Preparing Early Years Practitioners in Mauritius

The Republic of Mauritius is a small island state in Africa located on the southeast coast of the Indian Ocean. Its education system is largely based on the British system where early childhood development and education are organised in two separate systems; children under 3-years old are in the childcare system under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, while the 3-5-years old children are in the pre-primary school system under the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology. Early Childhood Education has evolved with the changing educational context over the years, shaped by both national and international educational policies including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4. In 2010, the National Curriculum Framework Pre-Primary (for children 3-5 years of age) was developed with six areas of learning including Body and Environmental Awareness, and Mathematical and Logical thinking. This policy document has influenced teacher education, curriculum development and the practice of STEM. This chapter thus highlights the role of relevant educational institutions, particularly the Mauritius Institute of Education, in preparing early years practitioners. Mainstreaming STEM in the teacher education programmes, the development and provision of learning resources, use of ICT and other pedagogical supports will be explored. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.