edd assignment 4 josephine v saliba

8/7/2019 EdD Assignment 4 Josephine v Saliba

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Doctor of Education EdD Programme: Module 4 Approaches to Education Policy

A critical analysis of the Maltese bilingual languagepolicies

in vocational education within a global context

1. Vocational Education Policies in an Evolving National Knowledge

Economy

'In order to achieve a proper grasp of contemporary education

policy it is necessary to understand both what has changed and

what has stayed the same, that is, (the) dissolution and

conservation within education policy.'

(Ball, 2010:193)

'Plus a change, plus c'est la mme chose' is my professional impression of

vocational education. Experienced in primary, post secondary, TEFL and

adult education, I am immersed within a system of national education

policies trying to shake off a pro-British colonial heritage to adapt to the

necessities of a new globalised world order. Malta's policies have beenshaped, bruised, possibly traumatised by political, social and cultural

changes which have deeply impacted the identity of the people as a nation

and as individuals.

Education in Malta is undergoing a 'discourse of endings' as socio-economic

changes are 'signaling the end of one epoch and the beginning of another'

(Ball, 2010:193). Sometimes social science thinking and analysis interprets

this as the evolution of a new kind of society; however, improved education

policies do not necessarily follow (ibid). In Malta especially, there is a risk of

replacing an ex-colonial mentality with other influences dominating local

politics and economics due to their international ascendancy.

Notwithstanding Malta's constitutional status of Republic and the sovereign

Josephine V. Saliba Page 1


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right to develop national educational policies, the 'imperatives of the global

economy, shifts in global political relations and changing patterns of global

communication' are 'transforming people's sense of identity and belonging'

(Rizvi and Lingard, 2010:2), as exemplified by personal and professional

experience.

Grassroots politics based on a bi-party system have largely moulded national

social values and identity. Influential socio-political personalities and

ideologies, a pro-colonial and demo-christian political upbringing, early

schooling in an aggressively socialist-inclined education

system and socio-political environment, a clash of ideologies between state,

religion and political parties overshadowed most of my formative years forsixteen years of our developing post-independence nation in the 1970s and

1980s,

Alongside the waning importance of the welfare state and the 'epochal shifts'

of 'liberal democracy and market ideologies' (Rizvi and Lingard, 2010:2),

Malta's admission into the European Union contentiously divided the nation

anew, pitting opinions supporting membership benefits and hence

globalisation against arguments to safeguard local trade patterns andemployment. Such socio-political arguments inevitably affected education

policy. Six years on, the vocational education system is undergoing

transformation not only in response to globalisation's education and

employment challenges, but specifically to comply with the European Union's

(EU)now somewhat contentious Lisbon Agenda.

Historically, local vocational education policy making and implementation

has been shaped by national economic and employment needs (Baldacchino

and Mayo, 1997). Policies are 'often assembled as responses to perceived

problems in a field such as education' (Rizvi and Lingard, 2010:6). Arguably,

national education disputes have revolved round issues of citizenship, and

employment within the 'the Language Problem' scenario (Mayo, 1994;



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Baldacchino and Mayo, 1997). Vocational education thus developed parallel

to economic needs, a legacy evolving from colonial technical colleges and

the Dockyard school up to the setting up of a national vocational college,

MCAST in 2000/2001. The kernel of 'the Language Problem' remains to this

day the creation of literacy education policies with a view towards increasing

and sustaining optimum national employability levels (ibid).

Constitutionally, Maltese is the national language. Still, both Maltese and

English are 'the official languages of Malta and the Administration may for

all official purposes use any of such languages' (1964, amended 2007:7).

Thus policies are not only issued in both languages, but actively encourage

this form of official bilingualism, including in educational institutions.Furthermore, there is an understanding that certain prescribed conditions

necessitate that English be adopted. This discretionary power is often used

in educational instances where the State provides for 'the professional or

vocational training and advancement of workers', irrespective of ability or

capability to work (ibid:8). This kind of policy 'employs governmental

authority to commit resources in support of a preferred value' (Considine,

1994:4, in Rizvi and Lingard, 2010:7). Consequently, whilst policy decisions

and implied values benefit certain population sections, others risk being

denied accessibility to resources and thus to employment unless they adapt

to the requirements of such policies and change their behaviour and

practices according to the dominant values (Rizvi and Lingard, ibid).

National historical backdrops and the 'constructed nature of such history'

often legitimise policy (Rizvi and Lingard, 2010:6). Thus these Constitutional

prescriptions are often flexibly interpreted and adopted by local education

institutions. MCAST, has no other official literacy policy except what is

Constitutionally established. Thus, the bilingual struggle persists within our

classrooms and workshops, especially our literacy support classes. As Luke

and Hogan (2006:171, in Rizvi and Lingard, 2010:7) state, it is thus

necessary to critically analyse policy texts and actual policymaking where



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policy regulates the 'flow of human resources, discourse and capital across

educational systems towards normative social, economic and cultural ends'.

Analysing the whole spectrum of Maltese vocational education policy would

be gargantuan. This paper discusses issues of education language policywithin previously explored contexts of bilingualism in vocational education in

which Discourses of power and identity pervade efforts to overcome and

transform perceived deficiencies in traditional literacy skills. It explores the

'social imaginary' (Ball, 2010:194) that suggests how things ought to be and

therefore how policies 'direct or steer practice towards a particular normative

state of affairs' (Rizvi and Lingard, 2010:8) as well as the 'policy ensemble' of

intertextual policy discourses (Ball, 2010).

Therefore this assignment intends to explore and critically analyse any

available College language policy documents within the wider issues of

globalisation and education/employability, minority languages and identity

and bilingualism/multilingualism, discussing how these impact bilingual

practices within MCAST's vocational, academic and learning support

programmes and consequently any vocational language policy

developments.

The paper also explores existing relevant national language policy

documentation, critically analysing the wording and subsequent adoption at

MCAST, whether this implementation is de facto given the concurrent

use of both official languages in state education institutions. It specificallyfocuses on the Foundation Programmes, discussing their accessibility to all

applicants irrespective of qualifications, whilst focusing on the newly

launched Level 1 Embedded Foundation Programme, the first programme in

which academics within vocational modules are developed and managed by



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the Learning Support Unit (LSU). The assignment thus analyses relevant

language policy documentation issued; the implications of having the LSU

develop the linguistic component of the programme in conjunction with the

various vocational professionals; and the issues of power, language, equality

and inclusion that disenfranchised Level 1 students face within the College

itself.

This paper therefore reflects on 'the new necessities of education policy and

their solutions in the work of educational organization () through the

concepts of space and time' where globalisation increasingly implies the

need to facilitate a 'knowledge economy' to create new kinds of labour (Ball,

2010:197). It theorises how national and international education policies areincreasingly business-based, highlighting the importance of networking,

partnerships and entrepreneurialism and manoeuvring educational workers

and organisations towards entrepreneurial-managerialism which also regards

learners differently than before (Ball, 2010:194, 200). Discussing MCAST's

vocational scenario, it also discusses how policies that inexorably lead us on

towards 'the learning society' make it 'sometimes difficult to know which

voices count most, or where or how key decisions are arrived at' (ibid:201).

2. Globalisation: Changes faced by a European Small Nation State

'the subordination of social policy to the demands of the labour

market flexibility and/or employability and the perceived

imperatives of international competitiveness through which and in

the name of which the individual and its society become ever

more interwoven.

(Tuschling and Engemann, 2006:452)



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Current transformations to MCAST's vocational organisational structure are

evolving in response to international developments, transforming its

programmes to fit national and international standards. Nationalqualifications standards parallel to the European Qualifications Framework

(EQF) are replacing former UK levels to help individuals and employers 'use

the EQF to better understand and compare the qualifications levels of

different countries and different education and training systems' (online).

Intrinsically, MCAST's main policy driver is its mission statement 'to provide

universally accessible vocational and professional education and training

with an international dimension, responsive to the needs of the individual

and the economy' (online), with secondary documents devised to adopt and

reflect this goal. These derivative documents are subsequently discussed

further on as intertextual dimensions of educational discourses come into

play when wording secondary policy documents and even more so when

these texts are actualised (Ball, 2010).

The College Mission Statement's wording refers to values upheld by most

liberal democratic societies equity, efficiency, security, liberty andcommunity (Stone, 2001 in Rizvi and Lingard, 2010:75). Often used as

benchmarks for devising, analysing and evaluating policies, these values are

vague enough to allow policy to be continuously 'constructed and

reconstructed' (ibid:76) by political compromise 'sometimes informed by

narrow personal or sectional interests but more often by ideological

differences' (Rizvi and Lingard, 2010:77). In Malta, post-Independence

political Left and Right ideologies have always struggled for sole credit over

these values but which are intrinsically common to both parties thus leading

to some form of continuation in general education policies.

However, economic and education development has led to greater struggle

over the three distinct but competing values of democratic equality, social



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mobility and social efficiency (Labaree, 2003, in Rizvi and Lingard, 2010:77).

Democratic equality, as in many post-colonial countries, has always been 'an

ideological mantra in educational thinking' (Rizvi and Lingard, 2010:77),

especially considering the nationwide influence of Catholicism. Yet nationally

this concept translates into having citizens able to maximise their potential

within the economic needs of the country, strongly leashing vocational

education to economic policies. Hence the crucial importance given to EU

membership.

Vocational education policies in Malta, whilst upholding the traditional value

of equality, intensely allocate resources that will benefit social mobility and

effectiveness within globalisation and knowledge economy scenarios. Formalaccess to education is encouraged, emphasizing 'freedom for students to

gain in their own way the knowledge and skills they will require for finding a

place within the labour market' (Rizvi and Lingard, 2010:78). Yet, policy

effectiveness is measured by the 'system's capacity to make an adequate

return on investment, assessed in terms of its contribution to producing

workers with knowledge, skills and attitudes relevant to increasing

productivity within the knowledge economy' (ibid). Hence, the needs of

individuals and the economy as mentioned in the Mission Statement seem to

be in constant struggle with the requirements posed by globalisation and

knowledge economies. The identity of the 'citizen' seems to be moving

further away from personal fulfillment as new social imagery defines how

values should be conceived and how they should be interpreted through

particular policies that tell us how our futures ought to be; 'citizens are now

disciplined and controlled, by states, markets and other powerful interests'

(Rizvi and Lingard, 2010:79).

Giddens (1991:189-201) outlines several dilemmas that modernity imposes

on identity; unification versus fragmentation, powerlessness versus

appropriation, authority versus uncertainty, and personalised versus

commodified experience. These describe how individuals have to sift



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through 'numerous contextual happenings and forms of mediated

experience' and choose between different lifestyle options often battling

feelings of uncertainty as 'the narrative of the self must be constructed in

circumstances in which personal appropriation is influenced by standardised

influences on consumption' (ibid:201). This has seen 'the return of the

repressed' (ibid:202) on many levels, personal, social and cultural. Echoing

Foucault, Giddens notes that 'new forms of social movement mark an

attempt at a collective reappropriation of institutionally repressed areas of

life' (ibid:207) in which often what is traditional is confronted with modernity.

Individual and social identity and self-growth thus often battle transitions

brought about by 'burgeoning institutional reflexivity, the embedding of

social relations by abstract systems, and the consequent interpretation of

the local and the global' (ibid:209).

Ball (2010) further explains how glocalisation transforms globalisation.

Globalisation 'produces a set of imperatives for policy at national level and a

particular way of thinking about education and its contemporary problems

and purposes' (ibid:25), thus 'increasing the role of knowledge as a factor of

production and its impact on skills, learning, organisation and innovation'

(ibid:20). Paramount to innovative knowledge-based systems is an

advanced, competitive economy based on the 'knowledge distribution power'

(ibid). Consequently, even the best efforts at trying to empower the 'new

repressed' may in its turn be a negation of identity and another form of

domination. Globalisation renders some aspects of nation-states inadequate

as local policies become responses 'variously driven or influenced by their

take-up of supranational agencies, the policy work of intellectual and

practical policy 'fads' and the resulting 'flow' of policies between countries'

(Ball, 2010:25).

Globalisation is causing complex, rapid economic, political, cultural and

social changes. Small nation-states like Malta are undoubtedly caught up in

this maelstrom. Nevertheless, not all states are similarly impacted in wholly



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detrimental or beneficial ways (Rizvi and Lingard, 2010). Supranational

organisations including UNESCO, the World Bank and the EU are increasingly

delineating national policies to help lesser economically competitive

countries to 'equip themselves with the highly skilled and flexible human

capital needed to compete effectively in today's dynamic global markets'

(Ball, 2010:20), but as Giddens (1991) and Ball (2010) state, ultimately the

extent of globalisation is evident in the ways in which people talk about

themselves and engage with others and how they experience changes in

their consciousness and attitudes. This is what Robertson (1995, in Ball

2010:30) terms glocalisation; globalisation that couples

the global with the local not to destroy but to form new cultural identities

and self-expression (Giddens, 1996:367-8).

Nevertheless, small nations remain disadvantaged. Globalised new

economies of minority states imply the 'transformations of language and

identity in many different ways' as tensions emerge between 'State-based

and corporate identities and language practices, between local, national and

supra-national identities and language practices, and between hybridity and

uniformity' (Heller, 2003:473). Political and nationalist discourses thus

struggle between traditional versus modern, local versus global issues. In

small bilingual or multilingual nations, language is increasingly a commodity

within the necessities of market forces rather than a 'marker for political

struggle' (ibid:473) and identity. Local populations experience tension

between the global and the local as people cope with changes in identity

where the 'ability to navigate between old and new itself becomes valuable'

(ibid:475) as the traditional identity values of the minority language versus

the usefulness of a dominant and global language as a resource for economic

development meld.

3. Language and Power: The Bilingual Identity



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'How resources are distributed, what the source of their value is,

and how actors are positioned with respect to them, are all relevant

dimensions of an analysis of the relationship of language and

identity to the globalized new economy.'

(Heller, 2003:476).

Analysing links between economic, political conditions and linguistic, cultural

resources reveals inherent values impacting minority languages and less

dominant identities (Heller, 2003). Corporate culture is 'unsure whether to

value the authenticity of its workers' language skills, or to search for the

standardized forms better suited to new forms of corporate control and more

in line with corporate, 'professional' image' (ibid:489). It is thus possible that

bilingual resources achieved through schooling have a better competitive

edge than those acquired in minority communities since they are better

tailored to serve national and international markets. This paper thus

analyses the effect of promoting bilingualism and especially bilingual

embedding of vocational content and technical language when teaching

disenfranchised students; whether this policy prepares them for local

economy requirements within increased globalisation whilst still being

responsive to individual needs and whether it does so while respecting

identities especially of non-dominant groups as opposed to intermeshing the

two according to economic and labour market demands.

The main policy driver is the College Mission Statement, however

considerable levers determine how Constitutional bilingual policies are

filtered and adapted within the College. A language becomes dominant

mainly because of the power it wields over different spheres (Crystal, 2003),

therefore Discourses of Power are inherent to the value attributed to both

official languages. Based on the value of equality, MCAST Foundation

Programmes are open to all applicants irrespective of formal qualifications,



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yet from enrolment onwards various mechanisms subdivide applicants into

various academic knowledge-based categories. Students are guided towards

courses suitable to their academic, intellectual and socio-cultural background

and if deemed deficient in traditional literacy skills they are also put in

complete withdrawal groups according to initial assessment test scores,

purportedly for the students' good. Most academic professionals support this

arrangement since it makes it easier to teach within the prescribed system,

counter-arguing that linguistic support is similar across all groupings and the

input given in both Maltese and English is equal in accreditation.

The equal importance given to the Maltese language is partly the result of

'the ethnonational consciousness built up through years of social, culturaland political resistance' (Heller, 2003:489). The curriculum includes aspects

of Maltese language, culture and heritage engaging classes in 'individual

and collective stances' transforming a minority language into 'an

authoritative code' (Jaffe, 2003a: 43) making the language integral to

'students' individual and collective cultural identities' as well as consolidating

the 'identity and status of the minority language itself' (ibid). Maltese

language revivalism is supported by the Maltese Language Act (2005,

online)and the Akkademja tal-Malti, the organisation spearheading the

adoption of technical terms in Maltese, or whenever necessary the

integration of English terms. Conversely, another revivalist organisation, the

English-Speaking Union of Malta is working hard on strengthening Malta's

bilingual heritage basing their arguments on works by linguists such as

Professor Stanley Wells, Dr Biljana Scott and Professor David Crystal (2010,

online). The discourses of Power for and against the dangers of a global

language, of minority language complacency or even death, of the need to

maintain languages of identity whilst retaining access to a global language of

opportunity and development remain current (Crystal, 2003).

A critical perspective on local bilingualism or 'double monolingualism' (Heller,

2006:83) in the present world is necessary because sometimes the



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discourses become 'emblematic' of social issues such as economic status,

unemployment, immigration or multiculturalism (Blackledge and Creese,

2009). It is also useful to deconstruct the concept of

bilingualism/multilingualism itself because the term is historically and

socially weighted. Considering Maltese a minority language may nowadays

refer more to the number of speakers employing it globally and its limited

range of contextualised specialised linguistic terms rather than any other

discriminatory connotations against nationhood. However, misrecognition of

its legitimacy vis a vis English remains within the spheres of economics and

employment, impacting on language policies and creating competition

between symbolic and material resources (Crystal, 2003;

Blackledge and Creese, 2009).

Such competition affects identity formation because it may lend value to

what ought or ought not to be in a nation striving for modernity. Cultural and

collective symbols, values and resources that are transmitted between

individuals through contextualised and meaningful social practice become

the tools of self-management ultimately leading to the formation of identity

(Holland et al, 2001). When the interconnections between intimate and

public worlds are established through social practice, contexts of identities

are set. Socially identified 'figured worlds', positional stances linked to

power, status and rank and 'the space of authoring' orchestrate 'identifiable

social discourses/practices that are one's resources' and 'voice' (Holland et

al, 2001:271-2). Education in general and vocational education specifically

occurs at most people's vulnerable stages in life, when deep

uncertainties about personal worth, ability and future prospects takes them

'back and forth from intimate to public spaces' in search of 'social efficacy'

(ibid). Thus a critical analysis of official and unofficial policies moulding the

socially constructed self of students in vocational education is imperative.

Heller (2007:1, in Blackledge and Creese, 2009:25) argues for a critical

approach 'that situates language practices in social and political contexts



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and privileges language as social practice, speakers as social actors and

boundaries as products of social action'. Fairclough (2001:27) urges a critical

analysis of ideologies presented as 'common sense' in which

institutional practices present assumptions as universal, 'naturalised'

common sense thus legitimising power relations. His Critical Discourse

Analysis (CDA) studies urge the identification of 'linguistic and non-linguistic

symbols which are regularly used to obtain particular ideological effects'

(ibid). Previous assignments have discussed Foucault's emphasis that all

discourses, including discourses of literacy, produce truth/power and in turn

generate and propagate the effects of power of dominant groups so that it is

impossible to separate literacy from questions of power (Janks, 2009:5, 14).

Hence, a critical and transformative analysis helps identify the 'capillary

form' of power (Foucault, 1980:39) as evidenced by the texts and practices

in vocational education which may bolster 'procedures which constitute

discourses and the means by which power constitutes them as knowledge,

that is, as truth' Janks (2009:50). Such an approach also challenges

utilitarian vocational meanings (Rassool, 1999:8).

4. Towards Employability: Vocational Education Language Policy

and Practice at MCAST

'Although Maltas obligation is to reference the MQF to the EQF, (it)

also aims at cross-referencing the MQF to both the EQF and the

Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education Area

(QF/EHEA) since the level descriptors of Higher Education in Malta

reflect the level descriptors of both Frameworks.'

(Malta Qualifications Council, 2009 online:59)

The term employability is open to various interpretations; however most

supranational organisations clearly associate it with the linked spheres of



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vocational education, the labour market and social and labour market

policies (Lindsay, 2009:951). UNEVOC, the UNESCO centre for vocational

training and education, states that Technical and Vocational Educational

Training (TVET) systems should be 'at the heart of education reform efforts'

(UNEVOC, online, 2003:9) defining it as a priority area 'in promoting

economic growth and the socio-economic development of countries' and for

the development of 'work and responsible citizenship in the contemporary

world.(ibid:5).

The OECD (online, 2010:2) recognises vocational education as a 'driving

force for growth and development' within current globalisation where

'knowledge increases both wealth and well-being' (ibid:3). Whilst warningagainst an excessively utilitarian view, the OECD emphasises how learners

need to adapt to rapid change using modern technologies 'to foster human

and social capital' by 'helping countries leverage education systems ()

when developing national policy' (ibid:3, 7). Local understanding of

employability concurs, its strongest allegiance residing with EU policy.

Malta's 2004 membership was arguably its greatest movement away from a

post-independent policy of international neutrality and non-alignment.

Despite mixed political feelings, Malta has adopted a number of EU

educational policies, the most notable development being the Malta

Qualifications Framework (MQF) which, whilst acknowledging inherited British

influences on education, adheres to the Bologna and Copenhagen

conventions of the Lisbon Agenda (Malta Qualifications Council, online,

2009:34).

The Malta Qualifications Council (MQC) and the government took a political

decision on cross-referencing the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) to

the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) in 'response to the process of

globalisation and the impact of the Lisbon Agenda on education and training'

since 'one of the challenges of globalisation is the crossborder cooperation

between education systems to provide comparable qualifications for the



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mobility of learners, teachers and workers' (MQC, online, 2009:17). Malta

also chose to uphold the 'subsidiarity principle' cross referencing the NQF

with the EQF and the Qualifications Framework of the European Higher

Education Area (QF/EHEA), adopting the level descriptors of both Frameworks

to best fit the national education system (ibid:59). Arguably, the section

about MCAST's national vocational education provision (ibid:30) , is most

eloquent by omission regarding national language policies. Circumventing

issues of bilingual language policies, it focuses on the adoption of EU

Frameworks outlines eight Defining Key Competencies: Communication in

the mother tongue; Communication in foreign languages; Mathematical

competence and basic competences in science and technology; Digital

competence (use of Information Society and Communication Technology and

the Internet); Learning to learn; Interpersonal, intercultural and social

competences, civic competence; Entrepreneurship; and

Cultural expression (ibid:41).

Questions thus arise vis a vis language, bilingualism and identity; whether

Maltese should be automatically considered as the mother tongue of all

nationals thereby excluding truly bilingual individuals or English-speaking

natives; is English therefore reduced to a second language or is it truly a

foreign language but if so why is it still given equal weighting in national

curricula and not taught according to EFL methodologies; what kind of

cultural expression of which identity/identities should we foster in our

students, their individual one of the dominant 'mother nation' heritage

taught within the Maltese language curriculum; and what of new multimodal

expressions as new digital technology transforms language and literacy

practices? The NQF thus seemingly misrecognises a varied linguistic

heritage are Maltese nationals bilingual, multilingual, anglophones or

possibly 'polynomic' (Jaffe, 2003b)? Modern lifestyles and technology are

creating a new social order; trying to simplify the 'Language Problem'

through the adoption of 'modern' European or globalised concepts without



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beyond a School Leaving Certificate or an interview in exceptional cases, the

higher the level, the greater the standard of education expected.

Subsequently, problems remain for students experiencing traditional literacy

difficulties throughout their compulsory schooling as the system seemingly

replicates the arduous and possibly demotivating experience of trying to

achieve required standards, but within just one or

two Foundation years.

The LSU's range of support services helps these students achieve their

certification with the limited resources available. One major hindrance is

that the LSU is not an independent institute within MCAST so it often has

limited say as assignments at Level 2 and beyond are 'contextualised by thelecturers attached to the various institutes to reflect the vocational calling of

the respective institute' (MCAST Regulations, internal documentation (a):3).

Limitations compound as LSU lecturers are not institute based, often

receiving groups on an additional lesson basis. They sometimes feel their

contributions are deemed marginal to those of institute-based lecturers.

These mainstream lecturers in turn are working within a system where it is

'common sense' and an 'obvious truth' (Fairclough, 2001) that students

should be prepared for the world of employment. Furthermore, since the

MQF equates VET accreditation with an O level standard of education, most

mainstream teachers may teach and assess at that level, perhaps with little

effort at adaptation beyond obvious vocational content contextualisation.

This has most often been the LSU staff's experience.

Conversely, the Level 1 Key Skills assignments and assessment are team

developed, contextualised by LSU Key Skills and mainstream vocational

lecturers for 'direct and exclusive relevance to the vocational units of the

respective institutes' (MCAST

Regulations, internal documentation (b):6). This system has had a mixed

reception, as the impression that the Level 1 programme was 'lumped' with

the 'undesirables' of the College as new and more prestigious degree



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programmes are launched at higher levels persist. Additionally, apart from

the added value of intense small group and personalised teaching, the LSU's

sole responsibility for embedding the academic aspects of the programme

with the vocational component has put immense efficiency performance

pressure on the Unit. The effectiveness of an embedded programme

remains to be seen. Changes were implemented over a very short period of

time with no pilot project undertaken nor adequate staff training provided

and both languages are used simultaneously but for different purposes by all

staff especially the vocational lecturers who use most technical terms

interchangeably within a bilingual setting with no formal guidelines as to how

the two languages ought to be taught simultaneously to avoid confusion,

mistakes and little learning beyond translation of terms. Hence, a major

concern remains supporting students' language and literacy skills to prepare

them for vocational assessment, higher standard VET/MCAST courses and

future employment.

5. Further Critical Analysis of Bilingual Language Policy and

Practice at MCAST

'If education is to nurture the development of individuals capable of

independent and creative agency, it must itself be capable of this.

The question then is whether entrepreneurialism and what forms

of entrepreneurialism enhances the capability of educational

practitioners to be critics of doxa, to avoid misrecognition and not

just act as transmitters of the goals and policies of policy-makers.'

(Woods et al, 2007:253)



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Uncertain employment prospects loom over Foundation students due to

current global economic conditions and limited opportunities nationwide.

MCAST's Mission Statement seemingly addresses these concerns by itsdriving policy of offering accessible vocational education to all. Often,

however, 'greater equality of opportunities is informed by a very narrow

definition of equity' (Rizvi and Lingard, 2010:156). Traditional policy models

insist on solving educational predicaments by identifying the most

efficient course of action to solve social problems such as raising

employability levels of young adults with literacy problems, often through

what they describe as rigorous and value-free positivist methods. Yet, any

policy is in effect 'political aspirations and activism located in particular

historical circumstances' (ibid:157) and so can never be value-free;

sometimes it risks marginalising those voices it

purports to represent.

Malta embraces its national and European identity, yet historical and geo-

political issues continue to re-emerge. As Rizvi and Lingard (2010:162)

eloquently state, 'we have become increasingly aware of ourinterconnectivity and interdependence, and yet confront conditions in which

differences are exploited, as communities increasingly define their identities

against the encroaching forces of globalization and against each other'. In

our bid to reaffirm our Europeanisation, mainly for economic reasons, we

tend to think that all individuals ' will gradually become standardized through

technological, cultural and commercial synchronitization' (ibid:167) but

'overlooks the fact that different parts of the same community may relate

differently to the same social processes' (ibid).

MCAST reflects this trend of adopting 'policy technologies' where a 'one-size-

fits-all' model aims at the 'transformation' and 'modernisation' of vocational

education, mainly through traditional models of educational management



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intended to organise human skills and resources into 'functioning systems'

(Ball, 2010:41-43). However, these reforms extending into classroom

teaching and learning, particularly in the new Level 1 Embedded Foundation

Programme, may be another means of misrecognising student and staff

voices. The lack of clear bilingual language policies in vocational settings

reflects a nation-wide dilemma. Instead of tackling issues of identity, focus

remains on employment, entrepreneurship, market forces, management and

performativity (Ball, 2010:45-53). It is creating a 'policy epidemic' of

adopted, possibly adapted EU policies leading to an 'unstoppable flood of

closely interrelated reform ideas' that are 'permeating and reorientating' our

education system despite our 'diverse social and

political' location (ibid:39).

Inevitably, Malta may always look towards bigger nations for expertise but as

Ball (2010:40) suggests perhaps we should start by identifying significant

'commonalities within difference' that our economic imperatives dictate.

This is not easy but may give better understanding about the complex

dynamics of 'global and regional differences' which are increasingly leading

to 'policy harmonisation, convergence, transfer and borrowing' (Ball,

2010:38). At the very least this would give us greater control over national

policy making. It cannot be said that nothing is being done. Still, the

pressure of rendering our institution a model of entrepreneurship and

performativity is overwhelmingly apparent in how policies are translated into

practice in our largely hierarchical managerialist organisation, generating

detrimental 'effects of various sorts on interpersonal and role relationships'

(Ball, 2010:52).

Accepting the non-homogeneity of the Foundation Programme students

would be a laudable initiative as would having specific bilingual language

policies adapted from the MQF policy document, particularly policies

addressing those Key Competencies pertaining to teaching and learning to

communicate in the mother tongue/foreign languages.



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As in most other bilingual countries, 'moving between languages has

traditionally been frowned upon in educational settings' with teachers and

students having 'often experienced feelings of guilt about the necessity to

engage in bilingual practice' (Blackledge and Creese, 2009:203). This

certainly happens within our vocational classrooms. Students not only blend

frequent-use expressions in Maltese and English but also navigate between

using diverse technical terms in these two languages and those deriving

from Latin and Romance languages. LSU staff supporting embedded literacy

are also part of this process of 'translanguaging' (Blackledge and Creese,

2009). Therefore, specific vocational language policies are greatly needed as

are further studies into 'ecologic' and 'flexible' bilingual pedagogies (ibid).

Flexible bilingualism links 'the social, cultural, community and linguistic

domains' of classroom participants (ibid:213). Blackledge and Creese

(2009:214) list the 'specific knowledge and skills' that benefit from flexible

bilingualism and pedagogy adding that it endorses 'simultaneous literacies

and languages'. Such further research would not only aid bilingual literacy

development but also validate New Literacies and Digital Literacies present

within the group.

Consequently, special attention also needs to be given to policies targeting

digital competencies, interpersonal, intercultural and social competences,

civic competence, entrepreneurship and cultural expressions since they are

mostly regarded as secondary curricular add-ons instead of integral to issues

of language and identity. Often reduced to a token 'internationalization of

the curriculum as a way of engaging with the complex processes of

globalization', such policies have an appeal that 'appears ubiquitous' but

whose effects are 'less clear' (Rizvi and Lingard, 2010:172, 173). Most

related policies fall under 'three interrelated categories: facilitating study

abroad and educational exchange to broaden and enrich students' cultural

experiences; learning about other languages and cultures as a way of

developing their skills of intercultural communication; and preparing



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graduates to work in the global knowledge economy' (ibid:173). As exciting

and potentially beneficial these aims seem, they are again linked to

issues of language and identity.

Rizvi and Lingard (2010:174) state that in order for students to truly benefit

from such experiences, they must be aware of issues about 'the nature of

work and labour processes and cultural exchange'. 'shifts in the global

knowledge economy and social relations' and 'rapid advances in information

technology' within which this 'cultural exchange and global competence

might be located'. Whilst students need to understand that 'technology

sustains the value our modern societies give to work as a means to financial

gain and sense of belonging to a global community (Gee, 2000, in Barton,

Hamilton and Ivanic, 2000), academics need to navigate the 'issues of global

academic mobility and research collaborations (that) are inextricably linked

to the globalization of English' which is 'largely driven by the demands of the

international labour market' (ibid:176). Promoting such interdiscursive social

practices supports student potential, acknowledging dominant and

subordinated communities whilst better understanding relationships thatinfluence school structures and the roles of educators and students

(Cummins, 2000:36-40). Truly effective education in a bilingual setting

should embrace transformative and intercultural challenges where

collaborative power relations affirm student identities and extend their

interactions with educators, actually hearing and respecting student voice

rather than silencing the power of self expression (ibid:44-49).

Professionally, there should be understanding of the levers driving national

and international literacy and bilingual language policies within vocational

education in order to understand the contexts which create policy; to

evaluate policy processes and implementation; to examine the effects of

policy; to understand the underlying values and whose interests are being



23/27


served; and to possibly contribute to policy advocacy. Apart from looking at

international and national policy documentation, effort should be made 'to

read behind the literal text, reflect on society and the struggles of power,

engaging 'in a critical discussion of the positions a text supports (Papen,

2005:11). Educators should be interested in 'whose interests are served by

what these texts do' helping students to 'rewrite themselves and their local

situations by helping them to pose problems and to act, often in small ways,

to make the world a fairer place (Janks, 2009:19).

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) methodologies could aid understanding

complexities between language and 'the current relationship among the

economy, national policies, and educational practices' (Rogers, 2008:1) as it

sifts the various voices enabling deeper understanding between texts and

subjectivities and encouraging dialogue and participation. Studies by Jaffe

(2003a,b), Heller (2003), da Silva and Heller (2009) Rogers (2008) and Gee

(2008) allow parallels to be drawn with the local situation where national

policies, communities of practice, social interaction and the distribution of

resources are part of the Discourse of bilingualism where 'the discrepancy inachievement between mainstream and working class and minority children'

remains as powerful groups insist on traditional resolutions to modern

educational problems' (Rogers, 2008:11).

Intertextual CDA could also provide insights into the values and levers being

nationally advocated by local language pressure groups and the media. It

could especially analyse how 'policy discourse' combines 'private principles,

values and ways of working with those of the public sector' revealing how

foreign vocational education partner entities such as BTEC as well as various

multinational investors currently co-sponsoring MCAST programmes,

similarly to the Academies in the UK, aim at 'making the traditional public

sector more innovative and entrepreneurial' (Woods et al, 2007:238). It



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would hence open up the discussion beyond mere acquisition of bilingual

skills, focusing on the different ideological stances towards different

literacies and languages and the diverse social and cultural backgrounds

which ultimately shape different people's educational, linguistic and literacy

goals (Freeman, 1998).

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