Employers and education in a Mediterranean micro‐state : the case of Malta

Abstract

This article explores the demands that employers make on education in the

context of the Mediterranean micro-state of Malta. It first of all provides a profile of the

employing class on the island, and describes the mechanisms that employers use in order to

influence educational policy-making. The expectations that industrialists have from schooling, in terms of a range of desiderata that include knowledge, attitudes and skills, are

examined on both technical and normative grounds. Particular attention is paid to the sets

of motives that underlie employers' demands, and whether these stand in conflict with the

goals that educators aim for. Throughout the article, an attempt is made to connect the

Maltese situation with that obtaining in other countries, while remaining sensitive to the

specificity imposed by Malta's geographic location, scale, and economic status as a

peripheral, intermediately developed post-colonial society.