The policy challenges of full literacy for a highly developed country : the Malta case

Abstract

Latest statistics show that around 4.8% of the Maltese population are illiterate, much higher than the percentages in other EU countries. The latest work addressing literacy in Malta was published in June 2014, ‘A National Literacy Strategy for All in Malta And Gozo 2014 2019’. Through document analysis and a thematic analysis analysing the conducted elite interviews, this research will investigate to what extent is the strategy a success, a failure, or somewhere in between. Inter alia, this research will also identify numerous challenges which policy makers might face when planning and implementing literacy policy. The main finding of this research is the fact that there is a gap between what is planned and what is implemented due to numerous challenges mentioned throughout the study. At the end of the research, the researcher summarises the contribution to public policy knowledge emanating from this study, and numerous recommendations for further related research.