Developing pedagogical practices in Myanmar primary schools: possibilities and constraints

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a baseline study of pedagogic practices used by Myanmar primary teachers in the teaching of mathematics and Myanmar language at Grades 3 and 5. The main purpose of the baseline study was to inform the design of teacher education programmes and allow for subsequent evaluations of interventions designed to improve the quality of primary education. It found that the majority of observed lessons (n = 728) used a transmission model of teaching in which the teacher often used a chalkboard and/or textbook to transmit recipe knowledge for recall and there was little variation across the teaching of mathematics and Myanmar language at Grades 3 and 5. Drawing on evidence from the baseline, the paper explores the training needs of primary teachers in Myanmar in the light of proposed reforms to teacher education at the pre- and in-service stages.