Continuous Professional Development for Teacher Educator Development in Myanmar Education Colleges

This article reports on the role of teacher education in the curriculum reform of basic education in Myanmar. There was political change in Myanmar, a transition from military administration to democracy in 2010. Political change impacts on various sectors such as economic, education and health. As the education system was changed to meet the international standards, curriculum in basic education and teacher education were updated. In the previous education of Myanmar that has progressed from the old monastic education to the current modern education, there has never been a curriculum framework although syllabi, textbooks, teacher’s guides with different teaching methods and various assessment forms were designed and used. Therefore, Myanmar Ministry of Education is now implementing the educational reforms by setting the curriculum framework with the direction of the National Education Law (Soe, et al.; 2017, Htet, 2020). This paper provides an overview of teacher education, basic education, curriculum reforms. Although teacher education including three institutions cooperates with basic education in implementation of the new curriculum, it found that there are still few weaknesses in implementation of the new curriculum of basic education. Soe et al. (2017) recommended that the new curriculum will fulfill local needs and circumstances and discourage the practice of rote-learning and will ensure that students grow as independent thinkers with their own sense of creativity

Investigating Lifelong Learning Competencies of Teacher Trainers in Myanmar

Systematic literature review in lifelong learning identified that there are three common research trends: concepts used in lifelong learning policies, lifelong learning abilities, and influencing factors of lifelong learning and/or lifelong learning abilities. However, the number of previous studies that used mixed methods and were conducted in Asia is limited. Thus, the main aim of this research is to explore the perceptions of teacher trainers on lifelong learning and their perceived level of lifelong learning competencies through the advanced mixed method; explanatory sequential design. The participants in this study were teacher trainers from selected education degree colleges in Myanmar. The main instrument, LLLCS used in this study was developed based on the eight key competencies of lifelong learning identified by the European Commission, namely, Literacy competence, Multilingual competence, Mathematical competence and competence in Science, Learning to learn competence, Entrepreneurship competence and Cultural awareness and expression competence. Its reliability, face validity, content validity and construct validity were presented. In the quantative part, multiple linear regression analysis was performed to formulate the regression models for lifelong learning competencies of teacher trainers, and analysis of variance was also utilized to create comparison between the outcome models. The results indicated that the model including region, teaching experience, perception of lifelong learning, and learning strategies may be the best regression model for predicting lifelong learning competencies in teacher trainers. In the quantitative part of the formal study, the relationships among the perception of lifelong learning, lifelong learning competencies, and learning strategies were investigated and each competency of lifelong learning was also analysed. The findings indicated the perception of teacher trainers of lifelong learning and lifelong learning competencies is high. The study found that perception of lifelong learning, competencies, and learning strategies did not differ based on gender, education level, or teaching tenure. However, significant differences were observed in perception of lifelong learning and learning strategies, but not lifelong learning competencies in terms of age. The study also found a highly positive correlation between lifelong learning competencies and learning strategies. Competencies were typically high in learning how to learn, but low in math and science. Competencies in multilingual, digital, learning to learn, citizenship, entrepreneurship, and cultural awareness varied by region of education degree colleges, but not literacy, mathematics, and science. Literacy competence, digital competence and citizenship competence can also differ by age while teaching service can influence only the digital competence. By using a purposive sampling approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted in the qualitative phase. Their lifelong learning competencies, particularly in the areas of digital competence and multilingual competence, are affected both favourably and unfavourably by the new learning community. Most of them used self-regulated learning strategies to gain teaching competencies. They believed that teaching competencies are related to the lifelong learning competencies, which can also be influenced by various internal and external factors

Occurrence of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Small Ruminants in the Central Part of Myanmar

Gastrointestinal parasite infection in small ruminants remains one of the major economic losses caused by reduced productivity. A total of 380 faecal samples were taken from 280 sheeps in Magway and Pwintbyu Townships and 100 goats in Natmauk Township, Myanmar. Faecal flotation and sedimentation methods were carried out to detect the presence of parasitic infections. Faecal egg and oocyst counts were carried out using the McMaster technique. The overall occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites in small ruminants was 98.4% (374/380). The occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites in sheep (99.3%) was higher than that in goats (96%). The highest occurrence was found in Eimeria spp. (96%), followed by Trichostrongyle (77.1%), Trichuris spp. (35%), and Moniezia expansa (14%). The mixed infection rate was 84.8% (317/374), while a single infection was 15.2% (57/374). The mean eggs per gram (EPG) and oocysts per gram (OPG) of faeces were ranged from 50 to 600 and 50 to 29,800, respectively. Among the 4 nucleotide sequences isolated, one sequence was 94.10-94.47% similarity with Trichostrongylus colubriformis, reported from Laos, and three sequences showed 96.64-99.46% identity with Haemonchus contortus from Laos, China, India, and Mongolia. As gastrointestinal parasite infection in small ruminants was relatively high in the study area, the development of appropriate treatment and control measures should be provided to reduce production losses

Epidemiological characteristics and real‐world treatment outcomes of hepatitis C among HIV/HCV co‐infected patients in Myanmar: A prospective cohort study

Abstract Background and Aims In Myanmar, public sector treatment programs for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were nonexistent until June 2017. WHO highlights the importance of simplification of HCV service delivery through task‐shifting among health workers and decentralization to the primary health care level. Between November 2016 and November 2017, a study was conducted to describe the epidemiological data and real‐world outcomes of treating HIV/HCV coinfected patients with generic direct acting antiviral (DAA) based regimens in the three HIV clinics run by nonspecialist medical doctors in Myanmar. Methods HCV co‐infection among people living with HIV (PLHIV) from two clinics in Yangon city and one clinic in Dawei city was screened by rapid diagnostic tests and confirmed by testing for viral RNA. Nonspecialist medical doctors prescribed sofosbuvir and daclatasvir based regimens (with or without ribavirin) for 12 or 24 weeks based on the HCV genotype and liver fibrosis status. Sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after treatment (SVR12) was assessed to determine cure. Results About 6.5% (1417/21,777) of PLHIV were co‐infected with HCV. Of 864 patients enrolled in the study, 50.8% reported history of substance use, 27% history of invasive medical procedures and 25.6% history of incarceration. Data on treatment outcomes were collected from 267 patients of which 257 (96.3%) achieved SVR12, 7 (2.6%) failed treatment, 2 (0.7%) died and 1 (0.4%) became loss to follow‐up. Conclusion The study results support the integration of hepatitis C diagnosis and treatment with DAA‐based regimens into existing HIV clinics run by nonspecialist medical doctors in a resource‐limited setting. Epidemiological data on HIV/HCV co‐infection call for comprehensive HCV care services among key populations like drug users and prisoners in Yangon and Dawei