Exploring the dynamics of higher education curriculum change in Myanmar : a case study of internationalisation in an English department

• Main Author: Channon, David
• Published: University College London (University of London) 2018
• Subjects: 370
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.756130

The thesis problematises the rationales for international and regional engagement in Myanmar’s higher education sector, with a particular focus on the curriculum, through Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of key documents related to the beginning of reform process in 2010 through to 2015. Two reports on Higher Education produced under the umbrella of the Comprehensive Education Sector Review (CESR) were analysed as well as a 2014 conference report on higher education in Myanmar. Interviews were carried out with development partners involved in the HE sector to determine their priorities for engagement. The analyses found evidence of a complex set of overlapping and competing policy discourses and rationales for the future of higher education in Myanmar related to economic growth, quality, autonomy, and regionalisation. A case study exemplifies competing rationales in the context of internationalisation. A small scale action research initiative, aimed at redesigning a strand of undergraduate curriculum at the English department of Yangon University was supported as part of a British Council led strategy aimed at establishing a nationwide teacher-training programme. Whilst the English department sought academic modernisation the international agency’s motives were predominantly political.