The Role of Education in Shaping Youth's National Identity

Education develops a country's economy and society; therefore, it is the milestone of a nation's development. Education provides knowledge and skills to the population, as well as shaping the personality of the youth of a nation. Nevertheless, can education shape the youth's national identity? Can education cultivate the person's identity or sense of belonging to the nation? In line with that, this paper which is part of a larger scale study on Language and Social Cohesion in the Formation of National Identity funded by University Kebangsaan Malaysia would try to examine the relationship between education and national identity. A sample of 375 respondents participated in this study through responding to a set of self-administered questionnaire. Findings of the study show that education contributes to the formation of national identity. Further analyses on the influence of education among ethnic groups will be discussed.