The lost generation? Educational contingency in viral times : Malta and beyond

Abstract

The general widespread rhetoric is that pandemics affect people of all backgrounds, a tune belted out over and over again to nauseating effect. An in-depth context analysis, that of the small Mediterranean island state of Malta, with an official population of 441,543, reveals that the effects vary according to social background. While people from middle-class families can be fatally hit by the pandemic, there are more significant per capita negative effects on people from the less well-to-do sectors of society, the working class. We view “working class” in a nuanced way. In our view, it includes people who have become déclassé marked by a deterioration in their living conditions; they might be more qualified than their parents but cannot enjoy their standard of living (English and Mayo 2012: 119). [extract]