Apprenticing empire : technical education, discipline, and the formation of colonial subjects in Malta (1920-1970)

Abstract

This article adopts a postcolonial micro-historical approach to explore the development of apprenticeship and vocational education in Malta, offering new insights into the links between colonial authority, educational reform, and postcolonial pedagogy. Drawing on the archival record of a Maltese shipwright who trained and worked through both colonial and post-independence administrations, the article examines how British-imposed apprenticeship systems shaped disciplined, “Anglicised” artisans. A document analysis of primary sources, institutional reports, critical historiography, and postcolonial theory situates this individual trajectory within broader debates on national modernity, social justice, and the lasting influence of empire on education in a British fortress colony that later transitioned to independence. Findings reveal how colonial disciplinary pedagogies and bureaucratic structures endured long after independence, creating ongoing barriers to fair educational reform. By critically engaging with the limitations of the colonial archive and foregrounding the ethical importance of subaltern experience, this article advocates for decolonising vocational education in Malta through curriculum reflexivity, participatory governance, and critical historical awareness.