Education and social transition: Vocationalism, ideology and the problems of development

Abstract

In the early 1970s the socialist government of Malta embarked on a reform of vocational education. This reform programme had two aims: first, to build up the country's industrial base; second, to bridge the gap between intellectual and manual labour, as advocated by Marx and other socialist thinkers. This article argues that Malta's failure to achieve the second goal holds important lessons for those who continue to advocate socialist ideas.