Science education in Malta : raising questions

Abstract

The beginning of modern science teaching in Malta can be traced back to the late 1950s and early 1960s. At that time Chemistry and Biology were added as separate subjects to the secondary school curriculum which already included Physics; a government sixth form and a university Junior College were established to teach Advanced level sciences; and the university science departments were given a new life with new curricula and the recruitment of expatriate staff. Over a few years, the increase in the number of students studying science and the building and equipment of school laboratories was so remarkable that, in 1964, Professor P.C. Lewis commented that "The progress has been such that it is doubtful whether 'expansion' is sufficient to describe it - 'explosion' would perhaps be better" (Lewis, 1964, p. 166). This spectacular progress was not simply a local phenomenon. It reflected the world-wide interest in science at the beginning of the space age, which sparked off science curriculum development in the USA and in the UK, and which influenced all subsequent science curricula elsewhere. It would be interesting to examine the causes and the conditions that stimulated this great interest in science locally, but this is not the proper place to do so. Reference can be made to three historical studies that have already outlined the growth of science education in Malta and sought explanations for its vicissitudes over the years (Sciberras, 1991; Farrugia, 1994; Pace, 1994). The reason for referring back to the 1960s is because I believe that the decisions which were taken at that time and the curricula which were drawn up still determine to a large extent what science is taught nowadays in schools, and how it is taught and assessed.