The Agency has conducted fieldwork as part of the re-audit of Malta’s inclusive education system.
The Maltese Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation asked the Agency to carry out a re-audit ten years on from the original audit in 2014. Entitled ‘Inclusive Transformation: Route to Quality Education in Malta’, the re-audit will identify progress made and the challenges that still need to be addressed.
The fieldwork took place in Malta from 22–26 April 2024. The aim was to gather information on the experiences of inclusive education in Malta of a broad range of stakeholders, from all sectors and levels of education.
During the fieldwork, the Agency team met with Malta’s Permanent Secretary for Education and representatives from the Ministry. They interviewed the Minister and senior policy-makers and visited six schools, including primary and secondary schools from the State, Church and Independent sectors in Malta. During the school visits, the team conducted 12 focus groups, with a further four focus groups and three interviews held online after the fieldwork week.
In total, over 100 stakeholders from all levels of education took part in the fieldwork. They included learners, parents, teachers, school leaders, specialists, representatives from non-governmental organisations and education policy-makers. An online survey will enable more stakeholders to take part in the data collection.
The Agency team will analyse the collected stakeholder data and use the findings to prepare the final re-audit report, which is planned for December 2024.