About the project

Historically, Mauritius has always been committed in its pledge for quality education. Since the island’s independence in 1968, its multicultural educational policies have continuously employed strategies for inclusive education to respond its economic and social needs. As part of its international pledge to fulfil the SDG 4 goals, the government has implemented the Nine-Year Basic Continuous Education (NYBCE) in 2017. Citizenship education is central to the reform’s goals. In 2020, new materials and modules were added to the curriculum for Social Modern Studies (SMS) for Grades 7-9 students. The new curriculum has a clear purpose and seeks to extend students’ knowledge through HRE (Human Rights Education) components to create a global culture of human rights in the areas of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Modules and toolkits were also added to teachers’ training to equip current and future SMS teachers.

The purpose of this study is to investigate practices and understandings of citizenship education in Mauritius. It starts with contemporary Mauritius by investigating the interactions between students and teachers. Using a student-centred and teacher-centred approach and through classroom action research, this research looks at the transloyalties in classrooms and their impacts on pedagogical processes and understandings. It then highlights the historical traces of citizenship education formulations that impact how teachers see themselves and produce knowledge. This study also inquires about Mauritianisation and its conceptualisations in policy formulations and pedagogical settings. The concepts of identity, nationhood, belonging identity politics, ethnic and civic citizenship, and loyalties are primordial in anchoring theoretical and empirical data, and hopes to contribute to the field of intercultural education.

Background

Master in International Education and Development, OsloMet, 2021

Research group

RethniC