What is unique to the Department for Inclusion & Access to Learning?

Our mission is to promote the vision of inclusion, inclusive practices and pedagogies within the educational community in Malta, guided by three principles:

• we will substantiate all our actions with research
• we will seek to align all our actions to the principles and values of inclusion
• we will seek to collaborate with ministries, local and foreign research organisations and national commissions working in the field of inclusion.

Our vision is that of promoting:

• concepts of belonging, community and engaging learning opportunities for all learners to develop their self-determination and quality of life, irrespective of ability, disability, gender, cultural heritage, ethnicity, giftedness, religion, status, preference to mode of learning and socio-economic backgrounds and any other uniqueness one might manifest
• quality and equity education for all without any type of barrier or exclusion
• the philosophy and strategies of inclusive education within all the programmes of study and other services offered by the Faculty of Education and the University as a whole.

Link with the Faculty Vision

The Mission and Vision of the Department for Inclusion & Access to Learning (DIAL) is inspired by the Vision statement of the Faculty of Education, which “stands for the lifelong pursuit of knowledge, for social relevance and for the promotion of scholarly and professional inquiry”, and its commitment to the development and implementation of powerful pedagogical practices that foster meaningful learning. The Department seeks to foster a commitment to inclusive education for all. 

How does the Department for Inclusion & Access to Learning function within the Faculty, University and the community?

We seek to create an inclusive culture, based on Universal Design for Learning and trans-disciplinary community based teams to ensure respect for difference and value of diversity within the University, the Faculty of Education, schools and the larger community. Through this we seek to provide all learners with an authentic sense of belonging, a high level of self-determination and quality of life. We therefore strive at all times to live and work by the following values:

• Integrity: we seek to conduct ourselves in accordance with the highest ethical standards in our teaching and research activities. We seek to promote the values of inclusion through our behaviour and professional practice. 
• Respect: we value our individuality and diversity. We are courteous and respectful to each other, to our students, to all our colleagues within the Faculty and the Maltese community in general.
• Teamwork: we work hard together as a department in a true cooperative spirit to develop programmes of study, courses for professional development and research to provide the community with the best possible experiences, research and services within the wider area of inclusion and access to learning for all. 
• Research and Innovation: we work hard to promote innovative thinking and research-based practices and pedagogies. We aim to be on the cutting edge of research and innovation in the pedagogies of learning and inclusion. We seek to collaborate with international partners in developing useful and innovative research in the area of inclusion and access to learning.