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Empowering teachers to teach science in the early years in Mauritius

ABSTRACT Children act as emergent scientists through active involvement with their environment and adults. Science forms an important component of early childhood education curriculum in Mauritius. Since 2015, The Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre (RGSC), has initiated a new project: empowering educators to teach science in pre-primary schools. One-day workshop on hands-on science activities using simple easily available materials was conducted. This paper describes the workshop and identifies training needs educators. Over 90% of participants have not studied Science beyond O-Level, illustrating the need to reinforce their science content knowledge. They are confident to use hands-on activities but request for more training and exposure on science activities. We discuss how a science centre can support Continuous Professional Development of Teachers in the early years by encouraging scientific discovery. We suggest that a structured professional development programme for educators be developed and that RGSC should become a strategic partner in this endeavour.