Unravelling the Nexus Between Human Values and Competencies to Religion Among Educational Stakeholders in Mauritius Using Structural Equation Modelling

Abstract

Religion has been associated with human values and competencies needed to shape young people into responsible citizens able to make a positive difference in the lives of others. However, this correlation remains dependent on the context. As the correlation has not yet been investigated in Mauritius, which is a multicultural and multi-ethnic country, this study aims to bridge this knowledge gap using a purely positivist epistemological approach. It will analyze the Mauritius-specific data derived from a public data set which was part of the “Mapping the Terrains” project to examine the correlation between religion and a broad set of human values and competencies, namely forgiveness, individualistic orientation, collectivistic orientation, self-efficacy, problem-solving, meaning-making, sense of belongingness, religiosity/spirituality, hope, life satisfaction, gratitude, emotion, regulation, empathy, and self-regulation. The descriptive analysis and the Structural Equation Model (SEM), developed using the SPSS and AMOS software, revealed that (i) independent of ethnic group, educational stakeholders in Mauritius have a high affinity to most of the human values and competences, and (ii) as compared with others, the Muslim community has a slightly lower affinity to forgiveness, life satisfaction, individualistic orientation, self-efficacy, and problem solving. These data, which represent important baseline information needed to inform policymakers and other educational stakeholders, were used to derive a set of recommendations that will further the development of the key human values and competencies needed to promote harmony in a multicultural and multi-ethnic country.