Home-schooling in Malta

Obviously the introduction of home-schooling to Malta must be approached with care, as it is not appropriate for all children, or for all family circumstances. In fact, its suitability for a particular child will depend on a number of factors:

1) The children themselves – how self-motivated they are, how receptive they are to home-schooling and also their relationship with their parent(s);

2) The intelligence of the parents and their level of education (which does not have to mean having a Teacher’s War- rant);

3) The standard of the home itself and the suitability of the physical space available for study;

4) Access to the internet and to online instructional programmes;

5) The level of external support and supervision provided by the education authorities.

Research in home-schooling in England by Antoinette Schembri, a University of Warwick PhD student who teaches in Malta, has revealed a workable model, used by the Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, whereby a homeschooled child also attends an ‘educational hub’ for two halfdays each week. While there, they interact with other homeschooled children and the Home-schooling supervisors are able monitor their progress, sociability and learning and also to assess the validity of the tuition they are being given.

I was fortunate to be present at a very informative interview, conducted in Dudley by Ms Schembri, with two homeschooled girls, aged 17 and 14: the elder, after taking “O” levels, had moved from homeschooling to a conventional sixth-form college to study for “A” levels. They were polite, well spoken and literate. Their mother was a full-time single parent, living in social housing, who possessed a one year diploma in Youth Counselling, gained after the children had started school. The girls had none of the awkwardness so often found in children of that age when dealing with adults. When asked how homeschooled girls differed from in-schooled girls, the girls con- curred that in general, the latter were far more materialistic and more interested in matters such as make-up, designer handbags, celebrities and popmusic, than in studying.

Home-schooling is not for all children, families or home circumstances, but with appropriate support, it can certainly have very positive results for the right child. Dr Martin G. Spillane Visiting Fellow, University of Warwick Centre for Education Studies. University of Warwick Alumni Ambassador for Malta