Malta, a former British colony, has inherited a legacy of formal education, which remains stubbornly in place even after almost 60 years of independence. Similarly, persistent are arguments in research and policy highlighting democracy and children’s rights in early years practice and boys’ underachievement in literacy. This paper examines 5- to 6-year-old boys’ perspectives about their schooled reading and writing experiences in three Maltese state schools through the dual lenses of children’s rights and democratic practice to create new understandings of these widely discussed longstanding phenomena. The paper discusses themes emerging from three focus group interviews which were part of a broader mixed-methods phenomenological doctoral study. Findings revealed that most boys experienced undesirable reading and writing practices, pointing to a need to rollback the highly formalised approach to literacy practised in many early years of educational settings in Malta. This paper questions whether countries like Malta will remain paralysed by a legacy of early formal schooling or move forward to an actual realisation of children’s rights through sustained democratic early childhood paedagogies.
AldersonP (2000) Young Children’s Rights: Exploring Beliefs, Principles and Practise, Children in charge series 10. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
2.
AllowayNFreebodyPGilbertP, et al. (2002) Boys, Literacy and Schooling: Expanding the Repertoires of Practice. Canberra: Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training.
3.
AltwergerB (ed.) (2005) Reading for Profit: How the Bottom Line Leaves Kids Behind. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
4.
BaeB (2009) Children’s right to participate – Challenges in everyday interactions. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal17(3): 391–406.
5.
BaeB (2010) Realizing children’s right to participation in early childhood settings: Some critical issues in a Norwegian context. Early Years30(3): 205–218.
6.
BaldacchinoA (2019) Postcolonialism and early childhood education in small island states. Malta Review of Educational Research13(1): 109–130.
7.
BarleyRBathC (2014) The importance of familiarisation when doing research with young children. Ethnography & Education9(2): 182–195.
8.
BarnettWS (2008) Preschool Education and its Lasting Effects: Research and Policy Implications. Boulder, CO: Education and the Public Interest Center and Education Policy Research Unit [Electronic version]. Available at: http://epicpolicy.org/publications/ (accessed 12 September 2020).
9.
BiestaG (2007) «Don’t count me in» – Democracy, education and the question of inclusion. Nordic Studies in Education27: 18–31.
10.
BonelloC (2018) Boys and Early Literacy Learning in Three Maltese State Schools. PhD Thesis, University of Sheffield. Available at: https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/22737/
11.
BonelloC (2019) A paradigm paralysis? Boys and early literacy learning in three Maltese state schools. Malta Review of Educational Research13(1): 79–107.
12.
BorgMGFalzonJM (1995) Birth date and sex effects on the scholastic attainment of primary schoolchildren: A cross-sectional study. British Educational Research Journal21(1): 61–74.
13.
BraunVClarkeV (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology3(2): 77–101.
14.
BrookerL (2001) Interviewing children. In: MacNaughtonGRolfeSSiraj-BlatchfordI (eds) Doing Early Childhood Research: International Perspectives on Theory and Practice. Berkshire: Open University Press, pp.162–167.
15.
BrowneA (2008) Developing writing in the early years. In: MarshJHalletE (eds) Desirable Literacies: Approaches to Language and Literacy in the Early Years. London: SAGE, pp.81–102.
16.
BrymanA (2016) Social Research Methods. 5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
17.
ChesworthL (2016) A funds of knowledge approach to examining play interests: Listening to children’s and parents’ perspectives. International Journal of Early Years Education24(3): 294–308.
18.
ChomskyN (2016) Who Rules the World?New York, NY: Hamish Hamilton (Penguin Books).
19.
CigmanJ (2014) Supporting Boys’ Writing in the Early Years. Oxon: Routledge.
20.
ClarkA (2005) Listening to and involving young children: A review of research and practice. Early Child Development and Care175(6): 489–505.
21.
ClarkAMossP (2001) Listening to Young Children. London: National Children’s Bureau and Rowntree Foundation.
22.
ClarkAMossP (2005) Spaces to Play: More Listening to Young Children Using the Mosaic Approach. London: National Children’s Bureau.
23.
ClarkCTeravainenA (2017) Writing for Enjoyment and Its Link to Wider Writing. London: National Literacy Trust.
24.
ClarkMM (2016) Flawed arguments for phonics. In: The National Union of Teachers (2016) (ed.) The Mismeasurement of Learning: How Tests Are Damaging Children and Primary Education. London: College Hill Press, pp.20–21. Available at: https://reclaimingschools.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/mismeasurement.pdf (accessed 9 October 2020).
25.
Cobb-ClarkDAMoschionJ (2017) Gender gaps in early educational achievement. Journal of Population Economics30(4): 1093–1134.
26.
CohenLManionLMorrisonK (2007) Research Methods in Education, 6th edn.New York, NY: Routledge.
27.
Committee on the Rights of the Child (2005) General comment no. 7 (2005): Implementing child rights in early childhood. Available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/460bc5a62.html (accessed 1 August 2020).
28.
Committee on the Rights of the Child (2013) General commnet no. 14 (2013): On the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration (article 3, para. 1). Available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/51a84b5e4.html (accessed 1 August 2020).
29.
Compton-LillyCF (2013) The temporal expectations of schooling and literacy learning: Jermaine’s story. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy56(5): 400–408.
30.
ConnollyP (2004) Boys and Schooling in the Early Years. Oxon: Routledge.
31.
CorreiaNCamiloCAguiarC, et al. (2019) Children’s right to participate in early childhood education settings: A systematic review. Children and Youth Services Review100: 76–88.
32.
DanielsK (2014) Cultural agents creating texts: a collaborative space adventure. Literacy48: 103–111.
33.
DavisW (2013) What is a Balanced Literacy Program at the Junior Grade Level?Kindle edn. Self-published.
34.
DeguaraJNutbrownC (2018) Signs, symbols and schemas: Understanding meaning in a child’s drawings. International Journal of Early Years Education26(1): 4–23.
35.
DeweyJ (1937) Democracy and educational administration. School and Society45: 457–468.
36.
DeweyJ (1980) Democracy and education. In: BoydstonJA (ed.) The Middle Works, 1899-1924, (9). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, pp.1–370, Original work published 1916.
EdwardsCGandiniLFormanG (2012) The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Experience in Transformation, 3rd edn.Oxford: Praeger.
39.
EriksenE (2018) Democratic participation in early childhood education and care - Serving the best interests of the child. Tidsskrift for Nordisk Barnehageforskning17(1): 1–15.
European Union (2014) Proposal for Key Principles of a Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care: Report of the Working Group on Early Childhood Education and Care Under the Auspices of the European Commision. Brussels: European Commission, DG Education and Culture.
42.
FreireP (1972) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY: Herder and Herder.
43.
GeeJP (1991) Social Linguistics: Ideology in Discourses. London: Falmer Press.
44.
GropperNHinitzBFSprungB, et al. (2011) Helping young boys be successful learners in today’s early childhood classrooms. Young Children66(1): 34–41.
45.
HarcourtD (2012) Measuring teacher quality: Listening to young children in Singapore. Global Studies of Childhood2(4): 260–275.
46.
HarcourtDPerryBWallerT (eds) (2011) Researching Young Children’s Perspectives: Debating the Ethics and Dilemmas of Educational Research with Children. New York, NY: Routledge.
47.
HeckmanJ (2011) The economics of inequality: The value of early childhood education. The Education Digest77(4): 4–11.
48.
IvinsonGDuveenG (2006) Children’s recontextualization of pedagogy. In: MooreRArnotMBeckJ, et al. (eds) Knowledge, Power and Educational Reform. Routledge: London, pp.109–125.
49.
KanoY (2006) Curriculum as Cultural Practice. Toronto: University of Toronto Press Incorporated.
50.
LarsonJMarshJ (2015) Making Literacy Real: Theories and Practices for Learning and Teaching, 2nd edn.London: SAGE.
51.
LekkaiI (2016) Children’s right to participation in early childhood education. The Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences21(12): 14–22.
52.
LevyR (2011) Young Children Reading at Home and at School. London: SAGE.
53.
LindahlM (2005) Children’s right to democratic upbringings. International Journal of Early Childhood37(3): 33–47.
54.
LuceyH (2001) Social class, gender and schooling. In: FrancisBSkeltonC (eds) Investigating Gender. Buckingham: Open University Press, pp.177–188.
MeyerRJ (2002) Phonics Exposed: Understanding and Resisting Systematic Direct Intense Phonics Instruction. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
57.
MifsudCMiltonJBrookG, et al. (2000) Do Schools Make a Difference? A Report on Using the Malta National Literacy Survey as a Basis for a ‘School Effectiveness’ or ‘Value Added Study’. Literacy Unit Monograph Series No. 2. Msida: University of Malta.
58.
MilleiZ (2012) ‘Community’ and ‘democratic’ practice in early childhood education and care: A critique and possibility through the optic of Roberto Esposito. Global Studies of Childhood2(4): 247–259.
59.
Ministry for Education and Employment [MEDE] (2006) Early Childhood Education and Care: A National Policy. Floriana, Malta: Ministry for Education and Employment.
60.
Ministry for Education and Employment [MEDE] (2012) A National Curriculum Framework for All [NCF]. Gzira, Malta: Salesian Press.
Ministry for Education and Employment [MEDE] (2018) School Statistics: Education Resources Department. Floriana, Malta: Ministry for Education and Employment.
MossP (2007) Bringing politics into the nursery: Early childhood education as a democratic practice. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal15(1): 5–20.
NealeBFlowerdewJ (2003) Time, texture, and childhood: The contours of longitudinal qualitative research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology6(3): 189–199.
69.
NiteckiEChungM (2013) What is not covered by the standards: How to support emergent literacy in preschool classrooms. Language and Literacy Spectrum23(1): 46–56.
70.
NutbrownC (1996) Respectful Educators, Capable Learners: Children’s Rights and Early Education. London: Paul Chapman.
71.
NutbrownC (2018) Early Childhood Educational Research: International Perspectives. London: SAGE.
72.
NutbrownCHannonP (2003) Children’s perspectives on family literacy: Methodological issues, findings and implications for practice. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy3(2): 115–145.
73.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] (2001) Starting Strong: Early Childhood Education and Care. Paris: OECD.
74.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] (2017) Starting Strong 2017: Key OECD Indicators on Early Childhood Education and Care. Paris: OECD.
75.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] (2018) Starting Strong: Engaging Young Children - Lessons From Research About Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care. Paris: OECD.
76.
OsgoodJScarletRRGiugniM (2015) Putting posthumanist theory to work to reconfigure gender in early childhood: When theory becomes method becomes art. Global Studies of Childhood5(3): 346–360.
77.
PalmerS (2016) Upstart: The Case for Raising the School Starting Age and Providing What the Under-Sevens Really Need. Edinburgh: Floris Books.
78.
PhillipsLG (2016) Educating children and young people on the UNCRC: Actions, avoidance and awakenings. In: Gillett-SwanJCoppockV (eds) Children’s Rights, Educational Research and the UNCRC. Oxford: Symposium Books Ltd, pp.39–59.
79.
Robert-HolmesG (2005) Doing Your Early Years Research Project: A Step by Step Guide. London: Sage.
80.
Robert-HolmesGBradburyA (2016) Datafication in the early years. In: The National Union of Teachers (2016) (ed.) The Mismeasurement of Learning: How Tests Are Damaging Children and Primary Education. London: College Hill Press, pp.16–17. Available at: https://reclaimingschools.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/mismeasurement.pdf (accessed 9 October 2020).
81.
RoskosKAChristieJF (eds) (2007) Play and Literacy in Early Childhood: Research From Multiple Perspectives. London: Routledge.
82.
ShawCBraidyLDaveyC (2011) Guidelines for Research with Children and Young People. London: NCB Research Centre.
83.
SollarsVMifsudS (2016) When the bell rings, you can talk: Experiencing the preschool to school transition. International Journal of Transitions in Childhood9: 3–19.
84.
SollarsVPumfreyPD (1999) Reciprocal and transmission models of teaching in E2L with young learners. International Journal of Early Years Education7(2): 141–157.
85.
StreetBV (1984) Literacy in Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
86.
StreetBV (ed.) (1993) Cross-cultural Approaches to Literacy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
87.
StreetBV (1995) Social Literacies. London: Longman.
88.
StreetBV (2003) What’s “new” in new literacy studies? Critical approaches to literacy in theory and practice. Current Issues in Comparative Education5(2): 77–91.
89.
TodresLHollowayI (2006) Phenomenological research. In: GerrishKLaceyA (eds) The Research Process in Nursing. Oxford: Blackwell, pp.177–187.
VygotskyL (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
93.
WalshGSprouleLMcGuinnessC, et al. (2011) Playful structure: A novel image of early years pedagogy for primary school classrooms. Early Years31(2): 107–119.
94.
WhiteheadM (2010) Language and Literacy in the Early Years 0-7, 4th edn.London: SAGE.
95.
WohlwendK (2008) Play as a literacy of possibilities: Expanding meanings in practices, materials and spaces. Language Arts86(2): 127–137.
96.
WyseDStylesM (2007) Synthetic phonics and the teaching of reading: The debate surrounding England’s ? Rose report?Literacy41(1): 35–42.
97.
YoungJPBrozoWG (2001) Boys will be boys, or will they? Literacy and masculinities. Reading Research Quarterly36(3): 316–325.
98.
ZamboDBrozoWG (2009) Bright Beginnings for Boys: Engaging Young Boys in Active Literacy. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
