Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/78176
Title: Problematising the familiar : a deconstruction of the ‘My Journey’ reform
Authors: Galea, Emily (2020)
Keywords: Education, Secondary -- Malta
Vocational education -- Malta
Education -- Curricula -- Malta
Policy sciences -- Evaluation
Issue Date: 2020
Citation: Galea, E. (2020). Problematising the familiar: a deconstruction of the ‘My Journey’ reform (Master's dissertation).
Abstract: This study undertakes a deconstruction of the My Journey reform—a school-based VET initiative which was introduced in Maltese secondary schools in the scholastic year 2019/2020. The reform welcomed nine new vocational subjects to the school curriculum, in an attempt to move away from a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach and to diversify the options available to students for post-middle school study. Using Bacchi’s (2009) WPR approach, key policy texts concerning the reform were critically analysed to inquire into the underlying rationales, presuppositions, and silences, that govern the initiative. It is argued that whereas the My Journey document occasionally adopts a humanistic discourse that recognises difference in students’ needs and interests, policy discourse surrounding this development draws heavily from neoliberal modes of thought, and strongly foregrounds notions of employability, globalisation, and economic competitiveness. An analysis of the presuppositions and silences underlying the My Journey reform also suggests that this initiative is unworkable for many reasons; it disregards the effects that societal structures have upon freedom to choose, and undervalues the complexities of pedagogy, intelligence, and work. In addition, whereas schools may seem to be well-placed to provide work-based training, there are reasons to suggest that this is in fact a false assumption. The implications of these critical findings for future research into the My Journey reform are addressed in the concluding chapter.
Description: M.TEACHING&LEARNING
URI: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/78176
Appears in Collections:Dissertations - FacEdu - 2020

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