Developing a political education programme with the 1962-1996 General Elections as a case study

Abstract

Politics as a school subject might seem rather difficult to tackle. In a polarized society this topic is rather controversial. The first chapter discusses why it is essential for future citizens to learn and understand politics. This is done by pointing out the main elements of the Maltese social environment and educational theory. The second chapter shows how education and politics interact with each other. The educational system itself is also analysed in order to demonstrate its political nature. Chapter three looks at the main objectives of teaching the subject and includes also an evaluation of the sample educational political programme as tackled through the set of lesson plans. Finally, appendix one of this dissertation aims at setting a practical model for Maltese History secondary school teachers for teaching such important aspects of politics. This is achieved by the use of lesson plans which include resources such as abstracts from newspapers of the period, official electoral manifestos and interviews with politicians of the time along with sets of questions which put politics into a practical perspective. At the end of this work, appendix two, includes a transcript of the interviews carried out with some Maltese politicians.