Vol. 18 no. 1 / June 2024 / Special Issue: Emerging Scholars of Education in Malta

In many fields today, there is a call for educators to move out of their ‘ivory towers’ and into public spaces (Sandlin et al., 2017, p. 825). This critical turn toward public pedagogy, emancipatory research, and participatory (action) research has become increasingly crucial within academia. But what are the risks when educators and researchers move into public spaces where activist communities gather? This paper discusses some methodological concerns with researching activism. In this paper, I attempt to counter these concerns by employing a critical, feminist, and sensory methodology to research activist communities and their lived, embodied, and affective experiences.

Science has a complex history in the Maltese Islands, sketched by who defines it, how it is conducted, and who engages with it. Citizens’ science capital is a theoretical lens that explores uneven patterns in science participation (Archer et al., 2015). It delves into what influences individuals’ perceived self-efficacy and how they engage with science and scientific research if and when they do. This paper will focus on three factors affecting Maltese residents’ science capital: whether they attend science activities, which entities they visit, and their relationship with institutions that conduct Public Engagement with Science (PES). While the conceptual approach to theorising science capital was designed as a tool for use with school students, this analysis will extend the concept to citizens’ participation in science activities in Malta in 2019/2020. A questionnaire was distributed to Maltese residents to determine their engagement with science and science activities. The specific results on residents’ interest in science and their tendency to attend science activities will be presented in this paper. Most of the respondents expressed their interest in science (n = 461, 80.2%), with only a small sample of 69 respondents (12.0%) stating otherwise. The highest percentage of the respondents attending science activities were from the 18–24 age group (65.2%). The 55–64 age group had the lowest percentage (29.4%), followed by the 65+ group (32.7%). Results also show that 36.6% of the respondents had never visited Esplora, the Interactive Science Centre, and a further 7.7% were unaware of it. Activities can be more inclusive if entities conducting PES include citizens in the design of the activities. A national PES strategy might act towards a better-coordinated approach among stakeholders conducting PES.

This paper is part of a research project that explores Malta’s educational pathway of work-based learning programmes between the 1940s and 2020, particularly emphasising apprenticeship schemes as a leading model for technical education and training. The main goal of this paper is to shed light on how educational policies and legal initiatives shaped apprenticeship and work-based learning between the 1940s and the 1960s. The paper employs repository consultation and parliamentary discourse analysis as a methodological approach centred on the analyses of parliamentary debates, national legislation, and government reports. The paper sheds light on the pedagogical advancements within the work-based and apprenticeship technical education field, explaining the intricate processes that shaped the development of technical education in Malta. By contributing a nuanced understanding of the socio-economic and, at times, political factors that influenced these educational frameworks, the paper aims to provide valuable insights into the historical underpinnings of apprenticeship schemes and work-based learning initiatives in Malta. Ultimately, this research enriches vocational education and training discourse, offering valuable insights for educators and stakeholders invested in enhancing employability education strategies.

Maltese and Italian exhibit parametrically different choices regarding restrictive relative clause formation. This study focuses on the interlanguages of non-native, intermediate, and advanced Maltese students studying Italian as a second language in a formal context. Relative clauses were classified and analysed following Keenan and Comrie’s (1977) noun phrase accessibility hierarchy (NPAH), a theoretical framework adopted to examine the structure of relative clauses. Given that relative clauses are islands for extraction in Italian, this study also incorporates findings from a self-paced experimental design adapted from Beltrama and Xiang (2016) to investigate the extent to which a [-wh-movement] L1 (Maltese) and a [+wh-movement] L2 (Italian) influence L2 processing of complex relative clauses in the final stage of L2 acquisition. The results indicate that the acquisition process of relative clause syntactic structures is affected by the level of L2 proficiency and frequency of L2 syntactic structures. As proficiency increased, the output of advanced learners became more similar to native speakers, with the advanced group exhibiting native-like attainment. This research contributes new evidence in three main areas: (i) how the noun phrase acceptability hierarchy, as a theoretical framework, complements an experimental methodology design; (ii) what factors contribute to describing and interpreting degrees of language acceptability in experimental designs of complex syntactic structures; and (iii) the possible factors that lead non-native language learners to acquire and produce complex syntactic structures that go beyond the limit of possible experience while making developmental progress in both the accuracy and processing efficiency of relative clauses.

Notwithstanding the considerable amount of research conducted in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) (a list of abbreviations is provided at the end of paper), our understanding of the cognitive processes that occur in the adult brain during the learning of a second language (L2) remains limited. This study investigates the potential development of a learning pattern in 35 adult learners of Maltese as a second language (ML2), specifically focusing on Maltese verbs. This research was inspired by the principles and concepts of Chaos/Complexity theory (C/CT). The subject matter revolves around the concept of a non-linear learning curve, the origins of the butterfly effect, and the presence of fractal patterns in the learning process. The study elucidates the unpredictable, chaotic, dynamic, and complicated nature of learning Maltese. This research employed a longitudinal research system and utilised a mixed-method approach with a specific focus on methodological triangulation. The study employed Timed Grammaticality Judgement Tests, verb conjugation tasks, reflective journals, and interviews to examine the progression of learning Maltese verbs at an intermediate level over a span of 15 months. Based on the findings, every participant reported a non-linear learning pattern and verified the characteristics of Chaos/Complexity theory.

This paper explores the intricate relationship between art museum learning and the development of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in the context of the rapidly advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. As AI becomes increasingly prevalent in today’s world, there is a growing need to emphasize the human aspects of education and emotional understanding. Stemming from my doctoral study (2014-2020) which explored holistic educational approaches with reference to the national art museum in Malta, this paper extends to the contribution of an art museum learning to the development of emotional intelligence (EI) in times of artificial intelligence (AI). As part of my research, I carried out three community projects with young adult participants (aged 21-30years). I exchanged ideas with the participants about the ways they engage with the national art museum collection in Malta. Throughout the three projects, regardless of their artistic ability and aesthetic background, all participants communicated experiences, emotions and ideas through art. This paper recommends ways in which art museum learning can enhance EI, fostering empathy, social skills, and self-awareness in individuals, thereby preparing them for the emotional challenges of the AI-driven future.

Theoretical literature reveals that there are various concepts of identity and professional identity, but it is evident that teachers with a stronger teacher identity are more successful in the education system and less likely to drop out of the system. It is also evident that the most intensive professional identity formation occurs during the years of study, which can be called the most intensive years of becoming a teacher. The Lithuanian education system faces various issues, such as the shortage of teaching staff and low teacher status in society, the non-attraction of the best candidates to the teaching profession, etc. Despite this, young people still choose to become teachers. This study explores the experiences of pre-service Lithuanian teachers. Seeing the process of becoming a teacher as the phenomenon of identity formation, it raised the following question: what is the experience of becoming a teacher during the years of study? An interpretative phenomenological analysis of 11 in-depth interviews of future teachers has been conducted. Three meta-themes emerged from the analysis. The article discloses one of the meta-themes of significant others by presenting future teachers’ experiences through their voices and revealing the meaning they make. The results show that the multidimensional essence of teacher identity can be affected by those around you and disclose the unique recurrences of the Lithuanian future teachers’ cohort experience in relation to the theory.

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There is no abstract for this book review.