Attaining Quality Education in Mauritius at Secondary Level: a Case Study of the Zone 2 (State Secondary) Schools from the Educator’S Perspective
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Attaining Quality Education in Mauritius at Secondary Level: A Case Study of the Zone 2 (State Secondary) Schools from the Educator’s Perspective by Shanita Burrun submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Master of Sociology in the subject Sociology at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA Supervisor: Dr M Mendelsohn March 2011 Student number: 42004438 I declare that * Attaining Quality Education in Mauritius at Secondary Level: A Case Study of the Zone 2 (State Secondary) Schools from the Educator’s Perspective is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. 07/03/2011 SIGNATURE DATE (Mrs S Burrun) * The exact wording of the title as it appears on the copies of your short dissertation/dissertation of limited scope/dissertation/thesis, submitted for examination purposes, should be indicated in the open space. UMI MASTERS THESIS PUBLISH ABSTRACT ONLY AGREEMENT PERSONAL DATA 1. Last Name First Name Middle Name Burrun Shanita ___________ 2. Year of Birth (Optional) 3. Country of Citizenship Do not write 08/01/81 Mauritian in this space 4. Present Mailing Address Street address: Vol/Issue 39, morcellement Mon-Désert-Alma, Verdun, Mauritius. City State/Province Postal code Country School Code ________ ____________ _________ Mauritius Abst. Length Future Mailing Address Street address: _____________________________________________________ City State/Province Postal code Country _______ ____________ _________ _______ Effective date for future mailing address (mm dd yy) _______________________________ E-mail address: [email protected] MASTER’S DEGREE DATA 5. Full name of university conferring degree, and college or division if appropriate University of South Africa (UNISA) 6. Abbreviation for degree awarded 7. Year degree awarded MA Sociology 2011 TITLE/SUBJECT AREA 8. Enter the title of thesis. If thesis is written in a language other than English, please specify which language and translate title into English. Language of text: English Title: Attaining Quality Education in Mauritius at Secondary Level: A Case Study of the Zone 2 (State Secondary) Schools from the Educator’s Perspective 9. Subject category of thesis. Please enter four-digit code from ―Subject Categories‖ on following page. DIS635T 10. Please append an abstract of no more than 150 words describing the contents of your thesis. Your completion and submission of this form through your graduate school indicates your assent to UMI publication of your abstract. Formulas, diagrams and other illustrative materials are not recommended for abstracts appearing in Masters Abstracts International. Author Signature: Date: 07/03/11 (Mrs S Burrun) Acknowledgement The writing of this dissertation has been an important challenge for me because I have been able to meet my objectives and to satisfy my ambitious character. It is important to note that this dissertation would not have been possible without the guidance, patience and mentorship of my supervisor Dr Martin Mendelsohn. Therefore, it is from the core of my heart that I would like to address him my sincere gratitude and appreciation for his enormous contribution as an important guide during those two years of hard-work. I am also grateful to Dr Anna-Mart Bonthuys for her indisputable generosity and kind-hearted attitudes. She has edited this dissertation within a limited amount of time and she did not let me down at any occasion. Further to this, I am strongly indebted to my colleagues and friends who acted as mediators and respondents during the research process. Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank my husband, Roy. His constant support, encouragement, and unwavering love were undeniably vital to the achievement of this dissertation. His remarkable skills in manipulating different ICT tools have also been of great help to me. Last, but not the least, I wish to thank my mother, grandmother, sisters and brothers-in-law for their faith in me and for their guidance through all my endeavours. Abstract ―Education For All‖ is the goal which the Ministry of Education and Human Resources, in Mauritius, wishes to attain, based on the recommendations of UNESCO. Mauritius urges for quality education, that is, a world-class education in which each Mauritian child should be given the opportunity to reach high educational success. Education must be the privilege of all and not the sole right of a few elites. This study analyses, from an educator‘s point of view, the extent to which Mauritius is proficient in reaching quality education at secondary level. It is mainly based on hypothesis-testing. The research process also includes a case study of the Zone 2, for which a self- administered questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 90 educators. The study reveals that Mauritius is heading towards a quantified education rather than a quality education. Mass education can be seen as a better rhetoric for its current educational plan. Key terms: quality education; content driven education; educator‘s competency; all-round development of students; hidden curriculum; meritocracy; equal opportunity; gender; ethnicity; mass education List of abbreviations and acronyms BEC Bureau de l‘Education Catholique CPE Certificate of Primary Education EOE Export Oriented Enterprise EPZ Export Processing Zone HSC Higher School Certificate ICT Information and Communication Technology MCA Mauritius College of the Air MES Mauritius Examination Syndicate MGI Mahatma Gandhi Institute MIE Mauritius Institute of Education PBB Programme Based Budget PGCE Post Graduate Certificate in Education PRB Pay Research Bureau PSC Public Service Commission PSSA Private Secondary Schools Association PTA Parent Teacher‘s Association SC School Certificate UNESCO United Nations, Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNISA University of South Africa ZEP Zone d‘Education Prioritaire TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 5 I PURPOSE OF THE STUDY .................................................................................................................... 7 II RESEARCH QUESTIONS ...................................................................................................................... 8 III OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................................. 8 IV SUMMARY OF CHAPTERS ................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 1: THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF MAURITIUS AND ITS EDUCATION SYSTEM ........................ 11 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 11 1.1 THE POLITICAL AND EDUCATIONAL HISTORY OF MAURITIUS .................................................................... 12 1.1.1 The Dutch period ............................................................................................................ 12 1.1.2 The French period ........................................................................................................... 13 1.1.2.1 The historical development of education during the French period ............................. 16 1.1.3 The British period ............................................................................................................ 16 th 1.1.3.1 19 century Mauritius under British rule ...................................................................... 16 1.1.3.1.1 Abolition of slavery during the British period ........................................................ 17 1.1.3.1.2 The Indian indentured labourers and Chinese immigrants ................................... 19 th 1.1.3.2 20 century Mauritius under British rule ...................................................................... 21 1.1.3.2.1 The political history of Mauritius ........................................................................... 21 1.1.3.2.2 The historical development of education under British rule ................................. 22 1.1.4 Independent Mauritius ................................................................................................... 26 1.1.4.1 The historical development of education during the post-independence period ......... 27 ST 1.2 EDUCATION IN MAURITIUS IN THE 21 GLOBAL ERA ............................................................................. 28 1.2.1 The Mauritian formal education structure ..................................................................... 29 1.2.1.1 A brief description of the Zones – in particular Zone 2 .................................................. 32 st 1.2.2 The 21 century reforms ................................................................................................. 33 1.3 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................ 37 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................................... 39 2.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 39 2.1 CONTENT DRIVEN EDUCATION .......................................................................................................... 39 2.2 THE