Published on 1/05/2009

This is a project headed by Om Varma, Associate Professor, Education Studies Department. It consists of developing an online textbook for 'O' level students. The project is being undertken with the support of practicing teachers in secondary schools, both State and Private. Anybody who is concerned with teaching Sociology in secondary schools as well as students taking Sociology as a subject for O level can get in touch with the project leader for additional information.

Who are we, what are we up to?

The participants

Oomandra Nath Varma- Associate Professor, MIE, Project Leader
Begue, Danielle Valerie (Mrs), Sociology- Educator, F. Richard State Secondary School, Pointe aux Sable
Dhurma, Dev (Mr) - Sociology - Educator, Keats College, Chemin Grenier (Boys Dept )
Naik, P. (Mrs)- Sociology - Educator, Phoenix State Secondary School (Boys)
Nath Varma, Sudha(Mrs) - Sociology - Educator, New Eton College, Rose-Hill.
Wong Aruna-Pradh an (Mrs) - Sociology - Educator, Keats College, Chemin Grenier (Girls Dept)

Aims of the project

To write a Sociology 'O' level textbook and make it accessible free online.
To conduct a research on teaching Sociology in Mauritian Secondary Schools

The writing project

Objectives of the project

To engage teachers to write, pilot and produce an online textbook for 'O' level Sociology.
To provide a content familiar to Mauritian students, with examples and research relevant to Mauritius, Africa and the developing societies.
To provide free access to all teachers and students to all the materials published.
To provide hints for teaching so as to facilitate the use of the materials.

Procedures:

The team is already gathering materials and writing the first draft of a number of topics. We expect to test the materials as they are prepared, bring appropriate changes and finalise each section as we go along.

As such the project leader, Mr Varma has been providing assistance to teachers, teaching along with a few occasionally so as to get a first hand idea of the needs as well as the problem faced by teachers in secondary schools.

Researching Teachers

The research aspect

Aims:

To engaging in teaching as a participant observer in Secondary Schools so as to get a first hand idea of the constraints and problems related to teaching Sociology in secondary schools today.

Methodology

The main approach will be:

· Participant Observation by the project leader

· Semi-structured interviews of teachers engaged in the project and other volunteer teachers.

The expected outcomes

· To generate understanding of teachers and teaching so as to better empower teachers

· To feedback the findings in teacher education, mainly in the Teacher’s Diploma, B. Ed and PGCE programmes, provided at the MIE.

Meeting place and time

The group meets at the MIE, usually on Saturday mornings.

Research

The research is being conducted only in schools where the researcher is invited to intervene as it is expected to be as unobtrusive as possible.

The syllabus that we follow is the Cambridge 'O' level syllabus. It can be accessed through the CIE website.

If you wish to learn more about us, please contact us now