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Handbook of Education Systems in South Asia pp 1–31Cite as

Schooling Education in Mauritius

Negotiated Connectivities

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Part of the book series: Global Education Systems ((GES))

Abstract

Mauritius bears the hallmarks of being complementarily a country of eastern and western worldviews, ethnically, linguistically, and religiously borrowing traditions from its diverse heritages. It is a country of both Asian and African cultural, political, historical, and institutional connections. Developments in its educational landscape have thus been shaped by and resonate with historical and current experiences within the Southeast Asian region. Drawing on available (2018) official reports and policies of the Mauritian Government, especially the Ministry of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research (MoEHRTESR), and the work of current doctoral students engaged with developing scoping reviews of the forces shaping Mauritius’ schooling system, this chapter showcases how this small island developing state (SIDS) has strategically renegotiated its connectivities with its local, regional, and global partners throughout its formative history. It argues that while policy construction initially involved alignment with advice and directives from multinational organizations that exported their preferred conceptions of education and development to the island, over time, this agenda was challenged to become more inclusive of indigenously connected local resources. We analyze Mauritius’ polyglot schooling typologies and structures, shifting curriculum, language educational policy options, and ICT choices as a strategic educational lever for development and offer a historical theoretical lens for the construction of Mauritius as a SIDS. Furthermore, we question whether, through their partners, national state authorities can activate the required epistemic and practical resources to enact policy change and implementation that is the product of creativity, innovation, and research informed critique.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

    Michael Anthony Samuel

  2. Mauritius Institute of Education, Reduit, Mauritius

    Hyleen Mariaye

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  1. Michael Anthony Samuel
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  2. Hyleen Mariaye
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Correspondence to Hyleen Mariaye .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

    Padma M. Sarangapani

  2. Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad, India

    Rekha Pappu

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  1. No affiliation provided

    Archana Mehendale

  2. No affiliation provided

    Tatsuya Kusakabe

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Samuel, M.A., Mariaye, H. (2020). Schooling Education in Mauritius. In: Sarangapani, P., Pappu, R. (eds) Handbook of Education Systems in South Asia. Global Education Systems. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3309-5_54-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3309-5_54-1

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