The President's Award Programme and young people in Malta

Abstract

The aim of this research is to explore why young people get involved in the President's Award Programme and what improvements can be made to increase participation. Thus in the process analyse how involvement in such an Award could improve the social and psychological development of young people. The fact that I obtained my Gold Award in 1996, afforded me first hand experience on the subject. Due to the fact that research on such a topic is very limited I obtained useful information regarding the history of the Award in Malta from informal talks with the Chairman of the Award Programme, while 200 questionnaires were distributed to participants at Maria Regina, Girls' Secondary School, Blata l- Bajda and St Aloysius College, Birkirkara, to explore their views on the Award. A minor questionnaire was also distributed to students at St Aloysius College who do not participate in the Programme. The project starts with a description of what the Award Programme entails which is followed by a history of the A ward Programme in Malta. Thus a Qualitative and Quantitative approach was followed to obtain a balanced picture. Furthermore, the Questionnaire investigates the level of participation in the Programme and provides practical suggestions to improve the Programme locally.