STEM further education : from training for employment to education for freedom

Abstract

The dominant discourse used to justify the costs and need of state-funded Education (FE) in Malta mirrors that in European Union policy documents, which emphasise the development of human capital, the utility of FE to the individual and the assumed direct link between FE and economic growth. The emphasis, at least in policies, is on what employers want rather what students want for themselves or what educators think is educationally desirable. In this paper, I propose using the capabilities approach as a framework for reimaging FE and post-compulsory technical education as a process of freedom and empowerment. Amartya Sen describes capabilities as freedoms which involve both the processes that allow the freedom of action and making decisions, and also the opportunities that are available. He envisions successful societies as those in which its members are able to participate effectively and influence the spheres effecting their lives – socially, economically and politically. Capabilities can be enhanced by public policy. The capabilities proposed to give students the freedom to make their own choices and participate more fully in society are: practical reasoning; affiliation; informed vision; resilience; social and collective struggle; emotional reflexivity; integrity; and knowledge and skills.