Myanmar faculty experiment with new approaches to teaching and learning.

Myanmar has made reform of higher education a priority, and the challenging work of strengthening faculty credentials, transforming curricula, and making international connections is now underway. Through a variety of programs, described below, the United Board is providing support to Myanmar colleges, universities, and seminaries that are interested in introducing elements of whole person education into their institutions.

• Three international conferences have focused on specific interests of Myanmar educators, including Teaching, Research, and Community Service (2014); Autonomy, Accountability, and the New Education Law (2015); and Improving Teaching and Learning in Myanmar Universities (2016). These programs brought together a combined total of more than 550 administrators from more than 50 institutions.
• Service-learning is opening a channel for faculty and students at Dagon University to connect with nearby communities in need. The United Board facilitated a service-learning training workshop for university faculty, enabled two faculty members to observe service-learning practices at Central Philippine University, and supported pilot service-learning activities for students in sport science, English, and anthropology courses.
• Visiting lecturers from Central Philippine University, Silliman University, and the University of St. Louis taught courses at 2 universities and 3 seminaries in Myanmar.
• The United Board has worked closely with the Myanmar Institute of Theology (MIT) since 2000, when MIT established its Liberal Arts Program. A recent United Board grant to MIT supports the development of elective courses in journalism. Students responded enthusiastically to the first two classes, and MIT is now taking steps to offer a major in journalism. Faculty from Ateneo de Manila University and Hong Kong Baptist University shared their expertise in journalism education with MIT.
• Representatives of six Myanmar seminaries, interested in exploring new directions in higher education, visited six institutions in India with strong liberal arts programs in April 2016.
• Old friendships were renewed and new relationships developed over the course of the Myanmar Theological Education Network (M-TEN) Retreat, held in Spring 2015. This program brought together more than 30 Myanmar alumni of Hong Kong seminaries, who shared ideas on – and wrote grant proposals for –new approaches to pedagogy, curriculum development, and teacher training.

Additional United Board support to Myanmar is offered through our Faculty Scholarship Program, United Board Fellows Program, and Bamboo Grants Program.

Download a one-page summary of recent United Board-supported projects in Myanmar.

Read More:
An Educator and a Global Citizen: Herbert S. Corpuz, University of St. Louis
Service-Learning in Myanmar: Aye Aye Tun, Dagon University
Education, A Life-changing Experience: Albert Hung
A Teacher and a Student: Lathaw Doi Ra, Kachin Theological College and Seminary