Description:
ABSTRACT: "This article explores by means of an historical descriptive analysis of schooling in Burma
the merits of historical descriptive analysis in comparative education. It demonstrates how control over
schooling is likely to relate to state legitimacy. Prior to the nineteenth century, the supervision of
teaching in Burma was undertaken not by the state but rather by the monasteries of the Theravada
Buddhist order, the Sangha. The monastic schools were widespread and they served as an important
legitimising device for both the Sangha and the Buddhist state, which were engaged in a competitive
partnership. During the nineteenth century, the British colonial administration demolished the
pre-existing socio-political structures that assured the Sangha its authority, and permitted alternative
forms of public instruction. The teaching role of the Sangha was diminished, however not destroyed,
and it continuously resisted the British intrusion. Following independence, rather than re-invest
authority over schooling in the Sangha, the new state instead expanded its mandate over public
instruction as a means to inculcate the ?national idea?. In the present day, schooling is subject to the
dictates of an autocratic military regime, and the Sangha has been forced into a subordinate role in
support of nationalist objectives, in contrast to its earlier powerful part in structural opposition to the
state."
Source/publisher:
Comparative Education Volume 39 No. 1 2003
Date of Publication:
2003-01-01
Date of entry:
2014-08-18
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Language:
English
Local URL:
Format:
pdf
Size:
116.99 KB