Power dynamics of language and education policy in myanmar’s contested transition

Abstract

© 2018 by the Comparative and International Education Society. This article examines the development of education policy in Myanmar/Burma at a period of “critical juncture.” There are two major strands to this article, regarding policy process and stakeholder voices that we bring together. We argue that powerful actors such as the government and international agencies frame policy in ways that often exclude the concerns and aspirations of education users and that there are often significant gaps between their positions and the realities of “ordinary” citizens. Such issues are of particular concern, given the importance of education and language as key elements of ethnic stakeholders’ identities and interests, in relation to the ongoing and still deeply contested peace process. As a result, opportunities opened by the critical juncture in the reform process are being missed. The article is based on data collected in interviews and focus groups with over 500 respondents between 2011 and 2016 in Myanmar.