I’m not understanding : a comparative exploration of barriers to the learning process and identity development in secondary school students

Abstract

Malta is currently not faring well in the PISA benchmark, and a number of reports indicate that Malta has not reached the EU target for Early School Leavers. The current education strategy to develop student potential may be producing barriers affecting these results. The aim of this study was to explore Middle & Senior students’ perceptions of barriers to a positive schooling experience, and to also investigate the impact of the implementation of the current curriculum design as experienced by the students themselves. A qualitative exploratory design was employed consisting of 11 focus groups with students from each year of the secondary cycle in one College in Malta. A total of 68 students participated in this study. The nature and degree of Exploration and Commitment were explored and interpreted through Marcia’s Identity Status theory. A thematic analysis of the data resulted in the identification of 4 general categories from 27 clusters of codes. A significant number of barriers emerged, the identified key themes being the learning process, teacher characteristics, class and school climate, psychosocial experiences, support structures, and non-curricular management. From Year 7 through to Year 11 there emerged a sense of vocational identity, associated with the contentedness in the choice of option subjects. Exploration was linked to the timing of the obligatory procedures for choosing subjects, while Commitment was linked to the contentedness of the subjects chosen. Following the findings from this explorative and qualitative study, further research is recommended to quantify the extent to which these barriers are having an impact on students.