What is it about?
This publication explores how a cohort of young people who live on Malta's sister island of Gozo, (young people who attend the Gozitan sixth form) identify with Gozo; and thereby it explores what ‘being Gozitan’ means to them., The paper explores whether/how they believe that their schooling, alongside other agents of socialization, has led them to identify with Gozo.
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Why is it important?
This paper contributes to studies on islandness - how people co-construct an island identity by living on the island. The paper brings out the unique character of Gozo, as an island of its accord, as an island which is part of Malta, and as an island which is part of Malta AND Europe, and Europe directly. In this respect it is an important ethnographic study, and also provides interesting insights to how citizenship is lived, practiced and understood. The study thereby also contributes to the academic literature on citizenship education.
Perspectives
I would say that this paper provides important understandings of how young people perceive their home-land and in so doing allows readers to acquire important insights about the 'taken for granted' aspects of islands. Young people share in common a desire to build a productive future, to form friendships to practice their hobbies and to 'get on' with their lives. This papers shows how these desires are influenced by context and how Gozitan young people see studying and working in Malta as a rite of passage to their maturing as individuals in a way that is clearly distinguishable from young people in Malta.
Dr Damian Spiteri
University of York
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Sixth Form Students' Perspectives of Citizenship Education in ‘A Small Island’ Context, Research in Education, November 2015, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.7227/rie.0016.
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