Attitudes towards new vocational and traditional academic further and higher education institutions in Malta : a study of the effects of social class

Abstract

By differentiating public perceptions of relatively new vocational institutions from those of more traditional forms of academic further and higher education, the study aimed to explore how attitudes vary as a function of social class in Malta. A survey of 573 adults was carried out to measure variations in attitude towards three specific Maltese state-sponsored further and higher education institutions, two vocational, and one traditionally academic. Framed conceptually according to a critical interpretation of the parity of esteem debate, the main dependent variable was defined in terms of difference in attitudes toward the new vocational, as opposed to traditional academic institutions. One-way analysis of variance was carried out to explore these differences according to self-identified social class, as well as socioeconomic markers including income, education level and occupation. The findings revealed small but statistically significant effects of self-identified social class, income and level of education. As social class and other socioeconomic values increase, positive perceptions of vocational as opposed to academic tracks, tend to decrease. No significant effect emerged with respect to occupation type. In this article, we discuss some of the implications of these findings for Maltese further and higher education providers from a critical theoretical perspective. Furthermore, we argue that arbitrary prestige-attribution to specific institutions reduces qualifications to mere referents of otherwise fixed social status, and more broadly undermines the prospect of a truly meritocratic society.