Academia
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Faculty of Education Academics present research at ARLE/IFTE Conference
Three academics from the Department of Early and Primary Education within the Faculty of Education presented two research papers at the conference organised by the International Association for Research in Education (ARLE) entitled The Unbounded Journey: The Teaching of First Language, Literacy, and Literature in a Dynamic World, held on 25, 26 & 27 June 2026. The conference which marked the 15th ARLE Conference and the 15th International Forum for Teacher Educators (IFTE) Conference, was hosted by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB).
Prof. Josephine Milton, Prof. Josephine Deguara and Dr Tania Muscat presented two papers arising from a research project funded through the University of Malta’s Research Excellence Funds (2023-2025) under the Social Sciences and Education category. The project entitled, Addressing Linguistic Diversity in Malta: Teacher Education and Classroom Pedagogy in Early and Primary Education, aims to provide stakeholders with a snapshot of the local context and explore how in-service and pre-service educators navigate linguistic diversity in their everyday practice within early and primary education settings. The conference presentations formed part of the dissemination activities of the ECPE Research Group and showcased some findings from the ongoing project. The papers presented were:
- Multilingual Pedagogies and Pre-service Educators: Opportunities and Challenges in Early and Primary Classrooms in Malta by Prof. Josephine Milton, Prof. Deguara and Dr Tania Muscat.
- Living Multilingualism: Educators’ Perspectives Across Early and Primary Education Sectors in Malta by Prof. Josephine Deguara, Prof. Josephine Milton and Dr Tania Muscat.
The first paper focused on findings from a survey with preservice educators. The study explored the linguistic diversity present in Maltese early and primary classrooms by examining the number of languages spoken by learners, the multilingual pedagogical strategies adopted across classrooms and schools, and pre-service educators' experiences and perspectives regarding linguistic diversity during their teaching practice and field placements.
The second paper examined early childhood and primary educators' perspectives on linguistic diversity across Malta's three educational sectors: State, Church, and Independent schools. The findings highlighted educators' experiences of multilingualism and their approaches to supporting linguistically diverse learners within different educational contexts.
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 further supported by the contributions of part-time Research Support Officers (RSOs), Dr Michela Vella, Ms Rebecca Barbara, and Mr Gabriel Spiteri (admin). The research team gratefully acknowledges the financial support provided by the University of Malta through the Research Excellence Funds Award (2023–2025), which has been essential for this research project.
