Prof. Valerie Sollars

Prof. Valerie Sollars

Prof. Valerie Sollars

 B.Ed.(Hons),M.A.(Ed.Psych.)(Montr.),Ph.D.(Manc.)

Professor

Room 233
Old Humanities Building (OH)
University of Malta
Msida
  +356 2340 2930
Valerie Sollars is an academic member of staff at the Faculty of Education within the Department of Early Childhood & Primary Education. Her interest in and promotion of early childhood education and care has led to her authoring several policy documents (2006, 2013, 2014), contributing to an Early Years Framework as part of the National Curriculum Framework (2008-2012) and developing the first undergraduate programme of studies for early years practitioners (2009-2016). She also co-ordinated the development of a post-graduate degree in Early Years with colleagues from six European institutions and subsequently was a member of an international consortium delivering an Erasmus Mundus Master in Early Childhood Education (2010-2016). In line with one of her research interests, Valerie has conducted research focusing on emergent literacy and young language learners and led a number of language-related projects at the ECML in Graz (1998-2007). Valerie has recently published articles focusing on parents satisfaction about early years settings and transitions from kindergarten to compulsory school. Forthcoming publications include a comprehensive report on the early years workforce drawn up for the SEEPRO-R project and which follows from previous work (Sollars, 2007) and an article for Oxford Bibliographies entitled Early Childhood Education in Europe. She has also authored a chapter on children's use of spaces and places to be included in a publication by the President's Foundation for the WellBeing of Society. Her current research focuses on quality issues from the perspective of parents and staff and the history of early childhood education in Malta.

Valerie was a Head of Department (2004-2011) and the Dean of the Faculty of Education (2007-2015). She has also served on various national and international boards including the Council for the Teaching Profession; the Institute for Education; the National Institute for Childhood and the European Network for Teacher Education Policy (ENTEP).
  • Early Childhood Education & Care
  • Early Years Policy
  • Language & Literacy development in early years

SOLLARS, V., 2020. Defining quality in early childhood education: parents' perspectives. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 28(3), pp. 319-331.

SOLLARS, V., 2018. Early Childhood Education in Europe. New York: Oxford University Press.

SOLLARS, V., 2018. Shaping early childhood education services in Malta: historical events, current affairs, future
challenges. Early Years: An International Research Journal, 38(4), pp. 337-350.

BANKOVIC, I. & SOLLARS, V., 2017. English as a second language in a Maltese early years setting    
An Leanbh Óg: The OMEP Ireland Journal of Early Childhood Studies, 11, pp. 61-69.

SOLLARS, V., 2017.   “Malta – ECEC Workforce Profile.” In Workforce Profiles in Systems of Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe   . www.seepro.eu/English/Country_Reports.htm: .

SOLLARS, V., 2017. Parents’ expectations about early years services. Early Years: An international research journal, 37(3), pp. 285-299.

SOLLARS, V. & MIFSUD, S., 2016. ...when the bell rings you can talk: Experiencing the pre-school to school transition. International Journal on Transitions in Childhood, 9.

SOLLARS, V., 2014. The early years learning outcomes: An implementation strategy. Floriana, Malta: Ministry for Education and Employment.

SOLLARS, V., 2013. Early Childhood Education and Care in Malta: The way forward. Floriana, Malta: Ministry for Education and Employment.

SOLLARS, V., 2011. Section 1: The Early Years. In Towards a quality framework for all. The National Curriculum Framework 2011. Consultation Document 3. The three cycles: the Early Years, the Primary years, the Secondary Years (p. 11-28). Floriana, Malta: Ministry of Education, Employment & the Family.

SOLLARS, V., 2010. Social and emotional competence: Are preventive programmes necessary in early childhood education and care? The International Journal of Emotional Education, 2(1), pp. 49-60.

SOLLARS, V., 2008. Children’s Issues in Malta. In: EPSTEIN, I. & LIMAGE, L., ed, The Grenwood Encyclopaedia of Children’s issues worldwide: Europe. Westport: The Greenwood Press, pp. 275-299.

SOLLARS, V., 2007. Systems of early education/care and professionalisation in  Malta. Munich, Germany: State Institute of Early Childhood Research (IFP).

SOLLARS, V., 2007. Writing experiences in a second/foreign language classroom: from theory to practice. In: M. CAMILLERI, P. FORD, H. LEJA and V. SOLLARS, eds, BLOGS: Web journals in foreign language education. Strasbourg: ECML/Council of Europe, pp. 15-24.

SOLLARS, V. and CAMILLERI, M., 2007. Partnership of Universities and Schools. A model of systematic professional induction of teachers. In: M.V. ZULJAN and J. VOGRINC, eds, Professional inductions of teachers in Europe and elsewhere. Slovenia: Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, pp. 65-72.

CAMILLERI GRIMA, A. and SOLLARS, V., 2006. Intercultural competence and communication: Perspectives and activities. Malta: PEG.

SOLLARS, V., 2006. Children’s right to play. A study of Maltese children’s perceptions of recreational and cultural activities. Malta: PEG: Office of the Commissioner for Children.

SOLLARS, V., 2006. Intercultural competence and communication - current views among practitioners in Maltese early years' settings. In: A. CAMILLERI-GRIMA and V. SOLLARS, eds, Intercultural competence in early childhood education: perspectives and activities. Malta: PEG, pp. 3-12.

SOLLARS, V., ATTARD, M., BORG, C. and CRAUS, B., 2006. Early childhood education and care: A national policy. Floriana, Malta: Ministry of Education, Youth & Employment.

AULLS, M.W. and SOLLARS, V., 2003. The differential influences of the home environment on the reading ability of children entering grade one.  1(39), 1-15. Reading Improvement, 1(39), pp. 1-15.

CAMILLERI, M. and SOLLARS, V., 2003. Case study 2: ECML Project 1.3.3. ICT & young language learners : organizational and process aspects. In: F. HEYWORTH, ed, The organization of innovation in language education: A set of case studies. Strasbourg: ECML/Council of Europe, pp. 59-65.

CAMILLERI, M., SOLLARS, V., POOR, Z., MARTINEZ DEL PINAL, T. and LEJA, H., 2003. I.C.T and Young language learners. Strasbourg: ECML/Council of Europe.

SOLLARS, V., 2003. Constructing a Curriculum for Early Childhood Education in Malta - The value of play for learning. Researching Early Childhood, 5(Care, Play and Learning. Curricula for Early Childhood Education.), pp. 161-178.

SOLLARS, V., ed, 2002. Curricula, policies and practices in early childhood education. Malta: PEG.

SOLLARS, V., ed, 2002. Issues in Multi-literacy. Strasbourg: ECML/Council of Europe.

SOLLARS, V. and YLINEN, U.K., 2002. Young learners’ reading and writing experiences of a second/foreign language: the Maltese and Finnish context. In: V. SOLLARS, ed, Issues in Multi-literacy. Strasbourg: ECML/Council of Europe, pp. 135-171.

SOLLARS, V., 2001. Language learning and teaching in teacher education in Malta. In: R. EASTON, ed, Collection of case studies on examples of good practice in teacher education with a focus on organisational aspects. Graz, Austria: ECML, pp. 62-71.

SOLLARS, V., 2001. Teaching practice in primary education in Malta. In: M. COSTAS I COSTA, F. DURIEUX, S. GUARDIA GONZALEZ, W. LANGER, M. OJALA and I. OOMEN-WELKE, eds, Student teaching practice in Europe. pp. 221-228.

SOLLARS, V., ATTARD, M., BARTOLO, M., CINI, M., IZZO, G. and SCHEMBRI, M., 2000. Early childhood and transition to primary, Proceedings of the Malta conference on the implementation of the National Curriculum, 9th – 11th June 2000 2000, pp. 3-20.

SOLLARS, V. and PUMFREY, P., 1999. Reciprocal and transmission models of teaching in E2L with young learners. International Journal of Early Years Education, 7(2), pp. 141-157.

SOLLARS, V., 1994. Children’s perceptions about print. In: C.J. FARRUGIA, ed, A new vision for primary schools. Malta: MUT, pp. 37-57.

SOLLARS, V., in print. Reflecting on ‘quality’ in early childhood education: practitioners’ perspectives and voices. Early Years: An international research journal, .

  • EDS5004 - Research Component A: Preparing for the Dissertation
  • EDU5971 - Applied Educational Research Methods
  • EPE1011 - Quality Matters in ECEC
  • EPE2002 - Language, Literacy and Communication Development in Young Children
  • EPE2005 - Observation, Assessment and Children's Participation in Early Years Settings
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