When we speak about Literacy, we are referring to a tool which is essential for survival and social change of an individual.
UNESCO defines literacy as a means of identification, understanding, interpretation, creation, and communication in an increasingly digital world. This goes beyond its traditional conception as a set of reading and writing skills. Literacy includes the capacity to read, understand and critically appreciate various forms of communication including spoken language, printed text, broadcast media, and digital media.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital technologies in their various forms and how these can supplement and support teaching and learning.
The decision taken by this government to give free internet and lap tops for those children who cannot afford to have such technology, his helping addressing the digital divide that exists when children and adults do not have access to digital resources to support their education.
The basic skills of Literacy are acquired at home and in the communities where children, at the early years, acquire and develop the language. It is to be said that Better Literacy Skills contribute to a more just and equitable society. Mastering Literacy Skills brings with it many social, economic and health benefits for the individual and society. Consequently, Literacy development is a social responsibility, where all stakeholders need to work together to bring about equity and social justice through literacy.
To raise the standards of Literacy, there is a need to build a strong foundation through: (1) early childhood care and education; (2) providing quality basic education for all children; (3) scaling up functional literacy levels for youth and adults who lack basic literacy skills; (4) developing literate environments.
The goal of this literacy strategy is to give all the children, the necessary skills to enable them to move along a continuum of literacy development so that they can learn to read.
As a government, we are to make sure that all children, youths, and adults be given the opportunity to obtain the necessary literacy skills to be active citizens and to succeed at work and in society.
The National Literacy Strategy (2021–2030) extends and consolidates further the strategic goals and actions of the 2014 Strategy, while it continues to seek to reduce the number of individuals who are socially excluded because of a lack of or a low level of literacy skills.
To be successful in achieving the goals set in the Literacy Strategy, we highlighted a number of objectives to address the four pillars of this strategy, which are: (1) Literacy in the Community; (2) Literacy in Education; (3) Literacy Resources; and (4) Professional Development and Research.
The objectives of the Literacy in the Community centre around enabling parents and communities to support children’s literacy development from birth; to empower vulnerable parents and families; to tackle the gender gap through reading for pleasure programmes; and to address diversity in the promotion of literacy in families.
Concurrently, schools are to prioritise literacy in their school development plans by supporting educators to adopt best practices that can help children develop their literacy skills; consolidate and develop literacy intervention programmes that address children having learning difficulties and those coming from multilingual families; consolidate the use of digital technologies and support literacy development of youths and adults.
When it comes to Literacy Resources, we are to ensure that all children have access to book-rich environment; develop and provide resources, including digital resources, to cater for all children’s and adults’ literacy development.
In the case of Professional development and Research, we need to consolidate and promote professional development for educators at different levels in literacy learning and teaching, while encouraging research studies that provide a better understanding of literacy practices in Malta and Gozo.
To address the challenges in the teaching and learning of literacy caused by COVID-19, it is being recommended that: (1) Educators and school leadership teams are to carry out literacy assessments and evaluations to determine possible learning loss in all learners during the pandemic; (2) Catch-up programmes are to be organised targeting students who fare badly according to the outcomes of these literacy assessments and for those who have a high absenteeism record; (3) Educators are to be provided with professional development training in targeted literacy support and intervention; (4) Reading time, involving shared, guided and independent reading activities, is to be prioritised across the curriculum in all year groups; (5) Children are to be given opportunities for daily independent reading of texts that correspond to their interests and heroes and heroines who have persevered in difficult times; (6) At-risk parents are to continue to be provided with reading books to support their children; (7) Campaigns and programmes are to continue to be organised to emphasise the role of parents and guardians in the promotion of literacy at home from birth.
As the Minister responsible for Education, I am confident that with the adoption of the National Literacy Strategy, not only we will continues to reduce the number of individuals who are socially excluded, because of a lack of or a low level of literacy skills, but we will be making sure that all children, young people and adults, are given the opportunity to obtain the necessary literacy skills and to develop the necessary values, skills and attitudes for active citizenship and employability in the 21st century and close the gap between the world of education and the world of employment.
Justyne Caruana – Minister for Education