My Journey - My Mobility is an ambitious project that aims to give each Head of School in Malta the opportunity to visit a project partner country in order to exchange best practices in relation to VET and key issues that are both national and European conserns in education. The project will extend further than that as it will also offer the same opportunity to various other educators within Malta. The same benefit will be reaped by all the project partners and we hope to create dynamic teaching/training opportunities for our educators. This project is bigger than it sounds especially in light of the current educational revolution that is taking place in Malta at the moment. The Ministry for Education in Malta is working on a reform to move away from a 'one size fits all' education system to one which is more inclusive and one which involves equity-oriented programmes catering to pupils' individual aptitudes. This involves using different learning tracks and student-centred learning focus, thus, providing equal opportunities in education, employability and relevance of education (Framework for the Education Strategy for Malta 2014-2014). Therefore this project will serve to address current key issues of concern to Malta (which are also a concern or an area of excellence for our partners). In addition to the obvious exchange of best practices in relation to VET within schools (this is also in line with the CSR for Germany 2017 and a priority for all the partners concerned) such as student engagement and attainment in schools (hence the introduction of the 'My Journey' and a CSR for Belgium 2017); student absenteeism; early school leaving student drop outs (noted as a concern in CSR report for Estonia in 2016); The shift towards mainstreaming VET subjects has placed educator CPD high on the agenda of State providers (‘My Journey’ – Achieving through different paths, 2017). The Electoral Manifesto 2017 prioritises investment in appropriate initial teacher training, re-training of existing teachers and up-skilling and professionalising of trainers who are skilled in a specific sector, but who do not possess teacher training. It supports the funding of a wide range of VET measures, ranging from placements abroad to cooperation projects between training organisations in different countries (Malta National Lifelong Learning Strategy 2020). Through this project and the sharing of best practices, members of the SMT are re-trained and up-skilled to transition from the traditional mind frame of prescribed content-based syllabuses to learning based on achieving outcomes; from an emphasis on assessment of learning to assessment as learning; and from ‘teaching to the test’ to student-centred teaching based on enquiry-based learning, innovative pedagogies (such as blended learning) and assessment aimed at acknowledging different forms of knowledge and skills. Furthermore Participants will have opportunities of creating networks between schools, thus promoting collaborative and holistic approaches to teaching and learning. The knowledge gained through international cooperation, tailored training and CPD, participants will be in a better position to advice on how to better identify what teachers need to support learners in their classrooms. The SMT will gain a collection of best practices and realistic scenarios which shall act as a guide and a reference point for VET educators in dealing with the teaching of VET subjects.
My Journey - My Mobility was aimed at giving Heads of Schools and educators in Malta giving them the opportunity to visit a project partner country in order to exchange best practices in relation to VET and key issues that are both national and European concerns in education. The same benefits were sought to be provided to all project partners and it was hoped that dynamic teaching/training opportunities for educators would be created. The project was embedded in a wider educational reform taking place in Malta. The Ministry for Education in Malta is seeking to move away from a 'one size fits all' education system to one which is more inclusive and equity-oriented catering to pupils' individual aptitudes through different learning tracks and student-centred learning focus, thus, providing equal opportunities in education, employability and relevance of education (Framework for the Education Strategy for Malta 2014-2014). This project sought to address these current key issues of concern to Malta and to our partners. In addition to the exchange of good practices in relation to VET within schools, which was a CSR for Germany 2017 and a priority for all the partners, student engagement and attainment in schools, which was a CSR for Belgium 2017; student absenteeism; early school leaving student drop outs, which was a concern in CSR report for Estonia in 2016, were key issues addressed in the study visits forming part of the project. The shift towards mainstreaming VET subjects has brought about the need for continuous professional development of educators of State providers (‘My Journey’ – Achieving through different paths, 2017). The Electoral Manifesto 2017 prioritised investment in appropriate initial teacher training, re-training of existing teachers and up-skilling and professionalising of trainers who are skilled in a specific sector, but who do not possess teacher training. It supports the funding of a wide range of VET measures, ranging from placements abroad to cooperation projects between training organisations in different countries (Malta National Lifelong Learning Strategy 2020). Through this project and the sharing of best practices, members of the Senior Management Teams were re-trained and up-skilled to transition from the traditional mind frame of prescribed content-based syllabuses to learning based on achieving outcomes; from an emphasis on assessment of learning to assessment as learning; and from ‘teaching to the test’ to student-centred teaching based on enquiry-based learning, innovative pedagogies (such as blended learning) and assessment aimed at acknowledging different forms of knowledge and skills. Furthermore Participants were given opportunities of creating networks between schools, thus promoting collaborative and holistic approaches to teaching and learning. Through knowledge gained through international cooperation, tailored training and continuous professional development, participants were empowered to advise on how to better identify what teachers need to support learners in their classrooms. Senior Management Team members who took part in the project gained insights on good practices in partner countries which may serve as a guide or reference point for VET educators in dealing with the teaching of VET subjects.