Kachin indigenous education in Northern Shan State, Myanmar

Abstract

Indigenous students in Myanmar are failing in the state’s hegemonic mainstream education system, which causes a high dropout rate, a lack of quality education, and a language barrier that is alarming for the future of the Indigenous community. The ethnic education system parallel to the State education system has existed in Myanmar for more than six decades to provide contextualised needs response education to ethnic children since the 1950s. However, they are either a hybrid system that uses the state’s curriculum and ethnic languages as a medium of language or a bi-lingual provision. Indigenous education is a new unlocking concept among ethnic education stakeholders. There is little research available regarding an overview of Indigenous education studies in Myanmar. Some researchers have conducted on ethnic education. The study provides the perception and meaning of Indigenous education by local actors and stakeholders that leads to a highly contested concept. This study describes the integration of Indigenous knowledge and other forms of knowledge in the curriculum and its daily school practices and contestation among a local community on promoting local knowledge. It also analyses motivation, initiation process and management practices despite highly disputed contexts during the establishment journey. It further investigates how local actors negotiate and co-create space for local knowledge and contextualise the education system with other education stakeholders on what issues. The study was conducted with the Kachin Indigenous education organisation called SJN-CBE in Northern Shan State and Kawng Hka village Indigenous school as a sample of a case study using qualitative research methods; ten in-depth interviews with the school founders, organisation leaders, school leaders, and teachers. Two focus-group interviews with teacher trainers and teachers as well as participant observation methods were used. The empirical data from my life experience with the local community as a teacher educator, curriculum consultant and policy advocate in Indigenous education for more than a decade is also integrated into this research. The findings reveal that the perception of Indigenous education is varied and highly contested which is reflected in power relations based on social, political, cultural and historical contexts. The government authority sees Indigenous education as fuel to more conflicts and social segregation. Some local leaders, parents and community members see mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) and integration of local knowledge and culture that children are familiar with at home are unnecessary. The term ‘Indigenous’ is interpreted as a negative connotation such as ‘hill people’, ‘backward’, ‘primitive’, and ‘un-civilised’. Moreover, Indigenous education may prohibit opportunities for their children to become government staff and lack recognition. Despite the contestations, local education initiators find a way to convince and advocate through capacity-building workshops and meetings with the local community to explore and provide a deeper understanding of quality education, and the preservation of local knowledge, culture and language in and through education. Indigenous education initiative in Northern Shan State succeeded after a decade of community advocacy. The study finds that the establishment of a new Indigenous education system by Sam Mung Jinghpaw Nawku Hpung Church-based Education (SJN-CBE) Kachin community in Northern Shan State was motivated by visioning local children “Becoming the light of the world and creating own future, the citizens who serve, build and lead toward quality of life and peaceful society”. An analysis of local curriculum, teaching, learning, and daily school activities, including daily management processes are being integrated to examine local knowledge and other forms of knowledge integration that reflect on the vision of the organisation. The study also highlights local initiative negotiation strategies to create and produce a ‘social space, local knowledge space’ in and through self-established Indigenous education was significantly effective. I argue that although a new and contested Indigenous education/schooling among local actors further needs to be explored, it found a powerful mechanism to build a self-determined contextualised Indigenous education system with local initiative schooling that fosters peace and social harmony, quality education, preservation of local knowledge. The study aims to contribute to existing ethnic-based and community-based education in Myanmar.