Overview of the projects currently being undertaken by the Research Unit
at the DRLLE
Engagement with Online Learning
This study aims are:
1) To
understand how students and the adults who care for them adapted to Online
Learning while schools were closed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 (i.e. from
March 13 2020 to end June 2020).
The study is based on a
15-minute anonymous questionnaire in both English and Maltese distributed to
students and their parents.
Project timeframe: May-December 2020
CITO: CheckIn TakeOff
CITO is one of
the projects under the ERASMUS+ EU Policy experimentation in the fields of
Education and Training led by high-level public authorities in Malta, Ireland
and Norway.
This project aim is:
1) To develop a SkillsChecker tool
that enables a person to independently carry out an initial assessment of their
literacy, numeracy and digital skills. This will orientate them to their
options regarding a flexible learning opportunity as well as recognising their
prior skills while providing further pathways. More specifically, the
SkillsChecker is aimed at empowering the learner to explore a learner centred
approach to lifelong learning. CITO’s solution is to have an effective and
independent assessment of one’s own skills.
Project
timeframe: September – December 2020
Lifelong Learning: Research on learners’
opinions of the quality of Lifelong Learning Courses
This research aim is:
1) To
explore learners’ views and opinions of the quality of Lifelong Learning
courses with a view to improve on the quality and provision of the said courses
in order to attract more people to enroll in these courses.
The study is to be carried out with all students enrolled in Lifelong Learning
courses during academic year 2019/2020.
Project timeframe:
July 2020 – December 2020
BMI
Study: Prevalence of overweight and obese children
attending kindergarten year K2 to year 11, in Malta
The Department for Research, Lifelong Learning
and Employability within the Ministry for Education and Employment is working together with the Superintendence of Public
Health, to implement Budget Measure 191/2020 and supplementary Budget Measure
033/2020.
The aim of these two budget initiatives are:
1) To
measure the prevalence of overweight and obesity among students attending
Kindergarten 2 to Year 11;
2) To
identify the rate of overweight and obesity in children residing in the Maltese
Islands;
3) To
identify any associations with lifestyle patterns.
Project timeframe: January 2020 – December 2022
Migrant Students in the State School Sector: A
Study of Experiences, Impact, Issues and Challenges
The Ministry for Education and Employment, through the Directorate
for the Curriculum, Life Long Learning and Employability, is currently
conducting a project on migrant students in the State school sector.
The aims of this project are:
1) To provide a scientific,
empirically-based exploration of the impact of migrant students in primary and
secondary schools;
2) To shed light on the
experiences of migrant students in Malta and feed in to policy recommendations;
3) To highlight good practices and
raise awareness of the needs of this student cohort;
4) To seek to map out the
experiences, impact, issues, opinions and concerns of migrant students and
their parents/guardians, Maltese students and their parents/guardians, teachers
of migrant students and SMTs.
This project consists of a number of focus groups and a
questionnaire with the above mentioned stakeholders. This project is being undertaken under the
guidance of Prof. Mark Borg.
Timeframe:
2019/20: Focus groups with Maltese and
non-Maltese students their parents, teachers and with the senior management
team.
Research
and Policy Documentation Centre (RPDC)
The setup of a Research and Policy
Documentation Centre (RPDC) as a data and documentation archive for Ministry
for Education and Employment staff.
The aim of the RPDC is:
1) To contribute to the
development of evidence-based policy and practice through facilitating the
exchange of information, related to the remit of the Ministry for Education and
Employment (MEDE), in a reliable and timely manner.