Student interactions at a college canteen: a critical perspective

Abstract

Much has been written about the style of lecturing that is adopted by lecturers in institutions of further and higher education. However, little has been written about interactions that take place in the informal settings of college and university campuses. Using an ethnographic approach, this paper presents an exploration of how students at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST), a post-secondary vocational college in Malta, further enable themselves to progress through a programme of studies by interacting at the college canteen. By employing an ethnographic methodology, based on participant-observation and unstructured spontaneous interviewing, the study explores, in a holistic way, different ways that students at MCAST experience student life and use the canteen as a space to give added meaning to the time they spend in this educational setting.

Keywords:

• college
• interactions
• culture
• place

Acknowledgement

The author wishes to thank Mr. Eric Formosa B.E&A, A&C.E.(Hons) for kindly drawing up the plan of the MCAST canteen.