There has been renewed scholarly interest in how nationalism and national identity shape educational systems, practices, and materials, particularly within contexts of increasing European integration. Research has shown that curricula, textbooks, and pedagogical practices are deeply influenced by national histories, cultures, and identity narratives (e.g., Tröhler 2023). At the same time, European education policy has increasingly promoted coordination, comparability, and mobility across national systems. Building on this growing body of research, the present study examines the relationship between Vocational Education and Training (VET) policy-making and national identity within a Europeanised policy space.

Historically, the aims of VET have been closely tied to economic development and labour market needs; however, VET systems are also embedded in broader societal and cultural practices (Elias 1995). Across Europe, countries hold distinct conceptualisations of vocational learning, apprenticeships, and professional education. These differences coexist with the EU’s soft governance mechanisms, such as the Copenhagen Process. As a result, national VET reforms often emerge from negotiations between European-level policy discourses and domestic traditions, priorities, and identities.

The link between VET and nationalism remains underexplored. To explore this link, we undertake a case study of VET reform in Malta, utilising documents and media. This reform, implemented between 2013 and 2016, introduced vocational subjects into secondary schooling. The aim is to understand how this reform was legitimised through references to external sources or through references to national identity. The research questions are: How was the reform in Malta legitimised? What externalisations were made to provide legitimation for policy change? How did national identity affect the legitimation of the reform?

Theoretically, we first turn to literature on policy borrowing (Phillips and Ochs 2003; Schriewer 1990; Steiner-Khamsi and Waldow 2012). Policy borrowing involves the adoption of policies or practices which are already in use elsewhere. Literature on policy borrowing also sheds light on the factors which lead to cross-national attraction, such as an internal dissatisfaction with current affairs and negative external evaluation. Additionally, external models become attractive because of similar guiding philosophies and aims. A different approach to studying policy borrowing is provided by looking at Schriewer’s (1999, 2000) work on ‘externalisation to world situations’. When nations search for viable solutions, they often reference foreign models, which he terms ‘externalisation’.

Secondly, we turn to the epistemic governance framework (Alasuutari and Qadir 2019). This framework seeks to understand the actions that actors take to gain approval and legitimacy for policy change, i.e., for governance. This governance involves work and actions, which are epistemic in nature. The term epistemic highlights that actors’ actions tap into some form of knowledge and understanding of societal understanding and views. Thus, when policy actors seek to bring about policy change, they seek to make references to societal understandings which support such changes. In this case, an understanding on epistemic governance helped shed light on how policy actors used media appearances and communications (i.e., epistemic work) to highlight how the new reform is legitimate through its connection with national identity and the support of external authoritative sources.

Finally, we make references to theory on nationalism (Tröhler 2023; Özkırımlı 2017). Following Özkırımlı (2017, 220), we see nationalism as “socially constituted and institutional”. Thus, nationalism is linked with a social understanding of national history and culture. This understanding is evident through discourse, images and symbols used (Billig 1995). Additionally, nationalism is institutional because it is enabled by societal structures and political actors (Brubaker 1996). In a Europeanised policy environment, nationalism does not disappear but is rearticulated, as national identity becomes a key resource through which European policy influences are interpreted, adapted, and legitimised.

I use this literature to build a conceptual framework that enables me to investigate how a VET reform in Malta was shaped by externalisation and legitimised through and within national identity. This conceptual framework is then applied to analyse documents and media. We collected documents and video material which spanned the years preceding the policy, up until the policy was implemented i.e., 2011 to 2018, and any other media produced about its outcome. In total, we collected 42 documents, including 18 media articles, 9 videos, 4 policy documents, 5 reports, 4 press releases and 2 scientific publications. The first documents were collected from Maltese sources. This included the policy document outlining a reform for general education and the policy document outlining the VET reform. Snowball sampling was used as Maltese documents served as the starting point from which references to external influences led to the collection of reports published by EU entities. The EU reports included Malta’s Education Monitor for 2016, Cedefop evaluations of VET in Malta, a report on inclusive education in Malta by the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, and Council of the EU recommendations for the European Semester 2013. Lastly, criterion sampling was used to search for other media articles and news segments that were about the VET reform. This sample can be considered fully comprehensive, as the document retrieval process covered all available Maltese news and journalistic websites. The material was examined using Qualitative Content Analysis (Schreier 2012) and coded with the assistance of Atlas.ti software. An initial reading was conducted to become familiar with the dataset. This was followed by a second reading focused on inductive, data‑driven coding, during which recurring concepts emerging from the material were identified. A third reading applied deductive, concept‑driven coding using a coding frame developed in accordance with epistemic governance theory. This resulted in a double‑coding process. Finally, fourth and fifth readings were undertaken to consolidate the coding scheme and eliminate codes that appeared only infrequently.

This study identifies three key themes. First, processes of externalisation and cross-national attraction to foreign models were used to legitimise policy change. Second, key figures engaged in epistemic work to frame the reform and accumulate authority. Third, nationalism permeated both institutional and individual actors’ approaches to VET policy-making. Externalisation was a central strategy employed by the governmental ministry responsible for education. Legitimacy for the reform was built through references to external authoritative sources, most notably the European Union and Finland. These externalisations were evident in official documents and media outputs produced by the ministry. By aligning the reform with internationally recognised practices, the ministry strengthened its credibility while positioning the policy within a broader transnational context. At the individual level, officials within the Maltese Ministry of Education were the primary actors conducting epistemic work in support of the reform. Their efforts focused on presenting the reform as aligned with the needs and aspirations of the Maltese nation, framing it as a collective national mission. This involved constructing a narrative that positioned the reform as necessary and beneficial for society as a whole. Importantly, references to Finnish actors were framed in ways that respected Maltese identity, illustrating how externalisation was carefully balanced with national considerations. A significant component of epistemic work involved framing the policy context to support reform. This was achieved by emphasising perceived shortcomings of the existing VET system and presenting the reform as a solution. Ministry officials argued that the new VET system would reduce early school leaving, expand access to education, and better respond to changing labour market demands. Lastly, both institutional and individual actors engaged in externalisation and epistemic work that was coherent with a national narrative rooted in Maltese identity and culture. Educational challenges were framed as collective experiences requiring collective action.

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