Multifunctionalism, volunteers and the “school culture” : adult education in the Maltese context

Abstract

The term "adult education" appears prominently in the discourse on education in the micro island state of Malta. Representatives of the political parties regularly highlight this aspect of the educational system in interviews and documents in the run up to the country's general elections. During this period, the country's largest teachers' union reserves an entire section in its 'manifesto to the political parties' to adult education? Furthermore, the last decade or so has witnessed a proliferation of agencies claiming to engage in activities which fall under the rubric of adult education. In this context, we shall only deal with organised adult education activities. We shall not touch the myriad informal processes that can lead to adult learning since we confine ourselves in this paper to providing a critical discussion orientated around some of the most visible Maltese adult education agencies.