Papers by Antoinette Schembri
Malta Journal of Education, Sep 16, 2020
Malta Journal of Education, Sep 16, 2020
This paper studies perceptions of migrant students from one particular cohort attending a Maltese... more This paper studies perceptions of migrant students from one particular cohort attending a Maltese state school. The students, whose parents are all migrants, come from different backgrounds and cultures. Informal conversations were held and data gathered was collated with participant observation. The results show that when migrant students are small in number, irrespective of whether they had been born in Malta or abroad, they did not find difficulties to integrate with their peers. Such integration depended also on the work carried out by the teachers and learning support educators whose work is indispensable to make them feel academically integrated. Sports is a good medium to socially integrate these students, irrespective of gender. National policies are important but success finally lies in the individual approach taken by the school.
Early school leaving is a global problem which is very worrying. It can be found in all the count... more Early school leaving is a global problem which is very worrying. It can be found in all the countries over the world, even in big economies like the US (Wiliam, 2018, p. 5). Research has shown that high school dropout rates are not only common in the US but that this is a problem of many other countries (Smith & Thomson, 2014). This is also a phenomenon of the European Union where countries on the Mediterranean littoral and in the East, are the most prone to this problem. A high rate of early school leaving has vast implications on the future of the country itself. There are economic, social, educational and also health repercussions to be faced later on. Wiliam (2018) cites the problem of the US, where those who are early school leavers earn less than college graduates. This in turn, leads to a lifetime of poverty.
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'18)
This paper is a small-scale research study done by the author. It seeks to find the perceptions o... more This paper is a small-scale research study done by the author. It seeks to find the perceptions of students attending an alternative learning centre,with an emphasis on vocational education, with regards to their learning. This study is situated on the island of Malta and the five students interviewed currently attend this school, which opened in 2014, and is the only one of its kind on the island. The main results obtained are that, on the whole, the students are happy to attend this school. They drew comparisons between their school life in the previous four years of secondary education in the mainstream college and in the alternative learning centre. They enjoyed the lessons because they were learning the subjects that they wanted to learn, they enjoyed the small class size,and the individual attention. They felt part of a big family and appreciated the fact that the teachers genuinely cared for them. They also mentioned things that should be improved, like more resources for th...
HEAD Conference Proceedings, 2018
This paper seeks to establish the preliminary perceptions of students attending an alternative le... more This paper seeks to establish the preliminary perceptions of students attending an alternative learning centre in Malta and whether it has succeeded in reaching one of its targets, that of tackling the problem of early school leaving in Malta and the problem of absenteeism. As a study, it represents a small-scale research, undertaken on five students, attending this school, who were chosen randomly. These students were interviewed with regards to their learning objectives, expectations, achievements and failures. The main result is that the students are happy with the type of education being given. They are now learning the things which interest them in a safe and caring environment. The major conclusion is that such type of education should continue to be encouraged in the Maltese Islands as there is a demand for it. One hopes that this study serves as a spring board for more detailed research about alternative education.
While the Philippine Order originated at the time of the Counter Reformation, their convent in Se... more While the Philippine Order originated at the time of the Counter Reformation, their convent in Senglea Malta, dates back to 1662 after this congregation opened a house in the neighbouring town of Birgu. The study covers the development and looks at the protagonists behind this venture and assesses the importance of this convent within the urban structure of this maritime city. The paper is written in English with a Maltese translation.
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Papers by Antoinette Schembri