Dr Sean Zammit was recently awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Research and Development from the University of Lincoln School of Education, after completing an in-depth study on the interplay and effects of both neo-liberal approaches to education – namely the reimagining of schooling purposes from an economic point of view – and ‘deficit-thinking’ – namely, the practice of holding low expectations for minority students – on the restructuring process of the Maltese educational system.
His aim was to present a solid theoretical framework on the concept of inclusive education and to develop a solid platform for action to ensure equitable, socially just and quality education for all students. His study used the pragmatist notion of ‘what works’ – mixing qualitative and quantitative research methods – to uproot the negative effects of neoliberal-deficit-thinking approaches in education.
His study identified different cohorts of minority learners at risk of early leaving from education and training (ELET) in local schools, namely learners suffering from physical disabilities and psychological conditions; learners with below-average intellectual quotients; learners holding negative aptitudes towards schooling; learners living in difficult socio-economic conditions; learners from diverse ethnic backgrounds; learners holding diverse religious creeds; and learners with different sexual orientations. His research also highlighted the beliefs, relationship status, attitudes and working approaches of diverse educational stakeholders, and revealed the major challenges and barriers to inclusive education.
The evidence Zammit collected essentially showed that deficit-thinking in Maltese educational settings intensified with neoliberal approaches to education. He found that it was generating power imbalances; creating a culture of blame and of stereotypic labelling; limiting collective accountability for students’ learning; producing an over-reliance on compensatory (additional) support services; and was pushing true ‘social justice’ to the margins.
Zammit also adopted a critical lens to data analysis – based on the concept of schools being mirror images of societies – to extrapolate positive correlations between the latter findings and nation-wide challenges to ‘sustainable social development’ to generate ‘common good’ and shared prosperity.
To curb the negative educational and social effects of deficit-thinking, Zammit proposed the ‘repositioning-of-the-self’ technique to create ‘communities of difference’ that respect and celebrate diversity; embrace inclusivity, democracy, and equity; stimulate commitment to deep reflection and constructive dialogue; and promote collectivism over individualism.
Practical and pragmatic recommendations for a comprehensive ‘rethinking’ process of the local educational system
Essentially, the technique embeds linear development, transformational practices and support to change present schemata; to stimulate an equitable continuum of practice to raise awareness; enhance understanding; develop competences; and ensure responsiveness towards person-centred processes and practices through fair distribution of power; and resources to redress attainment gaps and social disparities.
The ‘repositioning-of-the-self’ technique encourages all social and educational actors to awaken their ‘socially dormant conscience’, such as being passionately concerned for the plight of the non-privileged or minority groups, and to challenge their cultural-deficit-theorising beliefs, attitudes, actions, discourse and behaviours, with new practices and understandings for inclusive education.
For this purpose, the proposed technique presents five system-wide components, rooted in an ‘ecology of equity’ to replace ‘deficit-thinking’ with: (a) ‘agency’ to balance power and to eliminate inequities; (b) ‘community’ to create ‘communities of difference’ based on social participation; (c) ‘social justice’ to identify injustices and develop equitable policies and democratic practices; (d) ‘deep democracy’ to build a shared understanding on inclusive education; and (e) ‘academic excellence’ to question ‘comfort zones’, challenge the ‘status quo’, and to move schooling beyond contrived collegiality towards shared responsibility and collective accountability for all students’ learning.
Together, the latter components serve as a vehicle to develop a vision-based, value- driven, and communication-oriented system, namely an emphatic, socially just, democratic and optimistic educational system, to sustain the well-being, dignity and capacity of all educational stakeholders through dynamic initiatives and productive relationships, to increase social participation, self-confidence, friendship, self-awareness, self- esteem, and social skills.
The proposed technique would also help stakeholders to understand: (1) how disparity problems and intervention actions are enacted – from deficit-framed practices (that aim to ‘fix’ minority learners) towards equity-framed strategies (that target systemic changes); (2) how governance and leadership are practised – from traditional and role-based hierarchical governing towards leadership through collaboration; and (3) how critical inquiry is integrated with organisational culture – from engaging in narrow inquiry towards continuous and systemic critical reflections.
Thus, the ‘repositioning-of-the-self’ concept rests on three intertwined systemic tools, namely: (a) good and strategic educational governance rooted in six interrelated domains (capacity, accountability, knowledge governance, stakeholder involvement, whole-of-system perspective, and strategic thinking and planning) to create highly inclusive educational settings; (b) inclusive leadership to allow educators to guide meaningful change by using authentic, distributed and transformational leadership styles simultaneously, to enhance strong commitment for equitable education; and (c) critical reflection for evaluation to create a culture of profound deliberation across all system levels to not only identify but also address challenges for inclusive education.
Directly emerging from the ‘repositioning-of-the-self’ technique are the ‘model-for-strategic-action’ and the ‘diversity framework for strategic repositioning’, which provided practical and pragmatic recommendations for a comprehensive ‘rethinking’ process of the local educational system.
Zammit said he hoped the local educational authorities will use his research study to stimulate constructive dialogue on how to redress educational and social inequities to create inclusive societies.
The study was fully funded by the Endeavour Scholarship Scheme.
Full access to this research study can be found at the link below.
https://independent.academia.edu/zammitsean