Damian Spiteri is a social work lecturer at the University of Malta with expertise in adult education and critical pedagogy. His work focuses on using formative education to promote agency, reflection, and inclusion in higher education. Drawing on Freirean and postcolonial theory, his research explores power, pedagogy, and identity in multicultural classrooms through practitioner inquiry and qualitative methodologies.

This study examines how formative education fosters critical thinking among Indian undergraduate students in Malta’s intercultural context. Using interviews and thematic analysis, it explores how dialogic and reflective pedagogies rooted in Freirean, transformative, and subjectification theories support learners used to hierarchical, exam-based systems. Findings reveal initial discomfort with open-ended learning, followed by growing appreciation for education as exploration, self-expression, and personal transformation rather than rote acquisition.