Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1475004
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 JULY 2022 12 OPINION Rigging, rationing and equity in education I am an avid follower of all things educational; especially those concerning the local educational scene. I read captivated the in- terview by Raphael Vassallo with Professor Ronald Sultana who continued to unravel his under- standing of the term 'apartheid'. I am not going to focus on the issue of 'apartness', 'divide' or 'gap' and the debate regarding the quality of education, as this is 'quantified' through pupils' at- tainment outcomes at age 16 on generally unstandardised tests of achievement at school which we call secondary school leaving examinations. Rather I am going to focus on Professor Sultana's 'rigging' which he illustrates in rich social detail as follows: "As you will tend to get a pro- school culture in the former (private schools), there is a high- er possibility of getting a coun- ter-school culture in the latter (state schools). If independent and church schools (ironical- ly, given the Pope's plea dur- ing his recent visit) actively or passively turn away children of migrants and refugees, or other groups that might not be pro- school initially, then those kids will end up somewhere else; and that somewhere else is the state school sector. In this sense, then, the system is rigged." The next excerpt from this interview made me stand even more to attention. "Now here we need to be care- ful: this is in no way denying that school leaders mean well, that they do the best they can for students in their care. I am not accusing parents or schools for seeking their own interests. What I am saying is that we need to face up to the implications of our actions, even when we do not mean to do harm. And this is the realm of policy, which fo- cuses on patterns, on systems, and on the unintended conse- quences of choices made in re- sponse to self-interest." My excitement with the above was great because Professor Sul- tana makes reference to the lev- els associated with Westernised educational systems namely the policy level, the school level, the classroom level and the pupil level (parents/guardians includ- ed). The systemic, multilevel, multi-dimensional nature of any educational system interests me. At this point it is useful for the reader to note that in Malta and Gozo attainment, or pupils' outcomes on a given test/exam in time, are generally primarily 'measured' or rather 'quanti- fied' through end of year tests and then at age 16 through sec- ondary school leaving examina- tions. Do notice that unlike the TIMSS, PISA, PIRLS interna- tional league tables such tests/ examinations are not scientifi- cally constructed. This implies that the bias in school tests and other school-leaving examina- tions is not more overt and con- sequently not likely to be mini- mised. Moreover, the discriminatory effects of school tests or school leaving examinations remain less known and at times un- known. Rather than delve into highly technical issues fraught with complex traps such as what non standardised school tests and national examinations are really measuring, I think that it is more socially positive to shift my attention to the issue of eq- uity in education. From social justice, I draw upon Gilbourn and Youdell's understanding of equity as equality of access, pro- vision, circumstance, participa- tion and outcome. Headteachers and teachers are generally well-intentioned. A good many head teachers and teachers strive to educate and teach children even when conditions are adverse. COVID has demonstrated this. Teacher leaders, as well as, head teach- er leaders are known to make a positive difference in the lives of children and pupils in their care. Yet, there are times when the difference, or rather, the gains in pupils' achievement outcomes over time, is not as much as we would like this to be, especial- ly for children who are at risk and/or for more disadvantaged groups of children. The differen- tial impact of schooling, for dif- ferent groups of pupils, as medi- ated by the differential qualities of teachers' and head teachers' pedagogical and instructional behaviours is well documented. So what is it that allows some schools and/or some teachers to support and foster learning environments that allow all, or rather, most pupils to progress over and above their normal rate of development even in spite of disadvantage in terms of initial attainment? What elements at the classroom and school levels especially allow teachers and headteachers to narrow the at- tainment gap of pupils and allow a school to maintain increased rates of pupil progress? Which teachers' and headteachers' in- structional, pedagogical and leadership behaviours support and foster quality practice that allows pupils repeatedly attain, in and over time, significantly above their normal expecta- tion and consequently register marked progress throughout their primary and secondary school career? I trust that local headteachers and teachers are conversant with the more specific aspects of Gil- bourn and Youdell and are not, even if unintentionally, erect- ing barriers to pupil attainment and progress outcomes. I hope that they reflect on the quality of their behaviours. I hope that local education professionals do not 'ration education' even if unintentionally. I hope that head teachers and teachers do not perpetuate rationing by not adopting a 'triage' system whereby some pupils may be perceived as hopeless cases and given up on, some other pupils are perceived as requiring prior- itisation, and some other pupils will be given attention; but later. It is the parent's job to want the best for their children. Yet I dare say that parents, whilst knowing their children better than anybody else, do not al- ways realise how to get their children on the path to achieve their own best and in respect of their children's own potential. I think that the stage in a child's educational career where I per- ceive Maltese and Gozitan par- ents as more likely not to truly Dr Lara Said is Senior Lecturer, Early Childhood & Primary Education University of Malta Dr Lara Said