The Education of Persons with Disability in Malta: some personal reflections

Camilleri, Joseph M: 'The Education of persons with Disability in Malta: some personal reflections. A presentation given on the occasion of the Socrates Network Seminar, 23-24 April, 1998, Park Hotel - Sliema.
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On behalf of the National Commission Persons with Disability I would like to extend my thanks to you for having provided us with the opportunity to share some of our main preocupations regarding the education of persons with disability in Malta. In the brief time allowed, I cannot do more than touch upon a few of our areas of concern, however, I hope that this will be enough to continue the on-going national debate in this, often contentious area.

It is the right of every citizen of the Republic of Malta to receive education and instruction without any distinction of age, sex, belief or economic means as enacted by the Education Law (Act XXIV of 1988). This principal includes children and adults who have some form of impairment. But are children and adults with disability really receiving an education of quality, or indeed an education of equality?

Given the centrality of Education in the future development of the disabled individual, the National Commission Persons with Disability (NCPD) regards this area as one of its main priorities. The work of the Commission in this, as in other disability issues, is informed by the Social Model of Disability, which:

'not interested in descriptions of how awful it is to be disabled. [but] in the ways of changing […] conditions of life, and thus overcoming the disabilities which are imposed on top of […] impairments by the way society is organised to exclude [disabled persons]' (UPIAS, 1976, pp. 4-5).

As far as the Commission is concerned, Education, like other disability issues, has less to do with individual impairment, and everything to do with inequalities of access. As in other countries, these inequalities have been created over the years chiefly through: negative attitudes, a chronic shortage of resources in this sector, a teaching staff without adequate training and support to deal with needs of disabled persons.

The first example of special provision in Malta came about in the mid-1950s with the development of a special classroom within a mainstream school for children with a hearing impairment. Unfortunately, this pioneering initiative soon gave way to segregated provision for all children with disability.

Today, there is still exist a number of Special (that is, segregated) Schools in Malta and Gozo which cater for children with impairments, ranging from physical, intellectual and sensory impairments.

The Commission recognises and appreciates the dedication sterling efforts of the vast majority of teachers in these schools who, over the years, have worked under trying circumstances. At the same time, the Commission feels that the time is ripe for the schools to begin a process of change which will see them developing a new role for themselves.

In this respect, the Commission feels justified in its continued insistence for:
· the right of children with disability (irrespective of their disability) to an inclusive education in the 'mainstream'; and
· that existing special schools (a) can represent a valuable resource for the development of inclusive schools and (b) can serve as training and resource centres for staff in regular schools.

It is pertinent to note at this point that Malta is a signatory of the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (Spain, 7-10 June, 1994) with all the implications that this carries with it.

Therefore, we believe that investment in existing special schools should be geared to their new and expanded role of providing professional support to regular schools in meeting special educational needs.

On the other hand the Commission recognises that persons with sensory impairment, particularly those with a hearing impairment, have themselves expressed the wish to receive part of their education in an environment which has been specifically adapted to their particular communication needs. This has lead the Commission to recommend the setting up of units in area schools which would cater for these students academic needs, while encouraging full inclusion in other school activities.

The Commission's central approach to the education of children with disability remains the: "development of inclusive schools as the most effective means for achieving education for all must be recognised as a key government policy and accorded a privileged place on the nation's development agenda." (Salamanca Statement, 1994: p. 41, para. 70)

Changes in policies and priorities have to be adequately resourced if they are to be effective, this will require political commitment.

Support services for teachers in an 'inclusive' situation

The National Commission further recognises the demands being made upon teachers in an 'inclusive' situation and with this in mind, it lays great emphases on the need to provide adequate resources to be allocated for:
(a) the training of mainstream teachers (at university level, in-service training and by self-instruction techniques),
(b) for the provision of resource centres and
(c) for special education teachers or resources teachers,
(d) external support by resource personnel for teachers in 'inclusive' classrooms (these include: advisory teachers, educational psychologists, speech and occupational therapists, etc.).

Teachers and Teaching Assistants

The Commission emphasises that, within the Maltese context, we are still unclear about the respective roles of the classroom teacher and the teaching assistant (or facilitator). In this respect we need to be unequivocal in the way we understand the responsibilities of the classroom (mainstream) teacher vis à vis the disabled child.

It must be clearly established that it is as much the responsbility of the classroom teacher to 'own' the disabled child's Individual Education Programme (IEP) and that the child's progress as much the mainstream teacher's responsibility to 'own' the progress of the other children in class, as it is their responsibility to cater for non-disabled pupils.

The Commission holds that the teaching assistant (or facilitator) is there to facilitate learning, not to assume the responsibilities of the teaching professional. There is often much confusion, locally, between the roles of the 'facilitator' and that of 'personal assistant'. At present in Malta, there exists the widespread practice among school authorities of turning away a disabled child, unless s/he is accompanied by an adult. Such behaviour has less to do with 'the best interests of the child' and more to do with the thinly veiled prejudice of the school's entrance policy. In sum, such behaviour is both unsustainable and constitutes an act of gross discrimination.

In Malta, the roles and responsibilities of classroom teachers vis à vis the child with SEN have to be clearly established. Careful negotiation with key stakeholders, particularly the Teachers' Union, will be an essential pre-requisite of any lasting agreement.

The Commission continues to champion the right given to parents by the Education Act (1988) to choose the type of education to be given to their minors or their children who are unable to decide on their own behalf. Our experience has been that parents are the best advocates for their children, often providing a crucial counter-balance to the low expectations, many professionals and society in general, have with respect to persons with disability.

Issues of Training
M.Ed. in Inclusive Education and. Special Education Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs)

Better qualified professionals are always a welcome resource, especially in this vastly under-resourced sector. However, the Commission strongly wishes to avoid further entrenching the false image that only highly specialised professional cadres within and without the Education Division are equipped to cope with the educational needs of children with disability.

In order to do this the Commission strongly recommends that, while more highly qualified individuals could form part of a peripatetic 'trouble-shooting' team, the reference point for 'special educational needs' (SEN) matters in individual schools could be carried out by Assistant Heads, whose job description should be widened in scope to include that of Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCO).

The Commission believes that this would be a useful way of for SEN to become absorbed into the internal structure of individual schools. In this way to SEN will become a virtual pre-requisite to further promotion within the Department, thus ensuring that SEN achieves maximum penetration within mainstream schools and as part of individual career development.

There are, and will continue to be serious, and contentious, issues for us all to address. Progress often seems to be happening too slowly, especially to persons with disability like myself.

However, while emphasising the need for the speed of change to be increased, allow me to state that the Commission appreciates the commitment of major stakeholders to the principals of inclusive education.

Over the recent months we have seen:
· the Minister of Education and National Culture setting up a committee aimed at developing a national strategy on inclusive education;
· the setting up, within the Division of Education, of a national Resource Centre for teachers of children with disability;
· the Malta Union of Teachers' positive public statements and a commitment to the principals of inclusive education;
· the continued commitment of a number of non-government organisations, the Eden Foundation in particular, to the principals of inclusive education.
And this list does not exclude the many instances of good practice by Heads of and individual teachers in special and mainstream schools around Malta and Gozo.

Finally, the National Commission Persons with Disability's thinking about special education needs provision is encapsulated in the sixteen principals outlined in its National Policy Document on Special Education in Malta. This document has achieved widespread consensus and was revised and reprinted in 1996. Copies of this and other documents are available for anyone interested.

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Select Bibliography

1. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations)

2. The World Declaration on Education for All (United Nations)

3. The Standard Rules on Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (A/RES/48/96), United Nations Resolution adopted by the General Assembly at its 48th session on 20 December 1993).

4. The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (World Conference on Special Needs Education: Access and Quality, Salamanca, Spain, 7-10 June, 1994).

5. Diocesan Statement of Children's Special Educational Needs, April 1994. Westminster Diocese Education Service, Schools Administration Department. Director and Diocesan Schools Commissioner, Vaughan House, 46, Francis Street, London SWIP 1QN - United Kingdom. Tel : 071-798 9005. Fax : 071-798 9013. 1996.

6. What is inclusion? CSIE Centre for Studies in Inclusive Education, Bristol, UK - 1996. E-mail: 100432.3417@compuserve.com.

7. Bezzina, F. (ed.): Special Education in Malta: National Policy, Kummissjoni Nazzjonali Persuni b'Diúabilità, 1993.

8. Helios II - European Guide of Good Practice Towards Equal Opportunities for Disabled People, European Commission, 1996.

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