Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/706995
14 EDUCATION is by definition a complex issue, plagued by internal rifts and disagreements over which system or model is best for the dif- ferent learning needs of different children. Technically, such questions should be left to pedagogues and academ- ics… but because the answer con- cerns the one thing that is dearest to all people everywhere – their children – it automatically becomes everybody else's business, too. Few know this more than Evarist Bartolo, who has occupied the po- sition of Education Minister under both Alfred Sant in 96-98, and under Joseph Muscat from 2013 onwards. And though the reform itself was in- itiated by the Gonzi administration, it now falls to Bartolo to implement (and defend) the migration from 'streaming' to mixed ability classes. Earlier this month, the Malta Un- ion of Teachers pointed towards this year's poor SEC results to claim that: "Five scholastic years down the line, the union is being proved right" about its criticism of the reform. And separatelty, Bartolo also provoked a minor controversy with his proposal to permit and regulate home school- ing. Some have expressed concerns that the system might lead to abuse, or that children may be psychologi- cally impaired by social exclusion. How does he respond to such criticism: which, in the main, comes from the two categories whose coop- eration he needs the most… teach- ers, and parents? "Judging an educational model by exam results is a very incomplete way of doing things, especially when you are also judging students and teachers by those results," he begins. "The figures show us that there has not been any deterioration in stand- ards as a result of moving away from the streaming model. Has the system improved? That is another issue. But it has not deteriorated…" Well, if you were to judge the sys- tem in the same way as a teacher would judge a pupil, the report card would probably read: 'No improve- ment'. It may be better than an 'F', but it's still not very satisfactory… Bartolo however argues that re- sults only reflect a small part of the picture. "To really be effective, edu- cation needs to look at three spheres. First there is education itself: what happens in the classroom and inside schools. Then, we need to look at society as a whole. Lastly, the other sphere which is employment. They are three different worlds, and we have to look at all three of them to- gether. The closer we get them to work together, the better it will be for young people, and for the coun- try as a whole." It turns out that the school part of this combination actually accounts for only a fraction of the total. "There is a lot of research which shows that even if schools were to operate to their maximum potential, at most they would contribute to about 30% of the formation and performance of students. The other 70% depends on factors outside school. So I get very angry – I'm ready to use the word 'angry' – when I hear everyone argu- ing that education should solve all our problems. "We have a problem with driv- ing? Educate people to drive prop- erly. There's a problem with obesity? Teach kids to eat healthy food, and exercise more. Everything, it seems, can be solved through the educa- tion system. Even poverty… educa- tion, on its own, is going to get kids out of poverty. Now, I do happen to believe a bit in what Nelson Mandela said, that 'education can change the world'. But not on its own. Schools and classes can only do so much. There are other spheres which are also contributing. Education is not a magical solution to all our ills." Fair enough, but this also sounds like the beginning of an admission of defeat. The school system may ac- count for only 30%... but it's a pretty important 30% all the same. "Absolutely. Let me be clear: I am not making the case that schools are irrelevant or unnecessary, far from it. Let us acknowledge the contribu- tion that education can make; but let us also acknowledge the limits of education… and especially of formal education." As it happens, Bartolo has just re- turned from a press conference in which his ministry revealed the con- tents of a survey carried out among employers. The specific topic was 'employee skills'. "The results are very interesting. Employers were asked what sort of problems they encounter with young people coming out of university, MCAST, ITS, and other private in- stitutions. They said: 'we need em- ployees to be proficient and techni- cally competent in their area. But we also need them to know how to com- municate, how to solve problems, how to be creative, how to work to- gether…'. "Now, when it comes to techni- cal competence, on the whole our system delivers. The results can be measured, and the procedure is tested and examined. But when it comes to the so-called 'soft skills', or the skills of the 21st century... that is where we have to ensure that edu- cation in the wider sense, which in- cludes society and employers, works together." On another level, it is difficult to describe an educational system as a 'success' or 'failure', if we don't all share the same expectations of that system. Traditionally, Malta's educa- tional sector has always been treated as an extension of the so-called 'eco- nomic motor'. Even students them- selves often view the education sys- tem as a pathway to a career. This is however changing; and Bar- tolo argues that our entire approach to education must change with it. "Today, we can only prepare peo- ple for employability. The days when the education system prepared peo- ple for a specific job are over. Today, the skills required for any particular job could become obsolete in a few months or years. One thing we need to understand properly – and I don't think we do – is that there is a dif- ference between skills and compe- tences, and qualifications. You might be qualified, but it doesn't necessarily follow that you will have all the skills or values required…" Here, Bartolo pauses to outline one of his 'great beliefs'. "I am a great believer in four-dimensional educa- tion: not just skills and knowledge, but also character and the ability to continue learning. That is why we need to reform formal schooling to be in touch with what's happening outside school. It cannot be a paral- lel universe. I believe in contaminat- ing education with as much reality as possible. We need to contaminate education with reality. Otherwise we'd be preparing people to swim in a bath – not even a swimming pool – and then expect them to jump in the sea and swim. At most, classes and schools will help you float in a bath. Because of the way they are structured and instituted, you can't expect them to teach you the skills and attitudes you will need in the real world…" Again, this sounds a little defeat- ist to me. But when I point this out, the minister replies that he looks at it from the clean opposite angle. "I am very optimistic, believe it or not… even though my job doesn't give rise to very much optimism. But I am very hopeful that there is a growing awareness among employ- ers and parents that education is not simply about work skills, but also life skills. Today more than ever, school has taken over the role of socialisa- tion, which previously fell to fami- lies… before, social skills were learnt at home. But in today's world – where parents tend to be in and out of the house, always in a rush, etc. – they are increasingly being taught in schools. Parents ask for this type of education. It is now seen as one of the aims of a formal education, which was never the case before…" Coming back to the SEC results… apart from raising questions about the system as a whole, they also re- confirm our traditional obsession with results. For all the talk of mov- ing away from the exam-based ap- proach, all we ever talk about are exams. Isn't this a contradiction? "The system is very contradictory. On one hand, we're telling students that schools are not just factories for passing exams. But at the same time, the message being sent out is that you are rewarded on the strength of your exam results. That is also why I am working on changing the system in a way that non-formal education – the life skills I talked about earlier – is accredited in the same way as formal education. We need to add a value to those skills, too. We want to move away from a one-size fits all education system. People are differ- ent; they learn things differently. "If you have a child with a powerful visual imagination, but who strug- gles with writing… our system will punish that child. If you are a very good talker, and can express your- self very well orally... why should you be punished for that? There are children who, when given a mathe- matical problem to solve, will try and work it out by drawing. They adopt a visual approach to mathematics. But school will teach them to do it dif- ferently. Why should they not solve problems visually? Why are they told that their approach is 'wrong', just because it is different?" This takes us back to the philo- sophical questions about what an educational system is meant to be. "Neuroscience has contributed a lot to our understanding of human learning, but very little of it has found its way into our education system. We now know there are four basic types of learner: those who are very precise, those who are sequential; those who are technical; and those who are creative. Our system only rewards the precise and the sequen- tial. And interestingly, most of our teachers come from the sequential/ precise brackets themselves… so the system reinforces that imbalance. We need to do things differently." Problems seem to arise whenever the ministry tries doing things differ- ently. Mixed-ability classrooms are often cited as a classic case in point. On paper, it looks and feels a fairer system. In practice, we know that it exponentially multiplied the difficul- ties of a teacher in class… and also the resources required, which now extend to having teaching assistants at hand. Bartolo acknowledges that the im- plementation left much to be desired. "They [schools] were not prepared. Teachers are asking for support, and Interview By Raphael Vassallo maltatoday, SUNDAY, 24 JULY 2016 We need to contaminate education with reality. Otherwise we'd be preparing people to swim in a bath – not even a swimming pool – and then expect them to jump in the sea and swim SINK OR SWIM Exam time for the education HOME SCHOOLING If you were kept in a bubble at home, you would be deprived of very basic human skills… and that could be dangerous