Vol. 12 no. 2 / December 2018

Worldwide impetus for Interprofessional education (IPE) has been gaining ground, and in many countries, is well-established in health care curricula. Although collaboration in health care and health care education has been mentioned in various policy documents, IPE as per CAIPE’s (2012) definition is not practised at the University of Malta. This research adopts a qualitative case study approach designed to explore stakeholders’ perspectives of IPE and to encourage debate of adopting such a model of practice at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta. Data were gathered through focus groups and one- to-one interviews with a purposive sample of sixty-four participants. Findings yielded rich insights into participants’ perceptions of IPE; while they lauded the notion in principle, they identified a multiplicity of factors that would pose barriers to its enactment. These included barriers rooted in the practical domain of operational systems of the University as well as symbolic and wider barriers of professional and national cultures. The findings were interpreted through various theoretical perspectives; in so doing this study has initiated debate on the concept of IPE at a local level and has provided deeper understandings into factors that must be taken into consideration before such innovation could be attempted.

English literacy assessments in Malta are mainly based on tests standardised among English speaking populations. Such practice raises questions as to its suitability within the Maltese bilingual context. This study explores the implications of such practice by evaluating the performance of Maltese students on a widely used test, namely the Neale Analysis of Reading Comprehension – Revised (NARA II). The test was individually administered to a total of 224 students, representing developmental processes through three age-groups between 7-14 years, and two different home language backgrounds also reflected in two different types of school, State and Independent. Analysis of variance and correlations were used to highlight differences between the scores of the three age-groups and the two types of school and home background. The results indicate that comprehension levels improved sequentially with age; however, the norms derived from a monolingual English population do not represent appropriately the varying bilingual contexts of Maltese students. Moreover, particular discrepancies in the participants’ scores on the three subscales of the test – namely Reading Comprehension, Reading Accuracy and Reading Rate raise questions about the profile of competencies in English reading comprehension that are being acquired by Maltese students.

Diarrhea and other diarrheal diseases such as cholera, pose great health problems and continue to be a major cause of child morbidity and mortality among children under 5 in Nigeria. This study aims to assess the knowledge and practice of women receiving non- formal education on prevention and management of childhood diarrhea in their homes. Using a structured questionnaire, a survey was carried out among 109 women studying in adult and non-formal education schools in Kano state. Respondent’s demographic information was collected alongside health knowledge and home practices subsequently tabulated using percentages and mean scores. The correlation between health knowledge and home practices was also calculated to determine association. The study reveals that the majority of the 109 women interviewed had high knowledge of both Diarrhea and ORS (Mean: General Knowledge – 1.08, In-depth Knowledge – 1.47). The bivariate analysis indicates a significant moderate positive association between knowledge of Diarrhea/ORS and home preventive practices (r = .590, (p = 0.00) further supported by the results of the linear regression indicates that knowledge accounts for a significant predictor of women’s Diarrhea/ORS home practices R2 =.342 F=57.106, (p < .05). In accordance with the result, important aspects of both diarrhea and ORS need to be addressed explicitly and with rigour in the health education curriculum since the majority of the students are married with children.

In an era where it has been increasingly recognised that ‘inclusion’ is not simply placing a child in a mainstream setting (Arnot, 2013) but that its aim is to ensure that each learner is an active member in the school life, it is crucial that educators become well-informed about which practices would lead learners to achieve effective outcomes. Such necessity is particularly important in the field of autism as the implementation of methods which are not classified as evidence-based might impede learners to develop their full learning and developmental potential (Simpson, 2005). Due to the limited research in relation to which approaches are being implemented for students on the spectrum within the primary educational context in Malta, this research explored which practices are being included throughout their support programmes. The purpose of gathering such data was to identify the extent of the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) across educational programmes. Through a mixed-methods approach embedded within online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, and which included the participation of teachers and Learning Support Educators (LSEs), this research revealed that three EBPs tend to dominate the support programmes of learners on the autism spectrum. This research also found that other strategies which are not yet classified as EBPs are also being included across programmes. Hence, a gap in relation to research and practice across the programmes of learners on the spectrum was identified.

This research aims at shedding light on the experiences of Early School Leavers and their families; experiences which are very often disregarded or merely neglected when tailoring policies and strategies to combat Early School Leaving (ESL). This research seeks to qualitatively obtain information related to the causes and consequences of ESL, extrapolate data on the background of Early School Leavers and their families as well as give voice to their feelings, prospects, perspectives and experiences, whilst eliciting pertinent recommendations.

The semi-structured interviews identify several shortcomings in the local educational system, including the focus on knowledge-based subjects, with little opportunities to opt for vocational subjects. In this research, the vast majority of interviewees advocate for the traditional trade schools.

Furthermore, while the working-class parents interviewed feel that they lack the necessary skills and confidence to actively involve themselves in their children’s school life, they suggest an increase in communication between the school and home.

There is no abstract available for this commentary.

There is no abstract available for this conference report.

There is no abstract avialable for this book review

There is no abstract available for this book review.