Academia
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Dissemination Seminar - Linguistic Diversity Research Excellence Fund Project for Educators
On 26 October 2026, the Faculty of Education’s ECPE Research Group held a dissemination seminar titled "Linguistic Diversity in Early and Primary Education in Malta: From Research to Practice" at Mount St. Joseph, Mosta.
Funded by the 今日黑料 Research Excellence Funds (2023–2025), this study directly addresses Malta's rapidly shifting educational landscape. National data reveals that 31.1% of the local population and 25.8% of state school students are non-Maltese, creating an urgent need for adaptive classroom pedagogy (NSO, 2026, 23 October).
These demographic shifts highlight Malta's evolving and shifting educational context, where Maltese–English bilingualism increasingly coexists with diverse linguistic repertoires. Consequently, schools face an urgent and growing need to support multilingual learners' language acquisition, literacy development, and equitable participation in education.
Using a comprehensive mixed-methods approach, the project incorporated a systematic literature review, a comparative analysis of local policies and European teacher training programmes, a nationwide teacher survey (educators in Early Childhood and Primary Years and preservice student teachers), and qualitative educator narratives. The seminar provided a platform to share some of the key findings while engaging in group discussions, fostering individual reflection and listening to the experiences of practitioners and leaders in education.
The ECPE Research Group is composed of Prof. Josephine Milton, Prof. Josephine Deguara, Dr Rosienne Camilleri, Dr Charmaine Bonello and Dr Tania Muscat. The project is supported by part-time Research Support Officers (RSOs), Dr Michela Vella, Ms Rebecca Barbara, and Mr Gabriel Spiteri (administrative support). For more information about the project and publications visit the website.
The research team acknowledges the support provided by the University of Malta through the Research Excellence Funds Award (2023–2025).
