Centres for Adults with Disabilities and the Access to Communication Technology Unit (ACTU). During this time, she developed the Literacy Specialised Division and coordinated Training Seminars on various communication disorders. Between 2004 and 2015, she lectured at the University of Malta on a visiting basis until she joined the Department of Communication Therapy as a resident academic in 2015.
Dr Agius worked as a Title 1 Reading Specialist at Broadway Elementary School, North Carolina, USA, between 2000 and 2002. In 2003, she obtained her M.Sc in Human Communication from the University College London (UCL), London.
She is a Senior Lecturer and Clinical Practice Education Coordinator, within the Department of Communication Therapy at the Faculty of Health Sciences. She lectures undergraduate and postgraduate students on topics of Language Disorders in Childhood (including Written Language Disorders), Introduction to Communication and Communication Disorders, Prevention and Early Intervention of Communication Disorders, Professional Skills, Communication and Collaborative Practices, among others. She also acts as Clinical Practice Education coordinator for undergraduate students.
She has supervised and examined a number of undergraduate and postgraduate (M.Sc.and Ph.D) dissertations related to research in literacy (reading, writing and arithmetic), bilingualism and test construction and standardization.
She was awarded a Ph.D. by the University of Malta in 2012. Her research developed the first bilingual literacy diagnostic assessment battery for Maltese children. She forms part of various international literacy associations and her research interests have mostly centered on bilingualism and literacy. She has presented in conferences both locally and overseas. Her expertise in the area of literacy has been sought after by schools, policy makers and other professionals, both locally and overseas. She sits on various related boards and has peer reviewed a number of articles for internationally acclaimed journals.
HSC5005 - Applied Clinical Education in Health Care Practice
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: - European Literacy Network, Founding Member - 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 Logopaedics and Phoniatrics (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: - Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics (CLP) - Educational Research and Reviews (ERR) - International Journal of English and Literature - Science Journal of Psychology - International Journal of Educational Research and Review (IJERR) - The Literacy, Preliteracy and Education Journal - Reading and writing - Journal of Technology, Knowledge and Learning (TKNL)
