Science Council of Asia

19th Science Councilof AsiaConference(2019), SpecialIssue 2020

Journal of the
Myanmar Academy of Arts and Science
ISSN 2520-0186, LCCN 2003-323143

Special Issue
2020

19th Science Council of Asia Conference
3-5 December, 2019, Nay Pyi Taw

RESEARCH AND INNOVATIONFOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ASIA
SUB-THEME II
Promote Skills Development
for Economic Growth

Journal of the
Myanmar Academy of Arts and Science
ISSN 2520-0186, LCCN 2003-323143

Special Issue
2020

19th Science Council of Asia Conference
3-5 December, 2019, Nay Pyi Taw

SUB-THEME II

Promote Skills Development for Economic Growth

Journal of the
Myanmar Academy of Arts and Science
ISSN 2520-0186

Special Issue
2020

Edition
2020, 400 Copies

Copyright
Ministry of Education

Published by
Dr Aung Min (00322) Chairman, Journal Publication Committee,
Myanmar Academy of Arts and Science

ISSN 2520-0186
ICCN 2003-323143

Printed by
U Win Aung (00171), Manager
Universities Press, Yangon, Myanmar

FOREWORD
We would like to thank His Excellency Dr. Myo Thein Gyi, Hon’ble Union Minister for
Education, for delivering the inaugural address at the Opening Ceremony of the 19th Science
Council of Asia Conference, and for the support His Excellency had given for holding thisinternational conference, for the first time, in Myanmar. We are also indebted to express ourheartfelt gratitude to His Excellency Dr Wang Xi, Vice Minister, Ministry of Science and Technology
of China, President, Science Council of Asia, and Vice President, China Association for Science andTechnology (CAST) for his presence at this opening ceremony. We would also like to extend our
gratitude to Professor Dr Hiroshi YOSHINO, the Secretary General/Treasurer of SCA. Special thanks
would go to Dr Juichi Yamagiwa, the President of SCJ and to all distinguished guests and scholars
from SCA member academies who, in one way or the other, contributed to the success of thisconference.
MAAS owes its apology to all participants for the delay in producing the papers presented at
SCA-19 Conference. The responsibility of opinions, statements, comments, etc. expressed in thepapers lie with those of the authors. The views expressed in the papers presented at the conference
did not reflect that of MAAS.

Dr Thet Lwin
President, Myanmar Academy of Arts and ScienceContents
Lists of Contributors
MessagesA

Dr. Myo Thein Gyi, Minister, Ministry of Education

Page
i

B

Dr. Wang Xi, President, Science Council of Asia

ii

C

Dr. Thet Lwin, President of Myanmar Academy of Arts and Science

iii

D

Professor Hiroshi YOSHINO, Secretary General/ Treasure of SCA

iv

1

A Study on Attitude towards Science and Achievement of Grade 8 Students
From Chanayetharzan Township
Daw Ohmmar Win

1

2

Measurement of the Neutron Fluxes in Two Irradiation Channels of
Isotopic Neutron Source Facility using Neutron Activation Analysis(NAA) Method
Dr Khin Ye Lwin

7

3

A Morphophonemic Analysis of Myanmar Language
Dr Tun Aung Kyaw

15

4

Economic Development and SME Policy in Lao PDR
Prof. Souksavanh Vixathep

195Bioaccumulation of Metals in Gill and Liver of Some Fishes of Different
Feeding Habits from Water and Sediment of Ayeyarwady River Segment,
Salay Environs
Dr Cho Cho Thin

27

6

Aquaculture Development in Myanmar: Evolving Policies and Implications
Dr Thida Kyu

35

7

Impacts of infrastructures on river
Kyi Kyi Lwin

47

8

The Implication of Prject Based Learning to Enhance Attitude Toward
Biology Learning
Dr Nu Nu Nyunt

53

9

Why popular factors for success do not lead success? The three types ofomissions that exclude useful information out of successful cases
Prof. Shin Ichiro IRIE

61

10

Educational Service Quality of Meiktila University of Economics in
Myanmar(Case Study: Master of Public Administration Programme)
Mandalay University Campus
Dr. Thida Htoo

71

Papers11

The Traditional Monk's Bowl as Sustainable Development in Inn-wa
Village, Mandalay Region, Myanmar
Dr. Lei Shwe Sin Myint

77

12

Early School life: Importance of Caregivers' Role in Educational Culture
Khin Moe Moe Kyu

87

13

Social Support as a Mediator between Emotional Intelligence and Job
Satisfaction of Employees in Yangon
Dr. May Lwin Nyein

93

14

The Effect of Guided Discovery Method in Teaching Science at the Middle
School Level
Dr Khin Mar Khine

105

15

A Study of Pre-service and In-service Teachers’ Perceptions on Cocurriculum Activities
Daw Soe Soe Thein

113

16

Relationship Between Achievement Goal Orientation and Approaches toLearning: A Study on Student Teachers in Sagaing District
Dr Yar Zar Chit

121

17

The Sociolinguistics study of Myanmar Syntax Error from Current
Myanmar Journals
Dr Mon Mon Aung

129

18

Myanmar Language Practice: Brief Approach to Myanmar Linguistic
CultureDr. Aung Myint Oo

139

19

A Comparative Study of the Usage of "에//, 에서/ s/" in Korean

147

Language and "/hma/ ,

/" in Myanmar Language

Dr. Htwe Su Hlaing
20

Relationship between Women’s Empowerment and Socioeconomic Status
in Myanmar: An Emphasis on Participation in Household Decision
Makingand Experience of Domestic Violence
Dr Mya Thandar

155

21

A Critical Study of Gender Representation in Life (Intermediate) Coursebook
Dr Su Khine Oo

165

Message

It is a great pleasure and inspiring experience to host the 19 th Science Council of
Asia Conference, held with the theme "Research and Innovation for Sustainable
Development in Asia" in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.
This conference is particularly timely as all Member States are unanimously
supporting research and innovation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
A comprehensive range of the conference sessions reflects a very topical agenda
as it provides a wonderful platform and opportunity for several experts, academia,
scholars and researchers to exchange their break-through ideas, profound knowledge
and invaluable experiences.
I sincerely hope this conference will help to identify ways to bring forward thetransformative sustainability agenda and better align research and innovation policies
with the SDGs, as set out in the United Nations Agenda 2030 for sustainable
development.
To all delegates, I would like to suggest that we adopt innovation in science,technology, engineering and mathematics as integral elements of the strategies for
SDGs. I would like to request you to produce action-oriented outcomes of theconference and keep supporting research and innovation for sustainable development in
Asia.
Before I conclude, I wish all delegates and participants an enjoyable stay in
Myanmar.
Thank you.
Dr Myo Thein Gyi
Union Minister for Education, Myanmar

Message

It is my great pleasure to welcome you all on behalf of Science Council of Asia(SCA) to the 19th

SCA conference that brings together experts of scientific organizations to discuss " Research andInnovation for Sustainable Development in Asia". I thank all the local conference hosts in Myanmar andthe SCA Secretariat. Thanks to their excellent effort, the SCA19 is organized jointly and successfully.
To a large extent, Asia's rapid economic development and subsequently booming consumption
have prompted critical challenge for environment sustainability. Recently, Oxford Dictionaries andCambridge Dictionary have named "climate emergency" and "upcycling" as their Word of the Year 2019,respectively. Change is necessary.
The 2030 Agenda, adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in September
2015, positioned Science, Technology and Innovation as key means of implementation of the SDGs. Alsowith a new perspective of economic growth, there is a clear shift towards appreciating the adoption ofsustainability standards, which has a positive correlation with increased profit as demand for productswith sustainable credentials grows.
Many Asian countries have signed up to the SDGs, made growing commitment to address poverty,
clean energy and pollution. New science and technology achievements have been applied to solve specificissues, new approaches have been used towards more sustainable activities.
SCA provides such a collaborative platform for member organizations to promote scientificexchange and cooperation, and to reach mutual understanding. We will continue to play a central role toface the common challenges for sustainable development in Asia and lead to a bright future.
Wishing you all a fruitful and joyful stay in Nay Pyi Taw and looking forward to your active
participation in the Conference.
With best regards,

Prof. Dr. WANG Xi
President, Science Council of Asia

Message

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) came to an end in December 2015; certain agenda of
MDGs had been left unfinished. In 2015, UN General Assembly adopted the post 2015 Development Agenda
and set Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2030 Global Development Agenda came into effect onst

1 January, 2016 with the prospect of covering the five aspects: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace andProsperity. The approach to SDGs can be initiated through a different angle. For instance, People: End
Poverty and Hunger in all forms and ensure dignity and equality; Planet: Protect our planet's natural
resources and climate for future generations; Peace:

Foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies;

Prosperity: Ensure prosperous and fulfilling lives in harmony with nature.
Living beings inherited the earth, the only planet in the solar system, in which all known life forms
can flourish. Human beings are the most intelligent species on earth. Throughout history, they try tochange their environment to suit their needs and satisfy their desires. Among the continents, Asia happens
to be the most populous region in the world. China and India, each with one billion plus population, haveemerged as economic powers. Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and ASEAN TEN too witnessed economic growth.
Inventions and innovations contributed to industrial revolutions. The fourth forthcoming inventions of IT
and AI are expected to change traditional modes of manufacturing, transportation and urban amenities.
st

In 21 century, research across various countries in Asia highlight inter-linkages between natural
resources and sustainable development goals along with the impact of climate change. The human society
is seeking ways to safeguard human's wellbeing and to guarantee the sustainable use of resources. At thesame time, it also tries to conserve the environment from natural calamities like floods, earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, drought, etc. so that our future generations will be inherited with green and peacefulenvironment.
I, on behalf of Myanmar Academy of Arts and Science, would like to express my deep appreciation
to all those involved in making the conference a success. Special mention needs to be made to SCJ which
co-hosted the SCA19 conference with MAAS for their guidance, support, co-operation and coordination.
We fervently believe that the conference will provide our guests a cordial atmosphere for sharing
experiences and exchanging views. The deliberations from this conference are expected to bring into light,
effective means and ways for resolving common issues people are currently facing in Asia and elsewhere.

Dr. Thet Lwin
President of MAAS

Message

I am pleased to announce that the 19th Science Council of Asia (SCA) Conference is held in Nay
Pyi Taw, Myanmar. First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Myanmar Academy of Arts
and Science (MAAS) for its enormous efforts to prepare for this Conference. I also would like to express my
deep appreciation to Member Organizations and SCA Secretariat for their cooperation and contribution inorganizing this Conference and all the people who support it.
th

The theme of the 19 SCA Conference is “Research and Innovation for Sustainable Developmentin Asia”. As you might already know, the purpose of SCA established in 2000 is “to facilitate scientificcooperation in Asia towards the progress in science and sustainable development of the region”. With thispurpose, SCA has contributed to society through the collaboration with academies in the region. Under
such circumstances, “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” with the 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets was adopted at the UN General Assembly in 2015.
Since then, the efforts to realize the sustainable development in which a key principle is “no one will beleft behind” have started at global level. We must continuously and collaboratively address a wide range
of issues facing us since they are so challenging in the sense that human beings have never experienced
them before.
th

The 19 SCA Conference is held for 3 days and nearly 180 presentations (oral and poster) arescheduled. I am delighted to know that we have received many applications exceeding our expectation. It
indicates a high level of interest in this Conference’s theme, “Research and Innovation for Sustainable
Development in Asia”. In the Conference, there are four (4) sub-themes that are discussed in theirrespective sessions. The main theme and sub-themes of the Conference have been carefully selected inorder to inspire scholars and researchers in Asia to undertake interdisciplinary researches in partnership tocontribute to the realization of the 17 SDGs.
This Conference is an advantageous opportunity to build a network of scholars in and outside thecountry. I am sure that there would be abundant outstanding discussions at this Conference.
Professor Hiroshi Yoshino
Secretary General / Treasure of SCA

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

A Study on Attitude towards Science and Achievement of Grade 8 Students
from Chanayetharzan Township
Ohnmar Win1

Abstract
The main purpose of this study is to investigate the attitude towards science and achievement ofGrade 8 students from Chanayetharzan Township, Mandalay Region. Descriptive Survey methodand quantitative approach were used. The students in this study were selected by using simple
random sampling technique. A total of 543 Grade 8 students (223 males and 320 females) fromselected schools participated. As research instrument, questionnaire of Test of Science-RelatedAttitude (TOSRA) developed by B. J. Fraser (1981) was used. According to the result findings, thelevel of attitude towards science was satisfactory. There were significant differences in attitude
towards science and science achievement by gender and school. Moreover, based on the results,
attitude towards science was found to be significantly and positively correlated with their scienceachievement (r = .406, p< .01). As a result, attitude towards science is really important for students.
Research findings proved that science attitude have an effect on science achievement and it isnecessary to improve science attitude among students.
Keywords: Attitude, Science, Achievement

1. Introduction
In the present technology dominated world, science subject is among the crucial subjectof the school curricula in terms of preparing educated human power for the overall development.
Studying science play a very important role in developing human thinking more creative,
reasonable, and able to analyze problems and to forecast future. Hence, quality of scienceeducation would be at the heart of quality education assurance endeavors around the globe.
Performance of students in sciences subject highly implicated towards their overall cognitive
development and performance in other subjects.
Attitude is related to coping with and management of the emotions occurring during
learning process, and they play an important role in directing human behaviour. Whether attitudes
occurring as part of a system of values and beliefs are positive or negative affects learning
process in a direct manner and influences future lives of individuals (Seferoglu, 2004). And
attitudes are the best predictor for estimation of students’ success(Hendrickson, 1997).
Expected achievement is factor that heavily influenced by attitudes towards science. As
would be expected, positive attitude towards science lead to better results on achievement
measures of science capability (Weinburgh, 1998). A student’s attitude towards science is more
likely to influence achievement in science than achievement influencing attitude (Schibeci &Riley, 1986). There were strong positive relationships between attitude towards science andscience achievement. According to this fact, it is an interesting thing whether the students’
academic achievement depends on their attitudes towards that subject or not. Hence, the study
about the correlation between students’ science attitude and their science achievement is also oneof the essential studies for promoting the students’ attitude related with their lessons and theireducational benefits.

1

Lecturer, Department of Educational Psychology, Sagaing University of Education, linnlattedu@ gmail.com,

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

2This study can also provide the essential supports for students’ learning science. And then,the students’ academic achievement in science will be improved and then carried out the welfareof the society as much as possible. So, it is obvious that the investigation of middle school
students’ attitude towards science is significantly important for the basic education sector in
Myanmar.
1.1 Aim of the Study
The main aim of the study is to investigate the attitude towards science and achievementof middle school students (Grade 8 students) in Chanayetharzan Township. The specificobjectives are:
1.
2.
3.

to study the differences in attitude towards science and achievement by gender
to investigate the differences in attitude towards science and achievement by school
to explore where there is relationship between attitude towards science andachievement of Grade 8 students
1.2 Research Hypotheses
1. There is no significant difference in attitude towards science and achievement bygender.
2. There is no significant different in attitude towards science and achievement byschool.
3. There is no significant relationship between attitude towards science and achievementof Grade 8 students.
2. Methods
2.1 Sampling
By using simple random sampling technique, the schools and students were selected from
Chanayetharzan Township, Mandalay Region. Total five State High schools and five State
Middle schools were selected. A total of 543 students participated in this study. The sample ofGrade 8 students included 223 males and 320 females.

2.2 Research Method
Quantitative approach was used in this study. Survey method and descriptive research
design were employed.

2.3 Instrumentation
The instrument used in this study was Test Of Science-Related Attitude (TOSRA)
questionnaire developed by B. J. Fraser (1981). The science attitude were categorized into sevendimensions, which are social implication of science, normality to scientists, attitude to scientificinquiry, adoption of scientific attitudes, enjoyment of science lessons, leisure interest in science,career interest in science. Cronbach’s alpha of the whole scale of science attitude was 0.852.
Science achievement of Grade 8 students in this study was assessed by the students’ score on
science subject in first semester examination.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)3

3. Results and Discussion
Table 1 Descriptive Statistics of Attitude towards Science
VariableN

Minimum

Maximum

MeanStandard Deviation

Attitude towards
science

543

48

137

105.4512.779

Table 1 indicated that the total mean score (105.45) was higher than the theoretical meanscore (87.5). Therefore, the students’ attitude towards sciences was somewhat satisfactory.

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics of Attitude towards Sciences by Subscales
VariableN

Minimum

Maximum

MeanStandard Deviation

Social Implications of Science

543

5

20

16.71

2.133

Normality to Scientists

543

5

20

12.79

2.433

Attitude to Scientific Inquiry

543

7

20

16.36

2.537

Adoption of Scientific Attitudes

543

5

20

14.68

2.252

Enjoyment of science Lessons

543

5

20

15.91

3.051

Leisure Interest in Science

543

5

20

15.15

3.111

Career Interest in Science

543

5

20

13.85

3.211

According to the Table 2, students have the highest in the first subscale (social
implication of science) and the lowest in the second subscale (normality to scientists).

Table 3 Result of Independent Sample t-test for Attitude towards Science by Gender
Variable

Gender

N

Mean

SD

Attitude towards
ScienceMale

223

103.6313.961

Female320

106.7311.742

MD

t

df

p

-3.0972.796**

541.005

Note: **The mean difference is significant at .01 level.

According to the Table 3, the results mentioned that there were significant differences
between male and female students in attitude towards science at .01 level. And, it can beconcluded that female students had significantly higher than male students in attitude towards
sciences (p<.01).

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

4

Table 4 Results of ANOVA for Attitude towards Science by Schools
Mean
Variable

Sum of squares

df

F

p

2.229*

0.019

SquareBetween Group

3210.0839356.676

Within Group85304.469

533

160.046

Total

88514.552

542

Attitude towards
Science

Note: * The mean difference is significant at .05 level.
Table 4 revealed that there was significant difference in students’ attitude towards science
according to schools at .05 level.
Table 5 Descriptive Statistics of Science Achievement
VariableN

Minimum

Maximum

MeanStandard Deviation

ScienceAchievement

543

4

97

69.31

17.656

According to the results of Table 5, the average mean score of the Grade 8 students’achievement was 69.31 while the minimum and maximum score were 4 and 97. Therefore, Grade
8 students’ academic achievement in the present study was somewhat satisfactory.
Table 6 Result of Independent Sample t-test for Science Achievement by Gender
Variable

Gender

N

Mean

SD

ScienceAchievement

Male

223

65.23

18.998

Female320

72.15

16.088

MD

t

df

p

-6.914-4.571***

541

.000

Note: ***The mean difference is significant at .001 level.
According to the Table 6, the results mentioned that there were significant differences
between male and female students in science achievement at .001 level. And, it can be concluded
that female students were significantly higher than male students in science achievement(p<.001).
Table 7 Results of ANOVA for Science Achievement by Schools
Mean
Variable

Sum of squares

df

F

p

8.578***

0.000

SquareBetween Group

21377.285

92375.254

Within Group

147588.354

533

276.901

Total

168965.639

542

ScienceAchievement

Note: ***The mean difference is significant at .001 levels

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

5

The result from ANOVA showed that there were significant differences by their schools
concerning science achievement (p < .001).
Table 8 Correlation Matrix between Attitude towards Science and Science Achievement
Variables

Attitude towards Science

Science Achievement

Attitude towards Science1.406**

Note **Correlation is significant at .01 level (2-tailed).
According to Table 8, the correlation between attitude towards science and scienceachievement was moderate and significant correlation (r=.406, p<.01). So, it could be interpreted
that attitude towards science was positively correlated with science achievement of Grade 8
students.

4. Conclusions
According to result, female students had higher in science attitude and achievement thanmale students. In order to develop attitude of male students towards natural science educationand to minimize the gender gap, teachers should give special attention for male students startingfrom secondary school level up to higher education. The teacher should try to help male students
to set academic goal and to plan effectively for academic work.
And, there was significant difference in students’ attitude towards science andachievement by school. It may also be differed by the location and environment of the schools,
favourable classroom atmosphere, supporting materials and motivation strategies on theirlearning. Moreover, teachers should apply various interesting teaching methods and many kindsof teaching aids to become alive the teaching-learning situation.
The present study indicated that science attitude and science achievement had the positive
relationship. Therefore, significant positive correlation was established between students’ science
attitude and their achievement. It meant that students who have high science attitude scores tend
to receive higher scores in science achievement.
For the better achievement in natural science, willingness and positive reaction areimportant. Lack of interest can negatively influence the achievement of students. So changing theattitude of the students is vital. Thus teachers should try:
 To change the attitude of the students towards sciences.
 Motivate students to participate in the science education.
 Create conditions in which students learn to participate in science education.
As a result, student can develop confidence in sciences. Once they acquire the interest to
participate in different science education activities, they can easily involve in different science
related fields.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)6

Acknowledgements
First of all, I am indebted to Dr. Saw Pyone Naing (Rector, Sagaing University of Education) and Dr. Myat
Myat Thaw (Pro- Rector, Sagaing University of Education) for their administrative supports. Secondly, I would liketo express our heartfelt respect and gratitude to Associate Professor Dr. Khin Hnin Nwe (Head of Department,
Department of Educational Psychology, Sagaing University of Education).

References[1] Fraser, B. J., “How strongly are attitude and achievement related?”, School Science Review, 1981, 63, 557 –559.
[2] Hendrickson, A. B., “Predicting student success with the learning and study strategies 14, Inventory (LASSI)”,
Unpublished Master's Thesis, Iowa State University, 1997.
[3] Schibeci, R. A., Riley, J. P., “Influence of students' background and perceptions on science attitudes andachievement”, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 1986, 23 (3), 177-187.
[4] Seferoglu, S. S., “Attitudes to teachers' of the teacher candidates”, XII National Congress of Education Sciences,
Ankara-Turkey, 2004, 413-425.
[5] Weinburgh, M., “Gender differences in student attitudes toward science: A meta-analysis of literature from 1970
to 1991”, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 1998, 32(4), 387-398.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Measurement of the Neutron Fluxes in Two Irradiation Channels of
Isotopic Neutron Source Facility using Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA)
MethodKhin Ye Lwin1, Khin Cho Cho2, and Moe Phyu Hlaing3
Abstract
The neutron flux is very important factor in data analysis. The accuracy of the measurement ispartly depends on the accuracy of neutron flux measurement. The thermal and epithermal neutron
fluxes in two irradiation channels in the 241Am-Be isotopic neutron source irradiation facility
were measured by using neutron activation analysis (NAA) method. The activity of 241Am-Be
neutron source was 0.27 Ci. Gold and indium foils were used as the activation foils and thereactions are 197Au (n,γ) 198Au and 115In (n,γ) 116mIn. The respective emitted gamma ray
spectrums from activated foils were measured by using Falcon 5000 HPGe detector system. The
measured data were compared with the MCNP simulation. The measured neutron fluxes areagreed with the MCNP results. The results of the neutron fluxes were low but stable andsufficient to use for research and education on elemental analysis and reaction cross section
measurement by using neutron activation analysis method.
Keywords: 241Am-Be isotopic neutron source, neutron flux, neutron activation analysis(NAA),
HPGe detector

1. Introduction
Neutron Irradiation facility is one of the important educational tools for the research
centers and university laboratories. In many developing countries, one of the major drawbacks is
the lack of appropriate neutron sources, either a nuclear research reactor or a neutron generator.
With the purpose to assess the feasibility of using other alternative neutron sources, isotopic
neutron sources of an appropriate design and characteristics in terms of neutron flux and spectra
could be used to carry out interesting and meaningful training and research oriented projects
based on neutron activation and radiochemistry. Although neutron flux is not high, isotopic
neutron sources are effective for many research institutions without nuclear research reactors or
neutron generators. The advantages of isotopic neutron sources are extremely small size,
relatively low purchase and maintenance costs, long and short term stability of the neutron
output, possibility to use thermal and fast neutron fluxes, ease and low cost of shielding with anegligible health hazard [1].
Therefore the small-sized neutron irradiation facility using 241Am-Be isotopic neutron
source has been assembled to perform the several measurements such as neutron flux
measurement, reaction cross-section measurement, qualitative and quantitative multi-elemental
analysis by neutron activation analysis (NAA) technique. The accuracy of the measurements
partly depends on the accuracy of neutron flux [2]. The objective of the research is to measurethermal and epithermal neutron fluxes in two irradiation channels of isotopic neutron source
facility by neutron activation method and compare with the MCNP simulation.
1

Dr. Division of Atomic Energy, Ministry of Education, 123, Natmauk Road, Bahan, Yangon, Ph: 09448023448,
Fax: 01 545065 ms.khinyelwin@gmail.com,
2
Division of Atomic Energy, Ministry of Education, cho.khincho@gmail.com
3
Material Science and Research Division, Ministry of Education,19moephyu@gmail.com

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

8

2. Materials and Methods
2.1 Isotopic Neutron Sorce
241Am-Be source is the most common isotopic neutron source with long half-life of
432.2 years and a broad range of neutron energies with an average energy around 4.2 MeV
and maximum around 10 MeV [1, 3]. The activity of 10 GBq (0.27 Ci) and the source
strength of 6.2 105 n.s-1 of241 Am-Be neutron source was used in the irradiation facility.
It was sealed in the aluminium container with lead shield in the dimension of 2.7 cm (ϕ) 7.6
cm (H).
2.2 Irradiation Facility
The neutron irradiation facility of241Am-Be isotopic neutron source has been
designed and constructed at the Radioisotope Techniques Laboratory in the Division of
Atomic Energy under the Ministry of Education. The facility consists of 0.5 cm thickrectangular-shaped iron tank with the dimension of 118 cm (L) 116 cm (W) 55 cm (H)filled with water to be used as moderator to slow down the neutrons and shielding for theneutron source. 241Am-Be neutron source is installed in 0.2 cm thick PVC pipe of diameter 3.8
cm and height 90 cm at the center of the tank. There are two irradiation channels 1 and 2 ofdiameter 3 cm and height 90 cm at the opposite points of 4 cm and 8 cm from the source
holder. The irradiation channels are also made of 0.2 cm thick PVC pipe and the wooden bars
are used to fix the channels and the source holder. Source and samples are positioned 26 cm
height from the bottom of the tank. The schematic vertical cross-sectional view of irradiation
facility is as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 2. The schematic vertical cross-sectional view of irradiation facility

2.3 Radiation Safety Aspects
For the radiation safety, the facility was designed to the high safety and low shielding
and maintenance costs. The dose rate at the outer surface of the shield was not be exceeded
the dose limit given according to ICRP [4, 5]. The main purpose of the irradiator shield19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)9system is to protect operation personnel from possible injury by escaping radiation. The
water is the most effective neutron shielding materials which has a plenty of light atoms (e.g.
hydrogen atoms). In the irradiation facility, water was used for the dual purpose; moderating thefast neutrons and reducing the radiations to acceptable levels.

2.4 Gamma Ray Spectrometry
In the experiment, Falcon 5000 gamma ray spectrometer was used to measure the
gamma radiation emitted from the induced materials. It is the portable electrically-cooled
HPGe Spectrometer which provides radiation monitoring and nuclide identification andquantification. There are four modes of operation providing dose and count ratemeasurements, locating radioactive material or a radiation hotspot, nuclide identification (NID)with activity measurements. For the spectrum acquisition and analysis, Genie 2000 basic
spectroscopy and famma analysis packages included. The Falcon 5000 components are housed
in a single unit and consist of HPGe detector, GM tube detector, cryostat cooler andcontroller, InSpector 2000 MCA, WLAN/LAN module, internal battery charger, and Global
Positioning System. The 5 cm thick lead bricks were used as detector shield to reduce the effectof background.

Figure 2. The experimental setup for the measurement of the gamma ray
2.5 Measurements Neutron Flux by
Neutron Activation Method
In this study, a foil activation method was applied for neutron flux measurement. Twotypes of foils were used; 115 In and 197Au [4, 6, 7], and the physical characteristics of each aresummarized in Table 1.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

10

Table 1. Physical parameters of activation foils
Thickness
Weight (g)
(mm)

Foils

Size

Purity (%)

115In[1 x 1] cm2

99.99

0.5

0.68

197Au

[1 x 1] cm2

99.47

0.5

0.30

For thermal neutron flux measurement, each of bare115 In activation foils were irradiatedin two irradiation channels which were far 4 cm and 8 cm from the source respectively. Afterthe foils were irradiated, gamma rays from the induced activities were measured with the
HPGe detector, whose detection efficiency had been calibrated with standard gamma
sources and the obtained data were used to calculate the neutron flux. Experimental
arrangement for 197 Au was similar also. For the measurement of epithermal neutron flux, eachof 115In and 197Au activation foils were sandwiched between two cadmium sheets of 1 mm thick
and were also irradiated in two channels. Experimental procedure was also similar to bare foils.

2.6 Neutron Flux Calculation
The neutron fluxes can be deduced by the following equations. The detailed
theoretical expression for specific activity and neutron flux of bare foil and foil with cadmium
cover was presented in the works which referred to as [6,7].

Specific counting rate (or specific activity) of Asp is defined as……….. (1)
Where Np is gamma peak area (count) of interest; λ is decay constant; tc is irradiation
time; tτ is cooling time; td is counting time; and w is irradiated sample mass. Therefore, theepithermal neutron flux is. . . . . . . . .. (2)And for thermal neutron flux is. . . . . . . . (3)Where ϕth and ϕepi (n.cm-2s-1) are thermal and epi-thermal neutron fluxes, respectively;
Gth and Gepi are self-shielding coefficients for thermal and epi-thermal neutrons, respectively(for thin foils, Gth ≈ Gepi =1); I0(

is resonant integral for distribution of

epi-thermal neutron fluxes without obeying the rule of 1/E; α is spectrum coefficient expressing
spectrum deviation from the rule of 1/E; σ(E) is neutron capture cross-section for reaction (n, γ)
at energy E; NA is Avogadro number; θ is isotope abundance; is gamma-emitting probability of19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)11interest; εp is counting efficiency at energy peak of interest; M is atomic mass of element:
Q0=

is capture cross-section for thermal neutron of interest; and Rcd =iscadmium ratio.
Thermal and epithermal neutron fluxes were deduce from measured gamma activities ofirradiated indium and gold foils. The nuclear characteristics of the foils are listed in Table 2.
Table 2. The nuclear characteristics of the activation foils [4, 7, 8, 9, 10]
Reaction
115 116m

tc

tτ

td

T½

θ (%)

γ-ray nergy
(keV)

γ (%)

σ0 (b)

I0 (b)

3h

2 min

1800 s

54.13

95.71

1293.5

84.4

201.2

3209

100

411.8

96

98.65

1571

min

In (n, ) In
197 198 Au

72 h

15 min3600 s

2.697 d(n, ) Au

2.7 Monte Carlo Simulation
The MCNP code developed in Los Alamos carries out the radiation transport, relating
to neutrons, photons and electrons with energetic and temporal dependence in a threedimensional geometry by using the Monte Carlo method [3, 11]. In this work, the MCNP4C
code was used to estimate thermal and epithermal neutron fluxes in two irradiation channelsof 2 4 1 Am-Be isotopic neutron source facility. Total energy range considered was from 10-5
MeV to 1.1 x 101 MeV. For the neutron flux calculations, the F4:N tally card was used. This
tally allows the calculation of the average neutron flux in the volume (particles/cm2). In thisMonte Carlo simulation, 107 particles were stimulated for each cycle.

3.

Results and Discussion

The measured thermal and epithermal neutron fluxes in two irradiation channels of
isotopic neutron source facility by neutron activation analysis method and the simulated resultsby MCNP code were shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Neutron flux values in two irradiation channels of isotopic neutron source facility
ϕth (ChannelChannel 1 (4 cm)
Channel 2 (8 cm)

115

In)

-2 -1
(n.cm .s )6.45 101.84 10

3
3

ϕth (

197

Au)
-2 -1
(n.cm .s )8.59 102.74 103

3

ϕth(MCPN)-2 -1(n.cm .s )6.32 10
2.10 103
3

ϕepi (

115

In)

-2 -1
(n.cm .s )3.30 102.79 1010ϕepi (197Au)-2 -1(n.cm .s )6.56 10
1.54 101
1

ϕepi (MCNP)-2 -1(n.cm .s )1.74 10
4.55 103
2

The results are shown that the measured thermal neutron flux by1 15 In foil is agreed
with the MCNP calculation and that of 197Au foil is a bit higher than calculation result. It canbe proved that the neutron fluxes measured by197 Au foil are higher than those measured by 115In

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

12foil in other research papers [4]. For epithermal neutron fluxes, the measured results byactivation foils are lower than that of MCNP calculation. It is observed that values of thermal
neutron flux in both channels are moderately high but the values of epithermal neutron flux
are very small at channel 2. As the neutron flux are many order of magnitude lower than thatof a nuclear reactor or of a particle accelerator, large samples must be irradiated in order toachieve good sensitivity.

4. Conclusion
The thermal and epithermal neutron flux in the two irradiation channels have been
determined by using NAA method and MCNP simulation. The measured neutron fluxes areagreed with the MCNP simulation for thermal neutron fluxes. The neutron flux is higher in thecloser channel than in the further channel. The facility is low cost but very useful. Water as
moderator is also easily available and cheap. This neutron irradiation facility has very stableneutron flux that can be used to measure the induced activity in the specified material andsufficient to use for several measurements such as elemental analysis, reaction cross-section
measurement, etc. As the neutron flux in an isotopic neutron source is usually quite modest,
large samples are often required to obtain a reasonably high induced activity [1]. This
irradiation facility is suitable to use as research and educational tool.

Acknowledgements
The Authors would like to grateful to the Division of Atomic Energy, Department of Research andInnovation, the Ministry of Education for supporting the expenditure in order to carry out this research.

References[1] J. Hoste, “Isotopic Neutron Sources for Neutron Activation Analysis, User’s Manual”, IAEA-TEDCOD-465,
IAEA, Vienna, (1988).
[2] Knoll, G.F., “Radiation Detection and Measurement”, 2nd ed, New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc, (1989).
[3] M. Asamoah, B.J.B. Nyarko, J.J. Fletcher, R.B.M. Sogbadji, S. Yamoah, S.E. Agbemava, E. Mensimah,“Neutron flux distribution in the irradiation channels of Am–Be neutron source irradiation
facility”, Annals of Nuclear Energy, vol. 38, pp. 1219–1224, (2011).
[4] M. Tohamy, M. Fayez-Hassan, S. Abd El-Ghany, S.M. El-Minyawi, “A Dual-Hemisphere Irradiation Facility
for 241Am-Be Isotopic Neutron Source”, Journal of Nuclear and Radiation Physics, Vol. 5 ,No. 1&2, pp. 51-58, (2010).
[5] ICRP, “Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection”, ICRP-60, (1991).
[6] Adam Konefał, Marcin Dybek, Wiktor Zipper, Włodzimierz Łobodziec, “Thermal and epithermal neutrons in
the vicinity of the Primus Siemens biomedical accelerator”, NUKLEONIKA, vol. 50(2), pp.
73−81, (2005).
[7] Nguyen Van Hung, Nguyen Van Hai, Tran Xuan Hoi, “Experimental Measurement of Neutron Flux
Distribution Inside The Water-Filled Howitzer Using Isotope Sources In The Nuclear ResearchInstitute, Vietnam”, IOSR Journal of Engineering (IOSRJEN); ISSN (e): 2250-3021, ISSN (p):2278-8719, Vol. 04, Issue 10; V1, PP 27-3, (October. 2014).
[8] K. Shibata, O.Iwamoto. T. Nakagawa, N. Iwamoto, A. Ichihara, et al., “JENDL-40: A New Library for Nuclear
Science and Engineering”, J. Nucl. Sci. Technol. 48(1), pp. 1-30, (2011).

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

13[9] S.F. Mughabghab, “Thermal Neutron Capture Cross Sections Resonance Integrals and G-Factors”, INDC
International Nuclear Data Committee, International Atomic Energy Agency, INDC(NDS)440, (2003).
[10] Katsuhei Kobayashi, Shuji Yamamoto, Itsuro Kimura, Ryota Miki, Tetsuo Itoh, “Measurement of neutron flux
spectrum by multi-foil activation method at the central graphite cavity of UTR-KINKI”, Kinki
Daigaku Genshiryoku Kenkyusho Nenpo; ISSN 0374-8715; v. 25 p 21-34[11] K. Shtejer-Diaz, C.B. Zamboni, G.S. Zahn, J.Y. Zevallos-Chavez , Determination of neutron flux distribution
in an Am– Be irradiator using the MCNP, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 59, 263–266,(2003).

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

A Morphophonemic Analysis of Myanmar Language
Tun Aung Kyaw1

Abstract
The purpose this paper is to analyze the morphophonemic system of Myanmar language. The
procedure for morphophonemic analysis is (a) to examine the data, consulting the glosses, andmake a provisional division of the forms into morphemes, (b) to find each morpheme thatalternates, and locate all of its allomorphs, (c) within each allomorph, to locate the particularsegment or segments that alternate, (d) to consider the logical possibilities, setting up theunderlying representations so that all the allomorphs of each morpheme can be derived from asingle underlying representation by general phonological rules. The results of this analysis arethat we can establish a morphophonemic system of Myanmar language and this result will bevery useful for Myanmar language learners around the world. The key findings are aspiration
rules, voicing rules and grammatical tone rules in Myanmar phonology.
Keywords:

morphophonemic system,
phonological rules.

allomorph,segment,

underlying

representation,

1.Introduction
Morphophonemics is a branch of linguistics referring to the analysis and classification of
the phonological factors which affect the appearance of morphemes, or, correspondingly, thegrammatical factors which affect the appearance of phonemes.
In the European tradition, morphophonology (or morphonology) is the preferred term; inthe American tradition, it is morphophonemics. In some theories, morphophonemics is seen as aseparate level of linguistic structure intermediate between grammar and phonology. In earlyversions of generative grammar, morphophonemic rules were distinguished as a separate
component in the derivation of sentences, whereby a terminal string of morphemes would be
converted into their correct phonological form. In later generative theory, the term systematic
phonemics became standard.
In morphophonemic analysis, there are two levels which are segmental level andsuprasegmental level. I would like to present segmental level analysis only in this paper.

2. Methods
2.1 Morphophonology (segmental)
In this section, I want to indicate the conditioning factors for the morphophonology.
There are three assimilatory processes in the phonology (morphophonology) of the Myanmar
language. I want to present details of such processes that involve alternations between different
phonemes (indicating whether or not productive), and any others involving significant phonetic
changes.

1

Dr. Professor, Department of Myanmar, Yangon University of Distance Education

16

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

2.2. Non-causative Verb versus Causative Verb
Causative is a term used in grammatical description to refer to the causal relationshipbetween alternative versions of a sentence. For example, the pair of sentences The cat killed themouse and The mouse died are related, in that the transitive kill can be seen as a ‘causative’version of the intransitive die, viz. ‘cause to die’ (The cat caused the mouse to die); similarly,
some affixes have a causative role, e.g. -ize, as in domesticize (= ‘cause tobecome domestic’).
This is a relationship which is clearly established in the morphological structure of somelanguages (e.g. Japanese, Turkish), where an affix can systematically distinguish between noncausative and causative uses of a verb (‘causative verbs’ or ‘causatives’), e.g. ‘she eats’, ‘shecauses (someone) to eat’, which is similar to English she makes him eat. Some linguists have also
tried to apply the notion of causative systematically to English, seeing it as an abstract underlying
category from which sets of ‘surface’ verbs (such as kill and die) can be derived.
In Myanmar verb construction, there are many pairs of verb; one version is non-causative
version and another is causative version. Some causative version of each verb is composed byaspiration and some causative version of other verbs is composed by devoicing. Examples are as
follows:
Non-causative Verb

Causative Verb (aspiration)/kwɛ‵ / ‘break’/khwɛ‵/ ‘cause to break’/ʨaʹ / ‘fall’/ʨhaʹ/ ‘cause to fall’souʔ/shouʔ/ ‘tear’‘be torn’pauʔ ‘be a hole’/phauʔ / ‘make a hole’tiʔ ‘be block’/thiʔ/ ‘block’

Non-causative Verb

Causative Verb (devoicing)/luʔ/ ‘be free’/ hluʔ/ ‘cause to be free’/nɛ‵/ ‘bend’/hnɛ‵/ be bent’/mwaʹ/ ‘be crispy’/hmwaʹ/ ‘make crispy’/ŋaʹ/ ‘enough’/hŋaʹ/ ‘share’/ɲuʔ/ ‘bend’/hɲuʔ/ ‘make bent’

According to above examples, plosive consonants in non-causative verbs become
aspirated plosive consonants in respective counterparts of causative verbs. Moreover, liquid
consonants in non-causative verb become devoiced liquid consonants in counterparts of causative
verbs.
However all the pairs of this type do not follow this morphophonemic rule. Examples are
as follows:/ʨo¯ / ‘welcome’/ʨho¯/ ‘be sweet’/jɔʹ/ ‘be reduced’/ɕɔʹ/ ‘reduce’/wĩ ‘enter’/Ɵwı̀/̃ ‘cause to enter’/ʔeiʔ/ ‘sleep’/Ɵeiʔ/ ‘cause to sleep’17

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

3. Result and Discussion
3.1 Rank-shifted Noun and Rank-shifted Verb
In Hallidayan linguistics, rank is a term which refers to one of the scales of analysis,
which interrelates the categories of the theory, viz.the hierarchical arrangement of linguistic units
within a linguistic level. The grammatical rank scale, for instance, recognizes sentence–clause–group– word–morpheme in a relationship of inclusion (i.e. a sentence consists of one or moreclauses, etc.). Other scales in this approach are labelled exponence and delicacy. The term rank
shift is used to refer to a linguistic process when a given unit is ‘shifted’ down the rank scale, sothat it operates within the structure of a lower unit (or one of equal rank); e.g. a clause working
within a group (as in relative clauses, e.g. the lady who came in asked . . . ) is said to be a rankshifted clause.
In Myanmar conpound nounds, there are many NN compounds, VN compounds and NV
compounds. In these compounds, first morphemes are mostly changing to each voiced
counterpart respectively to original voiceless morpheme. Examples are as follows:/pe¯ / + /sa¯//pe¯ za¯/

However, if there is a glottal stop at the end of the first morpheme there is no change atall. For example:/phei? /’invite’ + /sa¯/ ‘letter’/phei? sa¯/

If there is no rank-shifted process, there is not sound change at all. Examples are as
follows:/sa¯/ + /pe¯ // sa¯ pe¯ /3.2 Possessive pronoun and Grammatical tone
Pronoun is a term used in the grammatical classification of words, referring to the closed
set of items which can be used to substitute for a noun phrase (or single noun). There are many
types of pronoun, with terminology varying somewhat between grammars. Personal pronouns
include I, you, etc., in their variant forms (e.g. I/me); in their form my/mine, the term possessive
pronoun (pos(s), POS(S)) is often used. Other classes of pronoun regularly recognized include:demonstrative pronouns, e.g. this/that (in certain of their uses); interrogative pronouns, e.g.
certain uses of who/which/what; reflexive pronouns, e.g. myself/yourself; indefinite pronouns,
e.g. anyone/nobody; pronoun relative pronouns, e.g. who/whom/that; and resumptive or shadow
pronouns, e.g. him in John, I like him. A logophoric pronoun (or logophor) refers to a person
whose speech or thought is represented in discourse. The grammatical statement of pronominal
distribution in a language is usually quite complex. It is often discussed with reference to themore general notions of pro-form and deixis. See also lazy pronoun.
In the phonology of Myanmar language, there is another rank-shifted process. This as
grammatical tone on possessive compound. Examples are as follows:/Ɵuʹ khwè/‘his dog’/mau̅ ̃ maũʹ khwè ‘the dog of Maung Maung18

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

4. Conclusion
The results of this analysis are that we can establish a morphophonemic system ofMyanmar language and this result will be very useful for Myanmar language learners around theworld. The key findings are aspiration rules, voicing rules and grammatical tone rules in
Myanmar phonology.

References
Crystal, David, 2008 A Dictionary of Linguistics and phonetics SIXTH EDITION. Blackwell Publishing.
Halliday, M.A.K, 2004

An Introduction to Functional Grammar T H I R D E D I T I O N. Arnold, a member ofthe Hodder Headline Group.
Henderson, Eugenie J.A, 1986 Some Hitherto Unpublished Material on Northern (Megyaw) Hpun. Contributions to
Sino-Tibetan Studies. Leiden, E.J.Brill.
Matisoff, James, 1969 “Verb concatenation in Lahu: The syntax and semantics of ‘simple’ juxtaposition”. Acta
Linguistica Hafniensa. 12.2:69-120. 1972 The Grammar of Lahu. London. University of California
Press.
Myint Soe, 1999 A Grammar of Burmese. USA. UMI Dissertation Service.
Nishi, Yoshio, 1999, Four Papers on Burmese (Myanmar). Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia
and Africa (ILCAA), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
Okell, John,1969 A Reference Grammar of Colloquial Burmese. London. Oxford University Press.
Okell, John and Anna Allot, 2001 Burmese/ Myanmar Dictionary of Grammatical Forms. UK. Curzon Press.
Pearce, Michael, 2007 The Routledge Dictionary of English Language Studies. Routledge
Tun Aung Kyaw, 2003 A Study of Hpun Dialect. Ph.D dissertation, Yangon University. [in Myanmar] 2014 A
Comprehensive Description of the Myanmar Verb Phrases. Taungoo University Research Journal.
Yabu, Shiro, 2002 Hpun: A Moribund Language in Myanmar. Osaka University of Foreign Studies. 2003 The Hpun
Language Endangered in Myanmar. Osaka University of Foreign Studies.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Economic Development and SME Policy in Lao PDR
Souksavanh Vixathep1, Nobuaki Matsunaga2

Abstract
Following their economic reforms in the late 1980s, the Lao economy has developed as
favourably as Vietnamese. Yet, despite the similarities in political regime, economic
performance, and economic and legal reforms, Laos has not been as highly recognized as
Vietnam. Applying qualitative and quantitative approaches on a comparative analysis, the paper
aims to shed more light on the challenges of Laos in economic development and poverty
eradication. To our knowledge this study is among the pioneer works for these two economies.
The study focuses on economic growth, legal reform, and small and medium enterprise (SME)
policy. It reveals that SMEs in Laos and Vietnam are very small in employment size. However,the number of enterprises, particularly in the larger category, is much smaller in Laos than in
Vietnam even after taking into consideration the difference in population size. Moreover, thebusiness environment for ‘starting a business’ and ‘getting credit supply’ is more restrictive in
Laos than in Vietnam. Since 2004 the government of Laos has implemented SME promotion
policies and most entrepreneurs evaluate them helpful. However, the policies are foundineffective in this analysis. The findings imply that effective implementation of SME policies is apressing issue for Laos.
Keywords: Laos, Vietnam, economic development, SME policy, economic reform

1. Introduction
In the last three decades, upon the introduction of the Doi Moi reform in 1986, theeconomic development in Vietnam has achieved noticeable success. Real gross domestic product(GDP) per capita (at 2010 prices) increased from $382 in 1985 to $1,835 in 2017 (8-foldincrease), while real GDP grew by 7.5 times at an annual growth rate of 6.5%. The proportion of
the extreme poor, who live with $1.9 or less per person a day (2011 international dollar),decreased dramatically from 52.9％ in 1992 to 2.8％ in 2012. There is sufficient evidence for theVietnamese economy to be evaluated as highly successful. At the same time, the Lao economy
has not been evaluated as successful as Vietnamese, although Laos’ economic performance isdeemed comparable to that of her neighbor. Specifically, from 1985 to 2017, GDP per capita (at2010 prices) increased from $432 to $1,730 (4-fold increase), and real GDP grew by 7.4 times at
an annual growth rate of 6.5%*. [1].
From 1985 to 2005 the annual growth rate in Laos was somewhat lower than Vietnam.
However, it surpassed Vietnam in 2005 and has since been somewhat higher. Their GDP per
capita in terms of international dollar (PPP) is practically equal, although that of Laos was
slightly higher than that of Vietnam up until 1993 (Figure 1). Laos and Vietnam (LV) achieved
around 6% of real annual economic growth after 1960 with some fluctuations caused by Asian
Financial Crisis in 1997 and the World Financial Crisis in 2008, as well as the post-reform
turmoil and University of Hyogo, svixathep@em.u-hyogo.ac.jp natural disasters.

1

2*

University of Hyogo, svixathep@em.u-hyogo.ac.jp
Kobe University, matsu@kobe-u.ac.jp
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics applied for this study are taken from World Development Indicators (various
issues), World Bank.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

20

16.0

%

2,000

14.0
12.0

GDP per capita (Vitetnam) right axis

GDP per capita (Laos) right axis

GDP growth rate (Vitetnam) left axis

GDP growth rate (Laos) left axis

1,800
1,600

10.0

1,400

8.0

1,200

6.0

1,000

4.0

800

2.0

600

0.0

400

‐2.0

200

‐4.0

0
1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (various issues).

Figure 1. GDP per capita and GDP growth rate of Laos and Vietnam ($2010 prices）

Why Laos is not as highly evaluated as Vietnam with her comparable economic
performance? One of the reasons might be her smaller size in population (6.86 million comparedto Vietnam’s 95.54 million in 2017) and GDP ($16.85 billion compared to Vietnam’s $223.78
billion in 2017), which has a much smaller impact on the world economy. However, these twocountries have many things in common. Hence, the study will analyze the Lao economy bycomparing it to the Vietnamese, in order to shed more light on the challenges facing Laos. The
main objective is to find a way for Laos to relieve from the present situation with many people
suffering from extreme poverty. The study focuses on the status quo and policies on small andmedium enterprise (SME) development, which directly influence the lives of the majority.

2. Comparative Analysis of Lao and Vietnamese Economy
2.1 Economic and agricultural reform
There are many similarities between the two countries: they were colonized by France inthe late 19th century until the declaration of independence in 1945; they endured another 30
years of civil war. Finally, in 1975 Laos established the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao
PDR) and Vietnam the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Following independence and unification, LV adopted the Soviet-style economic model(collectivization of agriculture, nationalization of private enterprises, price control and rationing
system of most goods, state monopolization of external trade, etc.) aimed at rebuilding the wardepleted economies. However, under the centrally planned economic system, their economies
faced the declining, impoverishment, famine problem, and social disorder. Thus, in the late 1980s
both governments embarked on a drastic economic reform to resolve the deadlock, namely the
Doi Moi in Vietnam and Chintanakan Mai (New Economic Mechanism) in Laos. LV aimed totransform the centrally planned economy to a market-oriented one. [2].
Major elements of Doi Moi are a full-fledged introduction of market economy, including
the recognition of multi-ownership of productive means, price liberalization, and emphasis on
international division of labor. More specifically, the program includes contract farming, reformof state-owned enterprises (SOEs), recognition of private and foreign enterprises, respect formarket prices including interest rates and foreign exchange rates, liberalization of foreign tradeand investment, etc. The main elements of the reforms in Laos are similar to those of Doi Moi.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

21

Both countries have adopted a gradual approach for reforms. [3] [4].
The food production indexes were very much comparable for both countries at the startof reforms in 1986, followed by a smooth increase the agricultural production. During 1985–
2005 agricultural production increased by 2.5 times in LV, and the production grew more rapidlyin Laos after 2010. Food supply per capita increased by 53.9％ in Laos and 78.1％ in Vietnam,
since population grew by 56.0％ and 38.1％, respectively. The upward trend in cereal production(metric tons per hectare) implies an enhancement in land productivity upon the start of thereforms, although land productivity is higher in Vietnam than Laos. Therefore, it can beconcluded that reforms in agriculture were successful in LV.

2.2 Legal Reform
Due to space limitation, this section discusses only legal reforms related private
enterprise and excludes the SOEs. Under the socialist regime, only household enterprises wereallowed to coexist with SOEs until the end of 1970s. In 1979 the Government of Laos (GOL)
came out with a new direction to utilize private and individual economies to expand the
production and improve people’s lives. This was followed by a further diversification ofownership forms of productive means and the abolition of collectivization in agriculture.
The Constitution promulgated in 1991 formally allowed the ownership of state, groups
and individuals, and stipulated the protection of the ownership. The Constitution revised in 2003
clearly states that “All types of enterprises are equal before the laws (Article 13); The State
protects and promotes all forms of property rights: State, collective, private domestic and foreign
investment (Article 16).” These points are maintained in the 2015-revised Constitution. [5].
In Laos, the Business Law was promulgated in 1994, which states that “The right andinterest of local and foreign businesspeople investing in business … are protected” (Article 2)
and that “All types of operations conducted by enterprises in all economic sectors are interrelated and competing on an equal footing before the law” (Article 5). In 2005 the Enterprise
Law was enacted to replace the Business Law. However, the contents are almost the same except
for one point: The Enterprise Law “applies to private enterprises, both domestic and foreign, state
enterprises and joint enterprises established and operating in the Lao PDR” (Article 8), while the“Business law is applicable in the context of business with a registered capital from 1,000,000
kip and over” (Article 8; 1,000,000 kip was equivalent to $94.00 in 2005). [5].
In Vietnam, private enterprises were formally allowed to exist by the Government
Decree No.27 and No.28 regarding the ownership, and Government Decision No.19 in 1988. In
1990, private enterprises were formally approved by the Law on Enterprises. The existence ofprivate enterprises and private ownership of productive means were formally guaranteed by theConstitution in 1992. The new Law on Enterprises became effective in 2000, which covered alltypes of domestic private enterprises (limited liability companies, shareholding companies,
partnerships and private enterprises). This law was epoch-making in that it recognized the lawful
profit-making nature of business activities, except for those clearly banned by the law, and thatthe enterprise registration was drastically changed from the approval to autonomous basis. The
procedure was so simplified that the number days required for registration dropped from 20 days
to 7 days and that the necessary cost decreased to one-twentieth. The new Constitution in 2002
stipulated that the equal conditions were guaranteed to private enterprises to compete with SOEs.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

22

[5].
With respect to investment promotion, in the late 1980s the laws on promoting foreign
direct investment (FDI) in LV initially aimed to control and manage FDI, which did not promote
investment as expected. However, since the mid-200s these laws have been revised to unify
domestic and foreign investment and promote FDI, and these have a positive impact on
investment in both countries. It is worth noting that the percentage share of FDI in Vietnam has
consistently been higher than that of Laos and that Laos started the legal reforms a few years
later than Vietnam. [6].

3. SME Policy in Laos
This section starts with understanding the status quo of SMEs in Laos. Table 1
represents the number of firms and their composition by sector and by number of employees in
Laos (data from the Economic Census conducted in 2006 and 2013). There is no othercomprehensive data which can better illustrate the status quo of SMEs in Laos.1
Table 1. Number of firms and their composition by sector and number of employees in LaosY ear of census
S ector￤N um ber of w orkers

2006

2013

1-4

5-9

10-99 100+

1-4

5-9

10-99 100+

A Agriculture, forestry and fishing

81.3%

12.5%

6.0%

0.2%

4,318

3.4%

A

63.3%

25.1%

10.4%

1.1%

B Mining and quarrying

55.6%

17.8%

23.9%

2.7%

297

2,188

0.2%

B

22.6%

29.6%

43.2%

4.7%

257

C Manufacturing

90.1%

5.6%

3.8%

0.5%

0.2%

24,331

19.2%

C

70.8%

18.0%

10.4%

0.7%

15,573

12.5%

D Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

29.8%

28.1%

33.3%

E Water supply, sewerage, waste management

70.1%

12.9%

16.7%

8.8%

114

0.1%

D

23.5%

18.5%

47.1%

10.9%

119

0.1%

0.4%

264

0.2%

E

38.8%

33.5%

24.1%

3.5%

170

F Construction

45.5%

20.2%

0.1%

32.0%

2.1%

628

0.5%

F

23.1%

24.1%

48.6%

4.2%

642

G Wholesale and retail trade

97.5%

0.5%

2.0%

0.5%

0.0%

81,780

64.4%

G

89.5%

8.6%

1.8%

0.0%

78,40762.8%

H Transportation and storage
I Accommodation and food service activities

92.4%

4.5%

2.9%

0.1%

3,799

3.0%

H

85.9%

9.1%

4.6%

0.4%

3,509

2.8%

68.1%

22.4%

9.3%

0.2%

3,439

2.7%

I

75.9%

17.7%

6.3%

0.1%

14,549

11.7%

T otalby industry

T otalby industry

1.8%

J Information and communication

91.6%

2.4%

5.4%

0.6%

872

0.7%

J

64.3%

12.8%

21.3%

1.6%

375

0.3%

K Financial, banking and insurance activities

47.8%

29.1%

21.4%

1.7%

299

0.2%

K

30.1%

36.3%

30.5%

3.0%

531

0.4%

L Real estate activities

91.3%

4.9%

3.4%

0.0%

618

0.5%

L

84.8%

8.0%

6.9%

0.3%

712

0.6%

M Professional, scientific and technical activities

82.7%

8.9%

8.4%

0.0%

359

0.3% M

64.3%

22.5%

12.7%

0.5%

409

0.3%

N Administrative and support service activities

74.8%

13.9%

10.5%

0.8%

755

0.6%

N

59.8%

27.4%

12.2%

0.6%

854

0.7%

O Education and training

29.9%

28.2%

41.9%

0.0%

298

0.2%

O

14.6%

24.7%

59.2%

1.4%

417

0.3%

P Human health and social work activities

87.2%

9.1%

3.7%

0.0%

375

0.3%

P

76.2%

17.8%

5.9%

0.0%

421

0.3%

Q Arts, entertainment and recreation

85.3%

9.7%

4.9%

0.1%

1,013

0.8%

Q

65.7%

21.7%

12.2%

0.3%

866

0.7%

R Other service activities

97.2%

2.1%

0.7%

0.0%

3,353

2.6%

R

90.2%

7.7%

2.0%

0.1%

4,809

3.9%

93.4%

4.2%

2.2%

0.2%

126,913100.0%

83.4%

11.8%

4.6%

0.2%

124,808

100.0%

Total by number of workers

Source: National Statistics Center (2007) Report of Economic Census 2006, Volume 1 ; Lao Statistics Bureau (2015) Report of Economic Census II, 2013 .

It is revealed that in 2013, micro enterprises with 1-4 workers occupy 83.4%, small with
5-9 workers 11.8%, medium with 10-99 workers 4.6%, and large with more than 100 workers
only 0.2% of all enterprises. Thus, the striking small size is a characteristic of Lao enterprises.
1

For the Economic Census 2013 the total number of primary economic units were 178,557, of which 134,577 units
were surveyed by personal interview. The following economic units are excluded from survey: villages with fewer
than 10 economic units, economic units without a permanent address (mobile shops, street vendors, lottery sellers,
Tuk-Tuk or taxi driver, mobile fruit carts and other temporary retail shops), other production units with only one
labor such as handicraft, weaving, agriculture, forestry and animal breeding. Some 9,704 NPOs and 15 economic
units of ‘public administration and defence’ were excluded. For the Economic Census 2006, out of 209,484 primaryeconomic units, 126,913 units located in the villages with road access were surveyed. Therefore, both censuses are
not “census” with 100% samples in the country.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

23

This characteristic, however, was more salient in 2006: micro enterprises with 1-4 workers
occupy 93.4%. Reviewing the changes in the composition reveals that all sectors but‘Accommodation and food service activities’ have decreased the percentage share of the microenterprises and increased the share of the larger-sized firms between 2006 and 2013. Large
sectors, such as ‘Wholesale and retail trade’ and ‘Manufacturing’, occupy 62.8% and 12.5%,
respectively, while the share of micro enterprises from 97.5% to 89.5%, and from 90.1% to70.8%, respectively. However, with 95.1% share in 2013, micro or small enterprises with fewer
than 10 workers are still the dominant size in Laos. [7].
Derived from the data of 2013 Economic Census in Laos (Table 1) and 2012
Establishment Census in Vietnam2, the sectoral classification in LV is practically the same, while
the classification of size (number of workers) and the number of firms are different. It is revealed
that regardless of the larger population size (13.9 times), Vietnam has disproportionately moreenterprises than Laos (4,537 thousand enterprises in Vietnam vs. 125 thousand enterprises in
Laos; 36.4 times): for large enterprise 26.1 times in all 18 categories under study and 251.4 times
in manufacturing; for medium enterprises 67.4 times in commerce/services sectors and 21.0
times in manufacturing. [8], [9].
In summary, Laos and Vietnam share a common characteristic (striking small size ofenterprises), while the number of large or medium firms are very much different. Hence, there isa need for Laos to have more enterprises, especially large or medium ones, for economic
development. Here it is apparent that the challenges for SME policy in Laos are to increase thenumber of enterprises and to help micro and small firms grow to larger ones by providing betterbusiness environment.
The GOL has formulated and implemented SME policy since 1996. The recent SME
Development Plan (2011-2015) identifies 7 priority areas to be implemented3. In this section, theSME policy of GOL is evaluated and discussed in two aspects: first, by the objective indicator of
doing business; and second, by the subjective evaluation of government services provided byentrepreneurs.
3.1 Ease of doing business
The World Bank has published Doing Business every year from 2004, which is theannual report measuring the regulations that enhance business activity and those that hamper it.
Doing Business measures regulations in each country affecting the ease of doing business. A
virtual domestic SME with 10-50 employees located in the largest business city is assumed tomake a comparison of the ease of doing business across countries4. [10].
The two most important indicators for SME development in the report are ‘starting a2

3
4

Due to space limitation data from 2012 Establishment Census cannot be presented in this paper. However, they
are available upon request. The discussion in this section largely refers to this data set.
Department of SME Promotion, Ministry of Industry and Commerce (2017, p7)
To ensure comparability of the data across countries, the following standardized case scenarios and assumptions
are applied. It is a limited liability company or its legal equivalent; operates in the economy’s largest businesscity; is 100% domestically owned and has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity; has start-up capital of 10
times income per capita; performs general industrial or commercial activities, and does not perform foreign tradeactivities; leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate; has a turnover of at least
100 times income per capita; does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits; has 10-50
employees, all of them domestic nationals; has a turnover of at least 100 times income per capita, etc.
https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/methodology/starting-a-business24

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

business’ and ‘getting credit’. With respect to ‘starting a business’, it is apparent that that thesituation in Laos improved slightly in 2007 and became substantially better in 2012, before
deteriorating in 2015. In Vietnam, the ease of getting credit has improved substantially in 20072008 and maintained the level through 2014, and then enhanced slightly in 2015. In sum, thebusiness environment for SMEs regarding ‘starting a business’ and ‘getting credit’ was more
restrictive in Laos than Vietnam, and the ease of getting credit improved substantially in Laos
only as recently as 2015. [10].

3.2 Evaluation of government assistance by entrepreneurs in Laos
This analysis relies on the survey data of the GIZ5. The GIZ has conducted the largescale enterprise survey in every two years from 2005 to 2013 for the major regions in Laos
(Vientiane Capital, Luang Prabang Province, Champasack Province, Luang Namtha Province,
and Savannakhet Province). This survey series provides the subjective assessment of the central
and local government services as well as other information of firms based on questionnaires forentrepreneurs. [11].
The GIZ’s Enterprise Survey asked entrepreneurs about the helpfulness of government
services with five scales: very helpful; helpful; neutral; unhelpful; and very unhelpful. The
survey results6 reveal that government services are rated as being ‘helpful’ or ‘very helpful’ by
61-75% (central government assistance) and 64-80% (local government assistance) byentrepreneurs. It has also been revealed that the perception of entrepreneur has improved from2005 to 2013. It is worth noting that larger firms tend to rate government services as ‘helpful’ or‘very helpful’, while micro and small firms with less than 20 workers tend to evaluate
government services as ‘unhelpful’ or ‘very unhelpful’. In sum, government services havegenerally been highly rated and the positive rating has risen except for micro firms. However,SMEs tend to rate government services lower than larger firms, and a number of micro firms rate
government services as ‘unhelpful’ or ‘very unhelpful’. [11].

4. Concluding Remarks
Laos and Vietnam are neighboring countries with a long borderline and several similarities inpolitical regime, economic performance, economic and legal policies and reforms. Following thereforms started in the late 1980s, Laos has achieved comparable economic performance toVietnam. However, there is still a big difference between these two countries, for example in life
expectancy, poverty incidence, and human development. The gap between economic
performance and social indexes arouses suspicions that a remarkable economic performance of
Laos may be a “goldbrick,” that the fruit of economic development may concentrate in a small
number of people, and that economic development is not sufficiently inclusive.
Recent development in Laos appears to concentrate on big projects, such as special
economic zones, buildings, hydro-power dams, roads, railways, etc., which could lead to highexternal debt stocks. It is undeniable that infrastructure is very important for economic
5

GIZ is the German abbreviation for the Gesellschaft für International Zusammenarbeit.
Due to space limitation, the summary table of the survey results cannot be presented in this paper. However, it isavailable upon request.
6

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

25

development. However, if the infrastructure does not generate sufficient income and employment
for Lao people, economic development is deemed not inclusive.
For inclusive economic development and/or more equal distribution of income andemployment, SME promotion is one of the most effective measures. In spite of the great effortsof GOL in SME development, business environment in Laos, in terms of ‘starting a business’ and‘getting credit’, is still more restrictive than Vietnam, and indeed conditions for ‘starting abusiness’ deteriorated in 2015.
Notwithstanding the limitation of the analysis, the paper tries to examine the challenges
facing Laos by comparing them with those of Vietnam. It can be concluded that Laos is stillbehind her neighbor in many aspects of development. Since 2004 the government of Laos has
implemented SME promotion policies and most entrepreneurs evaluate them helpful. However,the policies are deemed ineffective in this analysis. The findings imply that effective
implementation of SME policies is a pressing issue for Laos. [12]. In reality, however, Vietnam
also has many problems and challenges to overcome so that there are issues that cannot be shownby comparing the two countries.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Japan Society for the Promotion of
Science under its Grand-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) 15H04547.

References[1] World Bank, World Development Indicators, various issues.
[2] Kham Vorapheth, “La Redefinition des Strategies Politiques et Economiques (1975-2006)”, Les Indes savants,
Paris, 2007 [We use the Japanese Version for our reference].
[3] Norihiko Yamada, “Rethinking of “Chinatanakan Mai” (New Thinking): New Perspective for Understanding Lao
PDR”, IDE Discussion Paper No. 393, Chiba, 2013.
[4] Van Tho Tran (トラン・ヴァン・トウ)『ベトナム経済発展論：中所得国の罠と新たなドイモイ』勁草書
房, 2010.
[5] Nobuaki Matsunaga (松永宣明)｢ベトナムにおける法制度改革と企業発展｣金子由芳編著『アジアの市場経済化と民事法』（神戸大学出版会）所収, 218-242頁, 2019.
[6] Motoyoshi Suzuki (鈴木基義) 第4章「ラオス外国投資法の変遷」山田紀彦編『ラオス チンタナカー
ン・マイ(新思考)政策の新展開 : 共同研究会中間報告』日本貿易振興機構アジア経済研究所, 2010.
[7] Lao Statistics Bureau (LSB). “Report of Economic Census II”, Ministry of Planning and Investment. Vientiane:
Lao Uniprint Ltd., 2015 [Report in Lao language].
[8] General Statistics Office (GSO), “Vietnamese Industry in 20 Years of Renovation and Development”, Hanoi,
2006.
[9] GSO, “Results of the 2012 Establishment Census”, Statistical Publishing House, Hanoi, 2013.
[10] World Bank (2019), Doing Business 2019.
[11] Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), “HRDME Enterprise Survey 2013 for Lao
PDR”, Vientiane, July 2014.
[12] Souksavanh Vixathep, “Entrepreneurship, Human and Social Capital, and Government Policy in Small andMedium Enterprise Development in Laos”, Japan Social Innovation Journal, 7, 2017.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Bioaccumulation of Metals in Gill and Liver of Some Fishes of Different
Feeding Habits from Water and Sediment of Ayeyarwady River Segment,
Salay Environs
Cho Cho Thin1, et al

Abstract
The present study aimed to evaluate the relationship of metals in water and sediment on
important organs (gills and livers) of nine commercial fish species. In this study,
bioaccumulation of six metals (Ca, Mg, Na, Cd, Pb, As) in gills and livers of nine fish species
and metal concentrations in water and sediments of Ayeyarwady River segment, Salay
environs were analyzed by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer at Universities’ ResearchCentre of University of Yangon. The study period lasted from January to December, 2016. Cd
and Pb concentrations in all studied fishes of different feeding habits and their environs werelower than the maximum permissible limit while those of As were over the limit. Those of
essential metals (Ca, Mg, Na) were within the FAO standard ranges. The maximum
concentration of arsenic (2.79mg/L) was recorded in the gills of herbivorous fishes. According
to the results of Transfer Factors, Cd and As accumulated in gill and liver tissues of most of
studied fishes came from water and sediment. Arsenic levels in the gill and liver tissue samples
taken from studied species except N. notopterus were over the dangerous limits designated by
WHO/FAO and there is health hazard risk to the local consumers.
Keywords: fish gill, liver, sediment, metal concentration

1. Introduction
Nowadays, the pollution of the aquatic environment due to heavy metals has become aworldwide problem, because they are indestructible and most of them have toxic effects onaquatic organisms [1]. Even though some metals are essential for living organisms, they can also
be toxic over the limits (e.g. Ca, Mg, and Na) [2]. If their concentration is too high, they may
equal the toxicity of nonessential metals (e.g. Cd, Pb, As) [2].
Among environmental pollutants, metals are of particular concern, due to their potential
toxic effect and ability to bio accumulate in aquatic ecosystems [3]. According to the literature,
metal bioaccumulation in fish and subsequent distribution in their organs is greatly interspecific.
In addition, many factors can influence metal uptake like sex, age, size, reproductive cycle,
swimming pattern, feeding behavior, and geographical location [4].
However, fish normally accumulate heavy metals from food, water and sediments [5] andthis is a good indicator of heavy metals pollution in water [6]. Impact of contaminants on aquatic
ecosystems can be evaluated by measuring biochemical parameters in the liver of fish that
respond specifically to the degree and type of contamination [7]. Gills serve as a good indicatorof water quality. They are sensitive to any change of water components since gill filaments andlamellae provide a very large surface area for direct and continuous contact with contaminants inwater [8].
In this study, concentrations of six metals (calcium, magnesium, sodium, cadmium, leadand arsenic) in the gill and liver of nine fish species were assessed because these fish species
1Dr. Lecturer, Department of Zoology, University of Yangon, Myanmar. chochothin.uy2016@gmail.com,
2. Dr Myin Zu Min,3. Dr Min Thaung, 4. Dr. Yee Yee Win

28

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

were consumed as food by local people. Metal levels of water and sediments from the
Ayeyarwady River segment of Salay environs, which the fishes inhabited, were also detected.
The Transfer Factor (accumulation factor) is the ratio between the accumulated concentration ofa given pollutant in any organ and its dissolved concentration in water. It gives an indication of
the accumulation efficiency for any particular pollutant in any fish organ [9]. Thus, Transfer
Factor (TF) of heavy metals in soft tissue (liver) of the studied fish species was also determined.

2. Materials and Methods
Study Area
Ayeyarwady River segment of Salay Township, Magway Region situated at 20° 42ʹ N to
20° 51.30ʹ N and 94° 14ʹ E to 97° 47.51ʹ E was chosen as the study area to analyze metal
concentrations in some fish species and their environs (Fig. 1).
Study Period
Study period lasted from January, 2016 to December, 2016.
Collection and preparation of Samples
From the study site, 68 specimens of 9 study fish species were collected from local
fishermen. Feeding habits of recorded fish species were designated in accordance with Talwar
and Jhingran [10]. From among the collected species, three species each of herbivores,
carnivores, and omnivores were selected for determination of selected metals. The liver and gill
were carefully excised, rinsed in double distilled water and oven dried at 1100°C. The heavy
metal concentrations in the dried samples were estimated after acid digestion, following thestandard method [11], using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Each water sample wasfiltered through a 0.45 micron Whatman filter paper. The water samples were analyzed directly.
The sediment sample was sun dried, grounded and sieved with a 200 mm sieve to obtain a fine
powder, of which 1.0 g was used. Then sediment analysis was carried out according to theprocedure described earlier [12].
Data Analysis
The concentration of metals (calcium, magnesium, sodium, cadmium, lead and arsenic) ingill and liver of fish specimens and aquatic environs of study area were analyzed in triplicates by
Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer in Universities’ Research Centre (URC) at University of
Yangon. The results were compared with WHO/FAO maximum permissible limits (MPL) [13,14].
Transfer Factor (TF) calculation
The TF was given as

TF concentration of metal in fish soft tissue
concentration of metal in environ (water or sediment)

TF greater than 1 indicates bioaccumulation of metals in fish soft tissue [15].

29

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Source: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Map Sheets, 2004
Figure 1. Map of the study area and study site

3.

Results and Discussion

A total of 9 fish species which included three each of herbivores (Cirrhinus mrigala, Labeocalbasu, Oreochromis mossambicus), carnivores (Notopterus notopterus, Separata aor, Channapunctatus), and omnivores (Tenualosa ilisha, Rhinomugil corsula, Mastacembelus dayi) werecollected from the Ayeyarwady River segment of Salay Township.
Calcium, magnesium and sodium (essential metals) concentrations of gill and liver of allstudied fish species of different feeding habits were found within the FAO standard ranges (Table1). Mean concentrations of essential metal in gills and livers of fishes of different feeding habitswere presented in Fig. 2. A large number of studies have shown that the level of bioaccumulationof heavy metal in fish muscle is significantly correlated with fish species [16]. The results
observed in this study were in good agreement with the above consensus.
Cadmium and lead concentrations of gill and liver of all studied fish species of different
feeding habits were found to be lower than those of maximum permissible limits recognized by
WHO/ FAO (Table 2). Arsenic concentrations in gills and livers of all studied fish species ofdifferent feeding habits were found to be higher than those of maximum permissible limits except
in Notopterus notopterus (-0.37 mg/L), a carnivorous fish. Especially, the mean concentrations of
toxic metals for all studied fishes were presented in Fig. 3.
Calcium, magnesium and sodium concentrations in water and sediment for all seasons
were found to be lower than those of maximum permissible limits recognized by WHO/ FAO.
Cadmium (0.03 mg/L), lead (0.51 mg/L), and arsenic (1.39 mg/L) concentrations of water werehigher than the MPL. Cadmium, lead, and arsenic concentrations of sediment in all seasons wereobserved to be lower than the "threshold effect concentration"(TEC)," midpoint effectconcentration"(MEC), and "probable effect concentration" (PEC) [17] (Fig. 4). Maximum
permissible limit of metal concentration designated by WHO and FAO guidelines were shown in
Table 3.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)30

In addition, transfer factor of heavy metals in liver of studied fish species was also
determined. (Table.4). It is found that Cd are hazardous for the aquatic ecosystems especially for
the C. mrigala, L. calbasu, O. mossambicus, S.aor, C. punctatus, R. corsula and M. dayi. Transfer
factors from water for cadmium were greater than 1, which indicated that the above mentioned
fish species accumulated metal from water. Similarly, Transfer Factors from water and sediment
for arsenic in T. ilisha and M. dayi were greater than 1. Thus, level of arsenic in the area ishazardous for these fish species. Heavy metals pollution affects not only aquatic organisms, butalso public health as a result of bioaccumulation through their food chains.
Transfer Factors of Cd and As in gill from water and sediment for most of the studied fish
species were greater than 1 (Table.5). Thus, levels of Cd and As were hazardous to the studied
fish species. Similar results were found for Pb in L. rohita, R.corsula and M.dayi. The results
show that As levels in the soft tissue samples taken from studied fish species except N.
notopterus were over the dangerous limits given by WHO/FAO and there is high risk for local
public who consume eating these species.
Table 1. Essential metal concentration (mg/L) in gill and liver of studied fish species
Feeding Habits

Herbivore

Carnivore

Omnivore

Species

Ca

Mg

Na

Gill

Liver

Gill

Liver

Gill

Liver

Cirrhinus mrigala

84.44

18.56

8.09

8.09

51.21

52.59

Labeo calbasu

86.97

35.80

8.84

6.14

36.54

3.60

Oreochromis mossambicus

86.19

21.94

8.56

7.91

57.73

11.75

Notopterus notopterus

78.24

13.61

8.66

8.02

54.13

12.95

Separata aor

87.36

19.25

8.51

4.29

68.05

4.87

Channa punctatus

83.94

72.41

8.33

7.07

20.60

1.18

Tenualosa ilisha

80.45

22.48

8.53

2.30

25.93

1.13

Rhinomugil corsula

86.69

38.60

8.58

6.97

51.24

4.07

Mastacembelus dayi

82.99

21.73

8.35

6.45

17.49

6.59

Figure 2. Mean concentration of essential metal in gills and liver of fishes of different feeding habits

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

31

Table 2. Toxic metal concentrations (mg/L) in gill and liver of studied fish species
Feeding Habits

Gill

Liver

Gill

Liver

Cirrhinus mrigala

0.06

0.07

0.49

0.08

3.08

0.25

Labeo calbasu

0.05

0.04

0.77

0.36

2.89

1.37

Oreochromis
mossembicus

0.05

0.03

0.47

0.18

2.39

0.62

Notopterus notopterus

0.05

0.03

0.31

-0.03

2.85

-0.37

Separata aor

0.04

0.03

0.40

0.11

2.45

0.49

Channa punctatus

0.04

0.04

0.40

0.29

2.28

1.14

Tenualosa ilisha

0.04

0.02

0.25

0.02

2.40

1.79

Rhinomugil corsula

0.05

0.03

0.52

0.22

2.54

0.48

Mastacembelus dayi

0.04

0.04

0.58

0.42

1.92

1.43

Cd

3

Pb

2

As

1

Gills

Omnivore

Carnivore

Harbivore

0

Omnivore

Mean concentration (mg/L)

Omnivore

As

Liver

Carnivore

Carnivore

Pb

Gill

Harbivore

Herbivore

Cd

Species

Liver

Body parts in fishes of different feeding habits

Concentration(mg/L)

Figure3. Mean concentration of toxic metal in gills and livers of fishes of different feeding habits

30.00
25.00
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00

Ca

Mg

Water

Essential element
22.38
6.59

Sediment

26.76

8.21

Na

Cd

Pb

As

2.22

0.03

Toxic element
0.51

1.39

2.12

0.04

0.60

1.17

Figure4. Essential and toxic metals concentrations (mg/L) of water and sediment in study area

32

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Table 3. Maximum permissible limit of metal concentrations (mg/L) stated in WHO and FAO
guidelines
WHO/FAO limit

WHO guideline limit(Muscle)(Water)Ca

19-881100

Mg

4.5-452150

Na

30-134

200

Cd

0.2

Pb
As

Metal

Sediment
TEC

MEC

PEC

0.99

3

5

1

36

83

130

0.01

9.8

21.4

33

Not stated

Table 4.The Transfer factor (TF) of heavy metals from water and sediment to liver of studied fish
species
Cd

FeedingSpecies

Habits

Herbivore

Carnivore

OmnivorePb

As

TF from

TF from

TF from

TF from

TF from

TF fromwatersediment

water

sediment

water

sediment

Cirrhinus mrigala

2.44

1.65

0.16

0.13

0.18

0.22

Labeo calbasu

1.48

1.00

0.70

0.60

0.99

1.17

Oreochromis mossembicus

1.26

0.85

0.36

0.31

0.45

0.53

Notopterus notopterus

0.96

0.65

-0.07

-0.06

-0.27

-0.32

Separata aor

1.19

0.80

0.22

0.19

0.35

0.42

Channa punctatus

1.30

0.88

0.56

0.48

0.82

0.98

Tenualosa ilisha

0.78

0.53

0.04

0.03

1.29

1.53

Rhinomugil corsula

1.11

0.75

0.44

0.37

0.34

0.41

Mastacembelus dayi

1.37

0.93

0.82

0.70

1.03

1.23

Table 5. The Transfer factor (TF) of heavy metals from water and sediment in gills of studied fish
species
Cd
Feeding Habits

Herbivore

Carnivore

Omnivore

SpeciesPb

As

TF from TF from TF fromTF from

TF from TF fromwater

sediment

water

sediment

water

sediment

Cirrhinus mrigala

2.07

1.40

0.96

0.82

2.22

2.63

Labeo calbasu

1.93

1.30

1.51

1.28

2.10

2.47

Oreochromis mossambicus

1.67

1.13

0.92

0.78

1.72

2.04

Notopterus notopterus

1.78

1.20

0.61

0.52

2.10

2.44

Separata aor

1.59

0.08

0.78

0.67

1.76

2.10

Channa punctatus

1.41

0.95

0.78

0.67

1.64

1.95

Tenualosa ilisha

1.37

0.93

0.50

0.42

1.73

2.10

Rhinomugil corsula

1.81

1.23

1.20

0.87

1.83

2.17

Mastacembelus dayi

1.48

1.00

1.14

0.97

1.38

1.64

33

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

In this study, the effects of metal accumulation in gills and livers of fishes and theirenvirons (water and sediments) were determined. The values observed for toxic metals
concentrations of all studied fish species of different feeding habits and their environs were lower
than the maximum permissible limit in all seasons except for the arsenic in cold season. That ofessential metals were within WHO and FAO concentrations ranges.
The observed variability of heavy metal levels in different species depends on feeding
habits, ecological needs, metabolic rate, physiological condition of fish, age, size and length of
the fish and their habitats [18]. It is found that Cd levels are hazardous for the aquatic ecosystems
especially for the C. mrigala, L. calbasu, O. mossambicus, S.aor, C. punctatus, R. corsula and M.
dayi. Transfer factors for Cd in liver from water were greater than 1, which indicated that theabove mentioned fish species accumulated metal from water. Similarly, Transfer Factors for Asfrom water and sediment in T. ilisha and M. dayi were greater than 1. Thus, As are hazardous forthese fish species in the area. Transfer Factors of Cd and As in gill from water and sediment formost of the studied fish species were also greater than 1. Thus, Cd and As are hazardous for thepresent studied fish species. The accumulation of metals in the liver is likely linked to its
metabolism. Gills are the main route of metal exchange from water as they have very large
surface areas that facilitate rapid diffusion of toxic metals. Similar results were found for Pb in L.
rohita, R.corsula and M.dayi. Heavy metal pollution affects not only aquatic organisms but also
public health as a result of bioaccumulation through food chains. The results show that As levelsin the soft tissue samples taken from the studied fish species except from N. notopterus were overthe dangerous limits given by WHO/FAO and there is a health risk for the local public who
consume these fish species.

4. Conclusion

In the present study, essential and toxic metal concentrations in gill and liver of allstudied fish species were found to be lower than the maximum permissible limit except for thearsenic.Based on the results, it was concluded that it seems to be not appropriate for eating
studied fish species except for N. notopterus. According to the results of Transfer Factors, Cd
and As which accumulated in gill and liver of most of the studied fish species came from waterand sediment of the river segment.

Acknowledgements
We are much indebted to Dr Thida Lay Thwe, Professor/Head, Department of Zoology, and Yangon
University for her kind encouragement. We would like to specially thank Dr. Aye Mi San, Professor, Department of
Zoology, and Yangon University for her invaluable help in this work. Our profound gratitude goes to Dr. Nyan Tun,
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Bago University, for his invaluable help in this research work

34

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

References[1] MacFarlane, G. B., Burchettt, M. D. ‘Cellular distribution of Cu, Pb, and Zn in the Grey Mangrove Avicemnia
marina (Forsk.),’ 2000. Vierh Aquatic Botanic, 68: 45–59.
[2] Kennedy, C.J. ‘The toxicology of metals in fishes.’ Academic Press, San Diego, California, USA. 2011.
[3] Censi, P., Spoto, S.E., Saiano, F., Sprovieri, M., Mazzola, S., Nardone, G., Di Geronimo, S.I., Punturo, R. andOttonello, D. ‘Heavy metals in coastal water systems,’ 2006. 64, 1167-1176.
[4] Zhao S., Feng C., Quan W., Chen X., Niu J., Shen Z. ‘Role of living environments in the accumulation
characteristics of heavy metals in fishes and crabs in the Yangtze River Estuary, China.’ 2012;
64(6):1163–1171.
[5] Yilmaz, F., Ozdemir, N., Demirak, A. and Tuna, A.L. ‘Heavy metal levels in two fish species Leuciscus cephalus
and Lepomis gibbous,’ 2007. Food Chemistry, 100; 830-835.
[6] Voegborlo R.B., Atta A., Agorku E.S. ‘Total mercury distribution in different tissues of six species of freshwater
fish from the Kpong hydroelectric reservoir in Ghana,’ 2012. 184 (5):3259-3265.
[7] Barhoumi S., Messaoudi I., Gagne F., Kerkeni A. ‘Spatial and seasonal variability of some biomarkers in Salaria
basilisca (Pisces: Blennidae):’ 2012. 14 (1): 222-228.
[8] Au. D.W.T. ‘The application of histocytopathological biomarkers in marine pollution monitoring’, 2004 areview, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 48: 817-834.
[9] Authman, M. and Abbas, H. ‘Accumulation and distribution of copper and zinc in both water and some vital
tissues of two fish species (Tilapia zilii and Mugil cephalus) of Lake Qarun.’ Fayoum province.
Egypt, 2007. Pakistan Journal of Biological Science, 10(13), 2106-2122.
[10] Talwar, P. K., Jhingran, A. G. ‘Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries.’ Oxford and IBH Publishing Co.
PVT. Ltd., 1991.
[11] Association of Official Analytical Chemist, Official method of analysis, 2000, 15th Edn. Washington DC.
[12] Issac, R.A., Kerber, J.D. ‘Atomic absorption and flame photometry: techniques and uses in soil, plant and water
analysis.’ Instrumental Methods for Analysis of Soil and Plant Tissue, 1971. pp. 17-37.
[13] WHO. 1990."Guidelines for Seafood Quality." 2nd V (1) Recommendation. WHO Geneva.
[14] WHO, 2007. ‘Health risks of heavy metals from long-range trans boundary air pollution.’ WHO, Geneva.
[15] Kalfakakour. V., Akrida.Demertzi, K. ‘Transfer Factors of Heavy Metals in Aquatic Organisms of Different
Trophic Levels,’ 2000. HTML Publications 1, pp. 768-778.
[16] T. Yu, Y. Zhang, W. Meng, X. Hu. ‘Characterization of heavy metals in water and sediments in Taihu Lake,
China Environ.’ Monit. Assess. 184, 2012, pp. 4367-4382.
[17] McDonald DD, Ingersoil CG, Berger AT. ‘Development and evaluation of consensus based sediment quality
guidelines for freshwater ecosystems,’ 2000. Achieves of Environmental Contamination and
Toxicology 39: 20-31.
[18] Naeem, M., Salam, A., Tahir, S.S. and Rauf, N. ‘The effect of fish size and condition on the contents of twelve
essential and non-essential elements in Veterinary Journal.’, 2011. 31 (2), 109-112.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Aquaculture Development in Myanmar: Evolving Policies and Implications
Thida Kyu1, Thapye Nyo2

Abstract
Aquaculture is the main animal protein source at an affordable price for rural people and an
important provider of employment opportunities in Myanmar. Small-scale fisheries play not only asource of livelihood, income for millions of people but also the fifth-largest earner of foreign
currency for the country during the period from 2009/10 to 2017/18. This study focused on fish
farming, which contribute to 95% of Myanmar aquaculture. The purposes are to identify the issues
and barriers of aquaculture value chain, to set out possible policy options to stimulate aquaculture
growth. This study mapped the value-chain (business start point to final markets) uses exploratory
research method using field interviews, key informant interviews, and stakeholder focus group
discussion. Before interviews, literature reviews of Fishery sectors and concerned law andregulation from various sources were conducted. Then, Government officers from related
ministries, Myanmar Fishery Federation (MFF), RUMFCCI, exporters, lawyers and businessactors are interviewed as key informants in value chain segments. This study finds out issues andbarriers on fish firming value chains and the key barriers are land acquisition, financing, and costof fish feeds. Then, form this finding, relevant policy recommendations are formulated foraquaculture sector development and fishery export.
Keywords: Value-chain analysis, aquaculture, fishery export, food security

1. Introduction
Most of the protein in the diet of the population of 53 million comes from fish. Apartfrom its original role in fish food supply, fisheries are one of the main contributors to thedevelopment of Myanmar economy. Small-scale fisheries play a crucial role as source of
livelihood and income for millions of people in Myanmar. It is also the fifth or sixth-largest
earner of foreign currency for the country during the period from 2009/10 to 2014/15. The
Livestock and Fishery sector contributed round about 8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Fisheries product accounts for about 14% of monthly food expenditure of average household.
According to previous studies, the annual Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) of the marine
fisheries is estimated at about 1.05 million metric tons. This study focused on inland water fish
farming, which contribute to 95% of Myanmar aquaculture. Fish farming accounts for nearly
20% of domestic consumption in Myanmar. Fish farming also generates a lot of rural nonfarm
employment. In Myanmar, of all the various food producing systems, aquaculture is considered
to be the main animal protein source at an affordable price for rural people and is an important
provider of employment opportunities.
2. Purpose of Study and methodology
The purposes of the study are to identify the issues and barriers of aquaculture value
chain, and to set out possible policy options to stimulate aquaculture growth.
This study uses value chain approach to explore laws and regulations into various stagesof fishery value chains. The fishery value chains are divided into three segments: upstream,
1

Dr. Pro-Rector, Meiktila University of Economics, Myanmar, thidakyu@gmail.com. CBI ( 2012 ). Myanmar
Seafood Exports: Quick Scan of the EU Market Potential, p. 92
Srivinas, S. and Hlaing, U.S. 2015. Myanmar: Land Tenure Issues and the Impact on Rural Development. Report
prepared for Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation

36

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

midstream, downstream. Before interviews, literature reviews of Fishery sectors and concerned
law and regulation from various sources were conducted. Then, field surveys were conducted in
Fish firm in Ayeyarwady Region and Yangon Region. After that government officers from
Ministry of Livestock, Fishery and Rural Development, Ministry of National Planning andEconomic Development and Ministry of Commerce, Chairman of the Myanmar Fishery
Federation (MFF) and its members, Members of RUMFCCI, Exporters, Researchers, Lawyers,
and Business actors as key informants interviewed in up-, mid- and downstream of value chain
segments.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Aquaculture Production in Myanmar
Main fishery resource in Myanmar is fresh water through: fish culture, leasable resource
and open fisheries and marine fishery through: coastal or In-shore fisheries and off-shore
fisheries or deep-sea fisheries. Inland water system is comprised of the Ayearwady, Sittaung,
and Thanlwin rivers, which run for roughly 2,000 km, as well as 2600 km of tributaries andminor water system. Marine resources include both vast coastal waters and large areas of coastalmangrove swamps. Myanmar people normally prefer freshwater fish to marine fish andfreshwater fisheries were aimed mainly at domestic food whereas marine and aquaculture wereintended for both domestic consumption and exports. Farmed fish is exported as well as sold on
the local market although the domestic fish price is lower than that for export. Table 3 presents
the area of aquaculture ponds and its total production from 2005/06 to 2014/15. Not only total
area and total production steadily increased but also average yields per acre increase by 62.4%
from 2005/06 to 2017/18. In 2017/18, aquaculture fishery production is only 19% of total
production but 6% from leasable fisheries, 21% from Open fisheries and 54% from marine
fisheries respectively.
. Table 3. Total Aquaculture Ponds and Production
Year

Area of Aquaculture
Ponds (Acre)

Production of Aquaculture
Ponds (Thousand Metric Ton)

Average
Yield perAcre (Tons)

2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15
2015/162016/172017/18405855436825441098440585442702443695448469449692450323469153478002487525491345574.99616.35687.67775.25858.76830.48899.05929.38964.12999.631014.421048.69
1130.35

1.42
1.41
1.56
1.76
1.94
1.87
2.00
2.07
2.14
2.13
2.12
2.15
2.30

Source: DoF, Fishery Statistics, (2018)37

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Myanmar export about 30% of the rohu produced and about 10% of striped catfish with asmall amount of tilapia annually. The main markets are the Middle East (Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi
Arabia and United Arab Emirates) for gutted and chopped fish, mainly for Asian guest workers,
and Bangladesh for frozen whole fish. The domestic market demands smaller sized fish, 0.250.50 kg, compared to 0.9-1.0 kg for the export market. Myanmar could export considerably more
freshwater fish if the main constraint of market glut or shortage is overcome to provide a regularsupply of fish for export.
The domestic consumption and exports of Myanmar Fishery products is mentioned inTable -4. The total volume of fishery exports was apparently decreasing after 2008/2009 due toNagis cyclone (May 2008) and increase of domestic consumption. In 2009/10, the domestic
consumption stood at 3,546,277.6 metric tons (90.44% of the total production) and the share of
the exports was 9.56 The total volume of fishery exports was apparently increasing, however the
proportion ranged from 10 % to 14 % of total production. In 2014/15, the domestic consumption
stood at 4978659 metric tons (93.64% of the total production) and the share of the exports was
6.36. In resent year, the percentage of domestic consumption is slightly decline because ofincrease in export.
Major importing countries of Myanmar fish and fisheries products were Singapore,
Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Malaysia, Austria, Britain, U.S.A, Bangladesh andIndonesia. Since 2002/03, China has been the major importer of Myanmar fish and fisheries.
However, in 2017/18, Thailand imported the largest amount (US$ 258.808 million). Most of the
products were sold out to China, Thailand and Bangladesh through border trade. China especiallybought Myanmar product to sell out to the northern parts of its country. Bangladesh also bought
not only iced and chilled fish but also dried fish.
Table 4. Domestic Consumption and Export of Fishery Products (Metric Ton)
Sr.
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15
2015/162016/172017/18

Production
258178028617103180920354219039219704163460
44782104716220504753053169505591830
56754705587460

Domestic
Consumption

Exports

Quantity%

Quantity%

2310710251828328292683217480
35462783789567409122943393744702263
4978659522285952367645019233

89.50
87.99
88.90
90.83
90.44
91.02
91.36
92.01
93.16
93.64
93.40
92.27
89.83

271070343427351652324711375092373893386981376846345267338291368971438706568227

10.50
12.01
11.10
9.17
9.56
8.98
8.64
7.99
6.84
6.36
6.60
7.73
10.17

Source: Department of Fishery, Fishery Statistics, (2018)

38

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

3.2 Value Chain in Aquaculture Sector
A total of 491345 Acres are used for breeding, rearing and harvesting fish andcrustaceans in Myanmar. Of total aquaculture ponds, 51% are used for shrimp culture and 41%
for fish culture. The culture of freshwater fish is concentrated in the Ayeyarwady (50%), Yangon(28%) and Bago (11% ) regions of Myanmar. Producers are comprised of small scale farmers
who supply the local market and larger, vertically-integrated farmers who cater to the export
market. A variety of species are cultured, including rohu, catla, common carp, grass carp, mrigal
carp, silver carp, tilapia, striped catfish, and Philippine catfish. The value chain in fishery sector
is divided into three segments; upstream, midstream and downstream. Upstream is defined ascomprising all enterprises involved in the production and distribution of inputs. The midstream
segment is comprised of farms, where these inputs are combined using labor to produce fish of
marketable size. The downstream segment involves all activities relating to the marketing,processing and distribution of fish produced.

3.3 Regulatory and Institution
Every fishing activity in Myanmar's fishery industry is controlled by the licensing andregistration system to manage both the fishing vessels and their gear, under the current Fisheries
Law and Union of Myanmar Investment Law 2016. "The Fisheries Law" 1905 was the only
legislation regulating fishery management and the fishing industry of Myanmar until amended in
1954, and was finally repealed by "Law relating to the fishing rights of foreign fishing vessels" in
1989. After that, the government publicized three other fisheries laws, namely "Aquaculture
fisheries law" in 1989, "Myanmar marine fisheries law" in 1990, and "Freshwater fisheries law"in 1991. The law relating to the fishing rights of foreign fishing vessels is amended in 1993. Most
prospective fish farmers and prospective small-scale fish farmers have to convert agriculturalland to aquaculture ponds, previously. The Farmland Law (2012) formalized transferrable private
land use rights (Oberndorf, 2012), in effect regularizing the existing informal market in
agricultural land. In order to convert agricultural land to aquaculture in a legally compliant
manner, it is necessary to apply to the State/Regional Administrative Authority for permission tochange the title of the land. A successful application to change land titling will result in the issueof an official document ‘La Na 39’ or form 7 (UN-Habitat/UNHRC, 2010). The process ofapplying for La Na 39 is complex. Thus, land rights transfer or land-use change is a lengthy
process, requiring considerable time and frequent visits to various government offices located inentirely different line ministries (Srivinas and Hlaing, 2015, p8).

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

39

Figure1. Aquaculture (fish firm) value chain in Myanmar

Department of Fisheries (DoF) is the major government institution which is accountable
for the management of fishery sector development. DoF's responsibilities involve, among others,
facilitating the technical needs and equipment of the marine sector; distributing freshwater anddeep-sea prawns to private breeders and assisting them with breeding techniques; undertaking
research and development activities; collecting taxes; issuing fishing licenses; and establishingmodel breeding centers. Myanmar Fisheries Federation (MFF) was reformed in 1998 as areplacement of Myanmar Fishery Association which was established in 1989. Myanmar Fisheries
Federation is one of the highest NGOs commercial organizations to encourage and promote
fishery industries of Myanmar. Ministry of Commerce (MoC) undertakes market information forfishery export, business to business meeting and trade fairs under department of trade promotion(DoTP).

3.4 Issues in Myanmar Fishery Sector Value Chain
Actually, the legislative framework relies on outdated laws that must be enhanced inorder to account for modern aquaculture and fishery management practices and policy. Current
laws refrain from addressing a number of issues including fish disease control, environmental
impact assessments, and aquaculture guidelines and codes of conduct. All the fishery laws andregulations are not complied with current technology, materials using in fishery sector andenvironmental situation, new fishery law are needed for sustainable development of fisherysector. Thus, Myanmar government submitted draft of Aquaculture law and Myanmar marine
fishery law” to parliament recently to enact. The following section will present important issues
and regulatory burdens in fish farming (aquaculture).
Land acquisition and business start: Land categorization and ownership is a major problem instarting an aquaculture farm. According to The Farmland Law (2012) and The Vacant, Fallow
and Virgin Lands Management Law (2012), a formal application is required and to get a permit
from the relevant state and regional governments. There is no consistency in approving thispermit and different governments assessing differently and the level of restrictions depend on theregion. This difficulties and complex procedures (cost, time, inconvenience and need forconnections with officials in the state bureaucracy) might undermine capacity of many smaller
prospective fish farmers to obtain permission to take up aquaculture. As a result, the official

40

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

permission, La Na 39 or Form 7 had been issued for around only half of total pond acreage, withsome putting the figure as low as 10%. Time taken for the assessment is too long and causing
financial and opportunity losses and to the new investors. The investment gap between
purchasing a farm with permit and starting a new farm is too wide and discouraging for new
investments creating major bottleneck in the sector. To avoid this situation, some investors
considered purchasing approved farms separately. This also creates another major problem for
new investors to get the farm in one connecting establishment and lead to added overheads andincreased operating costs. If the pound was constructed without a permit, the owner has to fill itback to the original stage in addition to the fine (10lks until 2018 and 30000 kyats currently) andup to 2 years in jail (2018 amendment). To purchase an established pound, the cost is between
5lks to 100lks. To construct a pond the cost starts from 15lks. There are still many issues anddisputes surrounding land ownership and types of land. Farmlands intended for rice are notallowed to have fish pound and this creates integrated farming impossible and subsequently
leaving farmers with no option to diversify and rely on one particular type of crop. Moreover,According to Farmland Law (2012) and The Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law(2012), Land rights for agriculture and aquaculture land are different such as agriculture land canbe mortgaged, giving, sold, leasing or otherwise transferred or divided but aquaculture landcannot be without the permission of the Cabinet of the Union Government.
Hatchery: Technology is lacking in this area and it is still difficult to get good and healthy
hatchlings at reasonable price. The hatchery production lasts approximately four months from
May to August. There are two main hatchery technologies used in Myanmar and the traditional
method is called ‘hapa-based’ and it is land and labor intensive. The more advanced method
widely used across Aisa which involved stripping of eggs and removing brood fish is lesscommon in Myanmar due to higher cost. The traditional method produces lesser number ofhatchlings. Department of Fishery (DoF) provides hatchlings (over 789 million fingerlings in
2012/13 but only 631 million in 2017/18) to the farmers but the allocation is not sufficient. Most
species become hybrid and degenerated. Import from neighboring countries may be an option
but it is not sustainable long term solution and technology transfer, resource allocation andinvestment is much needed in this area. The number of private hatcheries has grown steadily inrecent years but still not enough for the whole sector. Some larger farms also operate as
hatcheries and sold its excess hatchlings to smaller farms. In general, the supply is not sufficient
for all of fourteen different species and the hatchlings are not good quality.
Feeding: More than 80% of total aquaculture production in Myanmar comes from agricultural
byproducts and wastes as feed with only around 20% of reliant on commercially manufactured
palette feeds. The supply and distribution of commercial palette feeds are dominated by single
company in the market with relatively low competition with no more than five companies in theentire country. Due to lack of enough feed mills and the local companies and high price of feed,in many situations, the small holders have to sell their fishes to the feed mills companies inadvance. The law enforcement is weak and the terms and conditions are not favorable to thesmall holders and often have to pay very high interest rates. Some feeding mills in the country
are facing difficulties sourcing raw materials and unable to run regularly. A key informant
reported that foreign fish feed companies were wary of investing in Myanmar dues to fears overtheir ability to recover credit extended to farmers. This may suggest that development of a morecompetitive feed sector is constrained by foreign investors’ access to capital and concerns overthe strength of the legal frameworks in place. The private sector, and in particular the MFF, has19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)41

not effectively communicated the sector’s needs to Customs authorities. Importation limits onenriched flours and other key inputs compels hatcheries to use oilseed cakes as an alternative.
However, there is also a short supply of cake for the fisheries sector since a large majority of thecake is absorbed by the livestock sector. Also, it has only been possible to import oilseed cakesince 2012 and current volumes remain insufficient to satisfy a growth in hatcheries production.
Another issue is the uncertain quality of the cake that is imported, as border controls of oilseedcake imports remain inadequate due to limited testing facilities and the absence of standards
against which to evaluate the product.
Finance: The costs of investing in aquaculture can be substantial. Fixed or quasi-fixed inputs
may include land purchase or rental, pond construction, housing for workers, poultry sheds,
boats, trucks or other means of transport, water pumps, generators and transformers. Variable
inputs comprise labor, feed, seed, chemicals, fuel, and ice. Expenditure on feed alone (which
accounts for an estimated 75-80% of operating costs), may run to $2000-2500 per acre/year, withlabor and seed accounting for the bulk of the remainder. The ease and terms with which startup
and operating capital for aquaculture can be accessed thus have important implications for thesector’s inclusiveness. The vast majority of investment and operating capital for aquaculture is
raised from informal sources. Although Myanmar Livestock and Fishery Development Bank
(MLFDB) provides credit at low rates of interest (13% per annum), it was said by informants
only to issue loans to farmers with more than 50 acres of ponds. Although loans from fish traders
are often secured with land use certificates (e.g., La Na 39/Form 7 or Form 105), meaning thatland can be foreclosed in the face of a serious default, the conditions are flexible (allowing for
regular borrowing to cover monthly feed costs, repayment upon harvest, and rescheduling of
payments in case. Small farms and nurseries are usually financed from a combination of own
savings, informal loans from relatives (both with and without interest) and informal
moneylenders (at between 3-6% per month, depending on terms), and (once running),
reinvestment of profits. A key constraint for enterprises seeking bank financing is stringent
collateral requirements. Moreover, leasehold title, which can be used as collateral for access tocredit, is rarely accepted because of complicated procedures and a complex legal system torecognize leasehold titles. High collateral requirements are further stimulated by difficult banking
regulations and the absence of loan guarantee mechanisms. Additionally, the absence of an
implemented moveable asset law that ensures movables such as cultured fish/shrimp in theponds, machinery, fishing boats and gear can be used as collateral makes it even more difficult
for the fisheries sector to access credit. Deficiencies in the banking sector are complicated by anabsence of alternative funding sources such as specialized finance lines, leasing microcredit or
sector development funds. There is also limited availability of microfinance services.
Furthermore, Myanmar SMEs Development Law (2015) exclude the fish farm or aquaculture
farm to be SMEs under definition of SMEs. So fish farm cannot access SME development loan at
low interest rate and tax exemption for SMEs. With depriving enterprises of funding that isneeded to invest in upgraded capacities, limited financial instruments increase the risk of doing
business. In particular, there is a low level of insurance use due to the previously government
managed insurance system.
Processing Plant: Processing plants are only able to focus on the processing alone and unable toparticipate as an operator in the entire fishery farming process. There are only 23 plants thatmeets EU standard in 2019. DoF also has its own processing standards and criteria for theprocessing plants.

42

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

3.5 Market access and Investment
Companies are not willing to invest in marketing which is much needed especially forexport and Myanmar fishery products are relatively unknown. Most Myanmar companies arewilling to operate jointly with foreign companies, but the current rules and regulations are still
inflexible with many requirements. The massive growth in trade of fish in Myanmar is a clear
example of the type of positive transformational change that can occur when regulations that
distort the functioning of the market are removed. In Market access, the export tax on fisheryproducts and import tax on inputs for fishery are exempt since 2013 allowing the industry togrow faster. However, because of growing domestic demand and low growth rate of fisheryproduction, export cannot be promoted much. There are many good social and economic benefits
come from fishery with no evidence of any major environment impacts.

4. Conclusions and Recommendations
Fishery production from aquaculture will be a major source of increased fish production,
following expansion of aquaculture industries, increased average production and modern
technology. For promotion of fish exports, the fishery sector should develop and apply fish
quality and safety management systems that support the current competitive position of Myanmar
fishery products in the regional and world markets through the implementation, validation andpromotion of HACCP, GAP, and GHP and improved laboratory practices, the promotion andconduct of training programs to upgrade the technical skills and competencies of personnel in theprivate sector and the strengthening the compliance of fisheries industry to regional andinternational requirements. There is an important need to upgrade the fish product to be semiprocessed or value-added in order to increase its value. The approaches to upgrade traditional
fishery processing and preservation methods as well as market promotion are also crucial for theeffective utilization of fisheries resources.
4.1 Policy Option for Legal frameworks governing land use
Restrictions on land use represent the single largest constraint to development of the farmsegment of the inland aquaculture value chain, particularly in areas outside of existing pondclusters. The prohibition on conversion of paddy land to other uses is misplaced given that rice
now represents a minor cost component in food budgets, even among the poorest, andaquaculture occupies a tiny fraction of cultivable land nationally. The need to apply for land use
titling change of in order to convert agricultural land to ponds in a legally compliant manner issimilarly restrictive. Accordingly, the removal of these controls is a priority. Holders of use
rights to agricultural land should be allowed complete freedom of choice in crop cultivation.
Redesigning aquaculture as a form of agriculture (in relation to land management issues only),
might offer one means of overcoming land use titling restrictions. Insecure tenure and legal
ambiguities have inhibited the development of private land rental markets that could support
smallholder access to land for aquaculture, and place those who have constructed ponds without
following due process at risk from a more interventionist future role for the state in land
management. Retroactively regularizing the status of ponds already constructed would remove
this source of uncertainty. An interim measure would be to waive the requirement for farms sized
10 acres or less to obtain apply for La Na 39, formalizing what is already a de facto norm in19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)43some locations and guaranteeing future security of tenure in a pro-smallholder manner. A steppedsystem of land taxation and pond licensing fees represents an additional option for rebalancing
the sector in favor of smallholders, by minimizing charges levied on smaller pond farms andtaxing larger operations at higher rates, proportional to farm area.
The following options should be considered as short-term and long-term policy
recommendations for land acquisition for fish-farming business start.
1.

Streamline procedures and transparent decision making process with appropriate timeframe for application of non-agricultural land use permit should be established bycollaboration among department of fishery and other concerned organization. (It is themost cost-effective and easiest way to reduce regulatory burden for land acquisition forfish farm.)
2.
Amend The Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law (2012) throughparliament. (This option also will be possible but it will take a certain to pass the law)3.
Waive the requirement for farms sized 10 acres or less to obtain apply for La Na 39,
and rearrange appropriate penalty fee
Policy Option for Finance and enabling environment
Limited access to finance is the greatest constraint to aquaculture development after land
use restrictions. Large farms are not generally severely credit constrained, but smaller
commercial producers must borrow from informal lenders at high rates of interest, and aresometimes unable to access credit from any source. This results in underinvestment, suboptimaluse of inputs, and diminished capacity to seize new opportunities. These observations indicatethat there is the need to continue and accelerate ongoing macro- scale reforms to finance andbanking.
With respect to sector specific finance mechanisms, the capacity of MLFDB to provide
larger volumes of credit to a wider customer base should be expanded, and its approach to loandispersal should be reformed to make it more responsive to the practical needs of aquaculture
producers. This should include an explicit remit to serve the needs of commercial small andmedium scale producers. Measures to achieve this goal could include: removing restrictions on
the size of farms to which loans can be extended; allowing for multiple loan withdrawals over thecourse of a production cycle; scheduling repayments in line with the duration of the production
cycle; reducing the degree of collateralization required; providing loan facilities with a windowof more than one year; supplying credit to non-farm SMEs in aquaculture value chains, and;training bank staff on aquaculture to support more effective decision making.
The following options should be considered as short-term and long-term policy
recommendations for reducing regulatory burden for financing of fish farming.
1. Establish a credit guarantee scheme with adequate resources, to be implemented incommercial or trade banks with the objective of reducing the collateral requirements
needed to access loans for the fisheries sector
2. Elaborate and endorse a movable assets law that ensures movables such as cultured
fish / shrimp in ponds, machinery, fishing boats and gear can be used as collateral inrequesting credit
3. Amend SMEs Development Law(2015) through parliamentary process

44

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

4. Establish specialized insurance for the fisheries sector in collaboration withemerging new private insurance companies.
Policy Option for Feeding
The feed manufacturing sector is currently uncompetitive. Foreign and domestic
investment in aqua-feed production should be encouraged to improve the sector’s performance,
leading to lower prices, higher product quality, and more widespread adoption of formulated
feeds with resultant productivity gains. For instance, very large farms (sized more than 100 acres,and operated primarily by absentee owners or companies) account for 60% of total pond area,
and a single company retains a virtual monopoly on fish feed production. Realizing the fullpotential of aquaculture will be an important piece of the puzzle if Myanmar’s agriculture is totransition toward the production of more diverse, higher value agricultural produce. To do so will
require fostering and facilitating more inclusive and more evenly distributed patterns ofaquaculture development and growth than exist at present. Moreover, collaboration between the
Myanmar Aqua-Feed Association (under MFF) and the Myanmar Pulses, Beans & Sesame Seeds
Merchants Association should increase to ensure that feeds, ingredients and inputs respect thequality requirements for fish feed production.
The following options should be considered as short-term and long-term policy
recommendations for reducing regulatory burden for feed supply of fish farming.
As a part of the fisheries policy and legislative framework, implement a delegation of
power to competent authorities, (including Regional and State governments), foreffective implementation and enforcement of fisheries laws
2. Strengthen law enforcement mechanisms such as inspection, execution and suing
within administrative and jurisdiction power, to reduce the occurrence of ‘informal
arrangements’ between parties being used to circumvent laws through delegatingsome law enforcement power to appropriate government organizations (e.g. armed
forces, coast guards, the police force, etc.) by administrative mechanisms
3. Enforcement of competition law and creating competitive business environment forfish feed firms
4. Eliminate import taxes on inputs to produce fish and shrimp feed (wheat flour, soya
cake, fish meal, feed additives, etc.) as a means to facilitate the production of higher
quality feed in quantity
For fishery export sector to strengthen, there is a need for the private sector to contribute
capacity building and technical know-how for manufacturing high-value products, stronger
access to financial support, more paying taxes and better access to data. Similarly, thegovernment needs to provide more port facilities, upgrade roads for better transportation and alsorelieve trade barriers. Since 2018, the export of fish and fishery products is sharply increase, andto sustain this trend, in keeping that of fine operational cold storages; that of the better
packaging; and that of fine quality fish.
1.

45

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

References
1. Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission, (2014), Regional overview of aquaculture trends in the Asia-Pacific Region
2014, RAP Publication
2. Belton, B., Hein, A., Htoo, K., Kham, L.S., Nischan, U., Reardon, T., Boughton, D., (2015), “Aquaculture intransition: Value Chain transformation, Fish and Food Security in Myanmar”, Feed the feature,
International Development Working Paper 139, Myanmar Development Resource Institute Center for Economic and Social Development (MDRI-CESD), and the International Food Policy
Research Institute (IFPRI)
3. FAO, (2013), State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture. Rome: FAO.
4. FAO, (2015), Technical Regulations for Export and Import of Fishery Products, TCP/MYA/3401 (D)
5. LEI (2012), Myanmar seafood exports. Quick scan of the EU market potential. Compiled for CBI by LEI
Wageningen UR. The Hague.
6. Ministry of Commerce (2015), National Export Strategy; Fishery sector strategy, 2015-19, International Trade
Sector, the Republic of Union of Myanmar
7. Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries and Rural Development (2018), Fishery Statistics,2018, Department of
Fishery, the Republic of Union of Myanmar
8. Malaysia Productivity Corporation (2014), Reducing Unnecessary Regulatory Burdens on Business: Growing Oil
Palm, Recommendation Report
9. Myanmar Fisheries Federation (MFF), www.fishfedmyanmar.com/
10. Myanmar President Office, www.president-office.gov.mm/en/
11. Srivinas, S. and Hlaing, U.S. (2015), Myanmar: Land Tenure Issues and the Impact on Rural Development.
Report prepared for Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

47

Impacts of Infrastructures on RiverKyi Kyi Lwin1

Abstract
Nowadays the sedimentation caused by gold mining, deforestation, climate change and someinfrastructure structures is the vital problem in Ayeyarwady River. The high sediment load andresulting River bed raises compromise navigation on the River. The location of the study area is Innwa waterway at Mandalay in middle of Ayeyarwady River. Bank erosion occurs at thedownstream and upstream of mouth of MyitNge River. Mainstream barriers and dams,
construction of bridges, River training structure around the navigation channel may result shoaling
problem at the Innwa waterway and it can affect not only human and River system. Field survey
and data collection was carried out and GIS software is used to know the changes of morphology
of River. The interview program was achieved by asking the questions to related departments andlocal people who lived near study area. Some local people houses were moved to new places andalso they cannot work by cargo carrying since vessel could not pass to the River. They also cannot
get the good quality of water. Therefore, it is necessary to protect the human life and River forsustainable use as well as human dignity.
Keywords: sediment transport, environmental and social impact, infrastructure

1. Introduction
The Ayeyarwady is Myanmar’s largest river basin and has been described as the heart of
the nation. River transport system save cost and energy has little environmental impact comparedto other modes of transport. Navigation enhancement is crucial for the development of national
economic. Nowadays the sedimentation caused by gold mining, deforestation, climate change
and some infrastructure structures such as hydropower station, bridge is the vital problem in
Ayeyarwady River. The high sediment load and resulting river bed raises compromise navigationon the river. The objective of the research is to know the impacts of infrastructures along theriver and to get a better understanding and investigate the activities of the water on thesedimentation and its impact on navigation.

2. Methods
The location of the study area is Innwa waterway which length is 8.536 km (5.3 miles) at
Mandalay in middle of Ayeyarwady River. Innwa waterway is one of the 14 constraints in
Mandalay, and is one of the most important inland waterways for the transportation. The locationof the study area is shown in figure 1.

1

Department of River and Coastal Engineering, Myanmar Maritime University Myanmar, jiwenwen@gmail.com

48

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Figure 1. Location of study area ( Source; Google)

To get a better understanding the activities in rivers and their surrounding catchments that
affect sedimentation and to investigate the impacts of infrastructures on public and navigation,
field surveys were carried out and interview program was achieved by asking the questions to
Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River Systems (DWIR) and local people
lived near study area. The morphological changes of river can be provided by ArcGIS software.
The causes and effects of problem source at study area are shown in figure 2.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)49

3. Results and Discussion
In 2008, the new bridge (Yadanabon Bridge) was constructed across Ayeyarwady River.
Due to the new bridge construction the amount of sedimentation is rapidly increasing. As a result
the vessels that are passing along river have faced the shoaling problem, a series of sand bars
appeared in river. Moreover there are social impacts due to construction of bridge. For example
the people who stayed near river had to move other places.
After 1983, the sand bars appeared in front of the Sagaing port every year. At the
upstream of Yadanarbon Bridge, the main current flows along the Sagging bank and towards
Amarapura between two bridges (old & new). At downstream, it flows along Tada Oo. Bankerosion occurs at the downstream and upstream of mouth of MyitNge River. Sand bar nearpagoda will move toward the new bridge yearly. Upstream of Taung Taw, the erosion problem
occurs because the water is flowing along bank.
DWIR operated the dredging work and removed snag rocks to improve the waterway
during dry season of 2013-2014. However, excavated sand bars reappear again and lead the
shoaling problems. The construction of new bridge (Yadanabon Bridge) is also a threat to theflow regime of the river. Along Innwa waterway, five places are needed to improve navigational
channel. The pictures indicate dredging of sand deposits by backhoe dredger near the bridge andremoving snag rock at MeThway Tite waterway.[1]Figure 3. Operations of dredging work and removing snag rock [1]From interviewing, the local people told that the sandbars are appeared due to theconstruction of bridge and the difficulty of navigation can be occurred especially for vessels.
Also their houses were moved to new places and also they cannot work by cargo carrying
because any vessel could not pass to the river for not enough water depth. They cannot get thegood quality of water. Although it can be negative impact to some people, some people can get
more income by selling food and other things at that place because new workers and investors
came to that place to get and buy dredged sand for construction work. The figures are with thelocal people who lived near study area.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

50

Figure 3.Interviewd with local people

From the Landsat image of river it can be seen the sand bar appeared at the junction of
Ayeyarwady River and MyitNge River by comparing between the year of 2000 and 2016. It is
one of the reasons for the effect of construction of bridge and also the reduction of flow velocity
can occur at the mouth of MyitNge River.

Figure 4. Morphological changes between 2005 and 2016

To get better transport along waterway, it is necessary to improve the navigational
channel. It can provide river training works to counter the migrating sand bar which are an
integrated part of the improvement of navigation on the Ayeyarwady River alongside dredging
maintenance.

19th SCA Conference51

4. Conclusion
The morphology changes of Ayeyarwady River can be seen from change detection
methods and navigation problems are the main issues for the improvement of river system. Formthe interviewing of local people, we can know that the construction of infrastructures may affectboth the positive and negative impact on human beings and environment of river system.
Dredging is the temporary solution and it is costly for yearly. To overcome the costly
conventional maintenance techniques innovated modern methods should be introduced. Also
financial support is also needed. More researches for improvement for good navigation should bestudied to get better coordination and better understood about the process of system. In addition,
it should be aware of impact of socio-economic system. Monitoring must be made for sustainableflow of the river according to criterion.
Acknowledgements
This research is supported by the fellowship program of Ayeyarwady Water Land and Ecosystem (WLE) of
IHE Delft Institute for Water Education. I would like to express my gratitude to my respectful teachers
Dr. Myat Lwin (Rector) and Professor Dr. Sanda Naing (Pro Rector) from Myanmar Maritime University for givinga chance to participate at the SCA conference. I would like to offer our sincerest gratitude to my teacher Professor
Dr. Khin Kyu Kyu for her valuable advices and suggestions. Special thanks to U Win Hlaing (Director General,
DWIR) who shared useful data and gave suggestions.

References[1]. “Report of Innwa waterway” Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River Systems (DWIR)

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

The Implication of Project Based Learning to Enhance Attitude Toward
Biology Learning
Nu Nu Nyunt1, Eaint Thandar Khine2

Abstract
The purpose of this research is to study the impact of project based learning to enhance
attitude toward Biology learning. Attitude is also considered to be an important productfor upper secondary school students’ in Myanmar. The total of 124 Grade 9 students who
enrolled in combination seven were selected from No.4, Basic Education High School, South
Dagon Township, Yangon Division. The design of this study is experimental in nature whichis also a classroom based on action research. In order to uplift the attitude toward Biology ofexperimental group, classroom based action research was carried out. During intervention,
project based learning is applied. Collected data were analyzed before and after intervention.
The results showed that students from experimental group had more positive attitude toward
Biology than controlled group. According to the pre-test and post-test results, post-test result issignificantly higher than that of pre-test. It can reasonably be said that project basedlearning could enhance students’ attitude towards Biology as well as Biology achievement.
Keywords: project based learning, biology chievement, action research,

1. Introduction
In Project based learning method, students gain knowledge and skills by working aconsiderable amount of time to explore and respond to an authentic, engaging and complex
question, problem, or challenge. Students bring diverse backgrounds and experiences to theclassroom. Students' ability, prior learning, rate of learning, social and cultural background,native language, maturity and individual's interest are factors in the learning process. Projectbased learning provides students different options for taking in information.
Horpyniuk,(2015) stated that project based learning is a strategy in which student led
education that can enhance engagement and educational motivation. Project based learning
may lead to improve academic grades and promotes better school behavior. Effective teachingstrategies can create positive attitude on the students toward school subjects (cited in Jebson
1998). Biology teachers should apply teaching methodologies that will promote positive attitude
towards Biology among students. The present study intended to study the implication ofproject based learning to enhance attitude toward Biology learning. Implementing Project-based
Instruction in the Classroom
Project-based learning is complex, from both a teacher’s and student’s perspectives.
For teachers, it requires a number of different roles, starting with planning and ending withassessment. It also requires students to assume different roles, and teachers need to assist
students as they learn how to perform these new roles. In this section we describe how teachers
can make project-based instruction work in their classroom, starting with the process of planning.
A second planning task is to identify a topic for study and then frame the topic in
1

Lecturer, Yangon University of Education, nyuntnn@gmail.com 317, Pyay Rd, Kamaryut Township, Yangon
University of Education, 09421057970, Fax 01504773
2
No.4, Basic Education High School, South Dagon, deaintthandarkhine@gmail.com

54

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

terms of a problem for students to investigate Topics for project-based learning can comefrom several sources. The most obvious is the assigned curriculum. Although teachers are
expected to teach a number of “assigned” topics driven by standards, all it takes is a little
creativity to transform these into the focal point of project. Another teacher planning task
during project based learning is to organize resources, both in print and media formats. Thistask has been made much simpler with the advent of the Internet, but teachers still need toplan for access to computers, the availability of relevant websites, as well as more mundane
things such as printing. The first step in implementing project based learning in the classroom isto orient students to the problem. An effective problem has several essential characteristics.
First, it must be real or meaningful to students. In addition, it must be understandable andafford a starting point for students’ investigative efforts. Finally, it must be complex and open
ended to provide students with multiple options for their investigations. After orienting
students to the problem, teachers need to organize students into study teams. One of theeasiest, but not necessarily the best, way to do this is by student choice. Group may not bebalanced in terms of ability, ethnicity, or gender. Working with friends or in homogeneousgroups often prevents students from learning about others and how to work with students who
are different form them (Eggen & Kauchak,2012). After students are organized into study
teams, teachers need to structure the teams’ efforts by establishing timelines, both forintermediate goals and final projects. Time lines provide concrete due dates for different groups
to meet and help with student accountability. Major tasks each group will need to struggle withare data collection and analysis. The final products that result from project based learning canand should take multiple forms. Students should take the audience into consideration whenplanning their reports and should be encouraged to employ a variety of media formats.
For the aim of capturing the uniqueness of project based learning, Thomas (2000)
offers five criteria to answer this question: centrality, driving question, constructive
investigation, autonomy and realism.
Centrality: Project based learning is central, not peripheral to the curriculum. According
to this feature, the project is the central teaching strategy; learners encounter and learn the mainconcept of a discipline through the project.
Driving Question: Project based learning focuses on questions or problems centeredon a theme. That drives learners to learn the central concepts and principles of a discipline.
When attempting to pursue the questions, activities, products and performances occupy
learners' time.
Constructive Investigations: projects involve learners in a constructive investigation:
an investigation is "a goal directed process that involves inquiry, knowledge building andresolution." The central activities of the project should involve the transformation andconstruction of knowledge by students.
Autonomy: Projects are student driven to a significant degree. Project based learning
includes more learners’ autonomy, choice and responsibility than traditional instruction.
Realism: Projects are authentic, not school-like. Projects embody some characteristics
that give the feature of authenticity to the learners. These characteristics may include the topic,
the task, the roles played by the learners, or the final product (Thomas, 2000).

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)55

2. Methods
2.1 Research Design
This study is mainly aimed to investigate the effect of project based learning to enhance
attitude towards Biology of Grade 9 students. It is the true experimental design which cancompare the pre-test and post-test score. This is a classroom-based action research. Design ofthis study is pre-test, post- test, controlled group design. Attitude towards Biology Questionnaire
was used to measure students’ attitudes towards Biology between the two groups:
experimental group and control group. The experimental group was given the treatment byusing project based learning and the control group was taught by using formal instruction.

2.2 Sample of the Study
The total of 124 Grade 9 students ( males and females) were randomly selected from
No.4 Basic Education High School, South Dagon Township, Yangon Region during 2017-2018
Academic Year as participants of this study. Participants ranged in age between 14 to 16 years.

2.3 Instrumentation
Attitude towards Biology questionnaire was used in this study. The questionnaire wasdeveloped by Dr. Pavol Prokop (2007). It includes three subscales such as interest, difficultand importance. Expert review was conducted for face validity and content validity by 10experts who have special knowledge and close relationships with the subject. There are 17 itemsin this questionnaire. Each item had a five-point Likert scale, 1= Strongly disagree, 2=
Disagree, 3= Undecided, 4= Agree, 5=Strongly agree. This inventory contained positive items
to check whether students’ responses were confirmed or not. Negative items are scored in areverse order.
2.4 Research Procedure
Pre-attitude test and post-attitude test question papers will be used. In this study, preattitude test will be administered to test whether there will be a significance difference between
experimental group who will be taught with project based learning and control group who will
be taught with traditional instruction.
Pre-attitude test was administered to the students in December 2nd week before
intervention. After administering the pre- attitude test, the objectives of the lessons wereidentified and prepared the lesson plans. The intervention period was conducted within 4
weeks. After intervention, post-attitude test was administered to experimental group andcontrolled group to compare the post attitude differences between these two groups on
February, 2018. Data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)
to generate descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, mean difference andindependent samples t- test.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

56

3. Results and Discussion
Table 1. Independent sample t-test result of Biology Achievement between Experimental groupand controlled group (Pre-test)Group
Experimental Group

N
58

Mean
34.91

S.D
9.55

t
1.51

Controlled Group

66

32.22

10.25

p
0.13

According to Table 1, there was no significant difference between experimental groupand control group. It can reasonably be said that two groups of students have the same ability on
biology achievement pre-test.

Table2. Independent sample t-test result of Attitude towards Biology between Experimentalgroup and controlled group (Pre-Test)

Attitude Towards
Biology (posttest)

Group

N

Mean

S.D

t

p

Experimental
Group

57

67.4386

6.07

1.816

0.072

Controlled
Group

69

65.1884

7.56

Based on the result, the mean score of the pre attitude test for experimental group was
67.43 and that of controlled group was 65.18. Table 2 Indicates that there is no statisticallysignificant difference between experimental group and controlled group in the pre-test score of
attitude towards Biology.
Table 3.The Comparison of Students’ Attitude towards Biology (post-test) Between Experimental
Group and Controlled Group

Attitude Towards
Biology (post-test)

Group

N

Mean

S.D

t

p

Experimental
Group

58

78.16

5.41

19.9340.000

Controlled
Group

66

44.17

12.59

The data obtained from the post-test scores were recorded and analyzed by using
independent sample t-test to compare the difference between experimental group and controlledgroup as shown in table 3. According to post-test results, students’ attitude towards Biology
from experimental group and controlled group were 78.16 and 44.17 respectively. Result
evidently shows that students’ attitude towards Biology can be increased after intervention
with project based learning. Students’ attitude towards Biology from experimental groupperformed better on that from controlled group.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

57

Table 4. Independent sample t-test result of Biology Achievement between Experimental groupand controlled group (Post-Test)
Group

N

Mean

S.D

t

p

Experimental Group

58

43.81

6.86

7.15

0.000

Controlled Group

66

32.36

10.73

Table 4 shows that there was significant difference between experimental group andcontrol group. It can reasonably be said that students from experimental group performed betteron biology achievement post-test. The result evidently show that project based learning canenhance students' learning biology.
Table 5. Paired Samples Statistics of Biology Achievement of Grade 9 Students
Group
Experimental
Group
Controlled
Group

Biology Achievement (Pre)

Mean
34.91

Biology Achievement (Post)

N
58

S.D
t
9.55 -5.582

43.81

58

6.86

Biology Achievement (Pre)

32.22

66

10.25

Biology Achievement (Post)

32.36

66

10.73

-.084

p
0.000

0.933

The mean scores of students’ biology achievement from controlled group on pre-test
and post-test result were 32.22 and 32.36, respectively. The mean score of students' Biology
achievement from controlled group between pre-test and post-test were slightly differed but nosignificant different was not found. Concerning the experimental group, the mean scores ofpre-test and post-test result were 34.91 and 43.81, respectively. The mean score of students'
Biology post-test achievement from experimental group was significantly higher than that of
pre-test result. It may be concluded that application of project based learning can enhance
students' biology learning.
Table 6. Comparison of Means and Standard Deviations of Controlled Group between Preattitude test and Post-attitude testGroup
Controlled
Group

Attitude Towards Biology
Attitude Towards Biology

N Mea SDtp
66 65.7 7.273 12.028 0.000
66 44.1 12.59

The mean score of students’ attitude towards biology from controlled group on pre-test
and post-test result were 65.70 and 44.17 respectively. The mean score of the students’ attitude
towards biology from controlled group between pre-test and post-test were slightly differed.
The mean score of the students’ attitude towards biology post-test from controlled group was
significantly lower than that of pre-test result. It may be concluded that the application ofproject based learning is necessary to enhance attitude towards biology.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

58

Table 7. Mean Comparison of Students’ Attitude towards Biology of Experimental GroupGroup
Experimental
Group

Attitude Towards Biology
Attitude Towards Biology

N
58
58

Mea SD68.9 5.27
78.1 5.41

t-10.016p
0.000

According to table 7, the pre-test mean score and the post-test mean score ofexperimental group were 68.97 and 78.16 respectively. Accordingly to t-test result, the meanscore of post-test was significantly higher than that of pre-test. The students’ attitude towards
Biology on post-test was greater than that of pre-test. It can be concluded that students fromexperimental group show higher attitude towards Biology than the students from controlledgroup. Therefore, results can be interpreted that project based learning is effective in order toimprove students’ academic achievement and attitudes towards Biology. Biology teachers
should teach biology subject by using project based learning. It can confidently said thatstudents’ attitude towards Biology could be enhanced by using project based learning.
4. Conclusions
In order to enhance the attitude towards Biology of experimental group, classroombased action research was carried out. During intervention, project based learning was carriedout. Collected data were analyzed before and after intervention. The results revealed thatstudents from experimental group had more positive attitude towards Biology than controlledgroup. According to the biology achievement score, posttest results are significantly higher
than that of pretest. Teachers should use project based learning in all subject area for all gradelevel.
Project based learning was found to be effective on students’ attitudes towards Biology.
After the implementing of project based learning, students’ biology academic achievement andattitudes were improved. In addition to the academic achievements, experimental groupexpressed positive attitudes towards learning Biology, the students seemed rather happy to learn
Biology through project based learning because they were able to progress at their own paceand, at the same time, contribute to others’ learning in such a supportive and encouraging
learning context.
The findings of post-test at the end of the four-week implementation indicate that theexperimental group performed better than the control group. By project-based learning,
students have a chance to practice their understanding on the learning material by interacting
and communicating with their peers in the groups. Students do not memorize the concepts andother things; they do study the learning materials and learn deeply. So, the learning
environment should be organized so that students interact face to face with each other andshare the responsibility of the learning process. All the teachers from primary level to highschool level might use project based learning in order to enhance students’ attitudes
towards respective subject areas.
Based on the findings of the study and conclusion reached, the following
recommendations were made:19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

59

1.

Biology teachers should adopt project based learning as an effective teaching learning
strategy in order to enhance students’ attitude towards Biology.

2.

Seminars, workshops and conferences should be organized in order to apply project basedlearning in classroom.

Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to express to my gratitude to Former Rector Dr. Aye Aye Myint(Yangon University of Education), and Pro-Rectors Dr. Pyone Pyone Aung and Dr Kay Thwe Hlaing (Yangon
University of Education) for their kind administrative support to complete this paper successfully. I would liketo acknowledge to Dr. Naing Naing Maw (Professor and Head of Department, Department of Educational
Psychology), Yangon University of Education for her guidance, advice, constructive criticism andencouragements throughout this study.

References[1] Horpyniuk, P. Using project-based learning with junior high school students: University of Victoria., 2015,
Retrieved Nov 11, 2017 from http://www.nsta.org/college[2] Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, Active Learning Cooperation in the College Classroom (2nd Ed.). Edina, MN:
Interaction Book Company.1998.
[3] Eggen & Kauchak, Learning and Teaching: Research-Based Methods. Boston: Library of Congress
Cataloging in Publication Data, Pearson Education, Inc, 2012.
[4] Thomas. A review of research on project-based learning. Report prepared for The Autodesk Foundation.
2000, Retrieved November 5th, 2017 from http://www.bie.org/research/study/review_of_project_based_learning_2000

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Why Popular Factors for Success Do Not Lead Success?
The Three Types of Omissions That Exclude Useful Information Out of
Successful Cases
Shin Ichiro IRIE1

Abstract
To learn from successful cases of innovation, we should understand what is omitted from thedescription of success stories and factor analysis. Policies are made based on plausible factors for
success, but actually, not only there is little useful information in workplace, but also it misleads
the policy that does not lead success. In this presentation, based on the Actor Network Theory inanthropology of science, taking historical research of Edison light bulb as data, I clarify three
types of omissions: (1) Few data due to less legitimacy of tricks. (2) Reification by language
conventions. (3) Ignorance by Scientism. After explained these three omissions, I examine that theWestern dualism make the three omissions, and that objectivity in dualism is impossible in social
science because of excessive abstraction and recursiveness. This presentation is not just point out
the limit of traditional social science, I explore the further potential. In order for that, I examine
experience of Japan as the clue evading dualism, propose another possibility of Case Study that
may be ensured legitimacy by local-generality. This presentation is a systematic summary of what
has been said individually in; phenomenology, Bourdieu, situated approach in cognitive science,
anthropology of science, and social constructionism, it is easier to use as a clue for practitioners tolearn from successful cases.
Keywords: innovation, success, Actor Network Theory, reduction, factor, scientism

1. Introduction
The original meaning of innovation is the introduction of novelties to social. Whencapitalism grew, the introduction of newness to the economy was called innovation [1], and whensocial change due to diffusion of new technology became conspicuous, new technology wascalled innovation [2].
In this article, so called technological innovation is discussed, mainly focused on thereason why innovation is difficult although full of success stories on mass media and factor
analysis on academic papers. On this issue, author consider that knowledge that is useful for
success in innovation is not top secret, although many peoples know, because of less legitimacyof the knowledge of trick, the useful knowledge do not discuss in social science.

2. Method and Data
The method is qualitative analysis based on the logic of the Actor Network Theory [3], as
one of Social Constructionism [4] [5]. The data is historical description of Edison Bulb [6] andexamples of 'translation' of tricks in negotiation [7] [8], as follows.

1

Assistant Professor. Kyoto Institute of Technology, iriesin@gmail.com, Shin Ichiro IRIE, 1 Hashigamicho,
Mtsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, 606-8585, Japan. +81-(0)90-7570-4235

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3. Edison's electric light business
When Thomas A. Edison began developing light bulbs in the United States, 20 types oflight bulb patents were already registered. In the UK, light bulbs were produced in factories.
What Edison did was an improvement. Edison bulbs were 'invented' with filaments made bycarbonizing bamboo thin stick from Kyoto. Edison struggled with the development of the lightbulb because he intended to make the filament made of carbonized material with a resistanceunusually high. Why was it had to so high resistance? It was to make the filament glow with only
small current. If the resistance is large, the electrons will collide and heat up and emit light.
However, the filament is easily cut at a high temperature. So, the previous filament was made ofmetal. Then why did Edison stick to making it glow with a small current? It was because thecurrent that flows is small, less copper (more expensive than iron) was necessary for the longelectrical wires, and the cost of coal for power generation was also cheaper. The reason Edison
wanted to make it cheaper was to provide light service at a lower price than the gas lights thatwere widely used as existing room lighting.
The degree of resistance was calculated using Ohm's law, which was the most advanced
scientific theory at the time. It seems that Edson, a graduate of elementary school, did notunderstand Ohm's Law well, but he hired a university graduate engineer as a research assistant at
the Edison's R & D facility called Menlo Park, and understood that the resistance of carbonizedfilaments satisfied the condition. Edison wrote a memo that estimate the costs and profits. If
successful, enormous profits were expected.
Edison’s electric lamps that are less expensive than gas lamps have become very popular
because they had a very low risk of house fire and did not pollute indoor air. The gas lamp
industry had taken action. Because there was no utility pole, the electrical wires had to be buried,
the legal legislation that limits the construction period to a few month was made, as the effort oflobbying of the gas lamp industry.
During the burial work, Edison himself performed the insulation work. He entered thedug trench and connected the wires. If there was insufficient insulation even at one location,
electricity would be leak and all the bulbs would not light. Edison took a nap for about threehours a day on a bundle of wires. It is said that Edison have slept for three hours while working,but he seems to taken a nap frequently with a bed in the corner of the lab. However, it seems thatthe sleep was fairly three hours a day during the wire burial work. He is described as respectable
hard worker. But, if the insulation failed and the lamps did not glow, not only the sales was lost,
huge development costs wiould not be got and Edison may had gone bankrupt. However, if it
was successful, huge profits were expected with concrete numbers on the memo. Even if we are
not Edison, there may be not a few people who can do their best by sleeping for three hours aday.
Edison improved more than just the light bulb filament. He had developed all sorts ofrelated technologies, including generators that efficiently generate small currents, parallel
distribution systems, and methods for efficiently removing coal ash generated by power
generation, and so on.
Edison also frequented the Patent Office. The lawsuits were filed for patents that might
compete not only with light bulbs but also with related technologies. He established EEIC, a
company specializing in patent management. Edison took all measure against the competitors. In19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)63

order to compete with laws and regulations that the gas lamp industry had made, Edison
performed clever entertainment for lobbying. He pulled out expert glass craftsmen fromcompeting light bulb companies and made it impossible to produce. When an alternating current(AC) that threatened Edison’s direct-current (DC) electric light business appeared, Edison madethe newspaper reporter to post an illustration of dogs and cats that was dead by AC electric shockon the electric fence in the ranch. He also worked on the New York State Parliament to change
from a hanging to an execution by AC electric chair.
To develop new technology, Edison established Menlo Park, an organization dedicated toresearch and development that was not seen at that time. Menlo Park's public relations magazine
was sent to investors to raise funds, and articles on 'innovative development' often referred to as
hype were posted.
Edison is not the inventor of the light bulb. Edison invented the electric power business.
Connect to the electric wire network which laid by the electric light business, any electricmachine will work. The company's name founded by Edison is General Electric.
.
3.1 Examples of 'translation'
The actor which want to develop and to diffuse new technology have to be connected
with; human actors such as competent research assistant, physical actors such as elemental
technologies, and ‘social’ actors such as funds and patents. Natural scientists tend to neglect‘social’ actors, and social scientists tend to neglect physical actors. On the other hand, Edison
performed the connection without distinguishing whether the actor is human, physical or ‘social’.
Edison’s view of the world is not that of natural scientist nor social scientist. For Edison, thesethree types of actors are equally important. This kind of view of world is called ‘hybrid’ where
human actors, material actors, and ‘social’ actors are mixed without being distinguished [3][7].
In order to achieve our goal based on the hybrid view of the world, to connect with astrong actor with limited resources, we have to work against the actors that are usually stronger
than us. The work is called "translation" [7]. In ordinary terms, the work against human actor iscalled 'persuasion', 'install' physical actor, and 'get' social actor, for example. In the Actor
Network Theory, human actor, physical actor and ‘social’ actor are regarded as equivalent andare not distinguished, so the same terminology 'translation' is used. The ‘translation’ is the work
against the actor (usually stronger than translating actor) to be connected. Here are someexamples as below.
When the actor in charge of traffic safety install traffic sign that say at 20 km/h in order tomake the car drive slowly but in vain, hump on the road is made. The drivers see the small
protrusion on the road, the driver brakes for selfish reasons that the driver does not want to hurt
car with an impact. As a result, the slow driving desired by the road safety officer is realized. The
hump is called a ‘sleeping policeman’.
The hotel front manager at the resort wanted to prevent guests from losing their keys
when they went out. However, even if front manager put a plate with the message “Please leave
the key at the front desk when you go out” on the desk or tell it verbally, the effect was small. It
was the same when the manager wrote a message on the key holder. But, when a weight was tied
to the key holder, the customer willing to leave the key at the front desk, because the weight is64

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disturber in the pocket of customer.
In these two cases, the translator’s purpose, such as slowing down for traffic safety andpreventing key loss, are ‘translated’ into the selfish motives of drivers and guests. In these twocases, ‘translation’ created physical negatives for actors that want to be connected. There isanother example of ‘translation’ that produce the desired result just by creating possibilities withwords.
During World War II, the physicist proposed developing nuclear weapons to Pentagon
general. The general rejected saying because new weapons take decades to operate well,
physicists should refine existing weapons. So, the physicist said. "What if Nazi Germany got thenuclear bomb first?" At this moment, the general’s purpose (war victory) was transformed from a
victory with existing weapons to a victory in nuclear warfare. The physicist did ‘translate’ thepurpose of the general.
Translation is different from persuasion. Persuasion controls the opponent until the end.
In the ‘translation’, the translator actor only prepares halfway. After the preparation, theopponent actor will voluntary be connected. This is the strategy of ‘the Sun’ in the fable of “TheNorth Wind and the Sun”. This is the strategy not grabbing the fruit with hand, but waits for the
fruit to ripen and fall into the translator's palm.

3.2 Three reductions that omit useful knowledge
For entrepreneurs who want to start new businesses and engineers who want to develop
new technologies, Edison's practice and the cases of ‘translation’ are useful. However, it is
impossible to learn from Edison's biography more than the importance of inspiration and effort.
Many success stories of new technologies are on the newspapers and the magazines, but there islittle description that make you confirm that you can do it. In addition to biography and mass
media, academic papers in social sciences such as economics and management have elucidated
factors for success, it avoide ‘translation’.
The aspects of the useful knowledge at workplace in innovation could be summarized as
MELD; Mobilizable, Ex ante, Local, generate desirable Dynamics. Why do articles that are notuseful in the workplace have been accumulated as success stories of mass media and factors ofsocial science? This is because useful knowledge is omitted by three reductions as below.

Reduction 1: Few Data due to Less Legitimacy
Because ‘translation’ is a kind of trick, it is regarded as less orthodox as a scientificknowledge. The reasons are as below.
1) No merit to talk for successful person: The successful person do not talk ‘translation’because not only it makes a bad impression, but also it announces competitive secret.
2) Mass media censorship: Publishers of biographies and business articles must balance thedemands of both; readers who want to read easy-to-understand success stories and successful
person who want to improve their impressions.
3) Silence on the academic stage: Because it is difficult to handle by a natural science method,19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)65

scholars do not consider that it is not matter of science and talk ‘translation’ as anecdote at a
drinking party.
4) Less orthodoxy of Humanities: Humanities have been written ‘translation’ as; proverbs, artof war in history, and strategy of negotiation in novels, etc. However, it is considered
unscientific, the knowledge of humanities is underestimated in legitimacy.

Reduction 2: Reification by Language Conventions
1) Disassemble and conceptualize: In order to talk about Edison Bulb easier, we extract partial
actor network and put the abstract word (concept) as a label, making the distinction between
human, things and ‘social’. For example, the abstract words ‘entrepreneurship’ (human), ’coretechnology’ (material) and ‘potential demand’ (social) are made. For example, in order to explain
why the Edison's light business were welcomed, we extract the partial actor network contains
actors such as city residents, gas lights, house fires, room air pollution, bills more expensive thanelectric lights. Then we label abstract word ‘potential demand’ on the small actor network as aconcept. So do we ‘core technology’ and ‘entrepreneurship’.
2) Substantiate (reify): While abstract concepts such as ‘potential demand’ are frequently usedin conversations and sentence, concept can be understood even if the specific partial actor
network that the concept means is not recalled. At this time, the abstract concept exists in thesame way for everyone like a substance (entity). Thus, the abstract word is no longer a label ofthe partial actor network, but an entity that exists like material. A success story is made by makethese substantialized words arranged and filled with sentences.
3) Retrospect and paraphrase: Paraphrasing the aspects of successful state as key factors for
success by transporting aspects from the present to the past. For example, we can recognize'potential demand' only when interpret the big seles amount of the new product. Most of new
product would not sell, and until new products had released and sold, there was no demand. What
exists was only a vague desire and it is not demand. We can’t recognize 'potential demand' ex
ante. So can’t 'entrepreneurship' and 'core technology'. We are allowed to explain the success of
new product saying "Because the potential demand was discovered.", "Because the engineer haveentrepreneurship such as strong spirit and rich imagination." or "Because the core technology
was developed." This explanation is not wrong in casual conversation, but in case persons in the
manager give instructions based on this understanding, their subordinates get lost.
Consequence of reduction 2; is director boss syndrome. They direct to subordinates; "Find out
potential demand!", "Work hard and never give up!" and "Develop core technology!" Director
boss requires results without showing means. In this sense, director boss is obscene andincompetent, but they have power. And one source of their power is ‘scientific’ factors for
success on business magazines.

Reduction 3: Ignorance by Scientism
1)Numerical scientism: It is difficult to explain phenomena with subjective intentions and social
relationships such as 'translation' by the method of natural science, because natural science
require to measure numerically. However, some social scientists believe that natural science
methods are the best way to elucidate the human world [9]. Natural scientific methods require

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strict conditions such as objectivity, universality, reproducibility, using numerical data. Because
phenomena that do not fit the natural science method are difficult to study, if social scientists
know ‘translations’ through daily experience, they do not treat ‘translation’ as scientific issue. As
a result, only the phenomena that natural science method is easy to implement is studied as a
topic of social science.
2) Procedure scientism for achievements: Even when there is no meaningful implication for
theory nor workplace at the end of academic paper, social scientists must publish academic
papers in order to obtain better jobs. When they were a graduate student, they think this kind ofresearch practice do not fulfill their social responsibilities, but when students got a job, they arebusy with miscellaneous work, they can’t get enough time for research, and give up makeresearch both scientific and practical. Then, they tell themselves that “I wrote papers based on thescientific procedure, I fulfilled my social responsibilities as a scientist.”
Consequence of reduction 3; is Relevance Lost between scientific knowledge and workplace
practice. In spite of the accumulation of scientifically ‘correct’ knowledge about the humanworld, it is difficult for social science cause changes as scientists intended like natural sciencecan do. Even if many of director boss exist in business, social science has weak power toimprove.
3.3 Western dualism derives three reductions
The three reductions can be derived from Western European dualism. The background ofWestern European language conventions is the Christian worldview. It is assumed that theomnipotent god is placed at the top of the hierarchical world, and that man is entrusted to rule theworld. Therefore, humans are located at the center of the world, and they are called subjects.
Anything other than subject are positioned as environment around subject are called object.
Object to be observed consists of; human being other than the observer, material, and residual
neither human nor material called social (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Position of scientist is top/center of the world
the dualistic view.

Figure 2. Human, material and ‘social’ are equal actor inin the hybrid network view.

As the industrial revolution began and capitalists increased, the following wereconstructed to counter the churches and kingships that would take profits. The rational individual

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who has God-given freedom against the church and kingship, the nature around subject given torational subject (citizen, individual) by the God, science as a means to make effective use ofnature that is the second Bible written by the God. As a result, the position of priests, who were
agents of the God in the Middle Ages, was replaced by scientists in modern ages. Scientists are
orthodox and have the legitimacy of being able to control nature under the commission of the
God implicitly. Therefore, the biography of an innocent scientist do not describe politicalbargaining.
Even it is pseudo-correlation, desirable results can be easily reproduced in the world ofthings. This made natural science and factory production successful and it fostered capitalism.
When natural science got success in the world of things, it was applied to the human world,
because there were much social problems caused by industrialization. Scientists applied naturalscience to the human world, assigned macro to sociology and micro to psychology. What
traditional sociology and psychology can do were limited to the phenomena that natural science
methods can be applied, produced a lot of useful knowledge, the success of sociology andpsychology has raised the status of social science. As a result, the status of ‘non-scientific’humanities has been lowered.
3.4 Objectivity in dualism is impossible in social science
Scientists try to explain the world around them objectively and universally. In order toexplain objectively, the object and scientist must exist independently. As a result, theenvironment around the scientist is positioned as object to be observed. In order to observe object
objectively and comprehensively, it is necessary to look at object from the viewpoint of a bird,
the viewpoint of scientists exists at the apex of a conical world. This bird's view derives
excessive abstraction that make scientists ignore actual knowledge that relate to MELD:
Mobilizable, Ex ante, Local and generate desirable Dynamics, at first. For second, the bird's viewalso ignores recursiveness as below.
If the object is material, a lot of useful knowledge can be produced even from a bird's eye
view. However, in the social sciences, scientists who are observers are part of the society thatshould be observed. There is kind of difficulty to observe my eyes with my own eyes. If
scientists elucidate the laws of chemical reaction and astronomical motion, the chemical reaction
and astronomical motion would not change. So, objective research is possible. However, whensocial scientists produce knowledge about the human world, the knowledge is used to intervenein humans and society, and the human world will be changed from its previous state. In somecases, the observation itself change what scientists observe. In other word, social (object) waschanged by social (scientist’s practice) itself. It is called recursiveness.
In order to try to avoid this problem of recursiveness, if scientists try to study the humanworld so that it never affect the human activities and social phenomena at all, i.e. objectively,
elucidate MELD knowledge is difficult. It is because scientists can get knowledge about specificactors and relations which is related to MELD by the result of intervening object like anexperiment. In order to describe MELD knowledge legitimately, social science have to construct
the social science method that ensure the scientific correctness.

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3.5 Experience of Japan as the clue to evade dualism
The necessary aspects of practical knowledge to realize innovation are MELD:
Mobilizable, Ex ante, Local, generate desirable Dynamics. It contains both time (ex ante) andspace (local). But it is simple. Ex ante is matter of local, because when it is mobilizable ex ante,
it is always local. (Of course, all local is not necessary mobilizable.)
MELD is possible by evading dualism. By evading dualism, no distinction between thecenter and the periphery, the world became kind of hybrid network that do not distinguishhuman/material/social (Figure 2). This world is pluralistic, local actor that can mobilize and thatgenerate desirable dynamics could be found, because if the social is monolith, it is impossible forthe actor embedded in the social to intervene by utilizing differences in different positions. On
that occasion, the concepts we design is relational that not substantialized factors. In the nondualism world, human is not the God's surrogate, human is equal at most to nature and thisunderstanding of world may lead environmental sustainability.
This hybrid world view is not uncommon in Asia, such as Lao-tse in 3rd century B.C.
China, Buddhist Nāgārjuna in century India, for example. Martin Heidegger and Albert Einsteinsuggested that Buddhism might be compatible with science and technology, and it is not a
metaphysical imagination, but has been realized in economics to a certain extent already in 20th
century Japan.
Japan has an experience at the end of the 19th century, with the national policy of‘Japanese spirits and Western technology’; Japan was industrialized by avoiding colonization. In
some successful Japanese management, the world view seems non-dualism.
In production improvement, although improvement plan is usually made by elite engineer
in private room in the West, but in Toyota's Kaizen, blue workers on the production line discuss
together and improve the process of production. This Kaizen is considered as most importantfactor for success of Toyota.
In develop new product, although it is usually designed by elite engineer in the West, 1980s
Japanese facsimile maker that defeated Western manufacturers, the new product design was
drawn at production factory. The low-level engineers drew blueprint, in order to manufacture
easier, they combine multiple parts into one part and simplified the lines. As a result, thefacsimile is cheap but high speed and hard to break.
Salespersons in the West only sell products developed by the elite, while Japanese sales
department called Eigyo propose new products, coordinate with factory production plan andnegotiate budget at the top management committee. Persons of Eigyo are as powerful asengineers in the company, and it is often the case top managements came from Eigyo.
In engineer education, after the industrial revolution, since engineering is not a matter ofscholar in traditional universities in the West, department of engineering was not made in the
traditional universities at first, and was set up in a poly-tech or institute outside of the university,
when Japan made department of engineering in first national university.
In management research, this kind of fact have been described as Case Study especially byPeter Drucker and some Japanese qualitative researchers, for example. These qualitative studies
have room to further development in methodologies for ensure the scientific legitimacy.
It is difficult to ensure the scientific legitimacy on knowledge that derived from a small

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number of cases usually one case however rich the case is. It is because induction from a small
number of facts does not provide grounds for correctness as knowledge. However, there is thelegitimacy of knowledge in the historical facts that are not reproducible. The fictional anecdotes
in novels are often change reader’s life. What bring this in humanities? There is a rhetoric: By
examine the fact which author surprised, visualizes existing common sense which makes theauthor surprise at the fact, then, make alternative understanding reversing common sense.
Here, the amazing fact is against the existing common sense and is example of alternative
understanding that includes the amazing fact. The alternative understanding made by logic basedon the existing common sense. In this sense, alternative understanding shares a space of existing
common sense. Because it is impossible to do induction from one fact, we can’t make another
understanding directly from the fact, by reflect against common sense, there is a possibility that
local-generality within the range where common sense exists can be given to alternative
understanding.

4. Conclusion
To learn from successful cases of innovation, we should understand that MELD
information may be omitted by three reductions. The three reductions omit useful knowledge inworkplace. The Western dualism derives these three reductions, and objectivity in dualism is
impossible in social science, because of excessive abstraction and recursiveness, whenexperience of Japan is the clue to evade dualism. The Case Study of non-dualism cases may beensured legitimacy by local-generality of alternative understanding by reflecting amazing factagainst existing common sense.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by KAKENHI（24653083 and 21330093). I also am grateful to Dr. Noboru
Matsushima for helpful discussions.

References[1] Joseph A. Schumpeter, “Business Cycles”, McGraw-Hill, 1939.
[2] Everett M. Rogers, “Diffusion of Innovations”, 1962.
[3] Bruno Latour, “Reassembling the Social: An introduction to Actor-Network-Theory”, Open University Press,
2005.
[4] Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann, “The Social Construction of Reality: a treatise in the sociology ofknowledge”, Doubleday, 1966.
[5] Kenneth J. Gergen, “An Invitation to Social Construction”, Sage, 1999.
[6] Thomas P. Hughes, “Networks of Power: electrification in Western society, 1880-1930”, Johns Hopkins Press,
1993.
[7] Bruno Latour, “Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers Through Society”, Harvard
University Press, 1987.
[8] Bruno Latour, “Pandora's Hope: essays on the reality of science studies”, Harvard University Press, 1999.
[9] Friedrich A. Hayek, “The Counter-Revolution of Science: studies on the abuse of reason”, Liberty Press, 1952.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Educational Service Quality of Meiktila University of Economics in Myanmar(Case Study: Master of Public Administration Programme –Mandalay University Campus)
Thida Htoo1

Abstract
The better the educational service, the greater the opportunities to the students who generate
lifelong learning for their career development. People are asking that whether the quality ofeducational services provided by higher education institutions is good or not. This study intends
to examine the quality of educational services in MPA Programme (Mandalay Campus) provided
by Meiktila University of Economics. Parasuraman’s SERVQUAL dimensions is used to find out
the factors that contribute to quality of educational services and learning outcomes of the students.
The study found that according to the five dimensions, all dimensions are negative mean gap
value. However, reliability dimension, assurance dimension and empathy dimension, andresponsiveness dimension are low negative mean gap value. This means that students’ expectationand their perception are very close in these dimension. However, tangible dimension are shownhigh negative mean gap value. This means that students have less satisfaction on tangible
dimension especially hygienic canteen, sport and health facilities. Regarding with the expected
learning outcomes, students have strongly recommended on their acquiring knowledge gained
from the MPA programme. They have highest mean value on ability to apply knowledge gained
from learning courses in their working environment, and their community, ability to have criticalthinking, improvement in social network, good professional ethic and attitudes, and ability to dowith team work. The students have strongly recommend good image of teaching and learning
strategy of MPA programme, and they want further study in advanced level courses especially
PhD in MPA programme.
Keywords: Quality, Educational service, Learning outcomes

1. Introduction
Education plays a vital role for assessing the human personality and promoting social,economic and cultural as well as the development of the country. The more the person has life
long learning, the higher the rate of return for their career and thereby contributing to faster thenational development. The investment in higher education can provide the appropriate and usefulskilled human power for industry, for science and technology, for creation of basic social(education, food, shelter, health, and nutrition) and economic (agriculture, energy, water,transport and communication) infrastructure and for better social and administrative governance.
Therefore, higher education presents a critical factor in innovation and human resource
development (HRD) and plays a vital role in the success and sustainability of the knowledge
economy.
The more the students gain in advanced degrees, the greater the probability of earning
more income and improving their career and their social status are. According to the UnitedStates Census Bureau Report (2007b), adults with advanced degrees earn four times more thanthose with less than a high school diploma. Therefore higher education become effective tools for1

Dr. Professor & Head, Department of Economics, Meiktila University of Economics. thidahtoo4@gmail.com

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human resource development. For human resource development, university plays a vital role forproviding educational services. The more the quality of educational services in higher education,
the greater the well qualified –educated human resources can produce in the university. To obtain
quality in higher education, “To create an education system that can generate a learning society
capable of facing the challenges of the Knowledge Age” become more obvious. Therefore thisstudy intends to examine the whether the students satisfied the educational services provided by
MPA programme (Mandalay Campus) or not, and to find out the factors that contribute tolearning outcome and future intentions of post-graduated students who are attending MPA
programme (Mandalay University Campus).

Problem statement
Although Myanmar’s Universities produce a large number of graduates, there are many
complaint on quality of education and educational services provided by higher institutions. This
is why university need to evaluate the progrmmes provided to their students and thereby leading
to better educational services that will provide for the students for future. The study intends toexamine the gaps between post-graduated students’ perceptions on service quality and their
expectations on service quality.

2. Research Methodology
In order to achieve study objectives, service gap analysis was used. The questionnaire isbased especially on AUN-QA programme level criteria by using Parasuraman SERVQUAL
dimensions. In assessing the gaps between post-graduated students’ expectation and theirperception, Likert Scale are mainly used with structured questions.

Profile of Meiktila University of Economics (MEUE)MEUE offered five Bachelor Degree Programmes: Bachelor of Business Administration,
Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Economics, Bachelor of Public Administration and Bachelorof Statistics; five Master Degree Programmes: Master of Business Administration, Master ofCommerce, Master of Economics, Master of Public Administration, and Master of Statistics;
three Ph.D. Programmes: Ph.D. Commerce, Ph.D. Economics, Ph.D. Statistics; but Executive
Master has not been offered yet. Master of Business Administration and Master of Public
Administration programmes are expanded at Mandalay University and Nay Pyi Taw as well as
MDevS Programme in Nay Pyi Taw. Defense Services Administration School is an affiliatedinstitution of MEUE and it offers Master of Public Administration.

3. Result and Discussion
3.1 Tangibility
According to the tangibility, there is a gap between students’ expectation and theirperception. The service quality gap arise the difference between students’ expectation and theirperception in terms of tangibles dimension. According to the mean gap score, among the items

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for tangible dimension, good feature of university, adequate parking area, providing teaching aid
materials in classrooms, safety classroom, having good personality of academic and support
staffs shows lowest negative gap. Nonetheless, the statement of overall cleanliness within the
University Campus, University Provides Up-to-date library with adequate up-to-date text books ,up-to-date research paper, providing sufficient internet, hygienic canteens, providing adequate
sport and health facilities have largest negative gap. The study found that University need toprovide up-to-date text books, research paper, sufficient internet and wifi, hygienic canteens andsport and health facilities. Students’ expectation are very close to their perception, means thatstudents have satisfaction on most of the items of tangibility dimension. It can be reflected that
overall mean score value is (-0.68) (See Appendix Table-1)

3.2 Reliability
According to the reliability dimension, taking class right time by the academic staffs (0.21), providing up-to-date courses that align with the needs of the region/labor market, teaching
and learning strategy with freely and actively collaborate in discussions, error fee records ofstudents’ result, alignment with the subjects that academic staffs deliver due to specializations
shows lowest negative gap. This means that students’ perception are closely with their
expectation. Overall mean value for reliability is (-0.17), this means that the more the students
have their expectation from the programme, the greater the satisfaction on the programme. If the
programme provides more seminar related with courses/ research /thesis, students have more
knowledge and idea that can apply in their working environment (See AppendixTable-2).

3.3 ResponsivenessAccording to the responsiveness, students’ expectation are close with their perception
thereby leading to lower negative gap. Because the overall mean value is (-0.391). The study
found that students have satisfaction on academic staffs’ willingness to give directions andsuggestions on their query, prompt services with full knowledge and understanding of thesubject, ability to supervise the students’ thesis, prompt services of programme director with thenotion of flexibility and ability to adapt the needs of the students, and prompt services of rector
with a notion of flexibility and ability to adapt the needs of the students. The students have
however less satisfaction on supporting staffs from student affair department, admin and financedepartment, and engineer department to adapt to the needs of the students (See Appendix
Table -3).

3.4 Assurance
According to the assurance, students have satisfaction on well-manner of academic staffs,
and supporting staffs, having adequate competency to share the students’ query, adequate
experience in helping /suggesting the student’s research work effectively, student-centeredapproach, active learning, presentation with empirical work, logically sequenced, integrated andup-to-date courses, providing courses with full knowledge and understanding, providing courses
with critical thinking and apply in working environment. This is due to lower negative meanvalue gap. This means that students’ expectation are close with their perception on assurance

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)74

dimension. Thus overall mean value is (-0.22). University need to provide safe environment forthe students within the campus due to negative mean value of 0.44 (See Appendix Table-4).

3.5 Empathy
Regarding with empathy dimension, student satisfaction on academic staffs’ attention to
the students’ needs concerning with lecturing, supporting staffs’ attention to the students
concerning with exam and students’ affairs, academic staffs’ sincerely responses for students’difficulties, sincere interest of rector on solving other social problems, convenient working hourof student affair department. This statements show lowest negative mean value for empathy
dimension. Student have more satisfaction on programme director’s sincere interest in solving
problem and difficulties. In sum, the students have satisfaction on items of empathy dimension
because the overall mean value has only (-0.18) (See AppendixTable-5).

3.6 Means Gap Score by Five Dimensions
According to means of SERVQUAL scores in terms of all dimensions, the overall levelof perception mean score of each dimension is higher than the overall level of expectation mean
score
Mean Gap Scores by Five Dimensions
No.

Dimension

Expectation

Perception

GAP

1.

Tangible dimension

3.88

3.2

-0.68

2.

Reliability dimension

4.14

3.97

-0.17

3.

Responsiveness dimension

4.02

3.63

-0.39

4.

Assurance dimension

4.01

3.79

-0.22

5.

Empathy dimension

3.93

3.75

-0.18

Overall Mean Gap Score

3.99

3.67

-0.32

Source: Survey Data, August, 2017

According to the five dimension, all dimensions are negative mean gap value. However,reliability dimension, assurance dimension and empathy dimension, and responsivenessdimension are low negative mean gap value. This means that students’ expectation and theirperception are very close in these dimension. However, tangible dimension are shown highnegative mean gap value. This means that students have less satisfaction on tangible dimension
especially hygienic canteen, sport and health facilities.

3.7 Expected Learning Outcomes
Regarding with the expected learning outcomes, students have strongly recommended on
their acquiring knowledge gained from the MPA programme. They have highest mean value on
ability to apply knowledge gained from learning courses in their working environment, and theircommunity, ability to have critical thinking, improvement in social network, good professional

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)75

ethic and attitudes, ability to do with team work. Moreover, they have ability to manage theirtime and people in their working environment, ability to solve problems with confidence, ability
to be thoughtful in everything, ability to work with right decision in their career, ability to gainhigh position in their work due to the MPA programme.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Mean Value
1 I have ability to be thoughtful in everything

3.96

2 I have acquired knowledge gained from the MPA programme

4.16

3 I can apply knowledge gained from learning courses in my work

4.19

4 I can apply knowledge gained from learning courses in the community

4.61

5 I have critical thinking and explore the good result.

4.20

6 I have ability to lead and manage people and time.

4.15

7 I have ability to report writing technically

3.97

8 I have good communication skills

4.15

9 I have good professional ethic and attitudes

4.25

10 I have ability to do team working

4.21

11 I have ability to solve problems with confidence

4.13

12 I have ability to work right decisions in my career

4.13

13 I have ability to gain high position in my work

4.12

14 Improvement in social network

4.28

Overall mean value

4.18

Source: Survey Data, 2019

Future Intention
According to the future intention, students have strongly recommend good image ofteaching and learning strategy of MPA programme, and they want further study in advanced
level courses especially PhD in MPA programme.
Table (8) Future Intention
Mean value
1

I want further study in advanced level courses (PhD) from thisprogramme

3.83

2

I will recommend good image of teaching and learning strategyof this programme

4.26

Overall mean value

4.18

Source: Survey Data, 2019

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)76

4. Conclusion
In sum, students have satisfaction on MPA programme due to their expectation andperception which are very close. University need to provide more internet and wifi, up-to-datelibrary, hygienic canteens, sports and health facilities as infrastructure. Regarding withresponsiveness dimension, supporting staffs from student affair department, admin and financedepartment, and engineer department need to take care of students on their needs. As assurance
dimension, University need to provide safe environment for the students within the campus.
University need to provide more infrastructure like hygiene canteen, Sports field and healthfacilities.

Acknowledgements
Firstly, I would like to express my profound gratitude to Dr.Thet Lwin (Chair, Myanmar Academy of Arts
and Science, and Science Council of Asia for giving me a chance to write this research paper. Secondly, I am very
grateful to Rector, Professor Dr.Tun Aung, Meiktila University of Economics, Professor Dr.Thida Kyu, Pro-rector of
Meiktila University of Economics, for their encouragement and detailed supervision. Lastly, I am grateful to therespective persons who help me to collect data and encourage to write this paper. I also deeply owe a great thanks to
my parents.

References
Ministry of Education, Union of Myanmar. Myanmar Education Development Strategy Focusing on Inclusive
Education. Country Report, October (2008).
Ministry of Education (2014). Data Collection Survey on Education Sector in Myanmar. Report,
Comprehensive Education Sector Review, CESR, phase 1.
Ministry of Education (2014). Development of Education in Myanmar. Report, September 2014..
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A. & Berry, L. L. (1985). A Conceptual Model of Service Quality andits Implications for Future Research. Journal of Marketing,Philip, G. and Hazlett, S. A. (1997). The Measurement of Service Quality: A New PCP Attributes
Model. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management,
Shawn Lea Temple (2009). Factors that influence students’ desires to attend higher education, Seton University.
United States Census Bureau Reports (2007b). Earnings gap highlighted by census bureau data on educational
attainment. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 2008 fiom http://www.census.gov/PressRelease/\~~~/releases/archives/education~009749.html.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

The Traditional Monk's Bowl as Sustainable Development in Myanmar
Lei Shwe Sin Myint1, Thet Mar Aye2, Thandar Aye3

Abstract
A bowl is one of the eight necessary requisites of a monk. Before the Buddha laid down the ruleon the kind of bowl a monk should use, monks used bowls made of various materials. The bowls
made of earth and iron is allowed. Innwa village when Myanmar people mostly live is wellknown as the center of domestic business of traditional handicrafts. It mainly focuses on to agreater understanding of what makes to collect and review existing research on the economic andsocial impact of valuable as the unique handicraft. Field researches will carry out in order to getnecessary information. Field researches include non-participant observations, key-informant
interviews, and in-depth interviews. The results on the monk’s bowl casting show that the art wasmade without the help any machine, the tools used in the work are hand-made, and man poweralone. A monk’s bowls is not only essential material object for Buddhist monks but also an
important cultural symbol for Myanmar people, especially for Buddhists. It is assumed that
another form of style replaced as traditional cultural handicraft in Innwa especially for producing
monk’s bowls sacred for Buddhist monks.
Keywords: monk’ bowl, material, handicrafts, culture, economic

1.

Introduction

Innwa village is one of the villages in Ta-Da-Oo village group, Hanthawady District,
Mandalay Region. Most inhabitants are Myanmar and it is well known as a place for various
traditional handicrafts. One of the handicrafts is bowl-production. This art has long been existed
in Innwa for about a hundred years. A bowl is one of the four necessary requisites for Buddhist
monks, and for this reason, it is one of the religious objects in Myanmar. Innwa used to produces
two kinds of bowls – iron and earthen, but earthen bowls are not produced any more in Innwa.
Earthen bowls have been used at the time of the Buddha (see figure-1). Iron-bowls have taken theplace of earthen bowls. It is appropriate for monks to use iron bowls. Although the tradition ofearthen bowls has disappeared, the craftsmen continue to produce iron bowls in Innwa. There areabout seven families that make iron bowls. A bowl is one of the eight necessary requisites of amonk. Before the Buddha laid down the rule on the kind of bowl a monk should used, monks
used bowls made of various materials. The Buddha later laid down the rule that monks should
not use bowls made of wood, gold, silver, ruby, stone, beryl, glass, white copper, glaze, whitelead, black lead, and copper. The bowls made of earth and iron is allowed. (Myanmar
Encyclopedia, Vol. X) Bowls, earth or iron, are used for monks to go alms-round and eat meals.
A bowl suitable for monks to use needs a specific color. Then only monks can mark it as thebowl. As bowls are necessary requisites for Myanmar Buddhist monks, it becomes a religious
symbol for Myanmar people. There used to be many bowl productions in Mandalay, but atpresent the business has moved to Innwa. The kinds of bowls made in Innwa are earthen or iron
(white bowl and black bowl). However Innwa only has a few earthen bowl productions. Monks
used to use earthen bowls that are permitted by Vinaya rules, but now this tradition is alreadyextinct. Earthen bowls are good for health and allowed by the Buddha. However, it is so fragile
1

Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Mandalay. kalyah007@gmail.com
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Yangon
3
Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Mandalay
2

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)78

that people do not really like them. For this reason, no-one uses earthen bowls nowadays.
Consequently, there are only few people who know the art of making earthen bowls. Monks use
iron or lacquer bowls, instead. Therefore, this traditional art started at the time of Myanmar
monarchical period is soon to be extinct, and this paper aims at leaving a record on it so that later
generations will have some information about the tradition.

Figure 1. Earthen Bowls(Source from the Mirror Newspaper, 8.10.2016)

2.

Methods

The main purpose of this research is to come to a greater understanding of what makes tocollect and review existing research on the economic and social impact of valuable as the uniquehandicraft and also as a learning form. The specific objectives are to examine environmental
awareness, conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, to analyze on the realistic
functions of the learning form of handicraft, to study the current problems and development
practice for monk’s bowl products for a creative economy. In this research, the data werecollected by using available information, library research and field research. Qualitative method
was used to get data. Therefore non-participant observation (NPO), key informant interview(KII), in-depth interview (IDI) were applied to collect data. Non-participant observation method
was done in work place of alms bowls making in Innwa Village. To carry out key-informant
interviews 7 home industries of alms bowls making were collected.

3.

Results and Discussion

3.1 Historical Background of Research Area and Earthen Bowls
The history of bowls goes back to the time of the Buddha. Tha-bake-tan Village in let-thit
quarter in Mandalay used to be the only place where earthen bowls were made. There was a local
demand for bowls in Mandalay since it was the place where there were many monks dwelling
and learning Pariyatti. Besides, the weather in this dry area was also supportive for making
thayoe (mixture of wood-oil, sawdust, and powdered charcoal and fine ash used in the making of
lacquer-ware and gilded glass mosaic). Let-thit-yat village used to be included in Amarapura
Township in Mandalay Region. There used to be royal bowl productions in those areas.
Amarapura Royal City was established in 1144, and tha-bake-tan village was included in thisarea. The bowls made there were carried by bullock-carts or cars, and sold in Eindawya. Let-thityat village was the only place famous for bowl productions. Let-thit-yat tha-bake-tan is locatedin the east of Innwa, and in the north-east of Pinya. Innwa and Pinya are the cities on the west
and south-west bank of Dutthawady River and let-thit-yat tha-bake-tan is on the east bank. The

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

79

tradition of earthen bowls in let-thit-yat came down from Bagan Period through Konbaung
Period. There is no written record on the history of bowls in let-thit-yat tha-bake-tan, but the
local people believe that they had this tradition long and they are proud of it. Earthen and ironbowls are allowed for monks. Studies show that earthen bowls are more used at the time of the
Buddha. Pitaka literature provides the rules for earthen bowls. Monks are supposed to use thebowls until it is broken. If there is a crack on a bowl, monks should mend it. They should mend it
until the crack is so long that it needs five knots on it. After that the bowl is not usable and monks
can find a new one. Monks should not keep their bowls at open spaces for that can damage thebowls. Besides monks should not ask for many bowls more than they really need even if a bowlmaker has made an offer to donate. This rule meant to protect the bowl-makers' business and toteach monks to lead a life of contentment. (Aunt Nyein Chan, 1997) These records prove thatmonks, during the time of the Buddha, used earthen bowls.
It proves that the people of that time value it a lot. During the time of the Buddha, earthenbowls were widely used, and became a religious symbol for Buddhists. Monks in Myanmar use
iron bowls for going alms-round. The donors also use the bowls made of aluminum vessels or
steel pots. Earthen bowls are rarely used nowadays. People use iron bowls, instead. It is assumed
that for the people of Myanmar although there is a material cultural change, the use and value onearthen bowls remain the same. Therefore, Myanmar is a place unique for making earthen bowls
for monks, and it is necessary to preserve this culture.

3.2 Learning system of Earthen Bowl Productions
The necessary tools and materials used to make earthen bowls include earth (in Myanmar
language called Kabar-myae), pet-kyin, set-pyin, ta-mhaw-lone, oak-htoe, let-khat, chit or khwe,
kyauk, si, htin, phoe, thit-say, and tha-bake-tike. The earth suitable for making bowls is available
at a place near Let-ywe Village, a mile away from Let-thit-yat tha-bake-tan. There used to be alake at that place. The owners of earthen bowl foundries also own pieces of land in that area. In
March and April, they carry the earth from their land and keep it at home. It is the most suitable
time to bring the soil from that place since the area is dry and the transportation is good enough.
Besides, farmers are free from their farm-works and their bulls and bullock-carts are available torent. This is good for both bowl-makers and farmers. It is important for bowl-makers use
particular type of earth. They cannot make bowls using wrong types of earth. It is difficult forthem to mould bowls and also these bowls can be broken when they bake them. If they use
wrong types of soil and were lucky to have some bowls baked, the bowls are so fragile, and do
not last long. Wet food cannot be kept in those bowls. The soil must be clean. Sandy soil andnewly settled silt are also not usable to make earthen bowls. The best type of soil is yellow thicksilt settled a long time ago. The bowl-makers called this kind of earth (soil) as kabar-mye-say or
tha-bake-mye. Pet-kyin or a hole dug on the ground is dug up by bowl-makers. The soil that ischosen to make bowls is mixed with water in this pet-kyin. Set-pyin is a circular wooden plate
which is used to shape bowls. Ta-mhaw-lone is a tool shaped like a stick. It is used to hit the mud(the soil already mixed with water) until the mud gets sticky and shaped like a mortar. The shapeis similar to a stick that people in Myanmar use to wash clothes.
Oak-htoe is a tool used when bowl-makers mould the mud into a bowl. They use it while
they are hitting the mud to shape a bowl. They place it inside the bowl-shaped mud and hit the
mud with a ta-mhaw-lone outside. It is also called let-khu-tone. Let-khat is a flat stick used with80

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

hands. The shape is similar to a table tennis bat. It is usually made of teak-wood or gum-kino
wood. This tool has two parts, the flat area (let-khat-pya) and the handle (let-khat-yoe). Chit or
khwe is a flat iron ring used to scrape the inside part of bowls. Kyauk is a tool used to makeearthen bowls. It is a hard and smooth rock that can be found in streams or rivers. It is about one
inch and a half big. Si is some oil such as ground-nut oil, sesame oil, kerosene, or oil dregs thatare applied on the bowls before baking them. With the oil on the bowls, when they are baked, thebowls became black and shiny. Htin is the wood used to bake bowls. Usually they are about six
feet long. Most bowl-makers like the wood from Than tree (Terminalia oliveri) or Dahat tree
(Tectona hamiltoniana) since they produce high temperature flame. Teak wood and oil are usedat the end of baking process to get the required color. However, teak wood is expensive, and they
only use pieces of wood. Phoe is a place where the bowls are baked. First the bowls alreadymould are dried under the sun. When they get dry enough, they are baked in a phoe. The shape ofphoe used throughout the year in let-thit-yat is unique. Some people build their phoe on the flatground, but some prefer a high ground. However, the structure is the same. A high ground isactually man-made. They add the soil on the flat ground until they get a 9 feet high pile of soil,
25 feet in diameter at the bottom and 15 feet in diameter at the top. They make high ground phoeso that they can use it in rainy seasons when the river floods the area. Oleo-resin obtained fromthe tree is called thit-say. It is used to color the bowls black and it helps the bowls last long. Thitsay is also pronounced as thit-see, or Sit-see. The black oleo-resin liquid among all other kinds isthe best for making bowls.
Tha-bake-tike is a room in the ground. The bowls that are already baked and colored with
thit-say are kept safely and dried in the tha-bake-tike. The bowl foundries at Let-thit-yat thabake-tan do not usually use brick walls or concrete roofs. They put the wooden sticks on the holeon the ground and covered with soil. Earthen bowls without painting with thit-say have moredemand in the market than those painted with thit-say. The observation found that there are eightmaye-tikes, but only two are in use.

3.3 Learning system of Iron Bowls Production
An iron plate is hammered until it is shaped into a bowl. There are two distinct steps inthe process. First, the bowl makers hammer an iron plate to shape it into a bowl, and it is called aplain bowl or a white bowl. Secondly, they apply tha-yoe (mixture of wood-oil, sawdust,
powdered charcoal and fine ash used in the making of lacquer-ware and gilded glass mosaic) on
it. This step is called making a black bowl. Iron bowls last longer and also are lighter to carryaround; they are preferred by monks than earthen bowls (see figure-2).
The size of iron bowls vary. However, there are four usual sizes: Shin (the size suitablefor young novices), Inn-khan (the size suitable for monks, but a little small), A-kyi (the size
suitable for monks, and bigger than Inn-khan), Shan (the size used in Shan State).
Shin size is the smallest one. People usually donate eight requisites at the novice-initiation
ceremonies. The bowls usually donated in such ceremonies must be allowed by the Vinaya rules
and also big enough to use for the novices to eat the meals from the bowls. The iron plate needs
to be ten inches in diameter, and when it is finished hammering, the mouth is seven inches indiameter and the bowl is about four inches deep. The widest part which is in the middle part of

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)81

the bowl is 26 inches in circumference. 32 bowls can be made out of a standard barrel used as thecontainers for cooking oil.
The second smallest size bowl is called Inn-khan. The sizes between an Inn-khan and an
A-kyi do not have much difference, but an Inn-khan is much bigger than a Shin. An iron platewith 11 inches in diameter is used to make an Inn-khan bowl. The mouth is eight inches indiameter and the bowl is about four inch and a half deep. The widest part of the bowl is 28 inches
in circumference. 23 bowls can be made out of a standard barrel mentioned above.
A-kyi is the second biggest bowl made for monks. An iron plate with 11 inches and a halfin diameter is used to make an A-kyi bowl. The mouth is eight inches in diameter and the bowl isabout four inch and a half deep. The widest part of the bowl is over 30 inches in circumference.
23 bowls can be made out of a standard barrel mentioned above. Previously, Shan bowls are as
twice bigger as a-kyi bowls. It is the biggest size of the bowls usually made. This kind of bowl isused in Shan State and for this reason it is called Shan bowls. However, the size is too big
according to Vinaya rules, and monks do not use them when they go alms-round or eat meals. It
is used when the monastery boys go alms-round for monks. In some Shan villages, the bowl isplaced at the village centre where people come to put their offerings in it. When the bowl is filledwith food, it is taken to the monastery. Nowadays, not many Shan bowls are sold out andtherefore bowl makers make them when they receive special orders. Usual Shan bowls need aniron plate with 14 inches and a half in diameter. The mouth is over eleven inches in diameter andthe bowl is about seven inches deep. The widest part of the bowl is over 42 inches incircumference.
During the time of the Buddha, earthen bowls were mainly used by monks. However,there are some records of iron bowls at that time. Later, as the development in iron-smith
business, iron bowls are more used. In early Mandalay Period, according to some senior monks,
almost all monks used iron bowls. There used to be many monks who went alms-round withearthen bowls before independence. But nowadays, iron bowls are preferred. In some regions, atfood offering ceremonies and novice-initiation ceremonies, earthen bowls are used since they areallowed by Vinaya rules and cheaper. Therefore, the value of earthen bowls is still high among
Buddhists. Besides, earthen bowls are more suitable for monks since they are good for health andallowed by the Vinaya rules. It seems therefore that people prefer to donate earthen bowls. As abowl is one of the eight requisites of monks, Buddhists consider that bowl-donation is a noble
act. Therefore it can be noted here that bowls represent as a symbol of Buddhism for both monks
and laypeople. Studies show that there are two stages in the process of making an iron bowl: thestage of white bowl and that of black bowl.

3.4 Learning Step of White Bowls
A circular iron plate is placed on an anvil and hammered until it shapes into a bowl. It is
the stage of a bowl before the bowl is painted with tha-yoe (see figure-3), and become a black
bowl. This stage is called aphyu-hte (plain), ayaing-hte (natural), or kongyan-hte (raw). Studies
show that the bowl business was very good about 50 years ago. An area called Oh-bow in NorthMandalay was famous for white bowls. The area was reportedly filled with the sound ofhammering. Later, the bowl foundries are replaced with car-body foundries which become abetter business with more money. The bowl foundries moved to nearby villages where they can

82

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

get cheaper labors. Ye-won Village and the area around this village becomes a centre for whitebowl foundries. The raw material required for white bowls is iron plates. Previously, bowl
makers made iron plates out of iron, but they started using brown iron plates and thick barrels 50
years ago. But nowadays, they use thinner barrels that are used as the cooking-oil containers. The
tools used include chisels, hammers, anvils, scrapers, and bellows. Bowl makers usually use thechisels that are sharp enough to cut iron plates. It is usually harder than the iron plates. The flatedge at the end is about half of an inch or an inch, and the body is about one inch in diameter andsix inches in length.
A hammer (Tu) is a tool consisting of a piece of metal with a flat end which is fixed onto
the end of a long thin usually wooden handle, used for hitting things. It is used to smoothen or
cut iron plates, or making a mould. There are various kinds of hammers used to make bowls:
khwet-tu, tu-shae, tu-lat, kauk-tu, pu-tu, etc. Tu-shae, tu-lat, and tu-pu are also called yike-tu.
Depending on the area, the location of the foundry and the preference of bowl makers, the size ofhammers vary, but the shapes are the same.
An anvil (Pay), which is used by blacksmiths and goldsmiths, is a heavy block of iron onwhich heated pieces of metal are shaped by hammering. An iron plate is placed on an anvil andhammered until it shapes into a bowl. There are various kinds of anvils: khwet-pay, rite-pay,kauk-pay, and sint-pay. A scraper (kyauk) is used to brush the iron. The type of scraper used isusually made of natural stones or iron scrapers especially designed for the purpose. The scraper isused on a motor or with hands when the edge of the bowl-mouth is smoothened. A bellow(phoe) is a stove in which iron plates are heated. It is a tool used to blow air, especially into a fireto make it burn better. In this bellow, iron plates are heated. The material cultures are used in
making white or plane bowls, and they are made by the bowl makers themselves.

3.5 Learning Step of Black bowls
In this stage, the white bowl is coated with thit-say (lacquer) (see figure-4). The bowl
makers coat the white bowls with thit-say and put them in the tha-bake-tike, and repeat thisprocess again and again until the bowls are strong enough to use. This stage is called thit-say-thayoe-kain-loke-ngan. This stage includes various steps: thit-say-thoat (coating with lacquer), pyapet (spraying with ash), tha-yoe-chaw, khae-tike, a-young-khan-thoat, shwe-khan-thoat, khaetike, a-young-tin, and a-hte-si, etc. Required materials and tools include tha-bake-tike, thit-say,put-khon, phwe-kyan, and kyauk, etc. One of the peculiar features of iron bowl making is that abowl must be coated with thit-say and put it in the tha-bake-tike, and this should be done again
and again. This is necessary because then only thit-say gets dry easily and will not become dusty.
Therefore, every foundry has tha-bake-tike. The walls of tha-bake-tikes need to be brick-walls
and the roof must be concrete. Then only, the work will be done safely and quickly. A tha-baketike is an under-ground room; it has only one hole with a door that can be tightly closed. Inside
the tha-bake-tike, on the walls, there are shelves, eight to nine inches distance from one another.
The bowls are kept on those shelves. The construction is almost the same for all tha-bake-tikes.
The bowls, after being coated with thit-say, are dried in tha-bake-tikes in a room temperature.
This is a necessary step in making bowls, but it might cost money and time for the bowl foundry
owners.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)83

An iron bowl with an inscription, "U Paw Kywe's donation, 1300 Sakkaraj", on it is foundin a bowl shop at Eindawya in Mandalay. That bowl has the mouth which is 3.8 inches indiameter. This bowl is called food offering bowl (Swan-taw-tin Tha-bake). It was made over 50
years ago, but it is still in its original condition. It used a thick iron plate. This bowl stands as aprove that Myanmar Buddhists place great value on monk-bowls which are the symbol of
Buddhism in Myanmar.

Figure 2. Iron Bowl

Figure 3. White Bowl

Figure 4. Black Bowl

3.6 Responsibilities and Skills of Bowl Makers
The bowl makers in Innwa value their job. They are proud of their job believing it issomething religious and wholesome since they make iron bowls and earthen bowls that arenecessary for Buddhist monks. They also believe that they have wholesome livelihood. They
believe, "Good mind produces good bowls", and that their success depends on the attitude they
have. Besides, this is a kind of art that needs skills, and therefore the workers value their art. One
needs to learn this art from basic. This art is handed down through family tradition. The onlychange in the tradition is that they used to make earthen bowls, but now they make iron bowls.
School education is not a necessity to become a bowl maker, but there are specific skills theyneed to learn, and most importantly they need to have the right attitude. Innwa is now a centre formonk-bowls. Each foundry has at least ten workers. They work every day, but they do not seem
tired of their job for this is where their interest is. They get the daily wage of round about 3500
kyats. The workers consider that their job produce things that are supportive for the attainment of
Nibbana. This is one of their motivations to continue this tradition. A skilled in the past worker
need at least three year experience at work. They need to learn from skilled workers (see figure5). At first, a worker who newly joins the team is not paid, for he is at the learning stage. Whenhe has learnt some skills, he starts getting some money which is a pocket money. The money
they get depends on the skill they have, and how helpful they are at work. They need to learn
thit-say coating, and other details. When their work shows neat and satisfactory, the teacher asksthem to make a bowl without getting any help from others. This is a kind of test and with theteacher's approval; they are allowed to work on their own.
There is a story that the workers tell. One day, a young boy from Ye-won Village who
used to be a novice came to learn how to make bowls. He had a monk-bowl-full of tamarindseeds that he used to count how many times he needed to hammer the iron plate to make a bowl.
For each strike of hammer, he took one tamarind seed out of the bowl. When all the seeds weretaken out, he found that he had not yet finished even a white bowl. He thought the life as alayman was too tiring, and he joined the order of monks again. This story seems to highlight thefact that a bowl-maker must have perseverance, love the job, and have some skills. Nowadays,
the workers get their wages as soon as they join the team. However the money depends on how19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)84they are helpful at work and on the skills they have. Sometimes, the money depends on the partof work they do. A new worker gets 3000 kyats every day. There are some people who wanted to
become bowl-makers, but they are not successful. People whose hands are always wet with bodyoil cannot get the job. And there are people who are allergic to thit-say. Oily hands cause delay inthe time require for thit-say to get dry. Besides, thit-say color becomes dull and consequently
there is a delay at work. Those who are allergic to thit-say cannot make monk-bowls. Even those
who do not have such problems may get some skin diseases. Their skin gets dull or they get
ringworms on their body, or the skin gets dry. Therefore, this is not a kind of work for everyone.
It needs handcraftsmanship, and there is a problem of getting new workers. There is a danger that
this art might extinct. Besides, there are other jobs available in Innwa and this also causes the
problem. Therefore, one need to be interested in this art and also must have health condition
suitable for this work.

Figure 5. Skilled workers

4. Conclusion
Monk-bowl foundries have existed in Innwa for many years. The art of making earthenbowls that used to be the requisite of monks and laypeople devotionally donated is now almost
disappeared. Monks use iron bowls and lacquer bowls nowadays, and they do not use earthenbowls anymore. Bowl foundries in Innwa are owned by families. This is a kind of familybusiness which everyone in the family needs to give their hand. Bowl workers value their job forthey consider that they are making religious items and therefore they need to keep their mind
wholesome. It is difficult to make an earthen bowl and also an earthen bowl is fragile. There isalso a shortage of raw materials and this is not environmentally friendly. For those reasons,probably, people do not use earthen bowls anymore. On the other hand, there is a danger oflosing the culture of donating bowls that are made in accordance with the Vinaya rules. There areadvantages in using earthen bowls: although they are fragile, they are cheaper; they can keep thefood warm longer; they can be hold with hot food in them for the heat-resistance is better; they
are good for health; and people believe that eating the food from earthen bowls is healthy. On theother hand, raw materials for iron bowls are easily available. Asphalt barrels, that are not usefulfor any other purposes, can be used to make monk-bowls. Although iron-bowls do not have goodheat-resistance, they are cheaper, and lighter to carry. These advantages of iron bowls may attract
people. Besides, iron pieces that are cut off from the plates can be sold. This is one of the most
attractive facts for the foundry-owners for they can make money out of everything. However, theart of making earthen bowls that have existed since the time of monarchical period is facing thedanger of extinction. With the extinction of this art, Myanmar people will lose one of theirbeautiful cultures. For the medical point of view, this work is harmful for health; thit-say, whichis allergic to some people, is necessary material in iron-bowls, and this might frighten newworkers away. Besides, new job availability is also a danger for bowl-making art. Therefore, a19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)85

medical help is necessary to protect thit-say allergy. Workers play important role in this kind of
business, and therefore, it is necessary to find out how workers can protect their skin. Then only
the problem of getting new workers can be solved, and this will help to maintain the tradition of
making monk-bowls. To get skilled workers is essential for bowl-foundries. The workers need tobe motivated so that they realize that they are doing something wholesome. Therefore, it isassumed that workers must value their job while there are other job opportunities in Innwa.

Acknowledgments
First of all, we would like to convey our deepest thanks to Ministry of Education, Department of Higher
Education and University of Mandalay, Department of Anthropology for invaluable financial support efforts in ourstudy and permission to conduct this research. Particular thanks are due to Done Pyan alms bowl casting homeindustry, all of craftsmen, in Innwa village, Mandalay Region and Sayardaw Vaseitta (monk), the monastery of
Innwa village for this study and without them this study would not have been accomplished.

References[1] Aung Nyein Chan, "Myanmar Traditional monk’s bowls handicrafts" published by Mandalar press, 1997.
[2] Lei Shwe Sin Myint, Thet Mar Aye, Thandar Aye, "The Handicraft of Thabaik (Monk’s Bowl) Production in
Innwa Village, Ta-Da-Oo Township, Mandalay Region, Myanmar", Departmental Research,
Department of Anthropology, University of Mandalay, 2017.
[3] Myanmar Encyclopedia Vol-X, published by literature printing press, 1966.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Early School Life: Importance of Caregivers’ Role in Educational culture
Khin Moe Moe Kyu1
Abstract
There are round about 5 million children are studying in primary level education in Myanmar.
However, the paper would like to do emic research on early school life. It would like to conduct
as field research in three primary schools: village school, urban community school and private
school. The three schools are based on curriculum of Ministry of Education. They are different in
student-teachers’ ratio, and pedagogy parents’ knowledge and accessibilities. As ananthropological study, children personalities are shaped by their gene and environments. The
paper would like to state that “How do scaffolding nurturing environment system support tochildren’s school life and what important factors are basic cause of out of school for children in
Myanmar? It wants to focus on socialization in function of schooling, transmission of culture
from home life to school life and to find out importance of caregivers in the production of equity
and the possibilities of educational culture. The limitation of the study is students’ environments
such as peer, parents and teachers. Such research methodology conducted as participant
observation, interviewing and case study of the schools. Different knowledge shapes different
children life and educational culture.
Keywords: capabilities, environments, caregivers’ knowledge, educational culture

1. Introduction
The main objective of the study is to provide an pinpoint to reduce out of school children
quantity. It dealt with the environmental setting, a brief historical background and a descriptionof pedagogy evolved. Educational culture is a priority for a child development and it is viewed asa key for national development. In recent years, many reforms in education have been undertaken
in Myanmar. However there still remain areas of concern that will have to be addressed. In here,
the study would like to define parents and teachers are care givers of a student. Althoughteachers’ roles are as one of the “five gems” in the societies, rural area is more typical than urban
school. They pay respect as teacher is regarded to be on the same reverence as the Buddha, thescriptures, the monks and parents. The teachers are usually role models in the communities. They
are traditionally regarded as community leaders in rural as well as urban communities; but morein rural ones. Because of this role in the community they are often regarded as key players in anysocial mobilization effort. Parents and teachers, therefore, have great potential to act as agents ofchange children characters.
In the view of Sassi Abdelhafid on George Spindler, education is the studies of culturalacquisition and transmission of a culture. In the study, the children of educated parents are
assured of a child’s school life. In Myanmar there are 0.26 million are primary teachers. Now aday, Myanmar civil government tries to effort to get better education reform. In 2018, lower
primary teachers’ have given special refresher training course not only government’s teachers but
also private school teachers and community school teachers such as monastic school for new
curriculum design. According to mission of Ministry of Education, every child who attend grade
4 can read, write and calculate basically. Furthermore, other qualifications need to develop.

1

Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Dagon University, Email: khinmomokyu@gmail.com

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Therefore, the curriculum design and teaching-learning system have to base on these. After that,life skills education will be start on grade 5. (Annually reports, 2018,)
The largest group is the students in educational culture setting. There are approximately
7.5 million students (out of a total population of over 50 million) from all levels of education.
1.2 to 1.4 million attending primary education. Now a day, the young people of Myanmar havebecome more aware of the world around them. They are becoming increasingly aware of whatlife has to offer; but many of them are very naive and unaware of the dangers and pitfalls ofmodern societies. Following the 1998 and 1999 education reforms towards “creative learning”
and “critical thinking.” They are being encouraged to read more widely and go beyond the rigid
confines of a national school curriculum that is being gradually reformed. (Professor, U Han Tin,
2004)
There is an important one that is parents, teachers, and students have to have mutual
understanding and trust each other. The three groups are the same as stove-top. It means that all
have to be harmony with each other and a sociological phenomenon is also referred tocharacteristics of a culture, social class, political views and individuals based on a part of selfidentification. The changes of children’s home life to school life regarded in anthropology as areality itself, revealing at every of its stages cultural particularity in a new sense. The children
and its upbringing within family, child subcultures and peer groups, or social environment are
affected on school lifestyle. (Jarema Drozdowicz, 2014, p 66-82)

2. Methodology of the study
The study would like to know emic situation in educational culture which light toeducation setting of a society. It also conducted on qualitative approach especially in participant
observation, in-depth-interviewing and case study of some parents, teachers, and students in threebasic primary schools. Data analysis is based on visual, recording, check, cross-check and double
check information flow system.
3. Result and Discussion
By studying case study on the 3 schools: (1) Basic Education Middle School No-1, Dagon
Township (BEMS-1 DT), (2) Basic Education Primary School, Zaw Ti Gone village (BEPS,
ZTG),(3) Flower Private Education Center (FPEC), notice that there are different backgroundenvironments can shape how happy and interesting in school life of a child. All the three aresituated in Yangon Region.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

89

Table 1. Characteristics of the three schools
Schools’ Name

Basic Characteristics of Educational Culture

Basic Education Middle
School No-1 Dagon
Township*Situated in crowded downtown of Yangon* Families have one or two children in each.
* Parents have got one or more degree.
*1:30 to 1:40 teachers –students’ ratio.
* Well prepared to go school in pre-school or at home.
* Proud of attending the school.

Basic Education Primary *Situated in village
School ,Zaw Ti Gone * Parents are simple life and low knowledge in important
Village,
Hmawbi of education.
Townshp* There is not partition in school building for each class*.Many parents’ think that there is more important to getmoney for covering daily expenditure for food.

Flower Private Education *Situated in Dagon Myothit
Center* Not only formal education center but also physiotherapy
center for disables children.
* Students-teachers ration is 1:3, 1:5 to 1:15.
* Recommended by neuro physiotherapy specialists.
*Scaffolding system with special classes; art, music,
language and etc.
Source: Field data

In the year 2014, pedagogy is as usual. Students of BEMS-1 DT are busy with much time
to recite text and doing exercises. Barking and beating on palm rules for controlling class is ok.
In Myanmar proverb, if you want to get best quality pot, beat again and again. From our
Myanmar society, the slogan was very popular in rural and old parents in last millennium. In theyear 2018, some parents’ concept is changed on controlling class system by some issue of social
media. As for typical Myanmar, this is problem for teachers how to control the class as big as theclass size as well as typical traditional class control culture.

3.1 Different concept of care givers in the three schools
There are 3 categories in the schools.
1) Parents and students of BEMS-1 DT have higher and higher for the students. The
students attend two kind of school in the same study year. They attend English language trainingor some of them are sitting in Cambridge Exam Course by the help of British Council Culture

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19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Center such as Starter, Mover, and Flyer or IGCSE exams and take regular sport training; gym,
aerobic, different kinds of martial art, etc. In summer time, take language class, music, painting,etc. Some of parents want to be high marks even full marks in every subject. If their children
cannot effort it, they push to get more and more study hours. The parents always learn theirchildren’s lessons. A mother said that “when her child attends KG class, she attend KG. Whenher child attends grade 3, she is grade 3’’.
2) Some students do not want to follow the first categories. They are weak to adaptable tothe school culture. As special case in the intake of 2014 students, there is two school boys do notwant to attend class because of inadaptability of the school culture. When he was grade two, hewants to quite from the school. And then, one go to private school and another is attends special
need and disables class in physiotherapy center. But, a teacher who got well experience in theschool said that “a new student has to be happy, healthy and adaptability in the school culture, if
it is not, the student does not want to attend the school”. In the intake of 2017, a student is alittle delay in communication skill. He attends the KG class that is new teaching learning systemby the arrangement of Ministry of Education. Although new teaching learning system is coming
up and utilize in the school, old cultures are there in the environment even teachers and parents.
Many parents and teachers like old model of child care system. Later months of KG are very
difficult for him and his mother. He feels mental depression. And then he transfer to private
school. In a year later, the new child care culture and pedagogy are practice in the school. The
boy reenrolled in the School. It is because, his mother and physiotherapist of the private school
try to pay therapy and reconstruct on his mind. One year later, he accepts to attend his class. His
mother and the school teachers try to persuade to attend his class in the school.
3) The third category is very weak to get end education for their children. Parents’concept of BEPS- ZTG is that they are poor, they have very important to get money for covering
daily expenditure for food. Only few parents want to hope on their children to get a degree. Mostof the villagers are cultivators, blue labour and daily workers. Some are Kyaban Loutha it means
the people have not regular or permanent job. They said that they are Ta Nay Lout Mha Ta Nay
Sar Yar Dar. It means when they have work on this day, they can eat their meal. Therefore, they
are not interested in child education. If their children got grade 1 or 2 it is ok form them. The
parents’ concept is when their children go to school; they can’t help their house work. If they failin exam, it is a big failure for them. If they pass exam, it is very low profit for their family. In thestudent’s mindset, they want to go school, but their parents can’t effort it. When they go backhome, they have no time to study because of helping house work. In such case, lesson home work
is not appropriate for the students. In the school of FPEC, most students are special needs care.
Some are Autism, CB, Down. Some have a little symptom of that syndrome. The school is not
only formal education center but also physiotherapy center for disable children. Curriculum andsyllabus of the school is scaffolding nurturing system and edutainment to encourage childreninteresting and how to find their hobby. Her slogan is the earlier, the better for children. FPEC is
Basic Education Middle School. But school fee is problem for some parents.

4. Conclusion
By studying above finding, the paper would like to conclude that early school is very
important for a child’s education. The three schools have different educational culture;competitive, prioritize to get daily expenditure and too need to support their children. Teachers

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)91

and parents are play a major role in learner’s personal, social, emotional or interpersonal
problems. Therefore, to get a good interpersonal relationship between teachers and students,
parents and child, feeling and emotion that everyone experiences are considered vital factors. In
the case of a student who is as normal as others typical children although family culture isdifferent from other, if the teachers bound with the students well understand on them and educate
students as daily life factors will affect the quality of this interaction and communication. When
parents well know value of education for their children, all children will take their classes. If not,children will end school lives. As for too care to child’s education in wrong way, it is also
dangerous for early school life. He can’t stand himself, he stand his parents’ will. It is not goodeducation for him.
In the case of school boy who is delay in communication and intake in 2017 that iscommunities’ school are fond of practicing in new pedagogy such as edutainment. The notion ofculture tends to privilege the continuity of socialization and harmony. These current changes
rises of dynamic practice and performance oriented concept of culture which begins addressing
the problem of fusing home culture and class culture by the concept. Anthropological study ofculture mismatch between home and school were quite influential and how class factors
produced inequality.
In the case of Zaw Ti Gone Village Primary School, it is very important to get income fordaily expenditure of a family is the basic factor to go out of school for a student. Education is thedevelopment of a child’s personality, talents and abilities. In recognition of the fact that every
child has unique characteristics, interests, abilities, and learning needs. (Aye Aye Aung, 2018).
It is important to know that child’s education is not only literacy and numeracy, but also
closer to apply for life. Education should also pinpoint to ensure that essential life skills are learnt
by every child and that no child leaves school. In that point, care givers; parents and teachers arevery careful to their children not to away from school. Whatever teaching-learning systems,
whatever curriculum design, whatever teacher-students ratio, the paper would like to state thatcaregivers are play a vital role in children’s education to overcome home life to school life. If wenotice the point, our educational culture will promote and bar from children who are out ofschool.
Therefore, the study would like to recommend that

Be aware of background culture to transmit class culture.
Every school should be second home in early education.
Should encourage to promote knowledge among care givers that education is how
important in child’s future.
A school in a township should have a special care class room in lower primary educationlevel.
Acknowledgements

This paper fieldwork was supported by persons, teachers, parents and students of the three schools. I would
also like to thank all of the responsible persons of the SCA19 Conference. In addition, I owe special thanks to mycompanionship, dedication, and unsurpassable skills greatly enriched many aspects of this fieldwork. In
particular , I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the many patients colleagues of department ofanthropology in Dagon University and my family members. This paper is dedicated to them.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

92

References[1] Annual Report, Ministry of Education, 2018.
[2] Annual Report, Basic Education Middle School (1), Dagon Township, 2018.
[3] Annual Report, Basic Education Primary School, Zaw Ti Gone Village, Hmawbi Township, 2018.
[4] Annual Report, Flower Private Education Center, North Dagon Township, 2018.
[5] Aung, Aye Aye and Aye Aye Myint, “An Assessment of Emotional Intelligence Impact on Teachers’ Job
Performance” Doctoral Dissertation Research Reports, Myanmar Academy of Arts and Science
2015 Calendar Year Award Winning Press, 2018,pp. 205-241.
[6]Alice BinAzzi,2016, The role of formal and non-formal education for children’s empowerment and as aprevention tool from violence, Comparative Cultural Studies: European and Latin America
Perspectives, 2016.
[7] Han Tin, Education in Myanmar, Centre for UNESCO, Australian National University, Canberra, 2004.
[8] Jarema Drozdowicz, To trust the Other. Anthropology of education in the context of Polish debates on
multiculturalism,Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, pp 66-82 Levinson, Bradley A andMica Pollock, (2016) A Companion to the Anthropology of Education, Wiley Blackwell, UK,
2014.
[9] Sassi Abdelhafid, Educational Anthropology: A Theoretical Exploration, University of Mascara, 2008.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Social Support as a Mediator between Emotional Intelligence and Job
Satisfaction of Employees in Yangon
May Lwin Nyein1, Myint Myint Khine2, Tin Nwe Oo3

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the role of social support as mediator in the relationshipbetween emotional intelligence and job satisfaction of Myanmar employees in private sector
organizations and companies. Participants were 200 employees from Dagon group of companies,
Information Matrix Co. Ltd., Myanmar Solar Rays Co. Ltd., Myanmar Electrical Business Group
Public Co. Ltd., Thukha Myanmar Co. Ltd., Citta Consultancy and VOA Burmese Service whocompleted a battery of self-report questionnaires, including Emotional Intelligence Scale,Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire andthe demographic variables. Regression analysis was adopted to test the mediating effect of social
support between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction. The results suggested that emotional
intelligence was a positive significant predictor to social support and job satisfaction.
Additionally, social support was positively associated with job satisfaction. The meditational
analysis revealed that social support functioned as a mediator between emotional intelligence andjob satisfaction. The outcomes of this study have significant implications for the field of I/O
psychology. The results also suggested that explicit interventions could be used to improve
employees job satisfaction by focusing on enhancing multiple social support system such as
coworker/friends, family and significant others.
Keywords: Job Satisfaction, Emotional Intelligence, Social Support

1.

Introduction

Myanmar is transforming to Democracy in political approach since 2010. At the sametime, Myanmar’s economy open out and there is widespread agreement that the country has ahuge potential for continued rapid development in the future. Simultaneously, a key challenge isto ensure that economic growth is inclusive in Myanmar. Despite there is a number of market
research to gain sustainability market share, there has been only a few research work conductedunderstanding work-related phenomena such as job satisfaction, turnover, and employee wellbeing to develop human resource in Myanmar.
Employee job satisfaction is an essential ingredient to reach organizational success. Job
satisfaction among employees is an indicator of organizational effectiveness, and it has got direct
relationship with organizational and personal factors (Lumley et al., 2011)[1]. Majority of theemployees are aware that the performance of an organization depends in part on their level of job
satisfaction (Ibid). This is the cradle of the mostly widely believed maxim of management that “ahappy worker is a productive worker”.
Nowadays, researchers have become increasingly interested in understanding how thisjob satisfaction is associated with emotional and social abilities of employees beyond the job
itself or the relevant environment. Emotional and social competencies seem to play a vital role in
the process of networking in order to maximize job performance as “the one who has developed
more relationships with others and has richer social ties is the one with greater success to
1

Assistant Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Mandalay, maylwin18917@gmail.com
Student, Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Psychology, University of Yangon, myintmyint.khine92@gmail.com
3
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Yangon, tinnweoo531@gmail.com
2

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19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

information” (Balwajder, 1992, pp.13) [2].
The concept of emotional intelligence (EI) was first proposed by Mayer & Salovey(1997) which was then popularized by Goleman: Why it can matter more than IQ”. Emotional
Intelligence (EI), which is defined as an individual’s ability to process and treat affectinformation and effect problems, is an important predictor of job satisfaction (Dong et al.,
2014[4]; Siegling et al., 2015[5]). Zacher et al. (2012) [6] noticed that EI has an effect on key
organizational outcomes such as job satisfaction. Palmer and colleagues suggest that people’sability to treat effect information by recognizing their own emotion and ability to manage
emotion can significantly affect their job satisfaction (Palmer et al., 2002)[7]. Freudenthaler et al.
(2008) [8] also found that EI can independently predict job satisfaction. Hence, people with highEI are believed to have high job satisfaction and they are also aware of their emotions and canbetter utilize it to regulate stress and negative emotion, which can result in positive evaluations
on work or work-related situations.
[3]

Theories indicate that social support is a key factor in job satisfaction and performance ofan employee. Indeed, support from friends and family can promote workers performance (Sun,Zhang, Fu, 2007) [9], as it buffers the stress associated with the work related illness (Zimet,
Powell, Farley, Werkman, & Berkoff, 1990) [10]. Social support is defined as the spiritual andmaterial help provided by various social aspects (i.e., family, relatives, and friends), that reflects
one’s closeness with social relations (Oh et al., 2014) [11]. Perceived social support is the
subjective feeling one gets from social support. This is helpful in relieving life pressure andpromoting life satisfaction, and is a good indicator for measuring social adaptation (Pavlova etal., 2015) [12]. Research shows that the negative effects of stress are buffered by goodinterpersonal communication and perceived social support (Karademas, 2006) [13]. Meanwhile,the lack of support from colleagues, supervisors, and family members can lead to job
dissatisfaction. Thus, social support can increase employees’ feelings of job satisfaction, and its
absence serves as a stressor that acts as a catalyst for job dissatisfaction (Prince et al., 1997) [14].
Additionally, moving beyond from examining the relationships between EI with job satisfaction
and social support with job satisfaction, some studies also have analyzed the direct and indirect
associations between them in recent years. For example, Dawei (2018) [15] studied the trilateralrelations among EI, social support, and job satisfaction in China.
Recognizing the essential of the three highly related variables and the lack of studies in
Myanmar, this study is an attempt to contribute to understand the nature of relations among EI,
social support, and job satisfaction. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand thenature of relations between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction by exploring the mediating
effect of social support in private sector organizations in Myanmar. More specifically, based on
the previous literature reviewed, we generate the following hypotheses: (1) Emotional
intelligence will be positively associated with job satisfaction. (2) Emotional intelligence will bepositively associated with social support. (3) Social support will be positively associated with job
satisfaction. (4) The relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction will be
mediated by social support.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)2.

95

Methods

Participants
Surveys were distributed to 250 employees of private sector organizations and companies
in Yangon, Myanmar: Dagon group of companies, Information Matrix Co. Ltd., Myanmar Solar
Rays Co. Ltd., Myanmar Electrical Business Group Public Co. Ltd., Thukha Myanmar Co. Ltd.,
Citta Consultancy and VOA Burmese Service. A total of 200 usable data were returned; including
82 males (41%) and 118 females (59%), who were between 18 and 70 years old (M = 31.51, SD= 10.49). Among them, 32% of the participants were single and 68% of the participants were
married. There were 16 % of undergraduates, 80% of graduates and 4% of postgraduates.
MeasureEmotional Intelligence Scale (EIS): The 33-item scale (EIS), developed by Schutte et al.
(1998) [16] was used to measure the total Emotional Intelligence. It was translated into Myanmar
by the researcher. Each item consists of a short statement, to which participants was asked toindicate how closely they identify using a 5-point scale from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly
Agree). Some items of the scale includes: “I like to share my emotions with others”, “I arrange
events others enjoy”, and “I know why my emotions change”. The Schutte et al., (1998)[16]reported that the internal consistency reliability of the EIS is .87.
Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS): The 12- item self-reportmeasure (MSPSS) developed by Zimet et al. (1988) [17] was used to measure how one perceives
their social support system. It was translated into Myanmar by the researcher. Items are
responded on a 7- point scale from 1 (Very strongly disagree) to 7 (Very strongly agree) (Zimet etal., 1988) [17]. Examples of items from this survey form include “I get the emotional help andsupport I need from my family”, “My friends really try to help me”. Internal reliability for the
MSPSS, measured using Cronbach’s coefficient alpha for the total scale was .90 (Zimet et al.
1988) [17].
Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ): The Myanmar version of the Minnesota
Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) was used to measure job satisfaction in this study (May Lwin
Nyein & Nilar Kyu, 2014)[18]. The short form of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ)
was originally developed by Weiss et al. (1967) [19]. The MSQ taps into people’s cognitiveorientation toward their jobs and comprise 20 items rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (verydissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied). The total score ranges from 20 (low level of job satisfaction) to100 (high level of job satisfaction). Cook, Hepworth, Wall and Warr (1981) [20] stated that the
short form of the MSQ appears to yield a sound measure of overall job satisfaction. The
Myanmar version of the MSQ with an internal consistency reliability of .89 was reported by May
Lwin Nyein & Nilar Kyu (2014) [18].
Demographic Questionnaire: This questionnaire included demographic variables ofparticular interest (i.e., age, sex, marital status, family size, education, position, organization size,organization type, monthly income).
Procedure
Before the questionnaires were distributed to all participants, permission for theparticipants to take part voluntarily in this study during their working hours was obtained fromthe person in charge of the companies and private sector organizations. Then, the researcher gave

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clear instructions to the participants to answer the survey questionnaires. The survey booklet
contained a cover letter explaining the purpose of the study and requesting participation(Informed consent) and a battery of self- report questionnaires. Participants were told that theirsurveys were kept anonymous and they could refuse if they wished. Confidentiality was ensured.
Valid responses were obtained from 80% of the respondents – 200 participants.
3.

Results and Discussion

3.1 Results
Descriptive analysis
The final sample included 41% male and 59% female, who were between 18 to 65 years
old (Mean = 31.5, SD = 10.49). In terms of marital status, 32% of the respondents were single,
68% of the respondents were married. The range of family size was 1 to 10 members, with themean of 4.67. Among them, 16 % of the participants were undergraduates, 80% of theparticipants were graduates and 4% of the participants were postgraduates. There were 5
categories of position that are 17% of office staff, 32% of admin officer, 30% of engineer andmedia professionals, 18% of manager and project coordinator, 3% of executive and director.
According to organization size, 5% were from small business organization, 39% from medium
business organization and 55% were from large organization. There were 5 kinds of organization
type that are 24% from service sectors, 9.5% from Manufacturing sector, 35% from Sale andMarketing Sector, 20.5% from media sector, 0.5% from agencies, 10.5% from other sectors.
Regarding to the monthly income, the individual’s monthly income fewer than 100,000 Kyats
was 0.5%, between 100,001 Kyats and 300,000 Kyats was 47%, between 300,001 Kyats and
500,000 Kyats was 25%, between 500,001 Kyats and 1,000,000 Kyats was 19%, between
1,000,001 Kyats and 2,000,000 Kyat was 7% and the individual’s monthly income more than
2,000,001 Kyats was 1.5%.
Correlation Analysis
Inter-correlations among the variables, means and standard deviations for the measuresused in this study, are presented in Table 1. There is a significant positive correlation between
emotional intelligence (EI) and the demographic variables of age, organization size, organization
type and monthly income (r = .16, p<.05, r = .21, p<.01, r = .14, p<.05, r = .14, p<.05).
Furthermore, perceived social support showed a significant positive correlation with position andmonthly income (r = .16, p<0.5, r = .21, p<.01). Surprisingly, a significant negative correlation
was found between perceived social support and family size (r = -.15, p<.05). Moreover,correlation of job satisfaction with the age and organization size were all positively significant (r= .17, p<.05, r = .18, p<.05). Essentially, an examination of the relationship between emotional
intelligence (EI) and perceived social support, revealed a significant high positive correlation(r=.31, p<.001). In addition, significant positive correlation was found between perceived social
support and job satisfaction (r = .27, p<.001). Further, emotional intelligence (EI) had asignificant positive correlation with job satisfaction (r = .31, p<.001), as shown in Table 1.

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19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Table 1. Means, SDs and intercorrelations among study variables
Mean

SD

1

2

1. Age

31.51

10.49

_

2. Sex1.59

0.49-.21**
***

3. MS

1.68

0.47

-.50

4. F Size

4.67

1.62

-.14

1.88

0.43

.18

*

6. Position 2.57

1.05

.31***

0.67

.22

***

.18

*
***

5. Edu7. O Size
8. O Type

2.53
2.96

1.49

9. Income 2.89

1.04

.34

10. EI

15.25

.16*

11. SS
12. JS125.87
62.43
75.13

12.06
9.92

.06
.17

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

.27***__.28***

_

.01

.16*

_

.06

-.06

-.11

_

-.28***-.22**-.15*.30***

_

-.14

-.05

.04

-.03

.01

_

-.04

-.03

.11

.27***

_

.07

.05

_

.22**

.14*

.14*

.05

**

-.13
-.16
.05
-.03

*

3

.05

*

-.16

*

-.22

**

-.03
-.08
-.04

-.15

*

.06
-.15
-.05

.35
.06

*

.11
.00

***

.72

***

.12
.16
.03

*

-.03
.18

*

-.00

.21
.12

_
.36***.31***_

Note: MS = Marital Status, F Size = Family Size, Edu = Education, O Size = Organization Size, O Type = Organization Type, EI= Emotional Intelligence, SS = Social Support, JS = Job Satisfaction. *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001.

Regression analysis
In order to test our hypotheses, regression analyses were conducted. In the first threeregression analyses, age, sex, marital status, family size, education, position, organization size,organization type, monthly income were used as control demographic variables. Firstly, job
satisfaction was regressed on emotional intelligence (EI). For the predictive effect of emotional
intelligence (EI) on job satisfaction, result was shown in regression of Table 2. The combinationof all variables accounted for 14% of job satisfaction’s variance. After controlling for
demographic variables, emotional intelligence (EI) significantly explained 6% of the variances.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) was a positive predictor to job satisfaction (β = .26, p<.001). As
shown in Table 3, the results of regression analysis on emotional intelligence (EI) as a predictorof perceived social support. Regression showed the combination of all the variables explained
18% of the variances. After controlling the demographic variables, emotional intelligence (EI)
significantly explained 10% of the variances. Emotional intelligence (EI) was a positive predictor
to perceived social support (β = .34, p<.001). According to Table 4, the results of regression
analysis on perceived social support as a predictor of job satisfaction. Regression revealed the
combination of the all the variables explained 14% of the variances. After the demographic
variable had controlled, perceived social support significantly explained 6% of the variances.
Perceived social support was a positive predictor to job satisfaction (β = .26, p<.001).
Subsequently, meditational analysis was conducted to investigate whether perceived
social support could mediate for the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and job
satisfaction. Following the method outlined by Baron & Kenny (1986)[21], mediation isestablished when the following conditions are met: (1) a significant relationship is found between

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19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Table 2 Regression Analysis with EI as
predictor of Job Satisfaction
R2Age

R2 Change.08

Table 3 Regression Analysis with EI as
predictor of Perceived Social Support

β

F

.11

1.7

R2
Age

R2
Change

.08

β

F

-.11

1.78

Sex

.07

Sex

-.01

Marital Status-.02

Marital Status-.07

Family Size-.05

Family Size-.16*

Education-.04

Education.

Position-.08

Position-.03

Organization Size

.14

Organization Size-.07

Organizational Type-.08

Organizational Type.02

Income.11

Income.18*

Emotional Intelligence

.14

.06

.26***

2.84**

p<.01, ***p<.001.

Emotional Intelligence

.18

.10

05

.34***

3.95******

p<.05, ***p<.001.

Table 4 Regression Analysis with Perceived
Social Support as predictor of Job Satisfaction

Table 5 Meditation Analysis with Perceived
Social Support as mediators between
Emotional Intelligence and Job Satisfaction

R2Age

R2 Change

.08

β

F

.15

1.66

R2
Step 1.10

Marital Status.00

Family Size

.00

Education-.05

Position-.06

Organization Size

.18*

Emotional Intelligence

Organizational Type-.07

Perceived
Support

Income.08*

Social.14.06.26***

β.31***

Emotional Intelligence

Step 2

14.46***.13

SocialF
21.88***.10

Sex

Perceived
Support

R2
Change.03.25***.18*

p<.05, ***p<.001.

2.86****

p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001.

the independent variable (emotional intelligence) and the presumed mediator (perceived social
support); (2) a significant relationship is found between the presumed mediator (perceived social
support) and the dependent variable (job satisfaction); and (3) a significant association between
the independent variable (emotional intelligence) and the dependent variable (job satisfaction) is
significantly mediated after statistically controlling for the presumed mediator (perceived social
support). Conditions 1 & 2 were met in all cases. Therefore, meditational model was used to test
condition 3.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)99

On the first step, job satisfaction was regressed on emotional intelligence (EI). On thesecond step, perceived social support was added to the regression to investigate whether theamount of variance accounted for by emotional intelligence would be mediated. In the
regression, the relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction was mediated andremained significant by perceived social support. The results are shown in Table 5.
3.2 Discussion
The primary purpose of the present study was to examine the mediating effect of social
support on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction among Myanmar
employees from companies and private sector organizations. In doing so, regression analyses
were adopted to examine emotional intelligence as a predictor of job satisfaction, emotional
intelligence as a predictor of social support, social support as a predictor of job satisfaction andsocial support as a mediator between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction.
According to the results, it was found that emotional intelligence is a predictor of job
satisfaction, which supports Hypothesis 1. This means that individuals in the workplace withhigher EI are more likely to be satisfied with their job than those with lower EI. This finding
supports the previous studies. There is a study which exhibits significant association between
ability based EI scale and Job contentment (Trivellas, Gerogiannis, &Svarna, 2013) [22]. EI is theability of processing affect information and dealing with emotional problems, whereas job
satisfaction is the complex and subjective experience of work (He et al. 2014) [23]. Individuals
with high EI can positively and actively adjust their own affection when facing troubles, whichallows them to evaluate this work positively (Petrides and Furnham 2001) [24]. Employees withhigh EI can immediately identify and perceive the causes of work-related problems upon
experiencing them and develop appropriate strategies to manage their emotional response towardcauses of stress. Emotional intelligence is proposed as an important predictor of key
organizational outcomes including job satisfaction (Daus & Ashkanasy, 2005) [25].
Furthermore, in this study, emotional intelligence was positively associated with social
support, providing support for Hypothesis 2. Previous researches suggest that individual’s
confidence in their emotional skills would impact their expectation of support from others. With
regard to self-report EI, individuals’ perception is that they can accurately appraise the emotionsof self and others and express their emotions appropriately contributed to perceived social
support (Fabio & Kenny, 2012) [26]. This means that persons who perceive more available social
support report that they are better to be able to recognize emotions in themselves and in others
and to express their emotions. As social support involves an exchange of resources between
persons and involves recognition of the need for and ability to appropriately ask for assistanceunder conditions of psychological distress, perceived skill in the appraisal and expression ofemotions relates logically to social support (Shumaker & Brownell, 1984) [27]. The use ofemotions in problem solving also reasonably relates to one’s capacity to use emotional support inproblem solving and coping.
It was also found that perceived social support is positively associated with job
satisfaction, which supports hypothesis 3. Self-determination theory also points out that job
satisfaction is enhanced when employees’ psychological autonomy, competence, and relatedness
are supported and social support fulfills the need to belong (Teixeira et al. 2012) [28]. Other
studies also found that social support is an importance job resource. When good interpersonalcommunication between clients, colleagues, and family members is prioritized, an increase in job

100

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)satisfaction occurs (Tooksoon 2011) [29]. Individuals may benefit from social support inenhancing their job satisfaction because some studies have suggested that it is an important social
resource in the work environment which is more effective than other individual strategies (Lu etal. 2012) [30].
Regarding organization size, we found that employees who are working for largeorganizations would be more satisfied with their job than those in small organizations. Thisfinding is not totally consistent with existing researches. Some previous studies found thatorganization size often is inversely related to job satisfaction. That is, the employees in small andmedium organizations tend to be more satisfied with their jobs and working in large organization
reduces the level of job satisfaction. According to Myanmar culture, people who are working forlarge organizations tend to be more satisfied with their jobs than those in small organizations
because of the factors of job security, prestige and status. They assume that their jobs are moreprestigious and working in large organization assures work and stable income which gives senseof security. In accordance with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs model, safety needs such as pay,
benefits and job security satisfied, an employee will be ready to achieve higher level of needs ofesteem and self-actualization.
In addition, it was found that family size and social support were negatively associated.
The larger the family size, the less likely that the individual will get the social support. Other
researches also supported this finding. The larger the families, the less likely that it becharacterized by a predominance of positive affect (Bossard and Boll, 1956) [31]. A study revealed
that parents with multiple adult children report higher levels of collective ambivalence in relation
to quality of intra-familial relationships (Ward, Spitze & Deane, 2009) [32].
Finally, the meditational analysis revealed that social support functioned as a mediator
between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction. Current findings are also supported toprevious researches. Testing the mediating effect proved the evident relationship between
emotional intelligence and job satisfaction through social support, and verified that social support
is also an important factor in job satisfaction. Lopes and other scholars suggested that people
with high emotional intelligence have the ability of effect recognition, application andmanagement, and are capable of adjusting their emotions (Lopes et al. 2003[33]; Xiao et al.
2014[34]). Thus, contradictions or conflicts in interpersonal relationships can be easily relieved
and become harmonious. These individuals are also competent at sensing and evaluating thework environment, allowing them to seek and use social support when problems occur.
Individuals with high EI have a high frequency of social activity, they have more chances to seek
help from others, realize their value in the workplace, and openly talk about their struggles; thus,
job satisfaction is increased (Extremera & Fernandez-Berrocal, 2005) [35].
In spite of the promising results, the present study has several notable limitations. First,
this study used self-report surveys that do not accurately represent the responses of theparticipants. While self-report EI reflects one’s perception of their emotional intelligenceabilities, objective forms of EI can reflect one’s actual emotional intelligence potential. Thus,
future research may wish to incorporate more objective measurements of emotional intelligenceabilities. For the measurement of job satisfaction, we can also design and study the different
dimensions under organization, job and personal factors in future research. A further limitation isthat the generalizability of the findings to all types of employees is also limited. This study was
limited to white collar employees. Additional research using other types of populations is101

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)necessary to ensure the generalizability of these results. In the future, it might be better if othermediators, such as coping style and self-esteem could be explored between the relationship ofemotional intelligence and job satisfaction. However, this study currently provides meaningful
data for understanding the relationship between emotional intelligence, social support and job
satisfaction in Myanmar.
4.

Conclusions

To reiterate, the current study evidences that social support can mediate the relationshipbetween emotional intelligence and job satisfaction among employees from private sector
organizations and companies in Yangon, Myanmar. The significant relation between the threevariables EI, social support and job satisfaction in this study shows that high EI is beneficial forthe management of interpersonal relationship, obtaining further social support, and eventually
increasing one’s job satisfaction This finding has very important applications in counseling toemployees for their work related problems and interventions and focus on the importance ofusing multi-level social support, such as that of those from colleagues and supervisors, friends,
family members and others. It is hoped that the current research can contribute in organizational
behavior to appreciate Myanmar employee well-being. The significance of this study is that itprovides substantial evidence for the external validity of the relationship between emotional
intelligence and job satisfaction in a Myanmar cultural setting. The study also provides strong
evidence that training for the emotional ability of Myanmar employees is of utmost importance inachieving happiness and favorable performance in the workplace.

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19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

The Effect of Guided Discovery Method in Teaching Science at the Middle
School Level
Khin Mar Khine1, Khine Nyein Aye2
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of guided discovery method in teachingscience at the middle school level. It was an experimental study in which guided discovery method
was compared with formal teaching in improving students’ science achievement. It was conductedwith the 120 Grade Six students from BEHS Pale and BEHS (Branch) Tanae in Pale Township,
Sagaing Region. The sample schools were selected by simple random sampling method.
Moreover, subjects in each school were selected by using simple random sampling method andwere randomly assigned into two equivalent groups: Experimental Group and Control Group.
Each group consisted of 30 students. The experimental groups were exposed to guided discovery
method while the control groups were taught formally. At the end of the treatment, a posttest wasadministered whether there were significant differences between the two groups regarding theirachievement. The obtained data were analyzed by using independent samples t-test. The results ofthis study showed superiority of guided discovery method over formal teaching. It is suggested
that teachers should use guided discovery method to enhance students’ science achievement andmake them to be independent learners.
Keywords: effect, guided discovery method, science

1. Introduction
Education should play an important role in enabling people to live together in ways that
contributes to sustainable development. In addition, science education is emphasized forscientifically literate citizens who can apply the science knowledge in their everyday decision
making. According to Godek (2004) [1] , there cannot be any meaningful development without
science education. Science advancement has been seen as the single most important factor insustained economic growth. It has also been described as the principal driving force behind longterm economic growth of developed countries and their rising standard of living. Thus, scienceeducation is very crucial for the development of country.
The aim of the Myanmar science curriculum is to provide students with practicalexperiences based on exploration of the environment and also to develop their scientific inquiry
skills to gain scientific knowledge and positive attitudes towards science. To achieve effective
science education, science and technology curricula should be emphasized on the process ofscience. This would also lead to changes in instructional techniques and methods. The formal
methods used for teaching science in science classroom only transact knowledge from the headof teacher to the head of students. These methods are not sufficient to develop true knowledge
and understanding of science and prove futile exercises to inculcate problem solving abilities,
critical and reflective thinking among the children. Therefore, there is urgent need to reform theteaching practices and it is needed to study the Guided Discovery Method which may effect on
middle school level science teaching.
1

Associate Professor, Department of Methodology, Yangon University of Education, +959250074460,
drkhinmarkhine@gmail.com
2
Assistant Lecturer, Methodology Department, Sagaing University of Education, khinenyein.suoe1@gmail.com

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

106

Aim
The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of guided discovery method in teachingscience at the middle school level.

Objectives
The specific objectives of this study are as follows:

To investigate the effect of guided discovery method in teaching science at the middle
school level science achievement of the students
To compare the science achievement of the students who receive guided discovery
method and those who do not receive it
To give suggestions for the improvement of science teaching based on the data obtained
from the study

Research HypothesesThere is a significant difference between posttest scores of experimental group andcontrol group.
There is a significant difference between posttest scores of experimental group andcontrol group in answering remember level questions.
There is a significant difference between posttest scores of experimental group andcontrol group in answering understand level questions.
There is a significant difference between posttest scores of experimental group andcontrol group in answering apply level questions.


Definition of Key Terms


Effect: Effect means having power to produce or producing a desired result (Cruickshank& Bainer, 1990) [2].

Guided Discovery Method: It is one of the techniques happens when the students
encounter unfamiliar situation and try to interpret the situation for understanding andcomprehension (El-Kahlout, 2010, as cited in Zahara, 2017) [3].

Science: Science is the system of knowing about the universe through data collected byobservation and controlled experimentation (Carin & Sund, 1989) [4].

Scope of the Study
This study is intended to investigate the effectiveness of guided discovery method inteaching science at the middle school level. This study was restricted to BEHS, Pale and BEHS
(Branch) Tanae, Pale Township, Sagaing Region. The participants were120 Grade Six students
from those schools. The content area was limited to Chapter 5 of Grade Six General Science
Textbook for 2018-2019 Academic Year.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)107

2. Methods
A quantitative research method is used in order to compare students’ achievement
between two groups: control group and experimental group.
The instrument used in this study was a posttest. The posttest items were based on
Chapter 5 from Grade Six General Science Textbook. After getting validation from experts,
suitable refinement was made and in order to evaluate the feasibility of the instruments for the
study, pilot experiment was conducted at No.4 B.E.H.S Sanchaung, Yangon. After pilot testing,the test items of posttest were analyzed by SPSS. Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient was (.718).
The main study was conducted in BEHS Pale and BEHS (Branch) Tanae in Pale
Township, Sagaing Region. Sample size was 120 Grade Six students of selected schools within
2018-2019 Academic Year and each group consisted of 30 students. In each school, the control
group was taught by formal teaching method and the experimental group was taught by guided
discovery method. The treatment period was two weeks. At the end of treatment period, bothgroups had to sit for posttest.

3. Results and Discussion
Table 1 t-values for Overall Posttest Scores
Sig.
School

Group

N

M

SD

MD

t

df
(2 tailed)

Experimental

30

17.20

3.428

Control

30

13.50

4.158

Experimental

30

17.33

2.820

Control

30

14.70

2.744

Control

60

14.10

3.545

BEHS 1

BEHS 2

3.70

3.760

58

.001***

2.63

3.666

58

.01**

Note: **p<.01, ***p ≤ .001 BEHS 1 = BEHS Pale, BEHS 2 = BEHS (Branch) Tanae

According to the results, the mean scores of the experimental groups were significantly
higher than that of the control groups in each school. Thus, it showed that teaching by guided
discovery method had significant effect on science achievement.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

108

Table 2 t-values for Posttest Scores on Remember Level Questions
Sig.
School

Group

N

M

SD

MD

t

df
(2 tailed)

Experimental

30

6.97

1.974

Control

30

5.53

1.907

Experimental

30

6.37

1.697

Control

30

6.47

1.426

Control

60

5.95

1.721

BEHS 1

BEHS 2

1.44

2.861

58

.006**

.10

.247

58

.806(n.s)Note: *p<.05, **p<.01, n.s = not significant

Results showed that the mean score of the experimental group of BEHS 1 wassignificantly higher than that of the control group in remember level scores but not in BEHS 2.
Table 3 t-values for Posttest Scores on Understand Level Questions
Sig.
School

Group

N

M

SD

MD

t

df
(2 tailed)

BEHS 1

BEHS 2

Experimental

30

5.50

1.208

Control

30

4.77

1.775

Experimental

30

6.30

1.236

Control

30

4.57

1.305

0.73

2.381

58

.021*

1.73

5.283

58

.000***

Note: ***p < .001, *p<.05

As regards with understand level scores, the mean scores of the experimental groups weresignificantly higher than that of the control groups in each school. It showed that there was asignificant difference between the experimental groups and the control groups for scores onunderstand level questions.
Table 4 t-values for Posttest Scores on Apply Level Questions
SchoolBEHS 1

BEHS 2

Group

N

M

SD

Experimental

30

4.53

1.548

Control

30

3.20

1.584

Experimental

30

4.57

1.251

Control

30

3.77

1.073

Control

60

3.48

1.372

Sig.

MD

t

df

1.33

3.297

58

.002**

.80

2.659

58

.010*

(2 tailed)

Note: ***p <.001, **p<.01, *p<.05

According to the result, the mean scores of the experimental groups were significantly higher
than that of the control groups in each school. It showed that there was a significant difference19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)109

between the scores of experimental groups and control groups in answering apply level
questions.
Therefore, it can be interpreted that guided discovery method has positively contributed
to the ‘remember, understand and apply’ levels of the teaching science.
According to the result of this study, there was a significant difference between the
posttest scores of the two groups in all schools. Thus, it showed that teaching by guided
discovery method had significant effects on science achievement scores of the students. Hence,
guided discovery method can contribute to the improvement of students’ achievement in teachingscience. This result is consistent with the finding of Akani (2017) [5] who investigated the use of
guided discovery method to improve achievement of the secondary level students in teachingchemistry.
From the result of the posttest scores on remember level questions, there was no
significant difference between the mean scores of experimental group and control group in BEHS
2. It pointed out that formal teaching method was not very much different from guided discovery
method at remember level in certain conditions. However, mean score of the experimental groupwas significantly higher than that of the control group in BEHS (1). This result is consistent withthe finding of Bamiro (2015) [6] who investigated the effects of three strategies (guided
discovery, think-pair-share, and lecture) on secondary school students’ achievement in chemistry.
Besides, the comparison of mean scores on understanding level questions indicated that
there were significant differences between the means of the two groups in each school. Thisfinding affirmed that there were significant differences between the performance of theexperimental groups and the control groups on understand level questions. It pointed out thatguided discovery method can enhance students’ understanding in teaching science than theformal teaching method. This result is in line with Okwute (2015) [7] who indicated that students
from guided discovery group were able to achieve greater understanding than those who weren’t
and built their understanding of new concepts rather than merely absorbing information.
Moreover, the results for apply level revealed that there were significant differences
between the means of the two groups in each school. This proved that there were significant
differences between the results of the experimental groups and the control groups on apply level
questions. It can also be concluded that guided discovery method had more effect on applying
what the students had learned. This is similar to the result of Herlily, Anhar, Ahda and Sumarmin(2013) [8] who studied guided discovery method to enhance student achievement in science.
3.1 Suggestions
With respect to the research findings, the following facts were suggested.
The teachers should plan the activities to engage all the students in the activities.
The teachers should have a firm knowledge base about the uses of this method.
During the activity, the teacher should monitor the students and use the leading questionsin asking the students because they are very important for the students to discover theconcepts.
The teachers should use guided discovery method in teaching learning process as aneffective method in their classroom teaching.

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4. Recommendations and Conclusion
4.1 Recommendations


There were some limitations in this study such as time duration, and content area. The
results were not representative for the whole content area of Grade Six General Science
because only one content area was studied. Therefore, further studies should be extended
with a large number of contents and enough time duration for reliable results.



Although this research was concerned with science teaching, it can be applied into othersubject matter contexts and the various school levels. To be more reliable, the similar
research should be conducted on other States and Regions.



Finally, the teachers and students’ attitudes towards the use of guided discovery method inteaching science or other subjects at different school levels should be explored because
the teachers and students are very crucial in teaching learning process.

4.2 Conclusions
This study revealed the effect of guided discovery method in teaching science at the
middle school level. The sample size was 120 Grade Six students within (2018-2019) academic
year from two Basic Education High Schools, Pale Township, Sagaing Region.
The instrument used in this study was a posttest. The mean scores of the two groups werecompared by using the independent samples t-test. In each school, the control group was taught
by formal teaching method and the experimental group was taught by guided discovery method.
It took two weeks for the treatment. After the treatment, both groups received a posttest.
According to the quantitative results of the research, the conclusions were as follows.
1. There was a significant difference between posttest scores of experimental group andcontrol group.
2. There was a significant difference between posttest scores of experimental group andcontrol group in answering remember level questions.
3. There was a significant difference between posttest scores of experimental group andcontrol group in answering understand level questions.
4. There was a significant difference between posttest scores of the experimental group andcontrol group in answering apply level questions.
To sum up, the results of students’ performance with guided discovery method did better
than those with formal teaching method. Therefore, guided discovery method should be used inteaching science in order to facilitate the teaching learning process and to improve the quality ofeducation system.

Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to Dr. Aye Aye Myint (Retired Rector, Yangon University of Education), Dr. Pyone
Pyone Aung (Pro-Rector, Yangon University of Education) and Dr. Kay Thwe Hlaing (Pro-Rector, Yangon
University of Education) for their permission and great compassion throughout the study.

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References[1] Yasemin Godek, “The development of science education in countries”, Kirsehir Education Faculty, 2004,
vol.5(1),pp 1-9.
[2] Donal Cruickshank, Deborah Bainer, “The Act of Teaching: Decisions, Plans, Methods”, Macmillan Publishing
Company, 1990.
[3] Ida Zahara , “ The effectiveness of using guided discovery in teaching reading comprehension”, Pendidikan Dan
Pengajaran, 2017, vol. 4(2). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324182378[4] Carin, A. A., & Sund, R. B., “Teaching Modern Science”, Merrill Publishing Company, 1989.
[5] Omiko Akani, “ Effect of guided discovery method of instruction and students’ achievement in chemistry at thesecondary school level in Nigeria”, Scientific Research and Education, 2017, vol. 5(2), 2321-7545.
doi.org/10.18535/ ijsre/ v5 i02.06.
[6] Adekunle Oladipupo Bamiro, “Effect of guided discovery and think-pair-share strategies on secondary school
students’ achievement in chemistry”, 2015, doi:10.1177/2158244014564754.
[7] Andrew Ojoka Okwute, “Effect of guided discovery method on mathematics performance of low and highaverted secondary school students in Fct Abuja, Nigeria”, Unpublished M.Ed. degree thesis,
Department of Science Education, Ahmadu Bello University, 2015.
[8] Vera Herlily, Azwir Anhar, Yuni Ahda, Ramadhan Sumarmin , “Application of learning guided discovery with
scientific approach to enhance learning competency science seventh grade students”, Sciences andHigh Technologies, 2013, vol. 6(2), pp 499-505.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

A Study of Pre-service and In-service Teachers’ Perceptions on
Co-curriculum Activities
Soe Soe Thein1
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions on
Co-curriculum activities. In terms of geographical area, this study was restricted to Mandalay
Region. Participants involved in this research were (322) primary and junior teachers in
Aungmyaytharsan Township and (340) pre-service teachers in Mandalay and Meikhtila Education
Colleges. A quantitative research method was used. A questionnaire was constructed based on
Kebede (2015) and Kisango (2016). The questionnaire included (40) items on a five point Likert
scale. The independent samples t test was used to examine whether there were differences in preservice and in-service teachers’ perceptions on co-curriculum activities in terms of funding of cocurriculum activities, organization and nature of co-curriculum activities, participation of cocurriculum activities, promoting quality education, factors affecting on co-curriculum activities,
managing and encouraging of co-curriculum activities and teachers’ role in co-curriculum
activities. The results showed that there were significant differences in funding, organization andnature, participation, factors affecting, managing and encouraging and teachers’ role in cocurriculum activities except promoting quality education between pre-service and in-service
teachers’ perceptions on co-curriculum activities. To sum up, it can be concluded that pre-service
teachers have more positive perception than in-service teachers on co-curriculum activities.
Keywords: co-curriculum activity, perception, pre-service teacher, in-service teacher

1. Introduction
Education aims at the wholesome development of children. To become the wholesome
development of children, they need to gain value education in several ways. To gain the value
education, varieties of educative experiences are to be provided in the school programs which
may contribute to a long, happy and normal life of the child. In this regard, educational
experiences should not only be limited to formal knowledge to help him develop intellectuallyand mentally but also experiences for his social and physical development (Winston, 2008, citedin Mokohen, 2015). This value education can be inculcated through curriculum and cocurriculum activities.
Co-curriculum activities are aimed at providing students with the knowledge and skills
required to become holistic students with superior personal characteristics, such as high selfesteem, innovativeness, creativity, productivity, competitiveness and resilience, to face thecurrent phase of globalization, which is becoming more challenging. Co-curriculum activities are
essential part of curriculum. These activities are important for the harmonious development of
the personality. Co-curriculum activities facilitate all round development of children in various
domains of mind and personality such as intellectual development, emotional development,social development, moral development and aesthetic development. Creativity, enthusiasm, andenergetic, positive thinking are some of the facts of personality development and the outcomes of
co-curriculum activities (Mohamad, 2006, cited in Mokohen, 2015).

1

Dr. Lecturer, Department of Methodology, Sagaing University of Education, Myanmar, soesoe.sioe@gmail.com,
09256120622

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Most schools did not give due attention to co-curriculum activities and co-curriculum
activities management were not properly provided by most schools. As a result, students are notbenefiting from the total educational aim due to lack of the part of education, co-curriculum
activities (Abdulkadir, 2011, cited in Mokohen, 2015). Many teachers and even principals do
not realize that they must carry out co-curriculum activities like implementing the academic
curriculum in the classroom. In fact, the academic curriculum and co-curriculum activities are
related and are supportive of each other. School curriculum emphasizes on the cognitive
characteristics while the co-curriculum activities focuses more on acquiring affective andpsychomotor skills. Thus, the importance of co-curriculum activities is equivalent to theimportance of the academic curriculum. To implement the national education policy, emphasis is
not only given to academic curriculum development but the areas of co-curricular development
also should be given equal emphasis (Ahmad, 2008, cited in Dhanmeher, 2014).
Students also realize the importance of developing overall competences by joining cocurriculum activities and working collaboratively with their peers on academic work in order togain hands-on experience (Fung, 2007, cited in Mokohen, 2015). Numerous researches wereconducted to investigate this relationship and found that co-curriculum activities were positively
correlated with academic performance. Co-curriculum activities are a very important element inteacher training which can be applied in schools where educators and students can identify andapply the theories learned (Mclnnis, Craing, Hartley & Robyn, 2002). All teachers (prospective
teachers and trained teachers) should be equipped with knowledge and skill related to cocurriculum activities so that they are capable in the context of national education producing
capable individuals. To attain the education goals and all-round development of students, cocurriculum activities are of paramount importance and these activities must be implemented
effectively. Therefore, a research needed to study the perceptions of pre-service and in-service
teachers’ perceptions on co-curriculum activities.

2. Method
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the pre-service and in-service teachers’
perceptions on co-curriculum activities. In this study, a quantitative research method was used
and the participants were in total (340) pre-service teachers attending in Mandalay and Meikhtila
Education Colleges and in total (322) in-service teachers (primary and junior) working in
Aungmyaytharsan Township, Mandalay Region. As an instrument, a questionnaire for preservice and in-service teachers’ perceptions on co-curricular activities based on Mokohen (2015)
and Kisango (2016) was constructed. It was composed of seven dimensions: funding of cocurriculum activities; organization and nature of co-curriculum activities; participation of cocurriculum activities; promoting quality education; the factors affecting on co-curriculum
activities; managing and encouraging on co-curriculum activities and teacher’s role in cocurriculum activities. The questionnaire consisted of (40) items on a five-point Likert scales.
Simple positive items included. Then expert view and pilot study conducted. Internalconsistencies of these scales for this study were (0.876) and (0.91) respectively. After pilot test,
the major survey was conducted. Then obtained data were analyzed by using Descriptive
statistics and independent samples t test.

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3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Findings of Pre-service and In-service Teachers’ Perceptions on Co-curricular Activities
In order to investigate the pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions on cocurriculum activities, independent samples t test was used.
Table1. t Value of Pre-service Teachers and In-service Teachers’ Perceptions on Co-curriculum
Activities
Type of Teacher

N

M

SD

Pre-service Teacher

340

152.1413.98

In-service Teacher

322

148.33

11.72

t

df

p

-3.787660.000***

Note. ***p <.001
According to the Table 1, the result of t value showed that there was a significant
difference between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions on co-curriculum activities at.001 level (p<.001). This means that pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions differ on cocurriculum activities. Based on the result of means, Figure 1 was illustrated.

Meam

120

148.33140

152.14160

100
Pre-service Teacher

80

In-service Teacher

60
40
20
0
Pre-service Teacher
In-service Teacher
Typer of Teacher

Figure 1.Means Comparison of pre-service and In-service Teachers’ perceptions on Co-curriculum Activities

3.2 Findings of Pre-service and In-service Teachers’ Perceptions on Co-curriculum
Activities in Terms of Dimension
In the study, seven dimensions of co-curriculum activities were used to explore thedifferences in pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions on co-curriculum activities. Dataobtained were analyzed by independent samples t test.

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Table2. t Value of Pre-service and In-service Teachers’ Perceptions on Co-curriculum Activities
in terms of Dimension
Dimension

Type of Teacher

N

M

SD

Pre-service

340

19.31

2.87

Funding
In-Service

322

18.22

2.21

Pre-service

340

20.48

2.00

In-Service

322

19.87

1.77

Pre-service

340

19.76

3.12

In-Service

322

19.05

2.15

Pre-service

340

39.98

4.71

In-Service

322

39.45

3.39

Factors
Affecting

Pre-service

340

15.74

2.87

In-Service

322

14.81

2.84

Managing andEncouraging

Pre-service

340

19.61

2.52

Organization
and NatureParticipation
Promoting
Quality
Education

Teachers’ Role

In-Service

322

18.78

2.85

Pre-service

340

18.20

2.38

In-Service

322

17.21

2.21

t

df

p

-5.463660.000***-3.331

660.001**-3.361

660.001**-1.642660.101-3.773660.000***-3.958660.000***-5.509660.000***

Note. ***p<.001 **p<.01

In Table 2, the results of t value showed that there were significant differences in all
dimensions except promoting quality education between pre-service and in-service teachers’
perceptions on co-curriculum activities at .001 and .01 levels. In Education Colleges (ECs), cocurriculum activities are taught theoretically and practically according to the teachers’ manual by
educators of these subjects. In Basic Education High Schools (BEHSs), there are no co-curricularteachers particularly to teach and guide these activities. Teachers in BEHSs give more attention
to academic subjects and also teachers cannot link those activities to the teaching learning
process. Thus, students do not understand the benefits they can get from participating cocurriculum activities. Therefore, it was concluded that pre-service and in-service teachers’
perceptions on co-curriculum activities differed except promoting quality education. In otherwords, pre-service teachers have better perceptions than in-service teachers on co-curriculum
activities. Based on the result of means, Figure 2 was illustrated.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

39.98
39.45

117

40

18.20
17.21

19.61
18.78

15.74
14.81

20

19.76
19.05

25

19.31
18.22

Meam

30

20.48
19.87

35

Pre-Sevice
In-service

15
10
5
0
Funding

Organization Participation
and Nature

Promoting
Quality
Education

Factors
AffectingManaging
andEncouraging

Teachers’Role

Dimension
Figure2. Means Comparison of the of pre-service and In-service Teachers’ perceptions on Co-curriculum Activities in terms ofDimension.

However, there was a significant difference in funding of co-curriculum activities
between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions. This means that there was less financial
support of co-curriculum activities allocated in BEHSs. School’s funding influences thedevelopment of students’ activities in co-curriculum activities.
Moreover, there was a significant difference in organization and nature of co-curriculum
activities between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions. Although the activities incontent of co-curriculum subjects and other co-curriculum activities are organized systematicallyin Education Colleges (ECs) and Basic Education High Schools (BEHSs), it was assumed that
there is a weak in the implementation of co-curriculum activities at Basic Education HighSchools (BEHSs).
Besides, there was a significant difference in the participation of co-curriculum activities
between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions. Almost all students should participate
actively in at least one club (Education Bureau, 1993). In ECs, all pre-service teachers have toparticipate in all the co-curriculum activities supervised by respective departments of the cocurriculum subjects actively. In BEHSs, most of the teachers have less competence in theactivities of co-curriculum subjects. So, they cannot participate in performing co-curriculum
activities. Besides, there is a lack of facilities like sport fields, working classes in the schools for
co-curriculum activities.
But there was no significant difference in promoting quality education between preservice and in-service teachers’ perceptions. Co-curriculum activities promote equality education
by:





Supporting to increase academic achievement of students.
Engaging with lessons like leadership, teamwork, organization, analytical, thinking,problem solving, time management, learning to juggle many tasks at once and it allows
them to discover their talents.
Making students’ forecast their destiny in their later occupation (Mokohen, 2015).

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According to the response rates, all teachers (pre service and teachers and in service
teachers) know well the importance of co-curriculum activities in quality education.
Moreover, there was a significant difference in the factors affecting on co-curriculum
activities between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions. It can be concluded that inservice teachers have low interest towards co-curriculum activities and due to high teaching loadand other duties of the teachers.
Besides, there was significant difference in managing and encouraging of co-curriculum
activities between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions. The effectiveness of cocurriculum activities depends on effective management system. In BEHSs, it was assumed thatmanaging and encouraging of co-curriculum activities are weak.
According to the result of the findings, there was a significant difference in teachers’ roleon co-curriculum activities between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions. The role ofthe mentor teachers also influenced the participation and involvement of the students in theactivities designed and implemented. In-service teachers have less awareness in building thestudents’ self-confidence and interacting with students not only in the classroom but after theschool and cultivating students’ ability to meet school standards. Besides in BEHSs, It isnecessary to have teachers particularly specialized in co-curriculum subjects. Teachers need to beskillful in the activities of co-curriculum subjects so that they can carry out different cocurriculum activities systematically throughout the year. Thus, pre-service and in-service
teachers’ perceptions differ and pre-service teachers have more positive perception than inservice teachers in BEHSs on co-curriculum activities.

4. Conclusion
Based on the results of data analysis, the study can be concluded that there weresignificant differences in funding of co-curriculum activities, organization and nature of cocurriculum activities, participation of co-curriculum activities, factors affecting on co-curriculum
activities, managing and encouraging of co-curriculum activities, teachers’ roles in co-curriculum
activities between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions. The overall goal of education
is not only academic achievement but also the development of students mentally, physically,
psychologically, emotionally and socially. It is sure that there is no quality education without
having co-curriculum activities. Thus, in ECs, co-curriculum activities are being prepared to
implement them in BEHSs. Although co-curriculum activities are organized systematically, it
will not be implementation of co-curriculum activities if teachers do not perform these activities
in practice. In BEHSs, therefore, every students should be supplied the opportunities toparticipate in all the co-curriculum activities and teachers need to realized the benefits theirstudents can get from the participation of these activities. And, teachers can be planner, leader,organizer, manager, advisor, motivator, communicator or coordinator in co-curriculum activities.
Besides, teachers have to be experts in their roles. Therefore, this study will be fruitful toenhance the perception of pre-service and in-service teachers on co-curriculum activities. It isalso recommended for further research in order to fill up the research gaps on this study.

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Acknowledgements
We would like to express our sincere thanks to Dr. Saw Pyone Naing, Rector and Dr. Myat Myat Thaw,
Prorector, Sagaing University of Education for their kind permission to do this study. Our special thanks go to Dr.
Wai Wai Oo, Associate Professor, Head of Department, Department of Methodology, Sagaing University of
Education for her invaluable guidance, precious advice, kind support and encouragement throughout our study. We
are also grateful to all participants of respective teachers and headmasters for their cooperation in this study.

References[1] Kebede Mokohen. “Co-curricular activities as a means for sustaining quality education, Haramaya University”,
Haramaya, 2015. Retrieved from http://hulirs.haramaya.edu.et/bitstream/handle/123456789/
mekonen%20kebede/pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y[2] Bharati Rajendra Dhanmeher. “Impact of co-curricular activities on the non-academic development of juniorcollege students”, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.dypatil.edu/schools/management/wpcontent/uploads/...
[3] Mclnnis, Craing, Hartley & Robyn. “Managing study and work. The impact of full-time study and paid work on
the undergraduate experience in Australian Universities”, 2002. Retrieved fromhttp://hdl.voced,edu.acc/10707/85879[4] Benard Kisango. “Factors influencing students’ participation in co-curricular activities in public secondary
schools”, University of Nairobi, 2016. Retrieved from http://erepository.uombi.ac.ke..8080/
bitstream/handle/11295/99137/...
[5] Education Bureau. “Guidelines on extra-curricular activities in schools”, 1993. Retrieved fromwww.yll.edu.hk>PDF>Gui

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Relationship Between Achievement Goal Orientation and Approaches toLearning: A Study on Student Teachers in Sagaing District
Yar Zar Chit1, Zaw Zaw Min2
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between achievement goal orientation and approaches tolearning. 592 student teachers from education institutions in Sagaing District were selected as
participants by using simple random sampling technique. Descriptive research design and survey
method were used. As the instruments, Achievement Goal Orientation Questionnaire by Midgley
et al. (1998) and Approaches to Learning Inventory by Entwistle, Tait, & McCune (2000) wereapplied. According to the results, it was found that there were no significant differences in not
only overall but also subscales of achievement goal orientation by gender. However, first year
students were significantly higher than second year students in achievement goal orientation. The
result also indicated that male students were significantly higher than female in surface approach.
Moreover, first year students were significantly higher than second year students in approaches tolearning. Besides, there was a moderate correlation between achievement goal orientation andapproaches to learning. It was also found that mastery goal, performance approach goal andperformance avoidance goal are the best predictors for approaches to learning. Finally, this study
hopes to be able to give ideas how to promote student teachers’ lifelong learning by proper
approaches to learning and achievement goal orientations.
Keywords: achievement goal orientation, learning, approaches to learning

1.

Introduction

The efforts to develop new generation will not be achieved without good education. The
objective of education in general and at tertiary level in particular is to enable students become
agents of national development. Therefore, the prediction and explanation of college students’
academic success is an important area of research in education. This is because students who
underperform, fail or drop out waste their own time, resources, and often become demoralized.
Although academic achievement is often associated with factors such as teachers, parents
and school environments, aspects of intellectual and nonintellectual conditions of the students
may also affect academic achievement [1]. Among these, achievement goal orientations andapproaches to learning of students’ may facilitate or hinder learner’s academic achievement.
Researchers agree that goal orientation shapes how students approach and react toachievement situations [2].As to achievement goal theory, one among social cognitive motivation
theories, students in learning environments adopt different achievement goal orientations. Goals
provide a framework within which individuals interpret and react to events [3]. This theory posits
that students differ from each other in the purpose of their achievement behavior and that thesedifferences are associated with distinctive emotional, motivational, cognitive, and behavioral
outcomes (e.g., Covington, 2000 [4]; Elliot, 2005 [5]; Pint rich, 2000 [6]).
1

Dr. Assistant Lecturer, Department of Educational Psychology, Sagaing University of Education, Myanmar,+95797117913, yarzar02@gmail.com
2
Senior Teacher, BEHS-2 (Sagaing)

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Another area of higher education which requires attention is the approaches to learning ofstudents. How a learner approaches a learning task is dependent upon both the personality andthe setting in which the learning takes place [7]. Approaches to learning refer to “the learners’
different ways of relating to the learning task- how and why a learner learns”. The ‘how’ are thestrategies devised by the learner to solve the problems defined by their motives (the why oflearning).
Teacher education institutions in Myanmar are expected to train teachers who are capableof achieving the intended educational goals of the region in particular and the country in general.
To achieve this, it is necessary to investigate different variables which may affect the students’success in their college education. Thus, this study mainly focuses on investigating therelationship between students’ achievement goal orientation and approaches to learning among
student teachers from education institutions in Sagaing district.

Aim of the Study
The main aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between achievement goal
orientation and approaches to learning among student teachers from education institutions in
Sagaing District. The specific objectives are as follows.
1. To find out the achievement goal orientations and approaches to learning of student
teachers
2. To explore the relationship between achievement goal orientation and approaches tolearning of student teachers
3. To examine achievement goal orientation factors as the best predictors for each approachto learning
2. Methods
Sampling
Firstly, in order to complete this study, student teachers from Education Institutions in
Sagaing District who were studying in the academic year of 2017-2018 were sorted out as themain population. Total numbers of the sample were 592 student teachers from Sagaing Education
College (190), University for the Development of National Races (200) and Sagaing Universityof Education (202) by using simple random sampling technique.
Research Method
The quantitative approach of survey method and descriptive research design were used inthis study.
Instruments
The researcher used two questionnaires in order to obtain information from the sample ofthe study concerning students’ achievement goal orientations and approaches to learning.
Achievement goals were measured using Achievement Goal Questionnaire that assesses a three
dimensional conceptualization of achievement goals, which includes mastery, performance
approach, and performance-avoidance. This scale was developed over a period of eight years bya group of researchers at the University of Michigan (Midgley et al., 1998) [8]. Totally, it has 18

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items with five scale points that ranges from 5 (agree) to 1 (disagree). The reliability of the wholescale was α = 0.802 and that of each subscale was found as follows: mastery (α =.716);
performance approach (α = .746); and performance avoidance (α =.715).
The Approaches to Learning Inventory was adapted from Entwistle, Tait, & McCune(2000) [9]. This instrument has 52-items which are intended to measure the three approaches tolearning: deep, strategic, and surface learning approaches. It has a 5-point Likert-type scale,ranging from 1 (disagree) to 5 (agree). Based on the pilot study, 45 items, fifteen for each sub
scale were selected. The reliability of the whole scale was α = 0.70 and that of each sub scales
was found as follows: Deep (α = .715), strategic (α =.728) and surface (α =.720).
3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Descriptive Statistics for Students’ Achievement Goal Orientation
According to Table 1, among achievement goal orientations, mean value of “mastery goal
orientation” is highest ( =23.86) and that of “performance avoidance goal orientation” is lowest( =19.41). Therefore, it can be concluded that student teachers commonly try hard in theirlessons to be mastered. However, they seldom study their lessons to avoid failure. Moreover,since the sample mean of the overall achievement goal orientation is 65.54, it is greater thantheoretical mean (54). Therefore, it can be said that student teachers always set any goal and they
intentionally try hard in their learning.
Table 1 Descriptive Statistics for Students’ Achievement Goal Orientation
Mean

Std. Deviation

Mastery Goal Orientation

23.86

3.183

Performance Approach Goal Orientation

22.27

4.292

Performance Avoidance Goal Orientation

19.41

3.993

Overall Achievement Goal Orientation

65.54

8.963

3.2 Descriptive Statistics for Students’ Approaches to Learning
In order to investigate students’ approaches to learning, statistical procedure was carriedout by using the received data from Students’ Approaches to Learning Inventory. The result was
shown in Table 2. Mean value of “strategic approach” is highest ( =59.73) and that of “surface
approach” is lowest ( =48.15). Therefore, it can be concluded that student teachers commonly
learn their lessons by systematic ways. They generally make good use of their time during the
day and usually plan out their week's works in advance. However, they tend to read very little
beyond what is actually required to pass. In other words, their learning is just surface learning.
Moreover, since the sample mean of the overall approaches to learning is 166.25, it is greaterthan theoretical mean (135). Therefore, it can be said that student teachers always use any
approach to learn their lessons.

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19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics for Students’ Approaches to LearningN

Mean

Std. Deviation

Deep Approach

592

58.38

5.612

Strategic Approach

592

59.73

6.641

Surface Approach

592

48.15

6.735

Overall Approaches to Learning592

166.2514.124The Relationship between Achievement Goal Orientation and Approaches to Learning
To investigate the relationship between achievement goal orientation and approaches tolearning, the Pearson Product Moment Correlation coefficient was initially calculated. Theintercorrelation was reported in Table 3.
Table 3 Intercorrelation Results Between Achievement Goal Orientation and Approaches toLearning
Deep Approach

Strategic
Approach

Surface
Approach

Overall Approaches
to Learning

Mastery Goal

.635**.650**.053.583**

Performance Approach Goal

.341**.407**.246**.444**

Performance AvoidanceGoal.256**.250**.419**.419**Overall Achievement Goal
Orientation.503**.537**.323**.607****. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)

Table 3 indicated that there was a significant moderate correlation between achievement
goal orientation and their approaches to learning (r= .607, p<0.01). Therefore, it can be said thatstudents who have high achievement goal orientation will obtain better their approaches tolearning. Moreover, all subscales of achievement goal orientation were significantly positive
intercorrelated with the subscales of approaches to learning at 0.01 level. However, there was no
significant correlation between mastery goal orientation and surface approach.
3.4 Regression Analysis Results of Achievement Goal Orientation on Approaches toLearning
In order to investigate how well students’ achievement goal orientation (AGO) predictedon their approaches to learning (AL), a linear regression was computed. The results were
statistically significant F (1, 590) = 343.447. The adjusted R squared value was .367. The result
indicated that 36.7% of the students’ approaches to learning can be predicted from achievement
goal orientation. Therefore, it can be concluded the higher achievement goal orientation, thebetter approaches to learning they will get.

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19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Table 4. Results of Linear Regression Analysis of Achievement Goal Orientation as Predictor of
Approaches to Learning
Unstandardized
Coefficients

Model

B
(Constant)Standardized
Coefficients

Std. Error

103.61

3.412

.956

.052

Achievement
Goal Orientation

t

Sig.

30.370.000

18.532

.000

Beta

.607

Dependent Variable: Approaches to Learning
According to Table 4, the resultant model of linear regression expressing the relationshipbetween achievement goal orientation and approaches to learning was presented in the following
equation.
AL = 103.61+0.956AGO

AL = Approaches to Learning
AGO = Achievement Goal Orientation
Table5. Standardized Regression Coefficients (β) of Achievement Goal Orientation Factors on
Each Approach to Learning
Predictors

Approaches to Learning
Deep

Strategic

Surface

Mastery Goal Orientation

0.590**

0.580**-0.079Performance Approach Goal
Orientation

0.071

0.170**

0.016

Performance Avoidance Goal
Orientation

0.063

0.007

0.407**

Adjusted R2

0.413

0.446

0.177

Note: **p<0.001.

Then and there, in order to find out the best orientation predictors for each approach tolearning, multiple linear regression analysis was conducted. The results and standardized betacoefficients are described in Table 5. The R2 values suggested that 41.3% of the variability indeep approach, 44.6% of the variability in strategic approach and 17.7% of the variability insurface approach can be explained by the three achievement goal orientations.
Specifically, the results of the regression advocated that among the three achievement
goal orientations, only mastery goal orientation can significantly predict student teachers’ deeplearning. However, it was found that mastery and performance approach goal orientations are thebest predictors for strategic learning and only performance avoidance goal orientation is the best
predictor for surface learning.

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4.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Conclusion

First of all, according to the result of the descriptive statistics, it can be concluded thatstudents' overall achievement goal orientation scores were good enough and satisfactory in thisstudy. Moreover, it can also be said that students' overall approaches to learning scores were goodenough in this study.
In the correlation matrix, there was significant moderate correlation between achievement
goal orientation and their approaches to learning (r= .607, p<0.01). Moreover, mastery goal,
performance approach goal and performance avoidance goal are best predictors for approaches tolearning. Therefore, it can be said that students who have high achievement goal orientation will
use better approaches to learning. It is consistent with the results of Shih (2005) [10] and Geta
(2012) [11]. They found that there was positive correlation between achievement goal orientation
and approaches to learning.
According to the results of this study, it is obvious that the students’ achievement goal
orientation largely depends on their approaches to learning. For this reason, the following
suggestions and recommendations would like to be conveyed to students and teachers for the
improvement of learning.
 Early identification of students’ goal orientation type is important to develop the desiredgoal Student teachers are needed to be equipped with study skills to organize their study more
effectively and to understand their learning materials at a deeper level.
 Teacher educators should help their students desire to be mastered and to perform inlearning so that their learning becomes deep and strategic.
 Teachers should improve the students learning by employing active learning methods,
using assessment techniques that place more emphasis on understanding of the subject
and avoiding inappropriate workload on learners.
To sum up, in order to upgrade education system, the teachers’ qualities are needed to be
improved. Therefore, they should be well trained since their student teacher life. Only if they
have well constructive motivation to achieve, their learning will be more effective and successful.
Therefore, this study highlighted student teachers’ approaches to learning in keeping with theirachievement goal orientations. Therefore, it is hoped that these valuable results can be any help
and support for Myanmar teacher education sector.

Acknowledgements
Our deepest appreciation goes to Dr. Saw Pyone Naing (Rector, Sagaing University of Education), and Dr.
Myat Myat Thaw (Pro-rector, Sagaing University of Education) for their support to do this research in education
institutions from Sagaing District.
In particular, we would like to express our heartfelt indebtedness to Dr. Khin Hnin Nwe (Associate
Professor and Head, Department of Educational Psychology, Sagaing University of Education) for her
encouragement to do this paper.
We are especially grateful to student teachers from three institutions of education in Sagaing District, fortheir willingness to openly share their time and experiences.

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19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

References[1] B. L. Erickson, C. B. Peters, D. W. Strommer, “Teaching first-year college students: Revised and expanded
edition of teaching college freshmen”, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006.
[2] C. Ames, “Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation”, 1992, Journal of Educational Psychology, vol.
84, pp. 261-271.
[3] C. S. Dweck, Leggett, E. L, “A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality”, 1988, Psychological
Review, vol. 95(2), pp. 256-273.
[4] M. V. Covington, “Goal theory, motivation, and school achievement: An integrative review”, 2000, Annual
Review of Psychology, vol. 51, pp. 171–200.
[5] A. J. Elliot, “A conceptual history of the achievement goal construct”, In A. J. Elliot, and C. S. Dweck (eds.),
Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 52-72), New York: The Guilford Press, 2005.
[6] P. R. Pintrich, “An achievement goal theory perspective on issues in motivation terminology, theory, andresearch”, 2000, Contemporary Educational Psychology, vol. 25, pp. 92–104.
[7] N. Entwistle, P. Ramsden, “Understanding student learning”, New York: Nichols, 1983.
[8] C. Midgley, A. Kaplan, M. Middleton, M. Maehr, T. Urdan, L. Anderman, E. Anderman, R. Roeser, “Thedevelopment and validation of scales assessing students’ achievement goal orientations”, 1998,
Contemporary Educational Psychology, vol. 23, pp. 113–131.
[9] N. Entwistle, H. Tait, V. McCune, “Patterns of response to approaches to studying inventory across contrastinggroups and contexts”, 2000, European Journal of Psychology of Education, vol. 15, pp. 33-48.
[10] S. S. Shih, “Taiwanese sixth graders’ achievement goals and their motivation, strategy use, and grades: An
examination of the multiple goal perspective”. 2005, The Elementary School Journal, vol. 106(1),pp. 39-58.
[11] Mohammed Geta, “An investigation on the relationship between achievement goal orientation, approaches tolearning and academic achievement of college students: the case of Bonga college of teacher
education”, Unpublished master’s thesis. Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2012.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

The Sociolinguistics Study of Myanmar Syntax Error fromCurrent Myanmar Journals
Mon Mon Aung1

Abstract
This paper deals with the sociolinguistic study of common Myanmar syntax errors in current
Myanmar journals. The aim of this paper is to find out how Myanmar syntax errors relate to
Myanmar syntax standards. The standards of Myanmar language were considered in 1947,1974
and 2008. A syntax error is an error in the grammar of a sentence that goes against this grammar.
This paper studies Myanmar language journals published between 2016 and 2018 in the Union of
Myanmar. Sociolinguistics is a branch of linguistics which studies all aspects of the relationshipbetween language and society. The research questions are (1) how do we solve the Myanmar
syntax error? And (2) Which effect can influence of Myanmar syntax error in Myanmar social
media? This paper is focused on sociolinguistics as a descriptive method.
Key Words: Myanmar syntax, Myanmar syntax error, Myanmar Journals, Language and Society.

1. Introduction
This paper will present the sociolinguistics of Myanmar syntax errors in current Myanmar
journals. It has two parts, firstly sociolinguistics and the role of sentence in Myanmar language
and then secondly, the analysis of syntax error of current Myanmar Journals. In this paper, theerrors are take it from Journals published 2016 to 2018 in the Union of Myanmar.
Aim
The aim of this paper is to find out how Myanmar syntax errors relate to Myanmar syntax
standards.

Research Problem and Research Design
Myanmar language is the national language of Myanmar, spoken and written also by
Myanmar many ethnic minorities. 1947 Constitution Article 216 described Myanmar language
must be an official language. In Article 152(B) of a law passed in 1974 Constitution, it isdescribed Myanmar language should be considered a public language. In Article 450 of a law
passed in 2008 Constitution, it is described how the Myanmar language must be treated as theofficial national language of Myanmar. So, Myanmar language is a standard language. Although
it is standard language, the syntax error can be found in some current Myanmar Journals.
The research questions are(1) How do we solve the Myanmar syntax error?
(2) Which effect can influence of Myanmar syntax error in Myanmar social media.
This paper is focused by descriptive method of Sociolinguistics.
1

Dr. Professor, Department of Myanmar, University of Dawei, Union of Myanmar

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

130

Hypothesis
If the positions of phrase will correct place, Myanmar sentence will be corrected andevery Myanmar can easily read the correct meaning in social life.

2. Sociolinguistics and The role of Sentence in Myanmar language
This paper will be solved by Descriptive Research Method from the aspect ofSociolinguistics.
Sociolinguistics is a branch of linguistics which studies all aspects of therelationship between language and society.1
In Linguistics terms and Concepts,
Sociolinguistics, or the study of Language in relation to society, is a relative
newcomer to the linguistic fold. It was not until the early 1960s, largely as a resultof William Labov’s work in America, and Peter Trudgill’s in Britain, that it
developed into a recognized branch of Linguistics.2
According to this point, Sociolinguistics is the study of the relationship between
Language and its society.
In sociolinguistics, it has language functions.
It has been pointed out that apart from conveying information from one person toanother, language may be used to express emotions from one person to another,language may be used to express emotions and to direct the activities of otherpeople.3
Language has its functions in sociolinguistics. C- Criper and H.G. Widdowson (1975)
distinguished seven factors of language functions. They are(1) Referential function(2) Expressive or emotive function(3) Directive function(4) Phatic or contact function(5) Contextual function(6) Metalinguistic function(7) Poetic function.4
This paper will be analyzed the Myanmar syntax error by seven language functions ofsociolinguistics.
The syntax is the grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence. The syntax error isan error in the syntax of a sequence of sentence.
1

Crystal,2003,422.
Finch,2000,193.
3
Criper&Widdowson, 1975,195.
4
Criper & Widdowson, 1975,195-197.
2

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)131

In that, sentence is defined as Myanmar Grammar Volume 3,
Sentence is a systematically arrangement of phrases to become a meaningful
sentence.1
In Oxford Dictionary
A sentence is a set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a
subject and predicate, conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command,and consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more subordinate clauses.2
According to the above points, Sentence is a set of words that is systematicallyarrangement to become a meaningful sentence. So, position of phrase is the impact of sentence.
In this case, the positions of phrase is impact of Myanmar grammar. So, the associationof Myanmar academy of Arts and science had described the meaning of the position of phrases.
(1) Position of Subject
The position of subject is a start of sentence or in front of the verb.3(2) Position of Adjective
The adjective with ‘thaw’ (aom) particle is in front of noun modifier.4(3) Position of Adverb
The position of adverb is in front of verb.5
The position of phrase is the impact of Myanmar sentence. If the position of phrase isright, the sentence will be right.

2.1 Literature Review
The research concerning with Myanmar syntax can be found in the Ph.D. Thesis of
Maung Ko Lay (2003) at University of Yangon, ‘Myanmar Grammar’. In that, he described
word, phrase, sub- sentence and Sentence classifying aspects of linguistics.
Besides, University of Yangon Ph.D. Thesis of Ma Choon Ma Ma (2006), ‘Sentence’s
meaning and context in Myanmar language’ showed Sentence’s meaning and context in
Myanmar language aspects of pragmatics.
Similarly, University of Yangon Ph.D. Thesis of Ma Moe Moe (2007), ‘The study of
Sentence’s meaning’ that is described the sentence’s meaning aspects of semantics andsociolinguistics.
The above researches can be found the study of Myanmar syntax aspects of linguistics,
semantics and sociolinguistics. But they did not analyze syntax error aspects of sociolinguistics.
So this paper will be fulfilled a part of this blank.

1
2
3

jrefrmpmtzGJU? 1988? 62/
Wehmeier,2000, 1165.

jrefrmpmtzGJU? 1992? 90/
jrefrmpmtzGJU? 1992? 93/
5 jrefrmpmtzGJU? 1992? 95/
4

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)132

3. Analysis of Myanmar Syntax error in current Myanmar Journals.
Some of the Myanmar current journal can be found syntax error. If the syntax is error, themeaning will be wrong.
(1) In the news of 7 Days news Journal1

a&S;a[mif;NrdKUawmf yk*Ha'oudk ,leufpudk\urÇmhtarGtESpfpm&if; 0ifEdkif? r0ifEdkif
tpD&ifcHpma&;&ef vma&mufppfaq;aom ynm&Sifupmar;yGJ atmif[kajymaMumif;
omoema&;ESifh ,Ofaus;rI0efBuD;Xme jynfaxmifpk0efBuD; ol&OD;atmifudku
pufwifbm 27 &ufwGif ajymMum;onf/
On 27th September, Thura U Aung Ko, the minister of Ministry of Religious
Affairs and Culture said that ‘the scholar who is writing the report and examine ofAncient Bagan city can involve or not in UNESCO’s heritage list told pass theexamination’.

vma&mufppfaq;aomynm&Sifu
Syntax error -tpD&ifcHpma&;&efGrammar classifier - Subject and Verbpmar;yGJatmif

Language function- Referential function, Emotive function, Contextual function,
Metalinguistic function
Correct syntax- ,leufpudk\urÇmhtarGtESpfpm&if;

0ifEdkif? r0ifEdkif tpD&ifcHpma&;&ef vma&muf
ppfaq;aom ynm&Sifu a&S;a[mif;NrdKUawmf yk*Ha'oudk pmar;yGJ atmifonf[kajymaMumif;omoema&;ESifh ,Ofaus;rI0efBuD;Xme jynfaxmifpk0efBuD; ol&
OD;atmifudku pufwifbm 27 &ufwGif ajymMum;onf/

On 27th September, Thura U Aung Ko, the minister of Ministry of
Religious Affairs and Culture said that ‘the scholar who is writing thereport and examine of Bagan can involve or not in UNESCO’s heritage
list told Ancient Bagan city is passed the examination’.
Analysisf
In the above case, Syntax error is ‘tpD&ifcHpma&;&ef vma&mufppfaq;aom ynm&Siu
pmar;yGJatmif} (the scholar who is writing the report and examine told pass the examination). So,
the reader can think this meaning is the scholar pass the examination. The correct sentence is ‘On
27th September, Thura U Aung Ko, the minister of Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture said
that ‘the scholar who is writing the report and examine of Bagan can involve or not in
UNESCO’s heritage list told Ancient Bagan city is passed the examination’. The omit object isa&S;a[mif;NrdKUawmf yk*Ha'oudk (Ancient Bagan city).

tpD&ifcHpma&;&efvma&mufppfaq;aom ynm&Sif (the scholar who is writing the reportand examine) and ,Ofaus;rI0efBuD;Xme jynfaxmifpk0efBuD; ol&OD;atmifudk (Thura U Aung Ko,
the minister of Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture) performed contextual function, it
described Ancient Bagan city is passed the examination, performed referential function, emotivefunction and metalinguistic function.
1

7 Day News Journal, (3.10.2018),11.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

133(2) In the news heading of 7 Days news Journal1&JrSL;csKyfig;OD; ae&mtajymif;ta&TUjyKvkyf
The five chief police officers do transfer.
Syntax error- &JrSL;csKyfig;OD;

Grammar classifier- Subject

Language function- Referential function, Emotive function, Directive function, Contextual
function
Correct syntax- &JrSL;csKyfig;OD;udk ae&mtajymif;ta&TUjyKvkyf
The five chief police officers are done transfer.
Analysis
In the above sentence, the error is the subject &JrSL;csKyfig;OD; (The five chief police
officers). So, it must be object &JrSL;csKyfig;OD;udk ae&mtajymif;ta&TUjyKvky(f The five chief police
officers are done transfer).
In that, &JrSL;csKyfig;OD; (The five chief police officers) performed contextual function andreferential function. These officers are done transfer so it performed emotive function, directivefunction.
(3) In the news heading of Newsweek journal2

ql;av&Sef*&Dvmc taqmufttHkopfrS
yef;yJwef;jynfolrsm; uefUuGuf

trsm;oHk;oefUpifcef;cxm;&SdrItay:

Pabedan people demur the public toilet from the new building of Sule
Shangarilar.
Syntax error - ql;av&Sef*&DvmtaqmufttHkopfrSfrom the new building of Sule Shangarilar
Grammar classifier- Noun phrase

Language function- Referential function, Emotive function, Directive function, Contextual
function
Correct syntax- ql;av&Sef*&DvmtaqmufttHkopfrSm trsm;oHk;oefUpifcef;xm;&SdrItay:yef;yJwef;jynfolrsm; uefUuGuf
Pabedan people demur the public toilet at the new building of Sule Shangarilar.
Analysis
In the above sentence, rS is the departure showed particle and the place showed particles
are wGif? ü? rSm ? 0,f in Myanmar. So, the correct sentence is (ql;av&Sef*&Dvm taqmufttHk
1
2

7 Days News Journal, (6.10.2017), 1.
Newsweek Journal, (20.10.2016), extra sheet.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

134

opfrSm trsm;oHk;oefUpifcef;xm;&SdrItay: yef;yJwef;jynfolrsm; uefUuGuf) Pabedan people
demur the public toilet at the new building of Sule Shangarilar.
In that, it is intended ‘the public toilet at the new building of Sule Shangarilar’, so it
performed referential function. yef;yJwef;jynfolrsm; (Pabedan people) performed contextual
function. ‘Pabedan people demur the public toilet at the new building of Sule Shangarilar’ that
performed emotive function and directive function.
(5) In the news heading of News watch Journal,1

wdkifMum;cHxm;&aom bkwvifNrdKUe,faq;&HktkyfBuD;u ppfaq;onfhtcg trSef
w&m; ay:aygufvmvdrfhrnf[kajym
He said, when the complained Butalin township Medical superintendent haveexamined, the truth will be formed.
Syntax error- bkwvifNrdKUe,faq;&HktkyfBuD;u
Butalin township Medical superintendent

Grammar classifier- Subject

Language function- Referential function, Emotive function, Contextual function

wdkifMum;cHxm;&aom bkwvifNrdKUe,faq;&HktkyfBuD;udk
trSefw&m; ay:aygufvmvdrfhrnf[kajym/

Correct

syntax-

ppfaq;onfhtcg

He said, when the complained Butalin township Medical superintendent havebeen examined, the truth will be formed.
Analysis
In the above sentence, the error is bkwvifNrdKUe,faq;&HktkyfBuD;u ‘Butalin township
Medical superintendent’. The correct sentence is wdkifMum;cHxm;&aom bkwvifNrdKUe,f aq;&Hk

tkyfBuD;udk ppfaq;onfhtcg trSefw&m; ay:aygufvmvdrfhrnf [kajym/ ]He said, when thecomplained Butalin township Medical superintendent have been examined, the truth will beformed.’In that, the sentence intended ‘Butalin township Medical superintendent’, so it performed
referential function and contextual function. The sentence, ‘when the complained Butalin
township Medical superintendent have been examined, the truth will be formed’ intended
emotive function.

4. Conclusion and Finding
This paper was presented the sociolinguistics study of Myanmar syntax error from current
Myanmar Journals. It has two parts, sociolinguistics and the role of sentence in Myanmar
language and then the analysis of syntax error of current Myanmar Journals.
1

News watch Journal, (2.6. 2018), extra sheet.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

135

In that, it is analyzed the syntax errors from 7 Day News Journal, Newsweek journal andNews watch Journal.
The syntax errors can be found, they are(1) The omitting object (e.g, yk*Ha'oudk)(2) The omitting the object particle (e.g, &JrSL;csKyfig;OD;udk)(3) The wrong usage of the departure showed particle (rS) and the place showed particle (rSm)(4) The wrong usage of subject and object (bkwvifNrdKUe,faq;&HktkyfBuD;u? bkwvif
NrdKUe,faq;&HktkyfBuD;udk)
These sentences are performed language functions.
No.
1.

SentencesFour
sentences

Langueage function
Referential function

Times
4

Percentage
100 %Emotive function

4

100%

Directive function

250%

Phatic or contact function Contextual function

4

100%

Metalinguistic function

1

25%

Poetic function.

-

Language Function Percentage Chart
Poetic function.

025%

Metalinguistic function

1
100%

Contextual function
Phatic or contact function

4

0
50%

Directive function

2

Emotive function

100%

4

Referential function

100%

4

0

0.5

1
Series2

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Series1

According to the above chart, the analysis of four sentences, there are not poetic function
and phatic or contact function because of the news and heading. There are 25% of Metalinguistic
function, 50% of directive function, 100% of emotive function, contextual function andreferential function.
In the syntax errors, one is the news and three are the news’ heading. Why they are
wrong, because of the summary writing style. The errors are the position of phrase wrong andomitting the phrase.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

136

After reading the syntax error consists of the news in Journals, the readers took a photo ofthis error and then posted to the face book. People who are reading that error in social media,
they will laugh and think Myanmar people cannot able to write for understanding Myanmar
audients. So, they can notice the phrase errors and they can repair the error. If the positions ofphrase will correct place, Myanmar sentence will be corrected and every Myanmar can easily
read the correct meaning in social life.
Therefore, the syntax becomes to right in Myanmar Journals, Myanmar language andliterature will be developed.

Acknowledgements
Firstly, I would like to thank the organizers of SCA conference and secondly, I would like to thank Dr.
Theingi Shwe (Rector, Dawei University), Dr. Khin May Aung (Pro-Rector, Dawei University), Dr. Cho Cho
Myint (Pro-Rector, Dawei University), Dr. Kyu Kyu Myint (Professor, Head, Department of Myanmar, Dawei
University) for giving me the chance to present my paper. Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to Dr. Khin Aye(Retired. Professor, Head, Department of Myanmar, University of Yangon), Dr. Aung Myint Oo (Professor, Head,
Department of Myanmar, University of Yangon) and all of my teachers and my parents who gave me valuableknowledge.

References

udkav;/(2003)/ jrefrmo'´g(bmomaA'avhvmcsuf)/ yg&*lbGJUtwGufwifoGif;aomusrf;? &efukefwuúodkvf/
cifrif?armif("EkjzL)/(2018)/ bmompmayokawoepmwrf;rsm;/ &efukef? &mjynfhpmtkyfwdkuf/
csHKrr/(2006)/ jrefrmbmompum;&Sd 0gusrsm;\ teuft"dyÜm,fESifh tquftpyf

oabm/ yg&*lbGJUtwGufwifoGif;aomusrf;? &efukefwuúodkvf/
jynfaxmifpkor®wjrefrmEdkifiHawmf/(1947)/jynfaxmifpkor®wjrefrmEdkifiHawmfzGJUpnf;tkyfcsKyfyHktajccHOya'/jynfaxmifpkqkd&S,fvpfor®wjrefrmEdkifiaH wmf/(1974)/jynfaxmifpkqdk&S,fvpfor®wjrefrmEdkifiHawmf

zGJUpnf;yHktajccHOya'/jynfaxmifpkor®wjrefrmEdkifiHawmf/(2008)/jynfaxmifpkor®wjrefrmEdkifiHawmfzGJUpnf;yHktajccHOya'/
rdk;rdk;/(2007)/jrefrm0gusrsm;\teuft"dyÜm,favhvmjcif;/yg&*lbGJUtwGufwifoGif;aomusrf;?&efukefwuúodkvf/
jrefrmpmtzGJU/(1988)/ jrefrmo'´g twGJ(3)/ &efukef? jrefrmpmtzGUJ OD;pD;Xme/jrefrmpmtzGJU/(1992)/ jrefrmo'´g twGJ(2)/ &efuke?f jrefrmpmtzGUJ OD;pD;Xme/atmifjrifhOD;?a'gufwm/(2003)/vlrIbmomaA'rdwfquf/&efukef?ynmwefaqmifyHkESdyfwdkuf/
atmifjrifOh ;D ?a'gufwm/(2005)/vlrIbmomaA'oabmw&m;/&efukef?ynmwefaqmifyHkESdyfwdkuf/
Criper,C.& Widdowson,H.G. (1975) . Sociolinguistics and Language Teaching. Papers in Applied
Linguistics, London: Oxford University Press.
Crystal,David. (2003). A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics.(5th edn.). Oxford : Black Well
Publishing .
Finch, Geoffrey. 2000.Linguistics terms and Concepts. Newyork: Published by PAlGRAVE.

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Levine, Diane P. & Rowe, Bruce M. (2006) . A Concise Introduction to Linguistics. Boston: Pearson
Education. Inc.
Richard, Jack C. & Platt, John& Platt, Heidi. (1992) . Dictionary of Language teaching and Applied
Linguistics.(2ndedn).England: Longman Group UK Ltd.
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7 Days News Journal, 3.10.2018.
Newsweek journal, 20. 10. 2016.

News watch Journal, 2. 6. 2018.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Myanmar Language Practice: Brief Approach to Myanmar Linguistic Culture
Aung Myint Oo1

Abstract
This paper gives an analysis of the practice of language being used and spoken within Myanmar
society. Area studies conducted and answered which language use or language variety is suitable
and should be used within Myanmar Society. This studies based on the scope of sociolinguistics.
During the survey, the method of literature survey, excursion and interviews are mostly
emphasized. Throughout the studies of language spoken within Myanmar society, it mainly
focused on 5 main areas. 1. Practice of language using in introducing each other, greeting andleave taking. 2. Practice of address term 3. Practice of linguistic politeness. 4. Linguistic behaviour
concerns with gender. 5. Practice of paralinguistic behaviour. In this paper, I propose an assemble
approach of Myanmar society and language among the society. It helps to understand the way ofusing Myanmar language properly and according to situations. Moreover, Myanmar Language
Practice can be compared any other language practice of other countries.
Keywords: language practice, greeting and leave-taking, address term, linguistic politeness,gender, using sociolect

1. Introduction
This paper gives an analysis of the practice of language being used and spoken within
Myanmar society. What is language practice? Language practice is the working with language
and linguistic behaviour of speakers in society. It is one of the study area of Sociolinguistics.
Sociolinguistics reveals the correlation between a society and its language. It is derived fromlinguistics. Learners of a language, if they have studied sociolinguistics, they will understand thelanguage and its correlation with the society and it will be easier to study the language and also toapply, what has been learnt in a more efficient or useful manner. This paper is mentioned
Myanmar language variation and use in Myanmar society.
2. Background
Language is a social phenomenon. Language and society are always combined. Those
who are studying a language must also do the same to the corresponding society. In a society,depending on social situations, the use of language differs from time to time. Sociolinguistics is a
study of the relation between the language and the society .Those who studying the Myanmar
language and not only must understand the Myanmar language but also Myanmar society.
Myanmar language is in Tibeto-Burman language family, sub-family of Sino
Tibetan language. Lewis (2009) expressed class of Myanmar is “Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burmese,
Lolo- Burmese, Burmish, Southern” (p.482). Tone is very important in Myanmar language.
Myanmar language can be classified as tone/tonal language. Tone language is a language which
the tone or pitch on a syllable is phonemic, so that words with identical segments but different
tones are different words (Formkin, 2003, p.597). Myanmar language has three tones. There aremany dialects in Myanmar such as Myeik, Dawae, Yaw, Danu, Inthar. Preferred variety is
spoken in Mandalay. Many ethnic groups are monolinguals in Myanmar language and some arebilinguals.

1

Dr. Professor/Head, Department of Myanmar, University of Yangon.

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3. Greeting and Leave-taking
Firstly this paper is presented concerning with language practice of greeting and leavetaking in Myanmar society. Greeting and leave-taking have an important role in society. They areacts of communication in which people intentionally make their presence or absence known toeach other. These expressions don't usually add new or important information, but they are polite
and friendly. They help people feel comfortable. The way this is done is slightly different informal and in formal situations.
In Myanmar language, according to social traditions, there are many words of greeting.
The most usual way of greeting someone both formal and informal situation is to say ]]r*Fvmyg}}/mI)) g\ la ba /. It means 'Auspiciousness to you'. ]]r*Fvmyg}} was deliberately created as an allpurpose greeting for teacher and pupils in school. It is used mostly to foreigners and publicannouncements. Myanmar people use the greeting ]]awGY&wm0rf;omygw,}f }/ twe. ja. da wu)):
Ta ba dE/, when we want to greet someone who are meeting each other for the first time.
]]awGY&wm0rf;omygw,}f } means "Glad to see you" or '"Happy to see you" or "Nice to see you" or"Nice to meet you". It is usually accompanied by a hand shake like the English.
Unlike the English, most of Myanmar greetings are based not on the time of day ''Good
morning", "Good afternoon", "Good Evening" but on the situation. Myanmar use according to
the situation ]]b,foGm;rvdkYvJ}} / aDSv`9lkn-kD9 /, ]]b,fvJ}}/ aDkD9 / (Where are you going?),]]b,fujyefvmwmv}J }/bE ga. pja)) la da lE: / (From where are you returning?), ]]pm;NyD;NyDvm;}}/sa: pI: bI la: / (How is your lunch/ dinner?/Have you eaten yet?), ]]rawGY&wmMumNyDaem}f }/ ma twe. ja. da tCa bI nO / (Haven’t seen you for a long time?), and so on. The answers to thesequestions can be quite vague, the questions are not meant to be intrusive. In Myanmar society,greeting can start by asking or talking about other's health. For example; ]]aeaumif;&JUvm;}}/ne kau: jE. la: /,]]aeaumif;vm;}}/ne kau: la:/ (How are you?), ]]ydefoGm;w,faemf}}/peI)) Twa:dE nO /(You become thin./You seem to have slimmed down), ]]0vmw,faemf}}/ wa. la dE nO /(Youbecome fat /You seem to have gained weight), ]]jzLvmw,faemf}}/pju la dE nO / (You become white),]]ndKoGm;w,}f } /ɲo Twa: dE/(You become brown skin) and so on.
A more informal way of greeting someone is to say ]]a[;}}/ he: / and ]][,f}} /hE /. These
exclamations are used in very informal situations when people who know intimately each othermeet. These words of greeting when two friends meet .These must be chosen to suit various
situations. It depends on time, place, situation, speaker and the hearer.
In Myanmar society, there are different ways of saying goodbye depending on
situation.]]oGm;ygtkH;r,f}} / Twa: ba ou)): mE/, ]]jyefygtkH;r,f}} / pja)) ba ou)): mE /(I've to go now) can beused only when we are leaving someone. If we expect to see again the other person soon, we canuse the expression ]]aemufrSawGYMuwmaygh}}/ nau/ hma. twe. ʤa. da pO. /(be seeing you), ]]aemufaeY
awGYMuwmaygh}}/nau/ ne. twe. ʤa. da pO. /(see you tomorrow) etc. We can also say ]]owdxm;
oGm;ygaem}f } / D\ di. tha: Sv`9mN / (take care) when we are saying leave-taking to someone.
When we are saying goodbye to someone we do not know well, we can use more formal
expression such as ]]jyefcGifhjyKygcifAsm^&Sif}}/pja)) khwI)). pju. ba khI)) bja, CI ) / (May I go back now).
Sometimes Myanmar people use English loan words "Ta-ta" and "Bye-bye" informal situation.

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Myanmar greeting and leave-taking describe not only to know Myanmar language practice but
also to understand about Myanmar society.
3.1 Address Term
Secondly this presentation is moved to Myanmar address terms which are how to use in
Myanmar society as Myanmar language practice. In sociolinguistics, the pronoun used by the
speaker to represent the hearer is called address terms or address forms. Address terms are asocial phenomenon in society, there are general rules of their usage, but because of social factors,
they vary in different situations. The study of address terms is a field of study in sociolinguistics.
There are many forms of address terms to make representation for the hearer. An address formshould be chosen according to social situation.
In Myanmar language, according to tradition and linguistic culture there are many formsof address terms. If the address terms in Myanmar language can be categorized in general into six
categories. They are (1) address terms according to age, (2) Address terms according to relation,(3) Address terms according to rank (4) Address terms according to social relation status such (5)Address terms according to names: giving name, nick name, pet name, and (6) General address
term.
Address terms according to age such as ]]OD;av;}} / u: le: / (uncle), ta': / \ dO / (aunty),
tar / \ me / (mother) , tpfudk / \ ko /(brother), tpfr / \ ma. / (sister), armifav; / mau)) le: /(younger brother), nDrav; / ɲ\ ma. le: / (younger sister), aumifav;/ kau)) le: / (boy), aumifrav;/ kau)) ma. le: / (girl) , uav; \ kh\ le`: / (baby) , etc.
Address terms according to relation such as ]]OD;av;}} / u: le: / (uncle), ta':/ \ dO / ,]]a':a':}} / dO dO / (aunty), tar / \ me /, ]]arar}}/ me me /mother)/ ]]taz}}/ \ phe /]]azaz}} / phe phe /(father) , ]]tpfudk}}/ \ ko /]]udkudk}}/ ko ko / (elder brother), ]]tpfr}} / \ ma. /]]rr}} / ma. ma. / (elder
sister) , ]]nDav;}} / ɲI le: / ]]armifav;}}/ mau)) le: / (younger brother), etc.
Address terms according to rank such as ]]q&m}}/ sh\ ja / (teacher), ]]q&mr}} / sh\ ja ma. /(teacher), ]]q&mBuD;}}\ sh\ ja ʤH:/ (master),]]q&mrBuD;}} / sh\ ja ma. ʤH:/ (mistress), ]]AdkvfrSL;BuD;}}/bo hmu: ʤH: /(colonel),]]oHtrwfBuD;}}/ Ta)) \ ma/ tCI: /(ambassador), ]]ñTefcsKyfBuD;}} / hɲu)) ʤou/ tCI: /(director general) etc. Address terms according to the kind of work such as um;q&m/ ka:sh\ ja/(driver), ]]pufjyifq&m}} / sE/ pjI)) sh\ ja /(mechanic), ]]pma&;q&m}}/ sa je: sh\ ja / (writer),]]tqdkawmf}} / \ sho dO / (singer), etc.
Address terms according to social relation status such as ]]q&m}} / sh\ ja / (teacher),]]q&morm; }}/ sh\i`S\ ma: / (master), ]]oli,fcsif; }} / T\NE ʤI:)) / (friend), ]]tcspf}} / \ tCI/ /(darling), etc.
Address terms according to giving names such as ]]EG,feDtkef;}} / nwE nI ou)): /, ]]pef;pef;EG,f}}/ sa)): sa)):) nwE /, ]]pE´m0if;}} / sa)) da wI)): /, ]]vrif;aqG}} / la. mI:)) swe /, ]]ol&d,}} / Tu jI. ja. / etc.
Nick name address terms such as ]]ajymifBuD; }} / pjau)) ʤH9 / (bald head), ]]t&SnfBuD; }}/\ Ce ʤH9 / (tall person), ]]av;vkH; }} / le9 lou)): / (person with spectacles), ]]zufwD; }} / phE/ tI: / (fat

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person), ]]0g;jcrf;jym; }} / w\ tCha)): bja: / (skinny person), ]]a&Tacg}} / Cwe khO: / (person withprotruding teeth), etc.
Pet name address terms such as ]]tonf;av;}} / \ TE: le: / (little sweet heart), ]]tcspfav; }}/ \tChI/ le: / (little honey), ]]0dkif;cspfav; }} / waI)):) tChI/ le: / (a person beloved by all), ]]0wkwfav; }}/ wa. tou/ le: / (little lovely fatty), ]]rD;rD;av; }} / mI: mI: le: / (little lovely daughter), ]]cspfudkBuD; }}/ tChI/ ko ʤI: / (dear elder brother), etc.
General address term such as ]]a[hvl}}/ he. lu/ (hey man), ]]a[haumif}} / he. kau)) ) / (heyboy), ]]aumifav; }} / kau)) le: / (little boy), ]]aumifrav; }} / kau)) ma. le: / (little girl), etc.
As such, there are many forms of address terms. When speaking to each other, a pronounsuitable with the social situation has to be spoken with. An address term is important because, thestart of a conversation is to speak with the address term for the hearer. The address terms reflects
the social situation, social relationship and the social opinion. For example, sometimes rather of aname lovingly shows more intimacy or friendliness .Its more respectful to the hearer to use ]]OD; }}/ u: /, ]]a': }} / dO /, ]]udk}} / ko /, ]]armif}} / mau)) /, ]]r}} / ma. /, before his or her name. But thiscannot be taken consistently, the social situations are important.

3.2 Linguistic Politeness
Thirdly this paper is mentioned the practice of linguistic respect. It is concern withhierarchical organization, transaction domain, symmetrical social relationship, asymmetricalsocial relationship, conversational turn-taking, using euphemism and avoiding taboo words etc.
Linguistic politeness can be defined as the ways in which can language or language
variety is employed in conversation to show consideration for the feelings and desires of one's
interlocutors, to create and uphold interpersonal relationships and to comply with the rules forwhat society or one's culture. Linguistic politeness is a great virtue. A person who behaved
towards others is not only respected but loved also. People speak well of him or her on all
occasion with linguistic politeness.
There are many polite phrases in Myanmar such as ]]aus;Zl;wifygw,f}}/ tCe: zu: tI)) ba dE /(Thank you), ]]aus;Zl;trsm;BuD;wifygw,f}}/ tCe: zu: \ mja: ʤI: tI ) ba dE / (Thank you very much),]]aus;Zl;jyKNyD;}}/ tCe: zu: pju. pjI:/ (Please), ]]tm;emygw,f}} / a: na ba dE / (Excuse me for troubling),]]tm;remygeJY}}/ a: m\ na ba nE./ (Don't feel awkward), ]]tm;em p&mBuD;}} / a: na z\ ja ʤH9 / (Youare so kind), ]]*½kpdkufyg}}/ g\ ju. saI/ pa / (Take care), ]]pdwfraumif;ygbl;}}/ seI/ m\ ka : ba bu: /(I'm so sorry), ]]udpör&Sdygbl;}} / keI/ sa. m\ CI. ba bu/ (I don't mind), ]]pdwfr&SdygeJY}}/ seI/ m\ CI. ba nE./ (I beg your pardon), ]]&ygw,f}}/ ja. ba dE/ (It's all right), and so on. It canbe used to show politeness in Myanmar society.
Word choosing is important in linguistic politeness. In Myanmar language, according tosocial situations such as hierarchical organization, transaction domain, symmetrical social
relationship, asymmetrical social relationship, even speaking with the use of language differs. As
example the uses of pronouns in Myanmar language. Various pronouns for speaker (addresser),listener (addressee) are used in concerning social situations. These are ]]uRefawmf}} / tCu)) dO /,19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

143]]uRefr}}/ tCu)) ma. /, ]]ig}} / Na /,]]usKyf}} / tCou/ /, ]]uREkfyf}} / tC\ nou/ / , ]]udk,f}} / ko / , ]]'dkY}} / do. / ,]]orD;}} / T\ mI: / , ]]om; }}/ Ta: / etc. The speaker or the addresser has to choose correctly apronoun for him-self or her-self having in minded whom the one has to speak to. Concerningwith linguistic politeness, the suitable choice has to be done in according with the age, social
status, role of relation, and gender of the hearer. If the hearer or addresser is younger than the
speaker, pronoun ]]ig}} / Na / can be used to represent the speaker .If the hearer is younger but hisor her social status is his higher than the speaker it’s not suitable and impolite to use the pronoun]]ig}}/ Na / for himself or herself. In that situation it is only suitable to use ]]uRefr}} / tCu)) ma. / if the
speaker is a female and ]]uRefawmf}} / tCu)) dO / if the one is a male. Then, if the hearer though isolder in age and his or her social status is higher, the speaker can use ]]ig}} / Na /, if the speaker
and the hearer are very friendly or intimate. This manner is the same in choosing a pronoun forthe hearer.
Minimum responses are essential for linguistic politeness in conversation. Language
practice studies in sociolinguistics besides the common speaking forms, minimum responses
which is used according to discourse and conversation. Minimum responses show respect ofhearer during conversation. Myanmar language learners if they know and study the minimum
responses they would be more convenient in speaking the Myanmar language. Some minimum
responses in Myanmar conversation are: ]]atmf}} / O / , ]]atmfatmf}} / O O / , ]]tif;}} / I)): / , ]]tif;tif;}}/ I)): I)): /, ]]tif;av;}} / I)): le /, ]]at;av}} / e: le / , ]]atat;}} / e: e: / , ]]tif;aygh}} / I)): pO./ , ]]at;aygh}} /e: pO. / , ]]tif;aemf}} / I)): nO/ , ]]at;aemf}} / e: nO / , ]]at;;ayghaemf}} / e: pO. nO / , ]]tif;ayghaemf}}/ I)): pO. nO /, ]][kwfuJh}} / hou/ kE. / , ]][kwf}} / hou/ /. If the hearer do not make any minimum
responses it seem to be impolite behaviour.
In speaking with the Myanmar language, there are many euphemism applied to form apolite form in accordance with the social situation. Euphemism is a word or phrase that replaces
a taboo word or is used to avoid reference to certain acts of subject (Fromkin, 2003, p.581). For
example, ]]udk,fvufoefYpifcef;}} / ko lE/ Ta)). zI)) kha)): / (cleaning room) for ]]tdrfom}} / eI)) Da / (toilet)
in Myanmar. If there is a pregnancy, its more polite to say ]]udk,f0efonf}} / ko wu)) DE / (carry apregnancy), ]]udk,f0ef&Sdonf}} / ko wu)) CI. DI / (there’s a pregnancy), ]]uav;&Sdonf}} / kh\ le: CI. DI /(there is a child), than to say ]]AdkufBuD;onf}} / bai/ tCI: DI / (big belly). It’s more polite to say]]pdwfusef;rma&;raumif;ol}} / sei/ tCa)): ma je: m\ kau)): Du / (to have a mental illness), than]]t½l;}}/\ ju: /(idiot). It’s more polite to say ]]udk,fvufoefYpifonf}}/ ko lE/ Ta)). zI)) DI / (clean the
body and hands), than ]]tdrfomwufonf}} / eI)) Da tE/ TI / (going to toilet). Similarly taboo(impolite dirty terms) can be changed into polite forms by use of euphemisms. In learning
Myanmar language it is also need to study euphemism.

3.3 Language and Gender
In sociolinguistics, language and nature of gender is studied as a chapter. Myanmar
language and nature of gender, “Is there gender in Myanmar language?” is a question commonlyraised by Myanmar language learners. Unlike German, France and Pali, there is no grammaticalgender system in Myanmar language. But there is a natural gender system to show the difference

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in gender. It is required to address correctly the type of gender (male, female) with the nature ofgender system. In Myanmar language the words which separate the male and female are-]]a,mufsm;}} / jau/ tCa: / (man) - ]]rdef;r}} / meI:)) ma. / (woman)]]om;}} / S`9 / (son) - ]]orD;}} / T\ mI: / (daughter)]]vif}} / lI)) / (husband) - ]]r,m;}} / m\ ja: / (wife)]]cifyGef;}} / khI)) bu)):) / (husband) - ]]ZeD;}} / z\ nI: / (wife)]]bkef;BuD;}} / phou)): §I: / (monk) - ]]oDv&Sif}} / TI la. CI)) / (nun)]]vkvif}} / lu. lI)) / (lad) - ]]vkHr}} / lou)) ma. / (lass)]]vlysdK}} / lu bjo / (boy virgin) - ]]tysdK}} / \ pjo / (girl virgin), etc.
For other words, the particles indicating male sex ]]om;}}/ Ta: / (son),]]armif}}/mau)) /(boy) may be suffixed to nouns and the particles indicating female sex ]]orD;}} / T\ mI: /(daughter), ]]r}} / ma. / (girl), ]]ol}} / Tu / , / Du / (a person), ]]ar}} / me / (a gentle woman, afemale) are usually suffixed to nouns of the common gender where there are need to do so. For
example ]]trsdK;om;}} / \ mjo: Ta: / (a gentleman), ]]trsdK;orD;}} / \ mjo: T\ mI: /(a lady) , ]]ppfom;}}/sI/ Ta: / (soldier) , ]]ppforD;}} / sI/ T\ mI: / (woman soldier), ]]rif;om;}} / mI)): Da: / (actor/prince),]]rif;orD;}}/mI)): T\ mI: /(actress/princess),]]owdkYom;}}/ D\ do. Ta:/ (bridegroom), ]]owdkYorD;}}/D\ do.T\ mI: / (bride), ]]ausmif;om;}} / tCau)): Da: / (male student), ]]ausmif;ol}} /tCau)): Du / (female
student), ]]½kH;om;}} / jou)): Da: / (male office staff), ]]½kH;ol}}/ jou)): Du / (female office staff) , ]]q&m0ef}}/sh\ ja wu)) / (man doctor), ]]q&m0efr}} /sh\ ja wu)) ma./ (female doctor), ]]q&m}} /sh\ ja / (maleteacher), ]]q&mr}} / sh\ ja ma. / (female teacher) , ]]pma&;q&m}} / sa je: sh\ ja / (man author),]]pma&;q&mr}} / sa je: sh\ ja ma. / (female author), ]]tdrf&Sif}}/ eI)) CI / (male house owner), ]]tdrf&Sifr}}/ eI)) CI)) ma. / (female house owner), ]]av,mOfarmif}}/ le jI)) mau)) / (man air hostess), ]]av,mOfr,f}}/ le jI)) mE / (woman air hostess), ]]&Jom;}} / jE: Da: / (policeman), ]]&Jar}} / jE: me/ (police woman)and so on.
There are words by which the addresser shows his or her gender. Pronouns such as]]uRefawmf}}/ tCu)) dO / (I) for male, ]]uRefr}} / tCu)) ma. / (I) for female, ]]wynfhawmf}} / d\ bI. dO / (yourdisciple for male) - ]]wynhfawmfr}} / d\ bI. dO ma./ (your disciple for female), etc.
There are also objects for ending of sentences. ]]cifAsm}} / khI)) bja /, ]]cifAsmh}} / khI)) bja. /,]]Asm}}/ bja /, ]]Asmh}}/ bja. /, ]]½Sif}} / CI)) /, ]]½Sifh}} / CI)). / etc. If the speaker is a man ]]cifAsm}} /khI)) bja /,]]cifAsmh}} / khI)) bja. /, ]]Asm}} /bja /, ]]Asmh}} / bja. / are used and if the one is a woman ]]½Sif}} / CI))/,]]½Sif}} / CI)). / are chosen to use. It is made according to the basic of gender.

3.4 Using Sociolects

One of the language practice or linguistic behaviour of Myanmar society is using
sociolects like other societies. Sociolect is a variety of language that differs from one social classor social status to the next. Crystal (2008) defined that “A term used by some sociolinguists

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refers to a linguistic variety (or lect) defined on social (as opposed to regional) grounds, e.g.
correlating with a particular social class or occupational group” (p. 440). Sociolect is applied inaccordance with the social boundary. Sociolects are used every society in Myanmar.
For Example, in the transportation situation we can heard many sociolects by bus drivers
and spares and taxi drivers. Passengers coming along in a bus holding hands to something at theentrance of the car are called twG,ftwm / \ twE \ ta / (the original meaning is dearly loved andhard to be parted), a traffic policeman is called bJO / bE: u. / (duck egg) because the round white
hats they wear look like duck egg and so on.
The group of earners buying and selling in trading, is growing and people of the group
have their own words to he used within their group. For example, wanting to sell for urgent needof money is called Adkufem / baI/ na / (belly pain-in a sense that the person's belly is aching and alatrine is urgently needs to release his bowel), a price lower than the usual value is called
atmufaps; /au/ ze: / (sub price), a good thing obtained with an unreasonably low price is termed
aygacsmifaumif; / pO tChau)) kau)):) / (cheap, easy and good), selling a bad thing fraud is termed
tifxnfh/ I)) thE. /, tifxk / I)) thu. / (apply in wood- in a sense that selling out a bad wood with a goodprice).
Slangs are mostly used by young people from urban area in Myanmar. For example, toscold is called yGrf / pwa)) / (the sound of the beep of a car), ykvJc / p\ lE: kha. / (descending of
pearls) for crying, ikwfwkwfarh / Nou/ tou/ me. / (become unconscious while sitting) for being
stunned, vdrfh / leI)). / (roll), and ,Gef; / ju)): / (change position), and 'dk; / do: / (a child playing pebble
which easily rolls) for coming or going, wif; / tI)): / (tense) and ESmupf / hna kI/ /(an uneasy feelingin the nose) for getting angry. usdK; / tCo: / (broken) for a tiredly and sound sleep, zJh / phE. / (tobreach out a part) for a physical or mental assault, and so on are used very commonly. These
usages are taste of the age group. Some old people also apply the usage to become a friendly
person in the group. But if an old person is applying these usage in abundance, he will be gradedan indecent speaker.

4. Conclusion
The Myanmar are generous, genial and open people. Myanmar language and Myanmar
society are always combined. Those who are studying Myanmar language must also do the sameto the corresponding the society. In the society, depending on social situations, the use oflanguage differs from time to time. Those who studying the Myanmar language and not
only must understand the Myanmar language but also Myanmar society. In this presentation
We've look at five of the main areas of Myanmar language practice: greeting and leave -taking,address terms, linguistic politeness, language and gender, and using sociolect. All these areas areconnected with Myanmar society. This paper support to understand Myanmar language more andmore and to use Myanmar language well in the Myanmar society.

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References[1]. Crystal, D. (1997). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Second edn. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
[2]. Crystal, D. (2008). A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics.Sixth edn. Oxford: Blackwell
Publishing.
[3]. Formkin, V., Rodman R, and Hyams, N. (2003). An Introduction to Language. Massachusetts: Heinle.
[4]. Lewis M. P. (2005). Ethnologue: Language of the world. Sixteen edn. Dallas: SIL International. Meiji [5]. Soe(2012). Culture and Beyond Myanmar. Yangon: Sarpay Beikman Printing and Publishing
Enterprise.
[6]. Swann,J.,A. Deumert,T. Lillis and R. Mesthrie.(2004). A Dictionary of Sociolinguistics. Edinburgh:
Edinburigh University Press.
[7]. Wardhaugh, R. (2006). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics.Fifth edn. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
[8]. Sun Associates (1997). Practical Myanmar. Yangon: Myan Com Services.

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A Comparative Study of the Usage of "에/DÁ/, 에서/DÁ sNÁ/" in Korean Languageand "rS /hma/ , odkY /SnÂ" in Myanmar Language
Htwe Su Hlaing1

Abstract
The research analyses and presents about the usages of “에/DÁ/,에서/DÁ sNÁ/” in Korean Languageand " rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ)”in Myanmar Language comparatively. The aim of this study is forstudents learning Korean Language to comprehend well about the complex usages as well as for
effective teaching. The principles of Myanmar and Korean Grammar to apprehend similarities
and differences of practical use of above mentioned two languages though they are derived fromthe same root and have same grammatical use are briefly and firstly described, and errors
committed by students are followed as examples. It is comparatively presented how
aforementioned “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ)”and “에/DÁ/,에서/DÁ sNÁ/” usages are used in Myanmar andKorea Languages. With the objective of revealing the effective and comprehensive methods forstudents in teaching the usages “에/DÁ/,에서/DÁ sNÁ/” in Korean Language, this research is presented.
Unlike Korean Language, Myanmar Language has written and spoken usages. Hence, relatingwith “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ) ” usages in Myanmar Language, some Myanmar daily usages, the way inwritten and spoken usages, are presented.
Keywords: Korean Grammar, Myanmar Grammar, auxiliary particle

1.

Introduction
This research aims to contrast differences between two adverbial particles in Korean'에/DÁ/, 에서/DÁ rNÁ' and postpositional markers in Myanmar “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ) ” in terms of theirusages, grammatical functions and the use.
While studying a language, four skills (speaking, writing, listening and reading) must be
studied. Nowadays, technology for various fields is developing and it is necessary tocommunicate with each other by means of language. It is necessary to use the grammar of alanguage systematically for the correct language use since grammar is the basic standard of alanguage. In a language, correct usage of basic grammar is necessary to communicate
successfully. Therefore, it is important for people who use a particular language to understand its
grammatical structures for successful social interaction. In writing or speaking, noun and verb
play important roles in a sentence, yet the sentence cannot be created without particles. The
reason is that in speaking and writing, particle plays a vital role in combining nouns and verbs toform a sentence. Particle defines whether a noun is a subject or an object, and it helps to state themeaning of a sentence well, so the role of particle is the most important in creating a sentence.
Therefore, it is important for learners studying Korean as a foreign language to know the use ofparticles in Korean grammar. Moreover, learners studying basic Korean have to study caseending first, but even advanced learners make mistakes in the use of case ending, which seems tobe easy.

1

Dr. Lecturer, Department of Korean, Mandalay University of Foreign Languages, Myanmar.
htwesuhlaing98@gmail.com

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Learners who are studying Korean as a foreign language compare and contrast it with themother tongue. Korean and Myanmar belongs to different language families, yet they have a lotof similarities. According to language system, Korean belongs to the Altaic family of languages,
and Myanmar belongs to sino-tipet system. However, both languages have same word order(Subject+ Object + Verb) and they both have a wide use of part of speech. However, students
have difficulties in using particles and they make mistakes because adverbial particles in Korean
have different usages and a variety of meanings ,they have mother tongue influence and two
languages have different case endings. For the above reasons, the usages ofadverbial particle in
Korean and Myanmar particles “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ)” will be examined in this study.
2.

Methods
The use of two case endings in Korean ' “에/DÂ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/” and Myanmar particles “rS(hma) rS (SnÂ) ” will be compared and contracted in this study. While studying Korean as aforeign language, case endings “에/DÂ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/”in basic grammar semasiologically have many
connotations and semasiology synth of case endings “에/DÂ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/” in the book “The Use of
Korean Grammar for Foreigners” (2005) is used. The use of Myanmar particles “rS (hma) odkY(SnÂ)” is extracted from Myanmar Grammar book published by Department of Myanmar andLanguage Education, Ministry of Education in 2005.Different meanings of particles in Korean
and Myanmar are classified and the unique features of case endings are highlighted in this study.
The meanings of Korean case endings “에/DÂ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/”and their functions are analysed.
Likewise, the meanings of Korean case endings “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ)” and their functions areanalysed. Based on the results, similarities and differences between particles in Myanmar andKorean languages are compared and contrasted.

3.

Results and Discussion

3.1Meaning and Classification of Particles in Korean
Particle is one of the parts of speech in Korean. Parts of speech indicate different
grammatical features of a word. There are nine parts of speech in Korean, namely – noun,
pronoun, numeral, verb, adjective, unanjugation adjective or modifier, adverb, exclamation,interjection and postposition1.
Postposition can be classified into three parts – case ending, special postposition andjoining postposition. Case ending is a postposition which describes grammatical features of
independence morpheme. There are nominative subjective case, objective case, meter,
predicative, the vocative case, an adverbial and adjective. Special postposition is a postposition
which describes the meanings of the combination of words which can stand independently
whereas joining postposition has the function of associating two words. There are nine parts ofspeech in Myanmar. Parts of speech indicate the function of a word spoken to get the meaning.
Nine parts of speech in Myanmar are classified as noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb,

1

The Use of Korean Grammar for Foreigners, 2005, pp.18

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postpositional marker, conjunctions, particles and interjection. 1 Myanmar Grammar(2005)
focuses on written grammar. Postpositional markers are used as suffixes after nouns or pronouns
and they identify whether the given noun or pronoun is subject or object. Moreover, they are usedas suffixed after verbs and they indicates time and types of verbs. Conjunctions are words thatconnect either other words or sentences or meaning reciprocally. Particles support the meanings
of noun, pronoun, adjective, verb and adverb.
Myanmar Grammar (2005) is used to study grammar while leaning Myanmar as a second
language, yet the book only focuses on written grammar. There are differences in spoken
language and written language in Myanmar and there is no stability of grammar usage.
Therefore, the grammatical function of “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ) ” in Myanmar is different depending on
the sentence. This research analyse different functions of “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ) ” in a sentence.
Grammatical usages in Myanmar Grammar (2005),which is traditionally used, are found to havedifferent grammatical functions in spoken languages.
3.2 The Meaning of “에/DÂ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/” in Korean Language
The meaning of Korean case ending “에/DÂ/”is semantically analysed. The Use of Korean
Language for foreigners published by national Korean Center (2005) states that the meaning of“에/DÂ/” shows location, time, reason, direction, purpose, object, standard, unit, receiver of abehavior, abstract fact and state and quality. It is used to support the superior word or add thefront word. “에/DÂ/” is used as a comparison when more than two things are combines. Its usages
can be seen in the following sentences.
e.g (1). 부모님은 대전에 살고 계십니다.(shows location)(2).

내일은 한시에 만나요. (shows time)(3). 서울에 오니 사람도 많고 공기도 탁해 답답하군요.(shows direction)(4). 비에 옷이 다 젖었네. (shows reason)(5). 돈을 지갑에 넣어 두어라.(shows receiver)(6). 옷이 마음에 안 들어요. (shows behaviour)(7). 칼에 손을 베었어요. (identifies object)(8). 보약은 허약해진 몸에 특히 좋다. (identifies purpose)(9). 그의 실력은 전문가에 가까웠다.( identifies purpose)(10). 더운 날씨에 건강히 잘 지내시는지요? (identifies situation)

1

Myanmar Commission, Myanmar Grammar, 1975-2005, pp-69

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150(11). 수박은 한 개에 만 원입니다. (shows number)(12). 총무에 그 사람이 제격이다. (shows position)(13). 이 문제에 관한 의견을 말씀해 바랍니다. (shows indication)(14). 3 에 5 를 더하면 8 이 된다. (shows combination)(15). 영수는 생일 선물로 연필에 가방에 장난감에 이것저것 많이 받았다.
(shows comparison)
According to the book “ The Use of Korean Grammar”(2005) for foreigners published by
National Korean Center, " 에서/DÂrNÁ/" shows location, departure, time etc.
e.g (16). 보통 오전에는 학교에서 공부해요. (shows location)(17). 학교에서 가면 얼마 걸리겠어요? (shows departure)(18). 너에게 조금이나마 도움이 되고자 하는 뜻에 한 마디만 하겠다. (shows reason)(19). 세상에 가장 아름다운 것이 바로 사랑이다. (shows collectivity and background)(20). 이 상황에서 어떻게 더 좋아질 수가 있겠어요?(shows compared thing)(21). 정부에서 실시한 조사 결과가 발표되었다. (shows subject)

3.3 Comparison of “에/DÂ/” and “에서/DÂrNÁ/”In Korean language, “에/DÁ/” is used to show location, destination, place of arrival, reason
and situation, whereas “에서/DÂrNÁ/” is used to shows location, departure, reasons and comparison.
They have semantically same grammatical usages when they are used to show location.
e.g. ( 22) 나는 양곤에 산다.
(23) 나는 양곤에서 산다.
Both “에” in sentence (22) and “에서/DÂrNÁ/” in sentence (23) have the same grammatical usage
when they are used with the verb “살다” which means “live”. Although they have the samegrammatical functions, they have different meanings in the sentence.
e.g.(24) 친구가 밖에 서 있다.
(25) 친구가 밖에서 서 있다.

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In the uses of “에” in sentence (24) and “에서/DÂrNÁ/” in sentence (25), the later one havethe correct grammatical usage since the verb “서 있다”, which means standing, is used as anaction not as the location.
e.g.( 26) 양곤에 논문 발표가 있다.
(27) 양곤에서 논문 발표가 있다.
In the above sentences, the grammatical usage in sentence (26) is incorrect. In that sentence,“에/DÁ/” means “Doing paper reading”; it does not means “있다”,which means “exist”. “에/DÁ/”indicates the location while “에서/DÂrNÁ/” shows the place where the action happens. Therefore,
they have same meaning only to show the location, but in term of the whole sentence, theycannot be interchangeable since they have different grammatical functions.
e.g (28) a. 15 분 후에 학교에 도착한다.
b. 다음 주에 바간에 간다.
c. 만달레이에서 몇 시에 출발할 거야?
d. 나는 양곤에서 왔다.
“에/DÁ/” and “에서/DÂrNÁ/” in example (28) are used the destination or arrival rather than thelocation. “에서” is used to show departure or arrival.
3.4 Grammatical usages of “rS (hma) odkYS (SnÂ) ” in Myanmar“rS (hma)” is semantically analysed. According to Myanmar Grammar (2005) by
Department of Myanmar and Language Education, Ministry of Education, it is used as a
postpositional marker for departure. Its usages can be found as follows:e.g ( 29 ) armifbonf rEÅav;rS jyefvmonf။ Mg Ba comes back from Mandalay.
( 30 ) armifbonf rEÅav;u jyefvmonf ။ Mg Ba comes back from Mandalay.
In sentence (29), the place of departure is Mandalay and " rS (hma) " is used after “rEÅav;”to show departure. However, it is mostly used in written language. In spoken language, “u” isused to show departure, and in sentence (30), “u” is used instead of “rS”.
Myanmar postpositional marker relating to noun “မွ(hma)” has different grammatical functions
depending on its use in a sentence.
e.g ( 31 ) q&mrudk zkef;qufOD;rS ။ I will call the teacher.
( 32 ) eifvmrS igjyefr,f ။ I will leave only when you come.

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In sentence (31), “rS (hma)” is used to emphasize the speaker’s immediate thought to call theteacher and it is used as a particle that is used after a sentence. Besides, in sentence (32), “rS(hma)” has different grammatical function, joining two sentences “eifvmonf” and “igjyefr,f” .

]]odkY (SnÂ)” in Myanmar is semantically analysed. According to Myanmar Grammar (2005) by
Department of Myanmar and Language Education, Ministry of Education, it is used as a
postpositional marker to show destination or arrival. Its usages can be found in the following
sentences.
e.g (33 ) armifb ausmif;odkY oGm;onf။ Mg Ba goes to school.
( 34 ) armifb ausmif;udk oGm;onf။ Mg Ba goes to school.
In the above sentences, “ausmif; (school)” is Mg Ba’s destination or the place of arrival.
“odkY (SnÂ)” is used after the noun “ausmif; (school)” to emphasize that Mg Ba arrives there.
However, “odkY (SnÂ)” is widely used as a postpositional marker ,that shows arrival, only in written
language. In spoken language, “udk ” is used instead of “odkY (SnÂ)”. This can be found in sentence(34).
The usages, unique features and different usages of particles and postpositional markers
in two languages are analysed with example sentences, by comparing two adverbial
particles“에/DÁ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/'” in Korean and “rS (hma), odkY” in Myanmar. This can be found as
follows:
It is found out that two case ending in Korean language “에/DÁ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/” have various
meanings. “에/DÁ/” in Korean language shows location, destination, arrival, reason and situation
whereas “에/DÁ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/” shows location, departure, reason and comparison. Both of them canbe used to show location, yet they have different meanings in term of the whole sentence. “에/DÁ/”shows location while “에/DÁ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/” shows the place where the action happens, so they are
not interchangeable. In Korean grammar, words have same lexical meaning but in a sentence,
they have different grammatical functions. Moreover, non-native speakers of Korean language
can make mistakes in using particles since they have many grammatical functions.
Korean case ending “에/DÁ/” is used as a postpositional marker that shows arrival.
Likewise, “odkY” in Myanmar has same grammatical function. There is instability in Myanmar
grammar because postpositional marker used in written language can be substituted by anotherone in spoken language. Korean grammar has stability because there are same particles for bothspoken and written language.
Case ending “에서/DÂrNÁ/” in Korean shows departure and it has the same grammatical
function with Myanmar word “rS (hma)”. However, “rS” is only used in written language, not in
spoken language. Besides,“ rS (hma)”, one of the postpositional marker, which is used to show
departure has other grammatical functions in a sentence.

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4. Conclusion
This study helps Myanmar students who are studying Korean understand the usages of“에/DÁ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/” in Korean language and “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ) ” in Myanmar, the use of particles
in two languages, their unique features and different usages. It is found out that particles in
Korean language have different connotations. Korean grammar is stable because there is nochange in the usage of grammar both in spoken and written language. Postpositional markers in
Myanmar have different meanings and different grammatical function when they are in isolation
and within a sentence. Moreover, Myanmar grammar is instable because different grammaticalunits are used in written language and spoken language. Myanmar students who are studying
Korean have difficulties in Korean grammar exercises because of the differences stated above.
Furthermore, mother tongue influence is one of the cause of committing errors. Therefore, thisstudy highlights similarities and differences of two languages by comparing usages of particles in
two languages. People should use a language systematically because language is the main part ofthe society. Moreover, there are many things that should be studied in a language because
language is always improving. Therefore, further researches concerning particles in Korean
language and Myanmar language will be conducted in the future.

Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge everyone who played a role in my academic accomplishment. I would like toexpress my deep and sincere gratitude to my colleagues for providing patient advice and guidance throughout the
research process.

References[1] 남기심, 고영근,『표준 국어문법론』, 탑출판사, 2006.
[2] 서울대학교 국어교육연구소,『한국어 교육학 사전』, 서울대학교 국어교육연구소 편, 2014, Vol-2.
[3] 연세대학교 한국어학당 교재편찬위원회, 『연세 한국어 5-1』, 연세대학교, 연세대학교 출판부, 2013.
[4] 이익섭,국어학개설』, 학연사, 2008.
[5] 이익섭, 이상억, 재완, 『한국의 언어』, 신구문학사, 1997.
[6] 이정희 외, 『경희 한국어 문법 5』, 경희대학교 한국어학당 교재 편찬의원회, 도서출판하우,2000.
[7] 임호빈.홍경표.장숙인,『외국인을 위한 한국어 문법』, 연세대학교 출판부,2003.
[8] Dagon U San Ngwe(1974),『문법관과 문학관, Sarpay Beik Man 출판사.

[9]Dr.Aung Myint Oo, ]]bmompum;okawoe}}, Duwon Press,2010.
[10]John Okell and Anna Albtt, 『Burmese/ Myanmar Dictionary of Grammatical Forms, TJ International, Padstow, Cronwall, Geet
Britain, 2001 .
[11]Myanmar Commission, 『Myanmar Grammar』, 1975-2005 , Myanmar .
[12]San San Aye, ]]jrefrmo'´g0dbwfwdkY\tydkif;u@}}, Myanmar Department, Yongon,1994.

[13]U Phay Maung Tin, ]]bmompum;pmayavmu}}, Sarpay Beik Man Press, 1958.
[14]U Phay Maung Tin, ]]jrefrmo'´gtokH;tEIef;}} , Sarpay Beik Man Press, 1963.
[15]U Thaung Lwin, ]]enf;opfo'´g}}, Neethi Press, 1978.

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Relationship between Women’s Empowerment and Socioeconomic Status in
Myanmar: An Emphasis on Participation in Household Decision Making andExperience of Domestic Violence
Mya Thandar1, Hlaing Hlaing Moe2

Abstract
Women’s empowerment is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). The Goal 5: “Achieve gender equity and empower all women and girls” is especiallyaimed at improving the status of females. Women’s rights and issues have become a subject ofserious concern among both academicians and policymakers. This paper explores how
socioeconomic characteristics shape two aspects of women’s empowerment: decision making in
the household and experience of domestic violence. Data for currently married women age(15-49) from the 2015-2016 Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) are analyzed
using logistic regression analysis. This study shows that household decision-making is
associated with women’s employment status, age, residence, education and wealth index.
Women’s experience in domestic violence is related to women’s employment status, residence,education, and wealth index as well as husband-wife age difference. The study highlights thatage and women’s employment status are major determinants of women's participation inhousehold decision making while wealth index mainly influences on experiencing domestic
violence. In acceptance of traditional gender roles, it is not sufficient to assert women’s
empowerment in Myanmar and there would be under reporting the prevalence of domestic
violence. The results of this study could contribute to the government’s efforts to mainstream
the gender dimension into the country’s development policies and programs.
Keywords: women’s empowerment, socioeconomic status, decision-making in the household,domestic violence

1. Introduction
Since the 1990s, women have been identified as key agents of sustainable development,with women’s empowerment and equity viewed as important aspects of social and economic
progress. At the UN Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995, women’s
empowerment was introduced to an expanded audience of state actors and governments.
The UN Human Development Report ranks Myanmar as 80th of 159 countries in the2015 gender inequality index (UNDP 2016)1. The government has been striving to achieve
women’s empowerment and gender equality by collaborating with the UN, non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs), and international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs). The
government makes concerted efforts through the National Strategic Plan for the Advancement of
Women (2013-2022) by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief, and Resettlement to empower
women and to integrate gender equity in policies and programs. Research on women’s
empowerment supports the view that it is a multidimensional, complex and context-specificissue (Kabeer 2005)2. Therefore, what is valid in one region may not be valid for other regions,while socio-cultural systems vary considerably from one setting to another, and even within the12Professor, Department of Statistics, Yangon University of Economics, myathandar.yie@gmail.com
Lecturer, Department of Statistics, Yangon University of Economics, hlainghlaingmoe.moe@gmail.com

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19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)same country (Pambè et. al., 2014)3. It is necessary to study women’s empowerment from theperspective of women’s socioeconomic characteristics. This paper thus raises the question as tohow socioeconomic factors shape two aspects of women’s empowerment in Myanmar, namely
decision making in the household and experience of domestic violence. Reducing violenceagainst women, as well as enhancing their capacity to decide for themselves, is important in
empowering women. This paper aims to advance the understanding of women’s empowerment
and domestic violence in Myanmar to contribute the government’s efforts to mainstream thegender dimension into the country’s development policies and programs.

2. Method
2.1 Data
Data for the analysis are drawn from the newly available national 2015-16 Myanmar
Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS), which collected data for multiple indicators of
demographic and health information (Ministry of Health and Sports and ICF 2017)4. Approval
was obtained from Myanmar Ministry of Health and Sports and The DHS Program to use thedatasets for this study. The MDHS data are publicly available free of charge from The DHS
Program in the form of standard recode data files, at https://www.dhsprogram.com/Data/.
The data analysis of this study focuses only on currently married women age 15-49.
Although data on 12,885 women are available from the 2015-16 MDHS, among them 7,870
are currently married women age 15-49. To obtain nationally representative estimates,
sampling weight was applied and the final weighted samples included 7,758 currently married
women age 15-49 were considered.
The MFDHS 2015-16 provides information on participation in decision making anddomestic violence, among other things, in Myanmar. Our research focuses on women who werecurrently married and who successfully completed the interview on domestic violence, yielding asample size of 3059 which is only 40% of currently married women. The main concerns are thatquestions concerning domestic violence might not be response due to of cultural norms,
among other reasons and women might be hesitant these issues to strangers, as it is seriously
perceived in the community.

2.2 Key Variables
The two outcome variables analyzed in this study are women’s participation in decision
making and women’s report of their experience of domestic violence. Women’s participation indecision making was assessed through three types of household decision-making: woman’s own
health care, major household purchases, and visits to family or relatives. For each of these three
dimensions of decision-making, women are asked who usually makes the decisions. Eachquestion had five response options: respondent alone, respondent and husband/partner,
husband/partner alone; someone else; and others. We created a binary variable for each type ofdecision-making by grouping together the first two responses in which women participate indecision-making, coded as 1, and other responses together in which she has no say in decision
making, coded as 0.

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In the DHS domestic violence module, women were asked a series of questions about
their experience of domestic violence by husband/partner, i.e. physical (if the respondent has
ever been: pushed, shook or had something thrown at; slapped; punched with fist or hit bysomething harmful; kicked or dragged; strangled or burnt; threatened with a weapon); emotional(if the respondent has ever been humiliated or threatened with harm) and sexual violence (if the
respondent has ever been physically forced into unwanted sex or other unwanted sexual acts).
Each question has four responses for married women: never, often, sometimes, yes but not in
the last 12 months. In this study, we considered experience of domestic violence within the last
12 months prior to the survey. Women reporting that they experienced violence “often” or“sometimes” were categorized as having experienced domestic violence in the last 12 months
and coded as 1, and other responses were categorized as no experience of domestic violence inthe last 12 months and coded as 0.
The key independent variables used in the study are women’s education, employment
status, and household wealth index. Women’s education is coded into four categories: noteducated, primary, secondary and higher. Employment status includes two categories: notemployed, and employed. Wealth index is categorized as, poor, middle, and rich. The wealthindexes are constructed using information on household ownership of consumer items. This
recoded variable is included in the MDHS 2015-16 data.

2.3 Statistical Analysis
A binary logistic regression model is used when the dependent variable is dichotomous
such as participation in decision-making and experience domestic violence (Fox, 1999)5.
Logistic regression provides odd ratios, which represent the ratio of two probabilities: theprobability that the event occur (P) and the probability that it does not occur (1-P)(Wooldridge, 2013)6. The odds ratio is interpreted in terms of deviation from a reference
category. For women’s participation in household decision making, three separate models are
fitted, one for each of the three variables. For the three domestic violence outcomes – physicalviolence, sexual violence and emotional violence, separate logistic regression models were built
to examine their association with women’s socioeconomic characteristics. A number ofsocioeconomic and demographic variables were controlled for in the regressions, including
women’s age, education, employment status, wealth index, spousal age difference, spousal
education difference and area of residence.

3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Descriptive Analysis
Table 1 shows that information on socioeconomic and demographic characteristics ofwomen included in this study as well as descriptive statistics on their participation in household
decision making and experience of domestic violence in last 12 months. It is found that nearly
75% of the women are likely to live in rural areas, about 50% of those have only primarylevel of education, around two-third of the women are younger than their husbands and morethan 40% of those are poor. Approximately two-third of women is employed and more than halfof them have equal education level with their husbands.

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Table 1. Percent Distribution of Women who Participate in Household Decision Making and who
Experienced Various Forms of Domestic Violence by Measures of Socioeconomic
Status and Background Characteristics

aking
major
householdpurchaseisits tofamily or
relatives

Physicalviolence

Emotional
violence

Sexualviolence

81.1

73.3

86.7

10.5

15.9

4.2

82.6
84.1
90.5

74.8
73.5
76.6

87.3
87.5
89.4

13.2
10.8
7.9

14.4
13.8
7.4

3.5
3.1
0.9

36.3
63.7

82.0
84.2

72.1
75.6

85.1
89.2

10.7
12.3

13.3
14.3

3.6
3.1

41.3
20.1
38.6

79.9
84.9
86.5

74.3
73.0
75.1

85.3
88.9
89.6

14.0
17.2
4.1
11.4
11.9
3.4
8.9
11.3
2.1
Background Characteristics

3.0
10.7
16.2
19.4
19.1
16.5
15.1

69.7
76.1
84.2
85.7
84.3
84.7
85.0

54.4
62.1
72.9
75.4
77.0
79.5
78.1

81.1
81.9
85.8
87.6
89.9
89.5
90.3

12.9
12.6
12.2
12.1
11.2
12.7
9.0

20.3
13.9
15.2
13.0
13.1
13.3
14.9

2.7
4.3
3.8
2.8
3.0
3.4
3.3

73.9
26.1

81.8
88.1

73.7
76.3

87.2
89.0

12.2
10.1

14.1
13.4

3.4
3.1

10.5

84.7

75.0

88.5

13.1

16.4

2.2

21.5
68.0

84.8
82.8

75.8
73.8

89.0
87.2

8.5
12.5

13.4
13.7

3.0
3.6

54.6

83.5

74.2

87.4

11.9

13.9

3.7

20.0

84.5

74.4

88.3

11.2

16.2

3.1

25.4

82.4

74.6

87.9

11.7

12.3

2.7

Socioeconomic Status
Education
15.4
No education
Primary
47.1
Secondary
29.5
Higher
8.0
Employment
No
Yes
Wealth index
Poor
Middle
Rich
Age
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
Residence
Rural
Urban
Husband-wife age
difference
Wife is same age
Wife is older
Wife is young
Husband-wife
educationdifference
Both have equal
education
Wife has moreeducation
Husband has moreeducation

Domestic violenceoman’s own
health care

Characteristics

Percent

Decision making

Source: Authors’ Calculations from 2015-16 MDHS Data

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Women’s participation in Household Decision Making
Analysis of women’s participation in household decision making shows that womenwith higher level of education and employed women are more likely to participate in all three
types of decision making, similar to rich women and those from urban area. The older the
women the more they participate for visits to family or relatives. Also, the younger the wife, thelower the women’s involvement in all three types of decision making. When the wife has
more education, they are more likely to participate in all three types of decision making.

Women’s Experience of Domestic Violence
As to women’s experience of domestic violence, women with higher level of education,rich women and those from urban are less likely to experience all three types of domestic
violence. When considering physical violence and emotional violence, employed women are
more likely to report these forms of domestic violence while the older the wife, they are lesslikely to report them. Concerning sexual violence, employed women are less likely to reporttheir experience. When wife has more education, they are less likely to report physical violence
whereas if husband has more education, women are less likely to report emotional violence.
However, the sexual violence does not show clear patterns by background characteristics
except for residence.

3.2 Multivariate Analysis
Table 2 provides the results on the binary logistic analysis on the determinants of boththree aspects of decision making and domestic violence. The results present the adjusted
associations between each of the three measures of socioeconomic status and each of the
aspects of two outcomes variables, after controlling for key characteristics that could
confound the association.

Socioeconomic Determinants of Decision Making
Conditional on these key background variables, it is found that employed women are
more likely to participate in all three types of decision making. Woman’s decision making on
own health care appears higher among women with higher education. The womenparticipating in decisions for visits to family and relatives are higher among women living in
middle and rich household quintile than poor women, but wealth status does not have asignificant association with women’s decision making on large household purchases. The
results also highlight women’s age as an important determinant of household decision making.
Older women are more likely to participate in all three types of household decision making. In
terms of place of residence, women in urban are more likely to participate in decision making on
own health care. However, findings do not reveal significant differences between women by
spousal age difference and education difference.

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Socioeconomic Determinants of Domestic Violence
Of the three measures of socioeconomic status, only wealth quintile is significantly
associated with women’s experience of all three types domestic of violence. The rich womenare less likely to experience the physical and sexual violence. Similarly, wealth status’ effectis significant for middle and rich women for emotional violence. After adjusting for control
variables, women with higher education have less likely to experience emotional violence than
women with no education. But, the results do not show significant association between
education level of women and experiencing other two types of domestic violence.
Unexpectedly, employed women are more likely to experience the physical violence thanthose are unemployed. The differences are not significant for urban-rural residence, exceptthat experiencing emotional violence is greater for urban women. As for backgroundvariables, age of women and education difference are not statistically significant for all
three types of domestic violence. Regarding husband-wife age difference is significant forphysical and emotional violence. If wife is older than husband, she is less likely to experience
physical and emotional violence than the wife’s age is same with husband. Similarly, wife isyounger than husband; she is less likely to experience emotional violence than woman’ age issame with him.

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Table 2. Relationship between Measures of Socioeconomic Characteristics and Women’sParticipation in Household Decision Making, and Women’s Experience ofDomestic Violence among Married Women Age 15-49 in Myanmar
Decision making

Domestic violence

MakingCharacteristics

Woman’sown healthcare

Visits tofamily or
relatives

major
householdPhysicalviolence

Emotional
violence

Sexualviolencepurchase

Constant

1.71**
1.02
2.96***
Socioeconomic Status

0.13***

0.31***

0.02***

1.11

1
1.14

1
1.40

1
1.05

1
0.96

Education
No education (reference)Primary1
1.11

Secondary

1.11

1.16

1.07

1.18

0.83

0.75

Higher
Employment
No (reference)

1.51*

1.17

1.00

0.92

0.42**

0.63

1

1

1

1

1

1.16**

1.39***

1.34**

1.12

1.13

1

Yes

1

1.16*

Wealth index
Poor (reference)

1

1

1

1

1

1

Middle1.32***

0.86

1.29**

0.86

0.55***

0.76

Rich

1.26**
0.93
1.44***
Background Characteristics

0.58***

0.58***

0.29***

1

1

1

Age
15-19 (reference)

1

1

1

20-24

1.36*

1.38*

1.04

0.99

0.71

1.81

25-29

2.19***

2.23***

1.33

0.98

0.88

1.31

30-34

2.45***

2.53***

1.51*

0.94

0.62

0.83

35-39

2.15***

2.76***

1.85***

0.90

0.71

1.17

40-44
45-49

2.21***
2.23***

3.22***
3.00***

1.77***
1.89***

0.92
0.70

0.69
0.66

1.07
1.1

Residence
Rural (reference)Urban

1
1.42***

1
1.15

1
1.03

1
1.06

1
1.43**

1
1.31

Husband-wife age difference
1
Wife is same age (reference)
Wife is older
Wife is young
Husband-wife educationdifference
Both have equal education(reference)
Wife has more education
Husband has more education

1

0.98

0.98

1
1.01

1

1

1

0.57**

0.71*

1.76

0.94

0.99

0.94

0.82

0.63**

1.72

1

1

1

1

1

1

1.06

1.03

1.15

1.20

1.19

0.86

0.93

1.02

1.01

0.95

0.87

0.74

Note: ***, **, * represent 1%, 5% and 10% level of significance Source: Authors’ Calculations from 2015-16 MDHS Data

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4. Conclusions
This paper focuses on the relationship between women’s socioeconomic
characteristics and their empowerment in the household (participation in decision making in
the couple and experience of domestic violence) in Myanmar. It could be that thesocioeconomic factors included in this study are more closely related to women’s decision
making, than to domestic violence. The overall findings of this study raise questions about thepoor link between domestic violence and socioeconomic status and the low prevalence ofreported domestic violence in Myanmar. Factors surrounding women’s empowerment form
part of the causes of domestic violence. Whatever their level of education or contribution tohousehold wealth, having a conjugal home is a central issue for women in Myanmar. It
might be that regardless of the level of education and financial contribution to household
wealth, women in Myanmar are respectful of the traditional gender norms and consequently
might not dispute the authority of the husband as chief of the family, what glaringly
contributes to an apparent harmony in couple relationships. One of the major concerns
highlighted by this study is that domestic violence in Myanmar might be under-reported
because of cultural norms, among other reasons. Women might be reluctant to disclose intimate
issues to strangers, as it is badly perceived in the society (Randall et al. 2013)7. Some studies
have also found that the estimated prevalence of domestic violence is lower in the DHS than infocused surveys (Ellsberg et. al., 2001)8. Other caveat might be that DHS data are crosssectional and therefore do not help capture causal relationships between explanatory factors
and main outcome variables. This study adds an insight into the understanding of
women’s empowerment in Myanmar, where to our knowledge there is a scarcity of studies on
this issue. Our findings confirm the major role of education for improving women’s status interms of participation in the decision making in the household. It provides thus additional
arguments for the continuity of actions in favour of girl’s education at higher levels of schoolingin addition to the primary level. The development of national policies and programs aiming tosubstantially increase women’s status in Myanmar should foster positive socio-cultural attitudes
toward gender equality.

Acknowledgements
Our deepest gratitude goes to Yangon University of Economics for free internet access. We would like tothank USAID/ICF for providing data of the MDHS and the STATA software through the DHS fellow program.
Our special thanks go to Program Facilitators: Dr. Kerry MacQuarrie, Dr. Elma Laguna, Dr. Jennifer Yourkavich,
Mr. Khin Kyu, and authors and publishers of different journals for open access to researchers, without them thisstudy would be not realized.

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References[1] UNDP, “Human Development Report 2016: Human Development for Everyone”, New York, United Nations
Development Program (UNDP), 2016, https://www.undp.org /content/undp /en/home/library.
Retrieved 30 May 2017[2] Naila Kabeer, "Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: A Critical Analysis of the Third Millennium
Development Goal", Gender and Development, 2005, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 13-24,https://www.
tandfonline.com › doi › abs. Retrieved 10, May 2019[3] Madeleine Wayack Pambè, Bilampoa Gnoumou/Thiombiano, Idrissa Kaboré, “Relationship between
women’s socioeconomic status and empowerment in Burkina Faso: A focus on participation indecision-making and experience of domestic violence”, African Population Studies, 2014,vol 28, no. 2, pp. 1146-1156, https://www.academia. edu ›Relationship_between_womens_socioeconomic... . Retrieved 30 July 2019[4] Ministry of Health and Sports, ICF, “Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey: 2015-16”, Nay Pyi Taw,
Myanmar and Rockville, MD,
USA: Ministry of Health andSports, and ICF, 2017,https://www.dhsprogram.com/publications/ publication-fr324-dhs-final-reports.cfm . Retrieved 18
September 2017[5] William Fox, "Statistiques Sociales", Les Presses de l ’Université Laval de Boeck Université,
1999, https://www.payot.ch/Detail/statistiques_sociales-william_fox-9782804133481. Retrieved 3
May 2018[6] Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, “Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach”, South-Western, Cengage
Learning Press, 2013. https://www.amazon.co.uk/introductory-econometrics-approach-jeffreywooldridge/dp/ . Retrieved 30 May 2019[7] Sara Randall, Ernestina Coast, Natacha Compaore, Philippe Antoine, "The power of the interviewer."
Demographic Research, 2013, vol 28, pp. 763-792, https://www.demographic-research.org/
volumes/vol28/27/ . Retrieved 5 August 2019[8] Mary Ellsberg, Lori Heise, Rodolfo Pena, Sonia Agurto, Anna Winkvist, "Researching Domestic Violence
Against Women: Methodological and Ethical Considerations", Studies in Family Planning, 2001,
vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 1-16,

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

A Critical Study of Gender Representation in Life (Intermediate) Coursebook
Su Khine Oo1

Abstract
Life is a six-level series which focuses on communicative skills in English through the use of realworld content. It encourages students to think critically through informative topics from real-life
communication. This paper investigates a critical study of gender representation found in listening
comprehension exercises along with pictures in Life (Intermediate). Mixed method which includes
descriptive qualitative as well as quantitative approach was used to reveal visibility, gender firstness,gender neutral and gender specific nouns, and gender stereotypes with reference to Porreca's (1984)
framework. The importance of gender-based characters was measured using Leiskin's (2001)
framework. The results of the research showed that dominance of female representation can be foundin dialogues related to beliefs and traditions whereas male dominance can be found in dialogues
concerning doubtful thoughts. Only limited number of gender stereotypes was found due to the factthat being published by National Geographic Learning, recording includes characters who are createdas authentic as possible to the current trend in which most male and female share the same interest
like travelling and music. It is hoped that this paper will be useful for language instructors andstudents who study English from the point of view of gender representation and stereotypes.
Keywords: gender representation, visibility, gender firstness, gender neutral and specific nouns,
gender stereotypes

1. Introduction
Tannenbaum et al. (2016) claimed that "Gender roles, gender identity, gender relations, andinstitutionalized gender influence the way in which an implementation strategy works, for whom,
under what circumstances and why." Gender representation has become one of the mostcontroversial topics in language learning and teaching continuum especially in the 21st century.
People no longer go along with the outdated sayings and proverbs like Let women stay at home andhold their peace by Aeschylus in 467 B.C., Woman's place is in the kitchen by Morrison in 1878,
Woman's place is in th2e home by Levesen in 1945. Sőğűt (2018) raised the awareness on gender
representation in teaching and learning process by insisting that it has "the potential to affect learners
and teacher in terms of their attitudes, mindsets, and values." This paper therefore attempts to findout gender representation in listening comprehension exercises of Life (Intermediate) Course bookwhich has been used at English Language Proficiency Course (Basic II) by CHRD in Yangon
University of Foreign Languages. It is found that most previous works on gender representation
were based on coursebooks specifically written to fit the culture of respective learners. For thisreason, contents are culture-bound and reflect their own culture as these coursebooks were designed
for local use. However, in this paper, the material chosen to analyze is a coursebook meant forinternational adult English learners and therefore Myanmar culture is not found in this coursebook.
Therefore, the results of this research are also dramatically different from those of previous
researches.
1Dr., Assistant Lecturer, Department of English, Yangon University of Foreign Languages, dkosyufl@gmail.com

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1.2 Aim and Objectives
The aim of this paper is to engage in critical analysis of gender representation found in thecoursebook Life (Intermediate).
Objectives of this paper are:(1) To identify gender visibility, gender firstness, gender neutral and specific nouns, genderstereotypes in selected coursebook(2) To explore different jobs and interests based on gender(3) To observe attitudes and beliefs of different gender from their dialogues(4) To highlight how both men and women share the same role in society
This paper attempts to answer the following research questions:(1) How did the coursebook writer assign roles to men and women?
(2) To what extent do men and women share same interests and attitudes towards different
topics used?
(3) What are the roles of men and women based on content of different units?
1.3 Literature Survey
Gender representation in ELT context
In general, gender is a naturally gifted criterion which pre-defines the abilities of males andfemales. In this 21st century, Gender Equality Commission of the Council of Europe (2015)
ascertains that the historical relations of power of men over women as well as sexist attitudes
impeded the advancement of women. Gender representation goes beyond simply being male orfemale but is related to implied meanings and expectations in terms of society and culture.
According to the research done in Asian and Middle Eastern countries by Ansary and Babaii(2003) cited in Hall (2014), gender stereotypes found in some coursebooks like men jobs are related
to science, arts, army, politics and medicine. The most significant job allocation for women in most
ELT coursebooks are related to education like teachers, educational consultants, research consultants
and to government like government officers.
According to Mustapha and Mills (2015), "some teachers and students are minimally awareof gender stereotyping in their coursebooks while others deny or ignore its existence." They also
pointed out the importance of gender issues in ELT context related to society, religion and culture.
ELT teachers should be aware and should raise awareness among students to such differences interms of target language relativity and determinism, and those of mother tongue.
1.4 Porreca's (1984) framework
Porreca (1984) proposed different aspects of gender representation known as the frequencyof occurrence of males and females, gender firstness, or the frequency of context in which males or
females are presented first and the frequency of nouns designating male or female characters or
gender stereotypes. In doing critical analysis of gender representation, she suggested finding out how
many times male and female characters are found, how many times male or female characters appear
first and how these characters are assigned roles in society.

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In addition, she focused on omission of gender in the text, occupational visibility, masculine
generic constructions and adjectives used in gender representation. She highlighted some situations
in coursebooks in which male or female is not important and therefore omission of gender is found.
She believed that some roles like teacher, accountant and housekeeper are commonly designated tofemale characters whereas those such as politicians, computer programmers and soldiers are
assigned to males. She attempted to take linguistic forms that are used mostly by men into
consideration in observing gender differences. In accordance with Yule (2014), generic words andconstructions vary from gender to gender. Women language is poise and polite whereas that of men
is dominant and influential on others.

1.5 Leiskin's (2001) framework
Leiskin (2001) proposed systematic method of analysis in measuring the importance of roles
the characters have. She claimed that gender bias did exist in communicative dominance and social
dominance. Communicative dominance is characterized by frequent turns of speaking in dominantmanner where as social dominance refers to "the maintenance and stability of group-based social
hierarchies."
Leiskin insisted that "People who are centers of conversations, topics of writing, or the
information focus would seem to have more social prominence than people who are not." Sheelaborated the dominance of gender depending on different contextual background. For example, if
the theme of conversation is about environmental conservation, it is likely that men will lead thefloor whereas women-led conversations are mostly about babysitting and beauty.

1.6 Life (Intermediate) Coursebook
Life is a coursebook which comes in six levels as adult series published by National
Geographic Learning. It helps adult learners improve their English language proficiency throughexploration of the world. All of its series include real-life experiences, attractive visuals, interestingarticles and interactive videos which certainly help adults learn English in creative atmosphere. Maincomponents of every series are comprehensive grammar, language functions, vocabulary,pronunciation and language skills which are designed to enrich communicative and creative skills.
At the end of every unit, in Review sections, self-reflective checklists are included so that students
can reflect whether they can do things in checklist efficiently. This can serve as a ruler to measure
the success of teaching and learning processes.
In terms of CEFR, the level of Life (Intermediate) chosen to analyze is B1. Although most
grammar sections are familiar to adult learns of CHRD evening class, they can gain benefit fromvivid grammar explanations and practice exercises. In addition, most students believe that they can
engage in vocabulary enrichment because of interesting topics used. What is more, they can practise
all four language skills of English in addition to critical thinking and creative skills.

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1.7 Previous Researches
Nagatomo (2010) investigated "A Critical Analysis of Gender Representation in an EFL
Textbook," using Conversation Topics for Japanese University Students in accordance withtheoretical frameworks by Porreca (1978) and Leiskin (2001). The findings of her research showedthat female characters were more significant and were given more active roles, and that social
dominance was not found in terms of sentence structure.
Hall (2014) did a research on "Gender Representation in Current EFL Textbooks [Right Path
to English I and II] in Iranian Secondary Schools" through systematic quantitative approach. His
focuses were on gender visibility and gender-oriented dialogues using the framework of of Porreca(1984). He then used qualitative approach in identifying "(1) male-centred language including: (a)firstness and (b) masculine generic construction; (2) gender-linked occupation possibilities; (3)distribution of household responsibilities, and (4) distribution of spare time and leisure activities"
The results of his research proved that there was unequal distribution of gender representation in
selected textbooks.
Hafidhoh, et.al. (2018) conducted a research on Gender Representation on Reading Texts,
Dialogues and Pictures in “When English Rings a Bell” for Grade VII Junior High School." Theirfocus was on gender representation found in reading texts, dialogues and illustrations found in thecoursebook. Descriptive qualitative approach and Porreca's (1984) gender analysis was used to
identify differences and similarities in both representations. Outcomes of their research ascertainedthat female dominance was found in reading texts and dialogues, but that male dominance wasobserved in illustrations.
2. Research Methods
Research methods serve as a foundational framework for the emergence of reliable research
results. Being the lifeblood of an effective research, research methods have been given the firstpriority in conducting every empirical research. This paper was carried out using both quantitativeand descriptive qualitative research methods. Firstly, the data on gender representation werecollected from selected coursebook Life (Intermediate) and were statistically entered. Then using
Porreca's (1984) and Leiskin's (2001) frameworks, collected data were analyzed. Analysis section
was divided into sections: (1) Gender-linked nouns used for designation, (2) Gender-related leisureactivities, (3) Gender visibility, and (4) Gender firstness. The third step known as interpretation ofanalyzed data was done through descriptive qualitative method. Gender stereotypes, Communicative
dominance and social dominance found in this coursebook were discussed in Results and Discussionsection.
2.1 Analysis of Gender Representation in Life (Intermediate)
Gender representation plays a vital role in coursebooks as it can affect the beliefs andattitudes of teachers and learners in teaching and learning processes. Coursebooks which are notspecifically meant for target learners are designed as scrupulously as possible not to have negative
impact on gender representation in different cultures.
The following is the table which shows gender-linked nouns related to designations for males
and females. M refers to Male and F refers to Female.

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Table 1: Gender Representation Related to Occupations
No UnitOccupation

M

F

No Unit

IT student
Finance assistantSales assistant
Anthropologist
primate researcher
art director
electronics company staff
Peruvian weaver
Gold-medal winningswimmerPresenter
DancerFilm director
Taiko masterRadio presenter
Raft woman
Marine ecologist
Project Manager
Office staff

0
1
0
2
0
1
0
1

1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0

33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40

0

1

41

1
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
1

0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
2

42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50

10
10a

Accountant

0

2

51

10b

Nurse
Senior Technician

0
1

1
0

52
53

10c

22

Farmer

1

0

54

11a

23
24
25

Manager
Gas station Attendantfactory worker

1
0
0

0
1
1

55
56
57

11b
11c
11d

Student

0

1

58

11R

Biologist
Conservationist
HolidaymakerTour guide
Neuroscientist
restaurant owner

1
1
1
0
1
1

0
0
0
1
0
0

59
60
61
62
63
64
65

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

1a
1c
1d
1f
2a
2b
2e
2f
3
3a
3c
3f
4

19
20
21

4a

4b

26
27
28
29
30
31
32

5a
5b
5d
6c

6d
7
7a
7b
7b
7d
8b

8c

9
9a
9b
9d

12
12a
12b
12c
12R

Occupation

M F

WaiterArchitect
Photographer
Presenter
Ecologist
estate agent
ArtistAviator

1
0
4
0
1
1
1
0

0
1
0
1
0
0
0
1

Navigator

10Archaeologist
Geneticist
market researcher
police officer
shopping expert
Sales assistantSales operator
marathon athlete
Presenter
President of the Mars
society
RunnerHitchhiker
Survival International
Spokesmantravel journalist
Technician
Secretary
Google's executive
chairmanInterpreter
Fisherman
wildlife researcher
Biologist
Explorer
Samurai
wildlife photographer

0
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
1

1
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0

1

0

0
1

1
0

1

0

0
1
0

1
0
1

1

0

0
1
0
0
1
1
1

1
0
1
1
0
0
0

It is said that depending on gender, they have different interests for pastime activities. For
instance, teenage boys would consider playing football while girls would think of going shopping for
clothes.

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19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Table 2: Gender Representation Related to Leisure Activities
No

Unit

1

2d

2
3
4

Leisure

M

F

No

Unit

LeisureM

FGoing out

1

1

5

5b

Going on a trip

2

2

3b

Travelling

0

1

6

9c

mountaineering

1

0

3e
5

PicnicGoing on a round-the-world trip

1
0

0
1

7

11f

Skiing02

Gender visibility was analyzed using significant visual aids in all 12 units of coursebook. Gendervisibility based on visuals in Life (Intermediate) coursebook is as follows.
Table 3: Frequency of Gender Visibility in Visuals
No UnitDescription
M F No Unit
Description
M F
1
2
3

1
1a

Family event

0

2

30

Using mobile phone

1

0

31

Quechua high school student

1

0

32

4

1b

Birthday party

0

2

33

5

1d

Job interview

1

2

34

6

1f

Peruvian weaver

1

0

35

7

1R

Olympic athlete

0

1

36

8

2

Mexican folk dancer

0

2

37

9

2a

musician4038Singer

1

0

39

10
11

2b

Hip Hop dancer

3

2

40

12

2d

Film director

1

0

41

13

2f

Taiko master

1

0

42

14

3

Water fetcher

0

12

43

15

3a

Raft rower

3

0

44

16
17

3c
4

AdventurerChildren playing inside old jeep

1
3

0
0

45
46

18

4a

Bikers

3

0

7f
8c
9b
9f
10
10a
10c

Immigrants

3

0

Pilot

0

1

Shopping expert

01

Shopper

0

1

Buyer

1

0

Seller1

0

Marathon runners

11

Doctor

1

0

Patient

0

1

Skier

1

0

Refugee10Police10Victim

1

0

Hiker

1

0

Koro language speaker

0

1

11a

Linguist
Tribe

1
4

0
1

47

11e

Residents' meeting

1

2

10d
10f
11

19

Gas station attendant

0

1

48

11f

Antarctic walkers

0

2

20

Factory worker

0

1

49

11R

Newspaper reader

10

Graduate

0

1

50

12

Fisherman

1

0

Student

0151Wildlife researcher

01Chinese factory workers

11

7

52

21

4b

22
23
24
25

4c
4f
4f

DancerBusinessmen

0
2

1
0

12a

Biologist

0

1

53

12b

Man eating his boots

1

0

54

12c

Samurai

10

Man looking at his watch

10

Au pair
Host

0
2

1
2

26

5a

Long walker

1

0

55

12d

27
28

5c
6b

Hiker
Man engaging in imaginary eating

1
1

0
0

56
57

12e

29

7c

Amateur singer

40

The following table shows the frequency of gender firstness in listening comprehension of Life
(Intermediate) coursebook.

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19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Table 4: Frequency and Percentage of Gender Firstness
Male (%)

Female (%)

38 (47.5%)

42 52.5%)

3. Results and Discussion
With regard to the analysis, it was found that coursebook writer of Life (Intermediate)
attempted to give equal role of importance in most parts of the coursebook although standard
deviations of occupation and visibility were higher than other areas. To start with, it was observedthat the role of office assistant was shared by both males and females in Unit 4 Open-up. What was
surprising in findings of this research is culture-bound. Some gender-linked occupations are nolonger confined to gender but their professionalism and discipline. For instance, according to Table
1, it was seen that an IT student, aviator, archeologist, travel journalist, and wildlife researcher arefemales. It deviated the widely accepted relativism that those jobs are mostly done by males. It waseven noted that people doing extreme sports like white water rafting in Unit 3a and walkers in
Antarctica in Unit 11f are females. These extreme sports are done mostly by male athletes but thiscoursebook tends to highlight gender equality in terms of physical ability and mental strength. Thiswanes the power of male dominance over females as the latter have engaged in such male-related
activities nowadays.
With regard to analysis of this paper, it can be observed that occupations like weaver are
confined to females only in Myanmar society. There is a substantial number of occupations which
fit the view of Myanmar society as well. Most females' jobs are related to public relations likeinterviewer, dancers, secretaries, radio presenters and so on. Most males' jobs are related to hard
infrastructure like technicians, neuroscientists and navigators, and to politics and those at the top ofhierarchical position like President of the Mars society, spokesman and executive chairman. In
addition, all musicians and singers illustrated in this coursebook like those in Unit 2a are males.
In terms of leisure activities, it was obvious that both males and females are interested ingoing out for dinner or for fun in Unit 2d, and in going on a trip or travelling in Unit 3b and 5b. Due
to diachronic changes in beliefs and attitudes, females are no longer absorbed in their household
activities but in outdoor activities like going out for shopping and travelling to different places. It
was found that gender-linked designations were assigned to males and females based on widely
accepted values in that native society. For instance, in Unit 1a, Quechua high school student wearing
traditional costume is male as only males are allowed to complete their studies until high school. In
Unit 2f, Taiko master is a male because of common beliefs and culture in Japanese society as it isrelated to Buddhist and Shinto religions, and Taiko is regarded as a sacred instrument to be play bymales only. 12 female water fetchers from Indian villages in Unit 3 Open-Up still reflects females
from some distant villages of Myanmar. Occupations which are considered dangerous like Hiker in
Unit 10f, fishermen in Unit 12 and explorer in Unit 12b are normally done by males mostly insocieties.
Although most Asian society gives more role to males in conversations, results of this paper
proved that both males and females were given equal importance to reinforce gender equality. It was

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19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

found that even conversations related to extreme sports and adventures like in Unit 3a were led byfemales and they had communicative dominance over males as they served the central role in theseconversations. The following Table 5 and Figure 1 show the overall results of the research.
Table 5. Gender Representation in Life (Intermediate) Coursebook
GenderRepresentation

Male

FemaleStandard Deviation

Occupation

44

28

11

Leisure Activities

5

7

1

Visibility

69

51

13

Firstness

38

42

3

Total

156

128

20

Overall Percentage

55

45

7

80
60
Male

40
20

Fem
ale

0
Occupation

LeisureActivities

Visibility

Firstness

Overall
Percentage

Figure 1: Gender Representation in Life (Intermediate) Coursebook

Overall results of this research as shown in Table 5 and Figure 1 are in line with those of
Hafidhoh, et.al. (2018) in that male dominance (a total of 69 times) over female (a total of 51 times)
was found in visibility through illustrations. It is likely that coursebook writers attempt to preserve
widely accepted values and at the same time raise awareness on coursebook users that the role ofwomen has become as significant as that of men in different cultures these days. It attempts tobalance gender representation in terms of gender visibility, gender firstness, gender-free occupations
and gender-free activities as much as possible. However, male dominance was found in Occupation(44) and Visibility (69) whilst female dominance was observed in Leisure Activities (7) andFirstness (42). Coursebook writers did not give dominance to only one type of gender. It is one of
the factors which make this coursebook applicable and acceptable by both teachers and learners fromdifferent countries.

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19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Similar to findings of Nagatomo (2010) in "A Critical Analysis of Gender Representationin an EFL Textbook," female characters (52.5%) were slightly more significant than males interms of gender firstness found in selected coursebook. Unlike the results of Nagatomo's
research, gender-related household activities except fetching water were not found in selectedcoursebook. As the main purpose of National Geographic Learning is to help its users learn
English through exploration of the world, the coursebook does not stick to only one culture but tothose around the world.
Like the findings of Hall (2014), male dominance (55%) was found in overall percentage
of gender representation. As the standard deviation for overall percentage was only 7, it can beassumed that significant dominance was not found. Unlike the research done by Hall, thesignificance of male-centered language was not found as more or less equal importance wasgiven in different contexts in the coursebook. Contrary to his research, both men and womenshared most of the spare time and leisure activities like going out and travelling. Approximately
equal distribution of gender representation was observed through values and traditions around theworld.

4. Conclusion
To wind up briefly, this paper attempts to highlight gender representation in Life
(Intermediate) with focus on gender-related designations, gender-related leisure activities, gendervisibility and gender firstness. With regard to statistical data and data interpretation based onframeworks of Porreca (1984) and Leiskin (2001), it can be concluded that an effective
coursebook meant for general adult users is free from gender imbalance and bias on gender
representation so that it does not have negative impact on understanding of widely acceptedvalues and beliefs of users around the world who are trying to improve their language proficiency
through observing different contexts worldwide. Further researches can be done on othercoursebooks relating representation of gender and cultural notes. It is hoped that this paper will
be useful for those who are interested in observing the role of gender representation in Life
series.

Acknowledgements
First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Sayagyi Dr. Kyi Shwin, Rector of Yangon
University of Foreign Languages for giving me a chance to present my paper at The 19th Science Council of Asia
Conference. Secondly, my special thanks are for Dr. Mi Mi Aung and Dr. Yin Myo Thu, Pro-Rectors of Yangon
University of Foreign Languages for their kind support and guidance in doing this research. Thirdly, my heartfelt
thanks go to Dr. Ni Ni Aung, Professor and Head of English Department, for persuading me to be research-minded
and for giving me successive support regardless of her tight schedule at work. In addition, I would like to thank Dr.
Yin Myat Phyu Win. Lastly, I am indebted to teachers of English Department for their continuous support and help.

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19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

References[1] "Gender

Stereotypes." European Institute of Gender Equality. 2015. http://www.coe.int/t/DGHL/
STANDARDSETTING/EQUALITY/06resources/Glossaries/Council%20of%20Europe%20Ge
nder%20Equality%20Glossary%20December%202015_en.pdf.

[2] Hafidhoh, N. L. et. al. "Gender Representation on Reading Texts, Dialogues and Pictures in “When English
Rings a Bell” for Grade VII Junior High School." English Education Journal, 2018: 148-161.
[3] Hall, M. "Gender Representation in Current EFL Textbooks in Iranian Secondary Schools." Journal of Language
Teaching and Research, 2014: 253-261.
[4] Leiskin, J. "Determining social prominence: a methodology for uncovering gender bias in ESL textbooks." In
Innovation in English language teaching, by D. Hall & A.Hewings, 275-283. 2001.
[5] Mustapha, A. S. and S. Mills. Gender Representation in Learning Materials. New York: Rouledge, 2015.
[6] Nagatomo, D. H. "A Critical Analysis of Gender Representation in an EFL Textbook." Journal of the
Ochanomizu University English Society, 2010: 53-61.
[7] Porreca, K. L. "Sexism in Current ESL Textbooks." TESOL Quarterly, 1984: 705-724.
[8] Sőğűt, Kabul. "Gender Representation in High School EFL Coursebooks: An investigation of job and adjective
attributions." Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 2018: 1722-1737.
[9] Tannenbaum, C. et. al. Why sex and gender matter in implementation research. Bethesda, Maryland, 2016.
[10] Yule, George. The Study of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

A Study on Attitude towards Science and Achievement of Grade 8 Students
from Chanayetharzan Township
Ohnmar Win1

Abstract
The main purpose of this study is to investigate the attitude towards science and achievement ofGrade 8 students from Chanayetharzan Township, Mandalay Region. Descriptive Survey methodand quantitative approach were used. The students in this study were selected by using simple
random sampling technique. A total of 543 Grade 8 students (223 males and 320 females) fromselected schools participated. As research instrument, questionnaire of Test of Science-RelatedAttitude (TOSRA) developed by B. J. Fraser (1981) was used. According to the result findings, thelevel of attitude towards science was satisfactory. There were significant differences in attitude
towards science and science achievement by gender and school. Moreover, based on the results,
attitude towards science was found to be significantly and positively correlated with their scienceachievement (r = .406, p< .01). As a result, attitude towards science is really important for students.
Research findings proved that science attitude have an effect on science achievement and it isnecessary to improve science attitude among students.
Keywords: Attitude, Science, Achievement

1. Introduction
In the present technology dominated world, science subject is among the crucial subjectof the school curricula in terms of preparing educated human power for the overall development.
Studying science play a very important role in developing human thinking more creative,
reasonable, and able to analyze problems and to forecast future. Hence, quality of scienceeducation would be at the heart of quality education assurance endeavors around the globe.
Performance of students in sciences subject highly implicated towards their overall cognitive
development and performance in other subjects.
Attitude is related to coping with and management of the emotions occurring during
learning process, and they play an important role in directing human behaviour. Whether attitudes
occurring as part of a system of values and beliefs are positive or negative affects learning
process in a direct manner and influences future lives of individuals (Seferoglu, 2004). And
attitudes are the best predictor for estimation of students’ success(Hendrickson, 1997).
Expected achievement is factor that heavily influenced by attitudes towards science. As
would be expected, positive attitude towards science lead to better results on achievement
measures of science capability (Weinburgh, 1998). A student’s attitude towards science is more
likely to influence achievement in science than achievement influencing attitude (Schibeci &Riley, 1986). There were strong positive relationships between attitude towards science andscience achievement. According to this fact, it is an interesting thing whether the students’
academic achievement depends on their attitudes towards that subject or not. Hence, the study
about the correlation between students’ science attitude and their science achievement is also oneof the essential studies for promoting the students’ attitude related with their lessons and theireducational benefits.

1

Lecturer, Department of Educational Psychology, Sagaing University of Education, linnlattedu@ gmail.com,

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

2This study can also provide the essential supports for students’ learning science. And then,the students’ academic achievement in science will be improved and then carried out the welfareof the society as much as possible. So, it is obvious that the investigation of middle school
students’ attitude towards science is significantly important for the basic education sector in
Myanmar.
1.1 Aim of the Study
The main aim of the study is to investigate the attitude towards science and achievementof middle school students (Grade 8 students) in Chanayetharzan Township. The specificobjectives are:
1.
2.
3.

to study the differences in attitude towards science and achievement by gender
to investigate the differences in attitude towards science and achievement by school
to explore where there is relationship between attitude towards science andachievement of Grade 8 students
1.2 Research Hypotheses
1. There is no significant difference in attitude towards science and achievement bygender.
2. There is no significant different in attitude towards science and achievement byschool.
3. There is no significant relationship between attitude towards science and achievementof Grade 8 students.
2. Methods
2.1 Sampling
By using simple random sampling technique, the schools and students were selected from
Chanayetharzan Township, Mandalay Region. Total five State High schools and five State
Middle schools were selected. A total of 543 students participated in this study. The sample ofGrade 8 students included 223 males and 320 females.

2.2 Research Method
Quantitative approach was used in this study. Survey method and descriptive research
design were employed.

2.3 Instrumentation
The instrument used in this study was Test Of Science-Related Attitude (TOSRA)
questionnaire developed by B. J. Fraser (1981). The science attitude were categorized into sevendimensions, which are social implication of science, normality to scientists, attitude to scientificinquiry, adoption of scientific attitudes, enjoyment of science lessons, leisure interest in science,career interest in science. Cronbach’s alpha of the whole scale of science attitude was 0.852.
Science achievement of Grade 8 students in this study was assessed by the students’ score on
science subject in first semester examination.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)3

3. Results and Discussion
Table 1 Descriptive Statistics of Attitude towards Science
VariableN

Minimum

Maximum

MeanStandard Deviation

Attitude towards
science

543

48

137

105.4512.779

Table 1 indicated that the total mean score (105.45) was higher than the theoretical meanscore (87.5). Therefore, the students’ attitude towards sciences was somewhat satisfactory.

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics of Attitude towards Sciences by Subscales
VariableN

Minimum

Maximum

MeanStandard Deviation

Social Implications of Science

543

5

20

16.71

2.133

Normality to Scientists

543

5

20

12.79

2.433

Attitude to Scientific Inquiry

543

7

20

16.36

2.537

Adoption of Scientific Attitudes

543

5

20

14.68

2.252

Enjoyment of science Lessons

543

5

20

15.91

3.051

Leisure Interest in Science

543

5

20

15.15

3.111

Career Interest in Science

543

5

20

13.85

3.211

According to the Table 2, students have the highest in the first subscale (social
implication of science) and the lowest in the second subscale (normality to scientists).

Table 3 Result of Independent Sample t-test for Attitude towards Science by Gender
Variable

Gender

N

Mean

SD

Attitude towards
ScienceMale

223

103.6313.961

Female320

106.7311.742

MD

t

df

p

-3.0972.796**

541.005

Note: **The mean difference is significant at .01 level.

According to the Table 3, the results mentioned that there were significant differences
between male and female students in attitude towards science at .01 level. And, it can beconcluded that female students had significantly higher than male students in attitude towards
sciences (p<.01).

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

4

Table 4 Results of ANOVA for Attitude towards Science by Schools
Mean
Variable

Sum of squares

df

F

p

2.229*

0.019

SquareBetween Group

3210.0839356.676

Within Group85304.469

533

160.046

Total

88514.552

542

Attitude towards
Science

Note: * The mean difference is significant at .05 level.
Table 4 revealed that there was significant difference in students’ attitude towards science
according to schools at .05 level.
Table 5 Descriptive Statistics of Science Achievement
VariableN

Minimum

Maximum

MeanStandard Deviation

ScienceAchievement

543

4

97

69.31

17.656

According to the results of Table 5, the average mean score of the Grade 8 students’achievement was 69.31 while the minimum and maximum score were 4 and 97. Therefore, Grade
8 students’ academic achievement in the present study was somewhat satisfactory.
Table 6 Result of Independent Sample t-test for Science Achievement by Gender
Variable

Gender

N

Mean

SD

ScienceAchievement

Male

223

65.23

18.998

Female320

72.15

16.088

MD

t

df

p

-6.914-4.571***

541

.000

Note: ***The mean difference is significant at .001 level.
According to the Table 6, the results mentioned that there were significant differences
between male and female students in science achievement at .001 level. And, it can be concluded
that female students were significantly higher than male students in science achievement(p<.001).
Table 7 Results of ANOVA for Science Achievement by Schools
Mean
Variable

Sum of squares

df

F

p

8.578***

0.000

SquareBetween Group

21377.285

92375.254

Within Group

147588.354

533

276.901

Total

168965.639

542

ScienceAchievement

Note: ***The mean difference is significant at .001 levels

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

5

The result from ANOVA showed that there were significant differences by their schools
concerning science achievement (p < .001).
Table 8 Correlation Matrix between Attitude towards Science and Science Achievement
Variables

Attitude towards Science

Science Achievement

Attitude towards Science1.406**

Note **Correlation is significant at .01 level (2-tailed).
According to Table 8, the correlation between attitude towards science and scienceachievement was moderate and significant correlation (r=.406, p<.01). So, it could be interpreted
that attitude towards science was positively correlated with science achievement of Grade 8
students.

4. Conclusions
According to result, female students had higher in science attitude and achievement thanmale students. In order to develop attitude of male students towards natural science educationand to minimize the gender gap, teachers should give special attention for male students startingfrom secondary school level up to higher education. The teacher should try to help male students
to set academic goal and to plan effectively for academic work.
And, there was significant difference in students’ attitude towards science andachievement by school. It may also be differed by the location and environment of the schools,
favourable classroom atmosphere, supporting materials and motivation strategies on theirlearning. Moreover, teachers should apply various interesting teaching methods and many kindsof teaching aids to become alive the teaching-learning situation.
The present study indicated that science attitude and science achievement had the positive
relationship. Therefore, significant positive correlation was established between students’ science
attitude and their achievement. It meant that students who have high science attitude scores tend
to receive higher scores in science achievement.
For the better achievement in natural science, willingness and positive reaction areimportant. Lack of interest can negatively influence the achievement of students. So changing theattitude of the students is vital. Thus teachers should try:
 To change the attitude of the students towards sciences.
 Motivate students to participate in the science education.
 Create conditions in which students learn to participate in science education.
As a result, student can develop confidence in sciences. Once they acquire the interest to
participate in different science education activities, they can easily involve in different science
related fields.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)6

Acknowledgements
First of all, I am indebted to Dr. Saw Pyone Naing (Rector, Sagaing University of Education) and Dr. Myat
Myat Thaw (Pro- Rector, Sagaing University of Education) for their administrative supports. Secondly, I would liketo express our heartfelt respect and gratitude to Associate Professor Dr. Khin Hnin Nwe (Head of Department,
Department of Educational Psychology, Sagaing University of Education).

References[1] Fraser, B. J., “How strongly are attitude and achievement related?”, School Science Review, 1981, 63, 557 –559.
[2] Hendrickson, A. B., “Predicting student success with the learning and study strategies 14, Inventory (LASSI)”,
Unpublished Master's Thesis, Iowa State University, 1997.
[3] Schibeci, R. A., Riley, J. P., “Influence of students' background and perceptions on science attitudes andachievement”, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 1986, 23 (3), 177-187.
[4] Seferoglu, S. S., “Attitudes to teachers' of the teacher candidates”, XII National Congress of Education Sciences,
Ankara-Turkey, 2004, 413-425.
[5] Weinburgh, M., “Gender differences in student attitudes toward science: A meta-analysis of literature from 1970
to 1991”, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 1998, 32(4), 387-398.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Measurement of the Neutron Fluxes in Two Irradiation Channels of
Isotopic Neutron Source Facility using Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA)
MethodKhin Ye Lwin1, Khin Cho Cho2, and Moe Phyu Hlaing3
Abstract
The neutron flux is very important factor in data analysis. The accuracy of the measurement ispartly depends on the accuracy of neutron flux measurement. The thermal and epithermal neutron
fluxes in two irradiation channels in the 241Am-Be isotopic neutron source irradiation facility
were measured by using neutron activation analysis (NAA) method. The activity of 241Am-Be
neutron source was 0.27 Ci. Gold and indium foils were used as the activation foils and thereactions are 197Au (n,γ) 198Au and 115In (n,γ) 116mIn. The respective emitted gamma ray
spectrums from activated foils were measured by using Falcon 5000 HPGe detector system. The
measured data were compared with the MCNP simulation. The measured neutron fluxes areagreed with the MCNP results. The results of the neutron fluxes were low but stable andsufficient to use for research and education on elemental analysis and reaction cross section
measurement by using neutron activation analysis method.
Keywords: 241Am-Be isotopic neutron source, neutron flux, neutron activation analysis(NAA),
HPGe detector

1. Introduction
Neutron Irradiation facility is one of the important educational tools for the research
centers and university laboratories. In many developing countries, one of the major drawbacks is
the lack of appropriate neutron sources, either a nuclear research reactor or a neutron generator.
With the purpose to assess the feasibility of using other alternative neutron sources, isotopic
neutron sources of an appropriate design and characteristics in terms of neutron flux and spectra
could be used to carry out interesting and meaningful training and research oriented projects
based on neutron activation and radiochemistry. Although neutron flux is not high, isotopic
neutron sources are effective for many research institutions without nuclear research reactors or
neutron generators. The advantages of isotopic neutron sources are extremely small size,
relatively low purchase and maintenance costs, long and short term stability of the neutron
output, possibility to use thermal and fast neutron fluxes, ease and low cost of shielding with anegligible health hazard [1].
Therefore the small-sized neutron irradiation facility using 241Am-Be isotopic neutron
source has been assembled to perform the several measurements such as neutron flux
measurement, reaction cross-section measurement, qualitative and quantitative multi-elemental
analysis by neutron activation analysis (NAA) technique. The accuracy of the measurements
partly depends on the accuracy of neutron flux [2]. The objective of the research is to measurethermal and epithermal neutron fluxes in two irradiation channels of isotopic neutron source
facility by neutron activation method and compare with the MCNP simulation.
1

Dr. Division of Atomic Energy, Ministry of Education, 123, Natmauk Road, Bahan, Yangon, Ph: 09448023448,
Fax: 01 545065 ms.khinyelwin@gmail.com,
2
Division of Atomic Energy, Ministry of Education, cho.khincho@gmail.com
3
Material Science and Research Division, Ministry of Education,19moephyu@gmail.com

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

8

2. Materials and Methods
2.1 Isotopic Neutron Sorce
241Am-Be source is the most common isotopic neutron source with long half-life of
432.2 years and a broad range of neutron energies with an average energy around 4.2 MeV
and maximum around 10 MeV [1, 3]. The activity of 10 GBq (0.27 Ci) and the source
strength of 6.2 105 n.s-1 of241 Am-Be neutron source was used in the irradiation facility.
It was sealed in the aluminium container with lead shield in the dimension of 2.7 cm (ϕ) 7.6
cm (H).
2.2 Irradiation Facility
The neutron irradiation facility of241Am-Be isotopic neutron source has been
designed and constructed at the Radioisotope Techniques Laboratory in the Division of
Atomic Energy under the Ministry of Education. The facility consists of 0.5 cm thickrectangular-shaped iron tank with the dimension of 118 cm (L) 116 cm (W) 55 cm (H)filled with water to be used as moderator to slow down the neutrons and shielding for theneutron source. 241Am-Be neutron source is installed in 0.2 cm thick PVC pipe of diameter 3.8
cm and height 90 cm at the center of the tank. There are two irradiation channels 1 and 2 ofdiameter 3 cm and height 90 cm at the opposite points of 4 cm and 8 cm from the source
holder. The irradiation channels are also made of 0.2 cm thick PVC pipe and the wooden bars
are used to fix the channels and the source holder. Source and samples are positioned 26 cm
height from the bottom of the tank. The schematic vertical cross-sectional view of irradiation
facility is as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 2. The schematic vertical cross-sectional view of irradiation facility

2.3 Radiation Safety Aspects
For the radiation safety, the facility was designed to the high safety and low shielding
and maintenance costs. The dose rate at the outer surface of the shield was not be exceeded
the dose limit given according to ICRP [4, 5]. The main purpose of the irradiator shield19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)9system is to protect operation personnel from possible injury by escaping radiation. The
water is the most effective neutron shielding materials which has a plenty of light atoms (e.g.
hydrogen atoms). In the irradiation facility, water was used for the dual purpose; moderating thefast neutrons and reducing the radiations to acceptable levels.

2.4 Gamma Ray Spectrometry
In the experiment, Falcon 5000 gamma ray spectrometer was used to measure the
gamma radiation emitted from the induced materials. It is the portable electrically-cooled
HPGe Spectrometer which provides radiation monitoring and nuclide identification andquantification. There are four modes of operation providing dose and count ratemeasurements, locating radioactive material or a radiation hotspot, nuclide identification (NID)with activity measurements. For the spectrum acquisition and analysis, Genie 2000 basic
spectroscopy and famma analysis packages included. The Falcon 5000 components are housed
in a single unit and consist of HPGe detector, GM tube detector, cryostat cooler andcontroller, InSpector 2000 MCA, WLAN/LAN module, internal battery charger, and Global
Positioning System. The 5 cm thick lead bricks were used as detector shield to reduce the effectof background.

Figure 2. The experimental setup for the measurement of the gamma ray
2.5 Measurements Neutron Flux by
Neutron Activation Method
In this study, a foil activation method was applied for neutron flux measurement. Twotypes of foils were used; 115 In and 197Au [4, 6, 7], and the physical characteristics of each aresummarized in Table 1.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

10

Table 1. Physical parameters of activation foils
Thickness
Weight (g)
(mm)

Foils

Size

Purity (%)

115In[1 x 1] cm2

99.99

0.5

0.68

197Au

[1 x 1] cm2

99.47

0.5

0.30

For thermal neutron flux measurement, each of bare115 In activation foils were irradiatedin two irradiation channels which were far 4 cm and 8 cm from the source respectively. Afterthe foils were irradiated, gamma rays from the induced activities were measured with the
HPGe detector, whose detection efficiency had been calibrated with standard gamma
sources and the obtained data were used to calculate the neutron flux. Experimental
arrangement for 197 Au was similar also. For the measurement of epithermal neutron flux, eachof 115In and 197Au activation foils were sandwiched between two cadmium sheets of 1 mm thick
and were also irradiated in two channels. Experimental procedure was also similar to bare foils.

2.6 Neutron Flux Calculation
The neutron fluxes can be deduced by the following equations. The detailed
theoretical expression for specific activity and neutron flux of bare foil and foil with cadmium
cover was presented in the works which referred to as [6,7].

Specific counting rate (or specific activity) of Asp is defined as……….. (1)
Where Np is gamma peak area (count) of interest; λ is decay constant; tc is irradiation
time; tτ is cooling time; td is counting time; and w is irradiated sample mass. Therefore, theepithermal neutron flux is. . . . . . . . .. (2)And for thermal neutron flux is. . . . . . . . (3)Where ϕth and ϕepi (n.cm-2s-1) are thermal and epi-thermal neutron fluxes, respectively;
Gth and Gepi are self-shielding coefficients for thermal and epi-thermal neutrons, respectively(for thin foils, Gth ≈ Gepi =1); I0(

is resonant integral for distribution of

epi-thermal neutron fluxes without obeying the rule of 1/E; α is spectrum coefficient expressing
spectrum deviation from the rule of 1/E; σ(E) is neutron capture cross-section for reaction (n, γ)
at energy E; NA is Avogadro number; θ is isotope abundance; is gamma-emitting probability of19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)11interest; εp is counting efficiency at energy peak of interest; M is atomic mass of element:
Q0=

is capture cross-section for thermal neutron of interest; and Rcd =iscadmium ratio.
Thermal and epithermal neutron fluxes were deduce from measured gamma activities ofirradiated indium and gold foils. The nuclear characteristics of the foils are listed in Table 2.
Table 2. The nuclear characteristics of the activation foils [4, 7, 8, 9, 10]
Reaction
115 116m

tc

tτ

td

T½

θ (%)

γ-ray nergy
(keV)

γ (%)

σ0 (b)

I0 (b)

3h

2 min

1800 s

54.13

95.71

1293.5

84.4

201.2

3209

100

411.8

96

98.65

1571

min

In (n, ) In
197 198 Au

72 h

15 min3600 s

2.697 d(n, ) Au

2.7 Monte Carlo Simulation
The MCNP code developed in Los Alamos carries out the radiation transport, relating
to neutrons, photons and electrons with energetic and temporal dependence in a threedimensional geometry by using the Monte Carlo method [3, 11]. In this work, the MCNP4C
code was used to estimate thermal and epithermal neutron fluxes in two irradiation channelsof 2 4 1 Am-Be isotopic neutron source facility. Total energy range considered was from 10-5
MeV to 1.1 x 101 MeV. For the neutron flux calculations, the F4:N tally card was used. This
tally allows the calculation of the average neutron flux in the volume (particles/cm2). In thisMonte Carlo simulation, 107 particles were stimulated for each cycle.

3.

Results and Discussion

The measured thermal and epithermal neutron fluxes in two irradiation channels of
isotopic neutron source facility by neutron activation analysis method and the simulated resultsby MCNP code were shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Neutron flux values in two irradiation channels of isotopic neutron source facility
ϕth (ChannelChannel 1 (4 cm)
Channel 2 (8 cm)

115

In)

-2 -1
(n.cm .s )6.45 101.84 10

3
3

ϕth (

197

Au)
-2 -1
(n.cm .s )8.59 102.74 103

3

ϕth(MCPN)-2 -1(n.cm .s )6.32 10
2.10 103
3

ϕepi (

115

In)

-2 -1
(n.cm .s )3.30 102.79 1010ϕepi (197Au)-2 -1(n.cm .s )6.56 10
1.54 101
1

ϕepi (MCNP)-2 -1(n.cm .s )1.74 10
4.55 103
2

The results are shown that the measured thermal neutron flux by1 15 In foil is agreed
with the MCNP calculation and that of 197Au foil is a bit higher than calculation result. It canbe proved that the neutron fluxes measured by197 Au foil are higher than those measured by 115In

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

12foil in other research papers [4]. For epithermal neutron fluxes, the measured results byactivation foils are lower than that of MCNP calculation. It is observed that values of thermal
neutron flux in both channels are moderately high but the values of epithermal neutron flux
are very small at channel 2. As the neutron flux are many order of magnitude lower than thatof a nuclear reactor or of a particle accelerator, large samples must be irradiated in order toachieve good sensitivity.

4. Conclusion
The thermal and epithermal neutron flux in the two irradiation channels have been
determined by using NAA method and MCNP simulation. The measured neutron fluxes areagreed with the MCNP simulation for thermal neutron fluxes. The neutron flux is higher in thecloser channel than in the further channel. The facility is low cost but very useful. Water as
moderator is also easily available and cheap. This neutron irradiation facility has very stableneutron flux that can be used to measure the induced activity in the specified material andsufficient to use for several measurements such as elemental analysis, reaction cross-section
measurement, etc. As the neutron flux in an isotopic neutron source is usually quite modest,
large samples are often required to obtain a reasonably high induced activity [1]. This
irradiation facility is suitable to use as research and educational tool.

Acknowledgements
The Authors would like to grateful to the Division of Atomic Energy, Department of Research andInnovation, the Ministry of Education for supporting the expenditure in order to carry out this research.

References[1] J. Hoste, “Isotopic Neutron Sources for Neutron Activation Analysis, User’s Manual”, IAEA-TEDCOD-465,
IAEA, Vienna, (1988).
[2] Knoll, G.F., “Radiation Detection and Measurement”, 2nd ed, New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc, (1989).
[3] M. Asamoah, B.J.B. Nyarko, J.J. Fletcher, R.B.M. Sogbadji, S. Yamoah, S.E. Agbemava, E. Mensimah,“Neutron flux distribution in the irradiation channels of Am–Be neutron source irradiation
facility”, Annals of Nuclear Energy, vol. 38, pp. 1219–1224, (2011).
[4] M. Tohamy, M. Fayez-Hassan, S. Abd El-Ghany, S.M. El-Minyawi, “A Dual-Hemisphere Irradiation Facility
for 241Am-Be Isotopic Neutron Source”, Journal of Nuclear and Radiation Physics, Vol. 5 ,No. 1&2, pp. 51-58, (2010).
[5] ICRP, “Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection”, ICRP-60, (1991).
[6] Adam Konefał, Marcin Dybek, Wiktor Zipper, Włodzimierz Łobodziec, “Thermal and epithermal neutrons in
the vicinity of the Primus Siemens biomedical accelerator”, NUKLEONIKA, vol. 50(2), pp.
73−81, (2005).
[7] Nguyen Van Hung, Nguyen Van Hai, Tran Xuan Hoi, “Experimental Measurement of Neutron Flux
Distribution Inside The Water-Filled Howitzer Using Isotope Sources In The Nuclear ResearchInstitute, Vietnam”, IOSR Journal of Engineering (IOSRJEN); ISSN (e): 2250-3021, ISSN (p):2278-8719, Vol. 04, Issue 10; V1, PP 27-3, (October. 2014).
[8] K. Shibata, O.Iwamoto. T. Nakagawa, N. Iwamoto, A. Ichihara, et al., “JENDL-40: A New Library for Nuclear
Science and Engineering”, J. Nucl. Sci. Technol. 48(1), pp. 1-30, (2011).

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

13[9] S.F. Mughabghab, “Thermal Neutron Capture Cross Sections Resonance Integrals and G-Factors”, INDC
International Nuclear Data Committee, International Atomic Energy Agency, INDC(NDS)440, (2003).
[10] Katsuhei Kobayashi, Shuji Yamamoto, Itsuro Kimura, Ryota Miki, Tetsuo Itoh, “Measurement of neutron flux
spectrum by multi-foil activation method at the central graphite cavity of UTR-KINKI”, Kinki
Daigaku Genshiryoku Kenkyusho Nenpo; ISSN 0374-8715; v. 25 p 21-34[11] K. Shtejer-Diaz, C.B. Zamboni, G.S. Zahn, J.Y. Zevallos-Chavez , Determination of neutron flux distribution
in an Am– Be irradiator using the MCNP, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 59, 263–266,(2003).

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

A Morphophonemic Analysis of Myanmar Language
Tun Aung Kyaw1

Abstract
The purpose this paper is to analyze the morphophonemic system of Myanmar language. The
procedure for morphophonemic analysis is (a) to examine the data, consulting the glosses, andmake a provisional division of the forms into morphemes, (b) to find each morpheme thatalternates, and locate all of its allomorphs, (c) within each allomorph, to locate the particularsegment or segments that alternate, (d) to consider the logical possibilities, setting up theunderlying representations so that all the allomorphs of each morpheme can be derived from asingle underlying representation by general phonological rules. The results of this analysis arethat we can establish a morphophonemic system of Myanmar language and this result will bevery useful for Myanmar language learners around the world. The key findings are aspiration
rules, voicing rules and grammatical tone rules in Myanmar phonology.
Keywords:

morphophonemic system,
phonological rules.

allomorph,segment,

underlying

representation,

1.Introduction
Morphophonemics is a branch of linguistics referring to the analysis and classification of
the phonological factors which affect the appearance of morphemes, or, correspondingly, thegrammatical factors which affect the appearance of phonemes.
In the European tradition, morphophonology (or morphonology) is the preferred term; inthe American tradition, it is morphophonemics. In some theories, morphophonemics is seen as aseparate level of linguistic structure intermediate between grammar and phonology. In earlyversions of generative grammar, morphophonemic rules were distinguished as a separate
component in the derivation of sentences, whereby a terminal string of morphemes would be
converted into their correct phonological form. In later generative theory, the term systematic
phonemics became standard.
In morphophonemic analysis, there are two levels which are segmental level andsuprasegmental level. I would like to present segmental level analysis only in this paper.

2. Methods
2.1 Morphophonology (segmental)
In this section, I want to indicate the conditioning factors for the morphophonology.
There are three assimilatory processes in the phonology (morphophonology) of the Myanmar
language. I want to present details of such processes that involve alternations between different
phonemes (indicating whether or not productive), and any others involving significant phonetic
changes.

1

Dr. Professor, Department of Myanmar, Yangon University of Distance Education

16

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

2.2. Non-causative Verb versus Causative Verb
Causative is a term used in grammatical description to refer to the causal relationshipbetween alternative versions of a sentence. For example, the pair of sentences The cat killed themouse and The mouse died are related, in that the transitive kill can be seen as a ‘causative’version of the intransitive die, viz. ‘cause to die’ (The cat caused the mouse to die); similarly,
some affixes have a causative role, e.g. -ize, as in domesticize (= ‘cause tobecome domestic’).
This is a relationship which is clearly established in the morphological structure of somelanguages (e.g. Japanese, Turkish), where an affix can systematically distinguish between noncausative and causative uses of a verb (‘causative verbs’ or ‘causatives’), e.g. ‘she eats’, ‘shecauses (someone) to eat’, which is similar to English she makes him eat. Some linguists have also
tried to apply the notion of causative systematically to English, seeing it as an abstract underlying
category from which sets of ‘surface’ verbs (such as kill and die) can be derived.
In Myanmar verb construction, there are many pairs of verb; one version is non-causative
version and another is causative version. Some causative version of each verb is composed byaspiration and some causative version of other verbs is composed by devoicing. Examples are as
follows:
Non-causative Verb

Causative Verb (aspiration)/kwɛ‵ / ‘break’/khwɛ‵/ ‘cause to break’/ʨaʹ / ‘fall’/ʨhaʹ/ ‘cause to fall’souʔ/shouʔ/ ‘tear’‘be torn’pauʔ ‘be a hole’/phauʔ / ‘make a hole’tiʔ ‘be block’/thiʔ/ ‘block’

Non-causative Verb

Causative Verb (devoicing)/luʔ/ ‘be free’/ hluʔ/ ‘cause to be free’/nɛ‵/ ‘bend’/hnɛ‵/ be bent’/mwaʹ/ ‘be crispy’/hmwaʹ/ ‘make crispy’/ŋaʹ/ ‘enough’/hŋaʹ/ ‘share’/ɲuʔ/ ‘bend’/hɲuʔ/ ‘make bent’

According to above examples, plosive consonants in non-causative verbs become
aspirated plosive consonants in respective counterparts of causative verbs. Moreover, liquid
consonants in non-causative verb become devoiced liquid consonants in counterparts of causative
verbs.
However all the pairs of this type do not follow this morphophonemic rule. Examples are
as follows:/ʨo¯ / ‘welcome’/ʨho¯/ ‘be sweet’/jɔʹ/ ‘be reduced’/ɕɔʹ/ ‘reduce’/wĩ ‘enter’/Ɵwı̀/̃ ‘cause to enter’/ʔeiʔ/ ‘sleep’/Ɵeiʔ/ ‘cause to sleep’17

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

3. Result and Discussion
3.1 Rank-shifted Noun and Rank-shifted Verb
In Hallidayan linguistics, rank is a term which refers to one of the scales of analysis,
which interrelates the categories of the theory, viz.the hierarchical arrangement of linguistic units
within a linguistic level. The grammatical rank scale, for instance, recognizes sentence–clause–group– word–morpheme in a relationship of inclusion (i.e. a sentence consists of one or moreclauses, etc.). Other scales in this approach are labelled exponence and delicacy. The term rank
shift is used to refer to a linguistic process when a given unit is ‘shifted’ down the rank scale, sothat it operates within the structure of a lower unit (or one of equal rank); e.g. a clause working
within a group (as in relative clauses, e.g. the lady who came in asked . . . ) is said to be a rankshifted clause.
In Myanmar conpound nounds, there are many NN compounds, VN compounds and NV
compounds. In these compounds, first morphemes are mostly changing to each voiced
counterpart respectively to original voiceless morpheme. Examples are as follows:/pe¯ / + /sa¯//pe¯ za¯/

However, if there is a glottal stop at the end of the first morpheme there is no change atall. For example:/phei? /’invite’ + /sa¯/ ‘letter’/phei? sa¯/

If there is no rank-shifted process, there is not sound change at all. Examples are as
follows:/sa¯/ + /pe¯ // sa¯ pe¯ /3.2 Possessive pronoun and Grammatical tone
Pronoun is a term used in the grammatical classification of words, referring to the closed
set of items which can be used to substitute for a noun phrase (or single noun). There are many
types of pronoun, with terminology varying somewhat between grammars. Personal pronouns
include I, you, etc., in their variant forms (e.g. I/me); in their form my/mine, the term possessive
pronoun (pos(s), POS(S)) is often used. Other classes of pronoun regularly recognized include:demonstrative pronouns, e.g. this/that (in certain of their uses); interrogative pronouns, e.g.
certain uses of who/which/what; reflexive pronouns, e.g. myself/yourself; indefinite pronouns,
e.g. anyone/nobody; pronoun relative pronouns, e.g. who/whom/that; and resumptive or shadow
pronouns, e.g. him in John, I like him. A logophoric pronoun (or logophor) refers to a person
whose speech or thought is represented in discourse. The grammatical statement of pronominal
distribution in a language is usually quite complex. It is often discussed with reference to themore general notions of pro-form and deixis. See also lazy pronoun.
In the phonology of Myanmar language, there is another rank-shifted process. This as
grammatical tone on possessive compound. Examples are as follows:/Ɵuʹ khwè/‘his dog’/mau̅ ̃ maũʹ khwè ‘the dog of Maung Maung18

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

4. Conclusion
The results of this analysis are that we can establish a morphophonemic system ofMyanmar language and this result will be very useful for Myanmar language learners around theworld. The key findings are aspiration rules, voicing rules and grammatical tone rules in
Myanmar phonology.

References
Crystal, David, 2008 A Dictionary of Linguistics and phonetics SIXTH EDITION. Blackwell Publishing.
Halliday, M.A.K, 2004

An Introduction to Functional Grammar T H I R D E D I T I O N. Arnold, a member ofthe Hodder Headline Group.
Henderson, Eugenie J.A, 1986 Some Hitherto Unpublished Material on Northern (Megyaw) Hpun. Contributions to
Sino-Tibetan Studies. Leiden, E.J.Brill.
Matisoff, James, 1969 “Verb concatenation in Lahu: The syntax and semantics of ‘simple’ juxtaposition”. Acta
Linguistica Hafniensa. 12.2:69-120. 1972 The Grammar of Lahu. London. University of California
Press.
Myint Soe, 1999 A Grammar of Burmese. USA. UMI Dissertation Service.
Nishi, Yoshio, 1999, Four Papers on Burmese (Myanmar). Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia
and Africa (ILCAA), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
Okell, John,1969 A Reference Grammar of Colloquial Burmese. London. Oxford University Press.
Okell, John and Anna Allot, 2001 Burmese/ Myanmar Dictionary of Grammatical Forms. UK. Curzon Press.
Pearce, Michael, 2007 The Routledge Dictionary of English Language Studies. Routledge
Tun Aung Kyaw, 2003 A Study of Hpun Dialect. Ph.D dissertation, Yangon University. [in Myanmar] 2014 A
Comprehensive Description of the Myanmar Verb Phrases. Taungoo University Research Journal.
Yabu, Shiro, 2002 Hpun: A Moribund Language in Myanmar. Osaka University of Foreign Studies. 2003 The Hpun
Language Endangered in Myanmar. Osaka University of Foreign Studies.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Economic Development and SME Policy in Lao PDR
Souksavanh Vixathep1, Nobuaki Matsunaga2

Abstract
Following their economic reforms in the late 1980s, the Lao economy has developed as
favourably as Vietnamese. Yet, despite the similarities in political regime, economic
performance, and economic and legal reforms, Laos has not been as highly recognized as
Vietnam. Applying qualitative and quantitative approaches on a comparative analysis, the paper
aims to shed more light on the challenges of Laos in economic development and poverty
eradication. To our knowledge this study is among the pioneer works for these two economies.
The study focuses on economic growth, legal reform, and small and medium enterprise (SME)
policy. It reveals that SMEs in Laos and Vietnam are very small in employment size. However,the number of enterprises, particularly in the larger category, is much smaller in Laos than in
Vietnam even after taking into consideration the difference in population size. Moreover, thebusiness environment for ‘starting a business’ and ‘getting credit supply’ is more restrictive in
Laos than in Vietnam. Since 2004 the government of Laos has implemented SME promotion
policies and most entrepreneurs evaluate them helpful. However, the policies are foundineffective in this analysis. The findings imply that effective implementation of SME policies is apressing issue for Laos.
Keywords: Laos, Vietnam, economic development, SME policy, economic reform

1. Introduction
In the last three decades, upon the introduction of the Doi Moi reform in 1986, theeconomic development in Vietnam has achieved noticeable success. Real gross domestic product(GDP) per capita (at 2010 prices) increased from $382 in 1985 to $1,835 in 2017 (8-foldincrease), while real GDP grew by 7.5 times at an annual growth rate of 6.5%. The proportion of
the extreme poor, who live with $1.9 or less per person a day (2011 international dollar),decreased dramatically from 52.9％ in 1992 to 2.8％ in 2012. There is sufficient evidence for theVietnamese economy to be evaluated as highly successful. At the same time, the Lao economy
has not been evaluated as successful as Vietnamese, although Laos’ economic performance isdeemed comparable to that of her neighbor. Specifically, from 1985 to 2017, GDP per capita (at2010 prices) increased from $432 to $1,730 (4-fold increase), and real GDP grew by 7.4 times at
an annual growth rate of 6.5%*. [1].
From 1985 to 2005 the annual growth rate in Laos was somewhat lower than Vietnam.
However, it surpassed Vietnam in 2005 and has since been somewhat higher. Their GDP per
capita in terms of international dollar (PPP) is practically equal, although that of Laos was
slightly higher than that of Vietnam up until 1993 (Figure 1). Laos and Vietnam (LV) achieved
around 6% of real annual economic growth after 1960 with some fluctuations caused by Asian
Financial Crisis in 1997 and the World Financial Crisis in 2008, as well as the post-reform
turmoil and University of Hyogo, svixathep@em.u-hyogo.ac.jp natural disasters.

1

2*

University of Hyogo, svixathep@em.u-hyogo.ac.jp
Kobe University, matsu@kobe-u.ac.jp
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics applied for this study are taken from World Development Indicators (various
issues), World Bank.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

20

16.0

%

2,000

14.0
12.0

GDP per capita (Vitetnam) right axis

GDP per capita (Laos) right axis

GDP growth rate (Vitetnam) left axis

GDP growth rate (Laos) left axis

1,800
1,600

10.0

1,400

8.0

1,200

6.0

1,000

4.0

800

2.0

600

0.0

400

‐2.0

200

‐4.0

0
1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (various issues).

Figure 1. GDP per capita and GDP growth rate of Laos and Vietnam ($2010 prices）

Why Laos is not as highly evaluated as Vietnam with her comparable economic
performance? One of the reasons might be her smaller size in population (6.86 million comparedto Vietnam’s 95.54 million in 2017) and GDP ($16.85 billion compared to Vietnam’s $223.78
billion in 2017), which has a much smaller impact on the world economy. However, these twocountries have many things in common. Hence, the study will analyze the Lao economy bycomparing it to the Vietnamese, in order to shed more light on the challenges facing Laos. The
main objective is to find a way for Laos to relieve from the present situation with many people
suffering from extreme poverty. The study focuses on the status quo and policies on small andmedium enterprise (SME) development, which directly influence the lives of the majority.

2. Comparative Analysis of Lao and Vietnamese Economy
2.1 Economic and agricultural reform
There are many similarities between the two countries: they were colonized by France inthe late 19th century until the declaration of independence in 1945; they endured another 30
years of civil war. Finally, in 1975 Laos established the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao
PDR) and Vietnam the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Following independence and unification, LV adopted the Soviet-style economic model(collectivization of agriculture, nationalization of private enterprises, price control and rationing
system of most goods, state monopolization of external trade, etc.) aimed at rebuilding the wardepleted economies. However, under the centrally planned economic system, their economies
faced the declining, impoverishment, famine problem, and social disorder. Thus, in the late 1980s
both governments embarked on a drastic economic reform to resolve the deadlock, namely the
Doi Moi in Vietnam and Chintanakan Mai (New Economic Mechanism) in Laos. LV aimed totransform the centrally planned economy to a market-oriented one. [2].
Major elements of Doi Moi are a full-fledged introduction of market economy, including
the recognition of multi-ownership of productive means, price liberalization, and emphasis on
international division of labor. More specifically, the program includes contract farming, reformof state-owned enterprises (SOEs), recognition of private and foreign enterprises, respect formarket prices including interest rates and foreign exchange rates, liberalization of foreign tradeand investment, etc. The main elements of the reforms in Laos are similar to those of Doi Moi.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

21

Both countries have adopted a gradual approach for reforms. [3] [4].
The food production indexes were very much comparable for both countries at the startof reforms in 1986, followed by a smooth increase the agricultural production. During 1985–
2005 agricultural production increased by 2.5 times in LV, and the production grew more rapidlyin Laos after 2010. Food supply per capita increased by 53.9％ in Laos and 78.1％ in Vietnam,
since population grew by 56.0％ and 38.1％, respectively. The upward trend in cereal production(metric tons per hectare) implies an enhancement in land productivity upon the start of thereforms, although land productivity is higher in Vietnam than Laos. Therefore, it can beconcluded that reforms in agriculture were successful in LV.

2.2 Legal Reform
Due to space limitation, this section discusses only legal reforms related private
enterprise and excludes the SOEs. Under the socialist regime, only household enterprises wereallowed to coexist with SOEs until the end of 1970s. In 1979 the Government of Laos (GOL)
came out with a new direction to utilize private and individual economies to expand the
production and improve people’s lives. This was followed by a further diversification ofownership forms of productive means and the abolition of collectivization in agriculture.
The Constitution promulgated in 1991 formally allowed the ownership of state, groups
and individuals, and stipulated the protection of the ownership. The Constitution revised in 2003
clearly states that “All types of enterprises are equal before the laws (Article 13); The State
protects and promotes all forms of property rights: State, collective, private domestic and foreign
investment (Article 16).” These points are maintained in the 2015-revised Constitution. [5].
In Laos, the Business Law was promulgated in 1994, which states that “The right andinterest of local and foreign businesspeople investing in business … are protected” (Article 2)
and that “All types of operations conducted by enterprises in all economic sectors are interrelated and competing on an equal footing before the law” (Article 5). In 2005 the Enterprise
Law was enacted to replace the Business Law. However, the contents are almost the same except
for one point: The Enterprise Law “applies to private enterprises, both domestic and foreign, state
enterprises and joint enterprises established and operating in the Lao PDR” (Article 8), while the“Business law is applicable in the context of business with a registered capital from 1,000,000
kip and over” (Article 8; 1,000,000 kip was equivalent to $94.00 in 2005). [5].
In Vietnam, private enterprises were formally allowed to exist by the Government
Decree No.27 and No.28 regarding the ownership, and Government Decision No.19 in 1988. In
1990, private enterprises were formally approved by the Law on Enterprises. The existence ofprivate enterprises and private ownership of productive means were formally guaranteed by theConstitution in 1992. The new Law on Enterprises became effective in 2000, which covered alltypes of domestic private enterprises (limited liability companies, shareholding companies,
partnerships and private enterprises). This law was epoch-making in that it recognized the lawful
profit-making nature of business activities, except for those clearly banned by the law, and thatthe enterprise registration was drastically changed from the approval to autonomous basis. The
procedure was so simplified that the number days required for registration dropped from 20 days
to 7 days and that the necessary cost decreased to one-twentieth. The new Constitution in 2002
stipulated that the equal conditions were guaranteed to private enterprises to compete with SOEs.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

22

[5].
With respect to investment promotion, in the late 1980s the laws on promoting foreign
direct investment (FDI) in LV initially aimed to control and manage FDI, which did not promote
investment as expected. However, since the mid-200s these laws have been revised to unify
domestic and foreign investment and promote FDI, and these have a positive impact on
investment in both countries. It is worth noting that the percentage share of FDI in Vietnam has
consistently been higher than that of Laos and that Laos started the legal reforms a few years
later than Vietnam. [6].

3. SME Policy in Laos
This section starts with understanding the status quo of SMEs in Laos. Table 1
represents the number of firms and their composition by sector and by number of employees in
Laos (data from the Economic Census conducted in 2006 and 2013). There is no othercomprehensive data which can better illustrate the status quo of SMEs in Laos.1
Table 1. Number of firms and their composition by sector and number of employees in LaosY ear of census
S ector￤N um ber of w orkers

2006

2013

1-4

5-9

10-99 100+

1-4

5-9

10-99 100+

A Agriculture, forestry and fishing

81.3%

12.5%

6.0%

0.2%

4,318

3.4%

A

63.3%

25.1%

10.4%

1.1%

B Mining and quarrying

55.6%

17.8%

23.9%

2.7%

297

2,188

0.2%

B

22.6%

29.6%

43.2%

4.7%

257

C Manufacturing

90.1%

5.6%

3.8%

0.5%

0.2%

24,331

19.2%

C

70.8%

18.0%

10.4%

0.7%

15,573

12.5%

D Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

29.8%

28.1%

33.3%

E Water supply, sewerage, waste management

70.1%

12.9%

16.7%

8.8%

114

0.1%

D

23.5%

18.5%

47.1%

10.9%

119

0.1%

0.4%

264

0.2%

E

38.8%

33.5%

24.1%

3.5%

170

F Construction

45.5%

20.2%

0.1%

32.0%

2.1%

628

0.5%

F

23.1%

24.1%

48.6%

4.2%

642

G Wholesale and retail trade

97.5%

0.5%

2.0%

0.5%

0.0%

81,780

64.4%

G

89.5%

8.6%

1.8%

0.0%

78,40762.8%

H Transportation and storage
I Accommodation and food service activities

92.4%

4.5%

2.9%

0.1%

3,799

3.0%

H

85.9%

9.1%

4.6%

0.4%

3,509

2.8%

68.1%

22.4%

9.3%

0.2%

3,439

2.7%

I

75.9%

17.7%

6.3%

0.1%

14,549

11.7%

T otalby industry

T otalby industry

1.8%

J Information and communication

91.6%

2.4%

5.4%

0.6%

872

0.7%

J

64.3%

12.8%

21.3%

1.6%

375

0.3%

K Financial, banking and insurance activities

47.8%

29.1%

21.4%

1.7%

299

0.2%

K

30.1%

36.3%

30.5%

3.0%

531

0.4%

L Real estate activities

91.3%

4.9%

3.4%

0.0%

618

0.5%

L

84.8%

8.0%

6.9%

0.3%

712

0.6%

M Professional, scientific and technical activities

82.7%

8.9%

8.4%

0.0%

359

0.3% M

64.3%

22.5%

12.7%

0.5%

409

0.3%

N Administrative and support service activities

74.8%

13.9%

10.5%

0.8%

755

0.6%

N

59.8%

27.4%

12.2%

0.6%

854

0.7%

O Education and training

29.9%

28.2%

41.9%

0.0%

298

0.2%

O

14.6%

24.7%

59.2%

1.4%

417

0.3%

P Human health and social work activities

87.2%

9.1%

3.7%

0.0%

375

0.3%

P

76.2%

17.8%

5.9%

0.0%

421

0.3%

Q Arts, entertainment and recreation

85.3%

9.7%

4.9%

0.1%

1,013

0.8%

Q

65.7%

21.7%

12.2%

0.3%

866

0.7%

R Other service activities

97.2%

2.1%

0.7%

0.0%

3,353

2.6%

R

90.2%

7.7%

2.0%

0.1%

4,809

3.9%

93.4%

4.2%

2.2%

0.2%

126,913100.0%

83.4%

11.8%

4.6%

0.2%

124,808

100.0%

Total by number of workers

Source: National Statistics Center (2007) Report of Economic Census 2006, Volume 1 ; Lao Statistics Bureau (2015) Report of Economic Census II, 2013 .

It is revealed that in 2013, micro enterprises with 1-4 workers occupy 83.4%, small with
5-9 workers 11.8%, medium with 10-99 workers 4.6%, and large with more than 100 workers
only 0.2% of all enterprises. Thus, the striking small size is a characteristic of Lao enterprises.
1

For the Economic Census 2013 the total number of primary economic units were 178,557, of which 134,577 units
were surveyed by personal interview. The following economic units are excluded from survey: villages with fewer
than 10 economic units, economic units without a permanent address (mobile shops, street vendors, lottery sellers,
Tuk-Tuk or taxi driver, mobile fruit carts and other temporary retail shops), other production units with only one
labor such as handicraft, weaving, agriculture, forestry and animal breeding. Some 9,704 NPOs and 15 economic
units of ‘public administration and defence’ were excluded. For the Economic Census 2006, out of 209,484 primaryeconomic units, 126,913 units located in the villages with road access were surveyed. Therefore, both censuses are
not “census” with 100% samples in the country.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

23

This characteristic, however, was more salient in 2006: micro enterprises with 1-4 workers
occupy 93.4%. Reviewing the changes in the composition reveals that all sectors but‘Accommodation and food service activities’ have decreased the percentage share of the microenterprises and increased the share of the larger-sized firms between 2006 and 2013. Large
sectors, such as ‘Wholesale and retail trade’ and ‘Manufacturing’, occupy 62.8% and 12.5%,
respectively, while the share of micro enterprises from 97.5% to 89.5%, and from 90.1% to70.8%, respectively. However, with 95.1% share in 2013, micro or small enterprises with fewer
than 10 workers are still the dominant size in Laos. [7].
Derived from the data of 2013 Economic Census in Laos (Table 1) and 2012
Establishment Census in Vietnam2, the sectoral classification in LV is practically the same, while
the classification of size (number of workers) and the number of firms are different. It is revealed
that regardless of the larger population size (13.9 times), Vietnam has disproportionately moreenterprises than Laos (4,537 thousand enterprises in Vietnam vs. 125 thousand enterprises in
Laos; 36.4 times): for large enterprise 26.1 times in all 18 categories under study and 251.4 times
in manufacturing; for medium enterprises 67.4 times in commerce/services sectors and 21.0
times in manufacturing. [8], [9].
In summary, Laos and Vietnam share a common characteristic (striking small size ofenterprises), while the number of large or medium firms are very much different. Hence, there isa need for Laos to have more enterprises, especially large or medium ones, for economic
development. Here it is apparent that the challenges for SME policy in Laos are to increase thenumber of enterprises and to help micro and small firms grow to larger ones by providing betterbusiness environment.
The GOL has formulated and implemented SME policy since 1996. The recent SME
Development Plan (2011-2015) identifies 7 priority areas to be implemented3. In this section, theSME policy of GOL is evaluated and discussed in two aspects: first, by the objective indicator of
doing business; and second, by the subjective evaluation of government services provided byentrepreneurs.
3.1 Ease of doing business
The World Bank has published Doing Business every year from 2004, which is theannual report measuring the regulations that enhance business activity and those that hamper it.
Doing Business measures regulations in each country affecting the ease of doing business. A
virtual domestic SME with 10-50 employees located in the largest business city is assumed tomake a comparison of the ease of doing business across countries4. [10].
The two most important indicators for SME development in the report are ‘starting a2

3
4

Due to space limitation data from 2012 Establishment Census cannot be presented in this paper. However, they
are available upon request. The discussion in this section largely refers to this data set.
Department of SME Promotion, Ministry of Industry and Commerce (2017, p7)
To ensure comparability of the data across countries, the following standardized case scenarios and assumptions
are applied. It is a limited liability company or its legal equivalent; operates in the economy’s largest businesscity; is 100% domestically owned and has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity; has start-up capital of 10
times income per capita; performs general industrial or commercial activities, and does not perform foreign tradeactivities; leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate; has a turnover of at least
100 times income per capita; does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits; has 10-50
employees, all of them domestic nationals; has a turnover of at least 100 times income per capita, etc.
https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/methodology/starting-a-business24

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

business’ and ‘getting credit’. With respect to ‘starting a business’, it is apparent that that thesituation in Laos improved slightly in 2007 and became substantially better in 2012, before
deteriorating in 2015. In Vietnam, the ease of getting credit has improved substantially in 20072008 and maintained the level through 2014, and then enhanced slightly in 2015. In sum, thebusiness environment for SMEs regarding ‘starting a business’ and ‘getting credit’ was more
restrictive in Laos than Vietnam, and the ease of getting credit improved substantially in Laos
only as recently as 2015. [10].

3.2 Evaluation of government assistance by entrepreneurs in Laos
This analysis relies on the survey data of the GIZ5. The GIZ has conducted the largescale enterprise survey in every two years from 2005 to 2013 for the major regions in Laos
(Vientiane Capital, Luang Prabang Province, Champasack Province, Luang Namtha Province,
and Savannakhet Province). This survey series provides the subjective assessment of the central
and local government services as well as other information of firms based on questionnaires forentrepreneurs. [11].
The GIZ’s Enterprise Survey asked entrepreneurs about the helpfulness of government
services with five scales: very helpful; helpful; neutral; unhelpful; and very unhelpful. The
survey results6 reveal that government services are rated as being ‘helpful’ or ‘very helpful’ by
61-75% (central government assistance) and 64-80% (local government assistance) byentrepreneurs. It has also been revealed that the perception of entrepreneur has improved from2005 to 2013. It is worth noting that larger firms tend to rate government services as ‘helpful’ or‘very helpful’, while micro and small firms with less than 20 workers tend to evaluate
government services as ‘unhelpful’ or ‘very unhelpful’. In sum, government services havegenerally been highly rated and the positive rating has risen except for micro firms. However,SMEs tend to rate government services lower than larger firms, and a number of micro firms rate
government services as ‘unhelpful’ or ‘very unhelpful’. [11].

4. Concluding Remarks
Laos and Vietnam are neighboring countries with a long borderline and several similarities inpolitical regime, economic performance, economic and legal policies and reforms. Following thereforms started in the late 1980s, Laos has achieved comparable economic performance toVietnam. However, there is still a big difference between these two countries, for example in life
expectancy, poverty incidence, and human development. The gap between economic
performance and social indexes arouses suspicions that a remarkable economic performance of
Laos may be a “goldbrick,” that the fruit of economic development may concentrate in a small
number of people, and that economic development is not sufficiently inclusive.
Recent development in Laos appears to concentrate on big projects, such as special
economic zones, buildings, hydro-power dams, roads, railways, etc., which could lead to highexternal debt stocks. It is undeniable that infrastructure is very important for economic
5

GIZ is the German abbreviation for the Gesellschaft für International Zusammenarbeit.
Due to space limitation, the summary table of the survey results cannot be presented in this paper. However, it isavailable upon request.
6

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

25

development. However, if the infrastructure does not generate sufficient income and employment
for Lao people, economic development is deemed not inclusive.
For inclusive economic development and/or more equal distribution of income andemployment, SME promotion is one of the most effective measures. In spite of the great effortsof GOL in SME development, business environment in Laos, in terms of ‘starting a business’ and‘getting credit’, is still more restrictive than Vietnam, and indeed conditions for ‘starting abusiness’ deteriorated in 2015.
Notwithstanding the limitation of the analysis, the paper tries to examine the challenges
facing Laos by comparing them with those of Vietnam. It can be concluded that Laos is stillbehind her neighbor in many aspects of development. Since 2004 the government of Laos has
implemented SME promotion policies and most entrepreneurs evaluate them helpful. However,the policies are deemed ineffective in this analysis. The findings imply that effective
implementation of SME policies is a pressing issue for Laos. [12]. In reality, however, Vietnam
also has many problems and challenges to overcome so that there are issues that cannot be shownby comparing the two countries.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Japan Society for the Promotion of
Science under its Grand-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) 15H04547.

References[1] World Bank, World Development Indicators, various issues.
[2] Kham Vorapheth, “La Redefinition des Strategies Politiques et Economiques (1975-2006)”, Les Indes savants,
Paris, 2007 [We use the Japanese Version for our reference].
[3] Norihiko Yamada, “Rethinking of “Chinatanakan Mai” (New Thinking): New Perspective for Understanding Lao
PDR”, IDE Discussion Paper No. 393, Chiba, 2013.
[4] Van Tho Tran (トラン・ヴァン・トウ)『ベトナム経済発展論：中所得国の罠と新たなドイモイ』勁草書
房, 2010.
[5] Nobuaki Matsunaga (松永宣明)｢ベトナムにおける法制度改革と企業発展｣金子由芳編著『アジアの市場経済化と民事法』（神戸大学出版会）所収, 218-242頁, 2019.
[6] Motoyoshi Suzuki (鈴木基義) 第4章「ラオス外国投資法の変遷」山田紀彦編『ラオス チンタナカー
ン・マイ(新思考)政策の新展開 : 共同研究会中間報告』日本貿易振興機構アジア経済研究所, 2010.
[7] Lao Statistics Bureau (LSB). “Report of Economic Census II”, Ministry of Planning and Investment. Vientiane:
Lao Uniprint Ltd., 2015 [Report in Lao language].
[8] General Statistics Office (GSO), “Vietnamese Industry in 20 Years of Renovation and Development”, Hanoi,
2006.
[9] GSO, “Results of the 2012 Establishment Census”, Statistical Publishing House, Hanoi, 2013.
[10] World Bank (2019), Doing Business 2019.
[11] Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), “HRDME Enterprise Survey 2013 for Lao
PDR”, Vientiane, July 2014.
[12] Souksavanh Vixathep, “Entrepreneurship, Human and Social Capital, and Government Policy in Small andMedium Enterprise Development in Laos”, Japan Social Innovation Journal, 7, 2017.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Bioaccumulation of Metals in Gill and Liver of Some Fishes of Different
Feeding Habits from Water and Sediment of Ayeyarwady River Segment,
Salay Environs
Cho Cho Thin1, et al

Abstract
The present study aimed to evaluate the relationship of metals in water and sediment on
important organs (gills and livers) of nine commercial fish species. In this study,
bioaccumulation of six metals (Ca, Mg, Na, Cd, Pb, As) in gills and livers of nine fish species
and metal concentrations in water and sediments of Ayeyarwady River segment, Salay
environs were analyzed by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer at Universities’ ResearchCentre of University of Yangon. The study period lasted from January to December, 2016. Cd
and Pb concentrations in all studied fishes of different feeding habits and their environs werelower than the maximum permissible limit while those of As were over the limit. Those of
essential metals (Ca, Mg, Na) were within the FAO standard ranges. The maximum
concentration of arsenic (2.79mg/L) was recorded in the gills of herbivorous fishes. According
to the results of Transfer Factors, Cd and As accumulated in gill and liver tissues of most of
studied fishes came from water and sediment. Arsenic levels in the gill and liver tissue samples
taken from studied species except N. notopterus were over the dangerous limits designated by
WHO/FAO and there is health hazard risk to the local consumers.
Keywords: fish gill, liver, sediment, metal concentration

1. Introduction
Nowadays, the pollution of the aquatic environment due to heavy metals has become aworldwide problem, because they are indestructible and most of them have toxic effects onaquatic organisms [1]. Even though some metals are essential for living organisms, they can also
be toxic over the limits (e.g. Ca, Mg, and Na) [2]. If their concentration is too high, they may
equal the toxicity of nonessential metals (e.g. Cd, Pb, As) [2].
Among environmental pollutants, metals are of particular concern, due to their potential
toxic effect and ability to bio accumulate in aquatic ecosystems [3]. According to the literature,
metal bioaccumulation in fish and subsequent distribution in their organs is greatly interspecific.
In addition, many factors can influence metal uptake like sex, age, size, reproductive cycle,
swimming pattern, feeding behavior, and geographical location [4].
However, fish normally accumulate heavy metals from food, water and sediments [5] andthis is a good indicator of heavy metals pollution in water [6]. Impact of contaminants on aquatic
ecosystems can be evaluated by measuring biochemical parameters in the liver of fish that
respond specifically to the degree and type of contamination [7]. Gills serve as a good indicatorof water quality. They are sensitive to any change of water components since gill filaments andlamellae provide a very large surface area for direct and continuous contact with contaminants inwater [8].
In this study, concentrations of six metals (calcium, magnesium, sodium, cadmium, leadand arsenic) in the gill and liver of nine fish species were assessed because these fish species
1Dr. Lecturer, Department of Zoology, University of Yangon, Myanmar. chochothin.uy2016@gmail.com,
2. Dr Myin Zu Min,3. Dr Min Thaung, 4. Dr. Yee Yee Win

28

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

were consumed as food by local people. Metal levels of water and sediments from the
Ayeyarwady River segment of Salay environs, which the fishes inhabited, were also detected.
The Transfer Factor (accumulation factor) is the ratio between the accumulated concentration ofa given pollutant in any organ and its dissolved concentration in water. It gives an indication of
the accumulation efficiency for any particular pollutant in any fish organ [9]. Thus, Transfer
Factor (TF) of heavy metals in soft tissue (liver) of the studied fish species was also determined.

2. Materials and Methods
Study Area
Ayeyarwady River segment of Salay Township, Magway Region situated at 20° 42ʹ N to
20° 51.30ʹ N and 94° 14ʹ E to 97° 47.51ʹ E was chosen as the study area to analyze metal
concentrations in some fish species and their environs (Fig. 1).
Study Period
Study period lasted from January, 2016 to December, 2016.
Collection and preparation of Samples
From the study site, 68 specimens of 9 study fish species were collected from local
fishermen. Feeding habits of recorded fish species were designated in accordance with Talwar
and Jhingran [10]. From among the collected species, three species each of herbivores,
carnivores, and omnivores were selected for determination of selected metals. The liver and gill
were carefully excised, rinsed in double distilled water and oven dried at 1100°C. The heavy
metal concentrations in the dried samples were estimated after acid digestion, following thestandard method [11], using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Each water sample wasfiltered through a 0.45 micron Whatman filter paper. The water samples were analyzed directly.
The sediment sample was sun dried, grounded and sieved with a 200 mm sieve to obtain a fine
powder, of which 1.0 g was used. Then sediment analysis was carried out according to theprocedure described earlier [12].
Data Analysis
The concentration of metals (calcium, magnesium, sodium, cadmium, lead and arsenic) ingill and liver of fish specimens and aquatic environs of study area were analyzed in triplicates by
Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer in Universities’ Research Centre (URC) at University of
Yangon. The results were compared with WHO/FAO maximum permissible limits (MPL) [13,14].
Transfer Factor (TF) calculation
The TF was given as

TF concentration of metal in fish soft tissue
concentration of metal in environ (water or sediment)

TF greater than 1 indicates bioaccumulation of metals in fish soft tissue [15].

29

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Source: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Map Sheets, 2004
Figure 1. Map of the study area and study site

3.

Results and Discussion

A total of 9 fish species which included three each of herbivores (Cirrhinus mrigala, Labeocalbasu, Oreochromis mossambicus), carnivores (Notopterus notopterus, Separata aor, Channapunctatus), and omnivores (Tenualosa ilisha, Rhinomugil corsula, Mastacembelus dayi) werecollected from the Ayeyarwady River segment of Salay Township.
Calcium, magnesium and sodium (essential metals) concentrations of gill and liver of allstudied fish species of different feeding habits were found within the FAO standard ranges (Table1). Mean concentrations of essential metal in gills and livers of fishes of different feeding habitswere presented in Fig. 2. A large number of studies have shown that the level of bioaccumulationof heavy metal in fish muscle is significantly correlated with fish species [16]. The results
observed in this study were in good agreement with the above consensus.
Cadmium and lead concentrations of gill and liver of all studied fish species of different
feeding habits were found to be lower than those of maximum permissible limits recognized by
WHO/ FAO (Table 2). Arsenic concentrations in gills and livers of all studied fish species ofdifferent feeding habits were found to be higher than those of maximum permissible limits except
in Notopterus notopterus (-0.37 mg/L), a carnivorous fish. Especially, the mean concentrations of
toxic metals for all studied fishes were presented in Fig. 3.
Calcium, magnesium and sodium concentrations in water and sediment for all seasons
were found to be lower than those of maximum permissible limits recognized by WHO/ FAO.
Cadmium (0.03 mg/L), lead (0.51 mg/L), and arsenic (1.39 mg/L) concentrations of water werehigher than the MPL. Cadmium, lead, and arsenic concentrations of sediment in all seasons wereobserved to be lower than the "threshold effect concentration"(TEC)," midpoint effectconcentration"(MEC), and "probable effect concentration" (PEC) [17] (Fig. 4). Maximum
permissible limit of metal concentration designated by WHO and FAO guidelines were shown in
Table 3.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)30

In addition, transfer factor of heavy metals in liver of studied fish species was also
determined. (Table.4). It is found that Cd are hazardous for the aquatic ecosystems especially for
the C. mrigala, L. calbasu, O. mossambicus, S.aor, C. punctatus, R. corsula and M. dayi. Transfer
factors from water for cadmium were greater than 1, which indicated that the above mentioned
fish species accumulated metal from water. Similarly, Transfer Factors from water and sediment
for arsenic in T. ilisha and M. dayi were greater than 1. Thus, level of arsenic in the area ishazardous for these fish species. Heavy metals pollution affects not only aquatic organisms, butalso public health as a result of bioaccumulation through their food chains.
Transfer Factors of Cd and As in gill from water and sediment for most of the studied fish
species were greater than 1 (Table.5). Thus, levels of Cd and As were hazardous to the studied
fish species. Similar results were found for Pb in L. rohita, R.corsula and M.dayi. The results
show that As levels in the soft tissue samples taken from studied fish species except N.
notopterus were over the dangerous limits given by WHO/FAO and there is high risk for local
public who consume eating these species.
Table 1. Essential metal concentration (mg/L) in gill and liver of studied fish species
Feeding Habits

Herbivore

Carnivore

Omnivore

Species

Ca

Mg

Na

Gill

Liver

Gill

Liver

Gill

Liver

Cirrhinus mrigala

84.44

18.56

8.09

8.09

51.21

52.59

Labeo calbasu

86.97

35.80

8.84

6.14

36.54

3.60

Oreochromis mossambicus

86.19

21.94

8.56

7.91

57.73

11.75

Notopterus notopterus

78.24

13.61

8.66

8.02

54.13

12.95

Separata aor

87.36

19.25

8.51

4.29

68.05

4.87

Channa punctatus

83.94

72.41

8.33

7.07

20.60

1.18

Tenualosa ilisha

80.45

22.48

8.53

2.30

25.93

1.13

Rhinomugil corsula

86.69

38.60

8.58

6.97

51.24

4.07

Mastacembelus dayi

82.99

21.73

8.35

6.45

17.49

6.59

Figure 2. Mean concentration of essential metal in gills and liver of fishes of different feeding habits

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

31

Table 2. Toxic metal concentrations (mg/L) in gill and liver of studied fish species
Feeding Habits

Gill

Liver

Gill

Liver

Cirrhinus mrigala

0.06

0.07

0.49

0.08

3.08

0.25

Labeo calbasu

0.05

0.04

0.77

0.36

2.89

1.37

Oreochromis
mossembicus

0.05

0.03

0.47

0.18

2.39

0.62

Notopterus notopterus

0.05

0.03

0.31

-0.03

2.85

-0.37

Separata aor

0.04

0.03

0.40

0.11

2.45

0.49

Channa punctatus

0.04

0.04

0.40

0.29

2.28

1.14

Tenualosa ilisha

0.04

0.02

0.25

0.02

2.40

1.79

Rhinomugil corsula

0.05

0.03

0.52

0.22

2.54

0.48

Mastacembelus dayi

0.04

0.04

0.58

0.42

1.92

1.43

Cd

3

Pb

2

As

1

Gills

Omnivore

Carnivore

Harbivore

0

Omnivore

Mean concentration (mg/L)

Omnivore

As

Liver

Carnivore

Carnivore

Pb

Gill

Harbivore

Herbivore

Cd

Species

Liver

Body parts in fishes of different feeding habits

Concentration(mg/L)

Figure3. Mean concentration of toxic metal in gills and livers of fishes of different feeding habits

30.00
25.00
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00

Ca

Mg

Water

Essential element
22.38
6.59

Sediment

26.76

8.21

Na

Cd

Pb

As

2.22

0.03

Toxic element
0.51

1.39

2.12

0.04

0.60

1.17

Figure4. Essential and toxic metals concentrations (mg/L) of water and sediment in study area

32

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Table 3. Maximum permissible limit of metal concentrations (mg/L) stated in WHO and FAO
guidelines
WHO/FAO limit

WHO guideline limit(Muscle)(Water)Ca

19-881100

Mg

4.5-452150

Na

30-134

200

Cd

0.2

Pb
As

Metal

Sediment
TEC

MEC

PEC

0.99

3

5

1

36

83

130

0.01

9.8

21.4

33

Not stated

Table 4.The Transfer factor (TF) of heavy metals from water and sediment to liver of studied fish
species
Cd

FeedingSpecies

Habits

Herbivore

Carnivore

OmnivorePb

As

TF from

TF from

TF from

TF from

TF from

TF fromwatersediment

water

sediment

water

sediment

Cirrhinus mrigala

2.44

1.65

0.16

0.13

0.18

0.22

Labeo calbasu

1.48

1.00

0.70

0.60

0.99

1.17

Oreochromis mossembicus

1.26

0.85

0.36

0.31

0.45

0.53

Notopterus notopterus

0.96

0.65

-0.07

-0.06

-0.27

-0.32

Separata aor

1.19

0.80

0.22

0.19

0.35

0.42

Channa punctatus

1.30

0.88

0.56

0.48

0.82

0.98

Tenualosa ilisha

0.78

0.53

0.04

0.03

1.29

1.53

Rhinomugil corsula

1.11

0.75

0.44

0.37

0.34

0.41

Mastacembelus dayi

1.37

0.93

0.82

0.70

1.03

1.23

Table 5. The Transfer factor (TF) of heavy metals from water and sediment in gills of studied fish
species
Cd
Feeding Habits

Herbivore

Carnivore

Omnivore

SpeciesPb

As

TF from TF from TF fromTF from

TF from TF fromwater

sediment

water

sediment

water

sediment

Cirrhinus mrigala

2.07

1.40

0.96

0.82

2.22

2.63

Labeo calbasu

1.93

1.30

1.51

1.28

2.10

2.47

Oreochromis mossambicus

1.67

1.13

0.92

0.78

1.72

2.04

Notopterus notopterus

1.78

1.20

0.61

0.52

2.10

2.44

Separata aor

1.59

0.08

0.78

0.67

1.76

2.10

Channa punctatus

1.41

0.95

0.78

0.67

1.64

1.95

Tenualosa ilisha

1.37

0.93

0.50

0.42

1.73

2.10

Rhinomugil corsula

1.81

1.23

1.20

0.87

1.83

2.17

Mastacembelus dayi

1.48

1.00

1.14

0.97

1.38

1.64

33

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

In this study, the effects of metal accumulation in gills and livers of fishes and theirenvirons (water and sediments) were determined. The values observed for toxic metals
concentrations of all studied fish species of different feeding habits and their environs were lower
than the maximum permissible limit in all seasons except for the arsenic in cold season. That ofessential metals were within WHO and FAO concentrations ranges.
The observed variability of heavy metal levels in different species depends on feeding
habits, ecological needs, metabolic rate, physiological condition of fish, age, size and length of
the fish and their habitats [18]. It is found that Cd levels are hazardous for the aquatic ecosystems
especially for the C. mrigala, L. calbasu, O. mossambicus, S.aor, C. punctatus, R. corsula and M.
dayi. Transfer factors for Cd in liver from water were greater than 1, which indicated that theabove mentioned fish species accumulated metal from water. Similarly, Transfer Factors for Asfrom water and sediment in T. ilisha and M. dayi were greater than 1. Thus, As are hazardous forthese fish species in the area. Transfer Factors of Cd and As in gill from water and sediment formost of the studied fish species were also greater than 1. Thus, Cd and As are hazardous for thepresent studied fish species. The accumulation of metals in the liver is likely linked to its
metabolism. Gills are the main route of metal exchange from water as they have very large
surface areas that facilitate rapid diffusion of toxic metals. Similar results were found for Pb in L.
rohita, R.corsula and M.dayi. Heavy metal pollution affects not only aquatic organisms but also
public health as a result of bioaccumulation through food chains. The results show that As levelsin the soft tissue samples taken from the studied fish species except from N. notopterus were overthe dangerous limits given by WHO/FAO and there is a health risk for the local public who
consume these fish species.

4. Conclusion

In the present study, essential and toxic metal concentrations in gill and liver of allstudied fish species were found to be lower than the maximum permissible limit except for thearsenic.Based on the results, it was concluded that it seems to be not appropriate for eating
studied fish species except for N. notopterus. According to the results of Transfer Factors, Cd
and As which accumulated in gill and liver of most of the studied fish species came from waterand sediment of the river segment.

Acknowledgements
We are much indebted to Dr Thida Lay Thwe, Professor/Head, Department of Zoology, and Yangon
University for her kind encouragement. We would like to specially thank Dr. Aye Mi San, Professor, Department of
Zoology, and Yangon University for her invaluable help in this work. Our profound gratitude goes to Dr. Nyan Tun,
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Bago University, for his invaluable help in this research work

34

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

References[1] MacFarlane, G. B., Burchettt, M. D. ‘Cellular distribution of Cu, Pb, and Zn in the Grey Mangrove Avicemnia
marina (Forsk.),’ 2000. Vierh Aquatic Botanic, 68: 45–59.
[2] Kennedy, C.J. ‘The toxicology of metals in fishes.’ Academic Press, San Diego, California, USA. 2011.
[3] Censi, P., Spoto, S.E., Saiano, F., Sprovieri, M., Mazzola, S., Nardone, G., Di Geronimo, S.I., Punturo, R. andOttonello, D. ‘Heavy metals in coastal water systems,’ 2006. 64, 1167-1176.
[4] Zhao S., Feng C., Quan W., Chen X., Niu J., Shen Z. ‘Role of living environments in the accumulation
characteristics of heavy metals in fishes and crabs in the Yangtze River Estuary, China.’ 2012;
64(6):1163–1171.
[5] Yilmaz, F., Ozdemir, N., Demirak, A. and Tuna, A.L. ‘Heavy metal levels in two fish species Leuciscus cephalus
and Lepomis gibbous,’ 2007. Food Chemistry, 100; 830-835.
[6] Voegborlo R.B., Atta A., Agorku E.S. ‘Total mercury distribution in different tissues of six species of freshwater
fish from the Kpong hydroelectric reservoir in Ghana,’ 2012. 184 (5):3259-3265.
[7] Barhoumi S., Messaoudi I., Gagne F., Kerkeni A. ‘Spatial and seasonal variability of some biomarkers in Salaria
basilisca (Pisces: Blennidae):’ 2012. 14 (1): 222-228.
[8] Au. D.W.T. ‘The application of histocytopathological biomarkers in marine pollution monitoring’, 2004 areview, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 48: 817-834.
[9] Authman, M. and Abbas, H. ‘Accumulation and distribution of copper and zinc in both water and some vital
tissues of two fish species (Tilapia zilii and Mugil cephalus) of Lake Qarun.’ Fayoum province.
Egypt, 2007. Pakistan Journal of Biological Science, 10(13), 2106-2122.
[10] Talwar, P. K., Jhingran, A. G. ‘Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries.’ Oxford and IBH Publishing Co.
PVT. Ltd., 1991.
[11] Association of Official Analytical Chemist, Official method of analysis, 2000, 15th Edn. Washington DC.
[12] Issac, R.A., Kerber, J.D. ‘Atomic absorption and flame photometry: techniques and uses in soil, plant and water
analysis.’ Instrumental Methods for Analysis of Soil and Plant Tissue, 1971. pp. 17-37.
[13] WHO. 1990."Guidelines for Seafood Quality." 2nd V (1) Recommendation. WHO Geneva.
[14] WHO, 2007. ‘Health risks of heavy metals from long-range trans boundary air pollution.’ WHO, Geneva.
[15] Kalfakakour. V., Akrida.Demertzi, K. ‘Transfer Factors of Heavy Metals in Aquatic Organisms of Different
Trophic Levels,’ 2000. HTML Publications 1, pp. 768-778.
[16] T. Yu, Y. Zhang, W. Meng, X. Hu. ‘Characterization of heavy metals in water and sediments in Taihu Lake,
China Environ.’ Monit. Assess. 184, 2012, pp. 4367-4382.
[17] McDonald DD, Ingersoil CG, Berger AT. ‘Development and evaluation of consensus based sediment quality
guidelines for freshwater ecosystems,’ 2000. Achieves of Environmental Contamination and
Toxicology 39: 20-31.
[18] Naeem, M., Salam, A., Tahir, S.S. and Rauf, N. ‘The effect of fish size and condition on the contents of twelve
essential and non-essential elements in Veterinary Journal.’, 2011. 31 (2), 109-112.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Aquaculture Development in Myanmar: Evolving Policies and Implications
Thida Kyu1, Thapye Nyo2

Abstract
Aquaculture is the main animal protein source at an affordable price for rural people and an
important provider of employment opportunities in Myanmar. Small-scale fisheries play not only asource of livelihood, income for millions of people but also the fifth-largest earner of foreign
currency for the country during the period from 2009/10 to 2017/18. This study focused on fish
farming, which contribute to 95% of Myanmar aquaculture. The purposes are to identify the issues
and barriers of aquaculture value chain, to set out possible policy options to stimulate aquaculture
growth. This study mapped the value-chain (business start point to final markets) uses exploratory
research method using field interviews, key informant interviews, and stakeholder focus group
discussion. Before interviews, literature reviews of Fishery sectors and concerned law andregulation from various sources were conducted. Then, Government officers from related
ministries, Myanmar Fishery Federation (MFF), RUMFCCI, exporters, lawyers and businessactors are interviewed as key informants in value chain segments. This study finds out issues andbarriers on fish firming value chains and the key barriers are land acquisition, financing, and costof fish feeds. Then, form this finding, relevant policy recommendations are formulated foraquaculture sector development and fishery export.
Keywords: Value-chain analysis, aquaculture, fishery export, food security

1. Introduction
Most of the protein in the diet of the population of 53 million comes from fish. Apartfrom its original role in fish food supply, fisheries are one of the main contributors to thedevelopment of Myanmar economy. Small-scale fisheries play a crucial role as source of
livelihood and income for millions of people in Myanmar. It is also the fifth or sixth-largest
earner of foreign currency for the country during the period from 2009/10 to 2014/15. The
Livestock and Fishery sector contributed round about 8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Fisheries product accounts for about 14% of monthly food expenditure of average household.
According to previous studies, the annual Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) of the marine
fisheries is estimated at about 1.05 million metric tons. This study focused on inland water fish
farming, which contribute to 95% of Myanmar aquaculture. Fish farming accounts for nearly
20% of domestic consumption in Myanmar. Fish farming also generates a lot of rural nonfarm
employment. In Myanmar, of all the various food producing systems, aquaculture is considered
to be the main animal protein source at an affordable price for rural people and is an important
provider of employment opportunities.
2. Purpose of Study and methodology
The purposes of the study are to identify the issues and barriers of aquaculture value
chain, and to set out possible policy options to stimulate aquaculture growth.
This study uses value chain approach to explore laws and regulations into various stagesof fishery value chains. The fishery value chains are divided into three segments: upstream,
1

Dr. Pro-Rector, Meiktila University of Economics, Myanmar, thidakyu@gmail.com. CBI ( 2012 ). Myanmar
Seafood Exports: Quick Scan of the EU Market Potential, p. 92
Srivinas, S. and Hlaing, U.S. 2015. Myanmar: Land Tenure Issues and the Impact on Rural Development. Report
prepared for Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation

36

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

midstream, downstream. Before interviews, literature reviews of Fishery sectors and concerned
law and regulation from various sources were conducted. Then, field surveys were conducted in
Fish firm in Ayeyarwady Region and Yangon Region. After that government officers from
Ministry of Livestock, Fishery and Rural Development, Ministry of National Planning andEconomic Development and Ministry of Commerce, Chairman of the Myanmar Fishery
Federation (MFF) and its members, Members of RUMFCCI, Exporters, Researchers, Lawyers,
and Business actors as key informants interviewed in up-, mid- and downstream of value chain
segments.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Aquaculture Production in Myanmar
Main fishery resource in Myanmar is fresh water through: fish culture, leasable resource
and open fisheries and marine fishery through: coastal or In-shore fisheries and off-shore
fisheries or deep-sea fisheries. Inland water system is comprised of the Ayearwady, Sittaung,
and Thanlwin rivers, which run for roughly 2,000 km, as well as 2600 km of tributaries andminor water system. Marine resources include both vast coastal waters and large areas of coastalmangrove swamps. Myanmar people normally prefer freshwater fish to marine fish andfreshwater fisheries were aimed mainly at domestic food whereas marine and aquaculture wereintended for both domestic consumption and exports. Farmed fish is exported as well as sold on
the local market although the domestic fish price is lower than that for export. Table 3 presents
the area of aquaculture ponds and its total production from 2005/06 to 2014/15. Not only total
area and total production steadily increased but also average yields per acre increase by 62.4%
from 2005/06 to 2017/18. In 2017/18, aquaculture fishery production is only 19% of total
production but 6% from leasable fisheries, 21% from Open fisheries and 54% from marine
fisheries respectively.
. Table 3. Total Aquaculture Ponds and Production
Year

Area of Aquaculture
Ponds (Acre)

Production of Aquaculture
Ponds (Thousand Metric Ton)

Average
Yield perAcre (Tons)

2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15
2015/162016/172017/18405855436825441098440585442702443695448469449692450323469153478002487525491345574.99616.35687.67775.25858.76830.48899.05929.38964.12999.631014.421048.69
1130.35

1.42
1.41
1.56
1.76
1.94
1.87
2.00
2.07
2.14
2.13
2.12
2.15
2.30

Source: DoF, Fishery Statistics, (2018)37

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Myanmar export about 30% of the rohu produced and about 10% of striped catfish with asmall amount of tilapia annually. The main markets are the Middle East (Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi
Arabia and United Arab Emirates) for gutted and chopped fish, mainly for Asian guest workers,
and Bangladesh for frozen whole fish. The domestic market demands smaller sized fish, 0.250.50 kg, compared to 0.9-1.0 kg for the export market. Myanmar could export considerably more
freshwater fish if the main constraint of market glut or shortage is overcome to provide a regularsupply of fish for export.
The domestic consumption and exports of Myanmar Fishery products is mentioned inTable -4. The total volume of fishery exports was apparently decreasing after 2008/2009 due toNagis cyclone (May 2008) and increase of domestic consumption. In 2009/10, the domestic
consumption stood at 3,546,277.6 metric tons (90.44% of the total production) and the share of
the exports was 9.56 The total volume of fishery exports was apparently increasing, however the
proportion ranged from 10 % to 14 % of total production. In 2014/15, the domestic consumption
stood at 4978659 metric tons (93.64% of the total production) and the share of the exports was
6.36. In resent year, the percentage of domestic consumption is slightly decline because ofincrease in export.
Major importing countries of Myanmar fish and fisheries products were Singapore,
Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Malaysia, Austria, Britain, U.S.A, Bangladesh andIndonesia. Since 2002/03, China has been the major importer of Myanmar fish and fisheries.
However, in 2017/18, Thailand imported the largest amount (US$ 258.808 million). Most of the
products were sold out to China, Thailand and Bangladesh through border trade. China especiallybought Myanmar product to sell out to the northern parts of its country. Bangladesh also bought
not only iced and chilled fish but also dried fish.
Table 4. Domestic Consumption and Export of Fishery Products (Metric Ton)
Sr.
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15
2015/162016/172017/18

Production
258178028617103180920354219039219704163460
44782104716220504753053169505591830
56754705587460

Domestic
Consumption

Exports

Quantity%

Quantity%

2310710251828328292683217480
35462783789567409122943393744702263
4978659522285952367645019233

89.50
87.99
88.90
90.83
90.44
91.02
91.36
92.01
93.16
93.64
93.40
92.27
89.83

271070343427351652324711375092373893386981376846345267338291368971438706568227

10.50
12.01
11.10
9.17
9.56
8.98
8.64
7.99
6.84
6.36
6.60
7.73
10.17

Source: Department of Fishery, Fishery Statistics, (2018)

38

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

3.2 Value Chain in Aquaculture Sector
A total of 491345 Acres are used for breeding, rearing and harvesting fish andcrustaceans in Myanmar. Of total aquaculture ponds, 51% are used for shrimp culture and 41%
for fish culture. The culture of freshwater fish is concentrated in the Ayeyarwady (50%), Yangon(28%) and Bago (11% ) regions of Myanmar. Producers are comprised of small scale farmers
who supply the local market and larger, vertically-integrated farmers who cater to the export
market. A variety of species are cultured, including rohu, catla, common carp, grass carp, mrigal
carp, silver carp, tilapia, striped catfish, and Philippine catfish. The value chain in fishery sector
is divided into three segments; upstream, midstream and downstream. Upstream is defined ascomprising all enterprises involved in the production and distribution of inputs. The midstream
segment is comprised of farms, where these inputs are combined using labor to produce fish of
marketable size. The downstream segment involves all activities relating to the marketing,processing and distribution of fish produced.

3.3 Regulatory and Institution
Every fishing activity in Myanmar's fishery industry is controlled by the licensing andregistration system to manage both the fishing vessels and their gear, under the current Fisheries
Law and Union of Myanmar Investment Law 2016. "The Fisheries Law" 1905 was the only
legislation regulating fishery management and the fishing industry of Myanmar until amended in
1954, and was finally repealed by "Law relating to the fishing rights of foreign fishing vessels" in
1989. After that, the government publicized three other fisheries laws, namely "Aquaculture
fisheries law" in 1989, "Myanmar marine fisheries law" in 1990, and "Freshwater fisheries law"in 1991. The law relating to the fishing rights of foreign fishing vessels is amended in 1993. Most
prospective fish farmers and prospective small-scale fish farmers have to convert agriculturalland to aquaculture ponds, previously. The Farmland Law (2012) formalized transferrable private
land use rights (Oberndorf, 2012), in effect regularizing the existing informal market in
agricultural land. In order to convert agricultural land to aquaculture in a legally compliant
manner, it is necessary to apply to the State/Regional Administrative Authority for permission tochange the title of the land. A successful application to change land titling will result in the issueof an official document ‘La Na 39’ or form 7 (UN-Habitat/UNHRC, 2010). The process ofapplying for La Na 39 is complex. Thus, land rights transfer or land-use change is a lengthy
process, requiring considerable time and frequent visits to various government offices located inentirely different line ministries (Srivinas and Hlaing, 2015, p8).

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

39

Figure1. Aquaculture (fish firm) value chain in Myanmar

Department of Fisheries (DoF) is the major government institution which is accountable
for the management of fishery sector development. DoF's responsibilities involve, among others,
facilitating the technical needs and equipment of the marine sector; distributing freshwater anddeep-sea prawns to private breeders and assisting them with breeding techniques; undertaking
research and development activities; collecting taxes; issuing fishing licenses; and establishingmodel breeding centers. Myanmar Fisheries Federation (MFF) was reformed in 1998 as areplacement of Myanmar Fishery Association which was established in 1989. Myanmar Fisheries
Federation is one of the highest NGOs commercial organizations to encourage and promote
fishery industries of Myanmar. Ministry of Commerce (MoC) undertakes market information forfishery export, business to business meeting and trade fairs under department of trade promotion(DoTP).

3.4 Issues in Myanmar Fishery Sector Value Chain
Actually, the legislative framework relies on outdated laws that must be enhanced inorder to account for modern aquaculture and fishery management practices and policy. Current
laws refrain from addressing a number of issues including fish disease control, environmental
impact assessments, and aquaculture guidelines and codes of conduct. All the fishery laws andregulations are not complied with current technology, materials using in fishery sector andenvironmental situation, new fishery law are needed for sustainable development of fisherysector. Thus, Myanmar government submitted draft of Aquaculture law and Myanmar marine
fishery law” to parliament recently to enact. The following section will present important issues
and regulatory burdens in fish farming (aquaculture).
Land acquisition and business start: Land categorization and ownership is a major problem instarting an aquaculture farm. According to The Farmland Law (2012) and The Vacant, Fallow
and Virgin Lands Management Law (2012), a formal application is required and to get a permit
from the relevant state and regional governments. There is no consistency in approving thispermit and different governments assessing differently and the level of restrictions depend on theregion. This difficulties and complex procedures (cost, time, inconvenience and need forconnections with officials in the state bureaucracy) might undermine capacity of many smaller
prospective fish farmers to obtain permission to take up aquaculture. As a result, the official

40

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

permission, La Na 39 or Form 7 had been issued for around only half of total pond acreage, withsome putting the figure as low as 10%. Time taken for the assessment is too long and causing
financial and opportunity losses and to the new investors. The investment gap between
purchasing a farm with permit and starting a new farm is too wide and discouraging for new
investments creating major bottleneck in the sector. To avoid this situation, some investors
considered purchasing approved farms separately. This also creates another major problem for
new investors to get the farm in one connecting establishment and lead to added overheads andincreased operating costs. If the pound was constructed without a permit, the owner has to fill itback to the original stage in addition to the fine (10lks until 2018 and 30000 kyats currently) andup to 2 years in jail (2018 amendment). To purchase an established pound, the cost is between
5lks to 100lks. To construct a pond the cost starts from 15lks. There are still many issues anddisputes surrounding land ownership and types of land. Farmlands intended for rice are notallowed to have fish pound and this creates integrated farming impossible and subsequently
leaving farmers with no option to diversify and rely on one particular type of crop. Moreover,According to Farmland Law (2012) and The Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law(2012), Land rights for agriculture and aquaculture land are different such as agriculture land canbe mortgaged, giving, sold, leasing or otherwise transferred or divided but aquaculture landcannot be without the permission of the Cabinet of the Union Government.
Hatchery: Technology is lacking in this area and it is still difficult to get good and healthy
hatchlings at reasonable price. The hatchery production lasts approximately four months from
May to August. There are two main hatchery technologies used in Myanmar and the traditional
method is called ‘hapa-based’ and it is land and labor intensive. The more advanced method
widely used across Aisa which involved stripping of eggs and removing brood fish is lesscommon in Myanmar due to higher cost. The traditional method produces lesser number ofhatchlings. Department of Fishery (DoF) provides hatchlings (over 789 million fingerlings in
2012/13 but only 631 million in 2017/18) to the farmers but the allocation is not sufficient. Most
species become hybrid and degenerated. Import from neighboring countries may be an option
but it is not sustainable long term solution and technology transfer, resource allocation andinvestment is much needed in this area. The number of private hatcheries has grown steadily inrecent years but still not enough for the whole sector. Some larger farms also operate as
hatcheries and sold its excess hatchlings to smaller farms. In general, the supply is not sufficient
for all of fourteen different species and the hatchlings are not good quality.
Feeding: More than 80% of total aquaculture production in Myanmar comes from agricultural
byproducts and wastes as feed with only around 20% of reliant on commercially manufactured
palette feeds. The supply and distribution of commercial palette feeds are dominated by single
company in the market with relatively low competition with no more than five companies in theentire country. Due to lack of enough feed mills and the local companies and high price of feed,in many situations, the small holders have to sell their fishes to the feed mills companies inadvance. The law enforcement is weak and the terms and conditions are not favorable to thesmall holders and often have to pay very high interest rates. Some feeding mills in the country
are facing difficulties sourcing raw materials and unable to run regularly. A key informant
reported that foreign fish feed companies were wary of investing in Myanmar dues to fears overtheir ability to recover credit extended to farmers. This may suggest that development of a morecompetitive feed sector is constrained by foreign investors’ access to capital and concerns overthe strength of the legal frameworks in place. The private sector, and in particular the MFF, has19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)41

not effectively communicated the sector’s needs to Customs authorities. Importation limits onenriched flours and other key inputs compels hatcheries to use oilseed cakes as an alternative.
However, there is also a short supply of cake for the fisheries sector since a large majority of thecake is absorbed by the livestock sector. Also, it has only been possible to import oilseed cakesince 2012 and current volumes remain insufficient to satisfy a growth in hatcheries production.
Another issue is the uncertain quality of the cake that is imported, as border controls of oilseedcake imports remain inadequate due to limited testing facilities and the absence of standards
against which to evaluate the product.
Finance: The costs of investing in aquaculture can be substantial. Fixed or quasi-fixed inputs
may include land purchase or rental, pond construction, housing for workers, poultry sheds,
boats, trucks or other means of transport, water pumps, generators and transformers. Variable
inputs comprise labor, feed, seed, chemicals, fuel, and ice. Expenditure on feed alone (which
accounts for an estimated 75-80% of operating costs), may run to $2000-2500 per acre/year, withlabor and seed accounting for the bulk of the remainder. The ease and terms with which startup
and operating capital for aquaculture can be accessed thus have important implications for thesector’s inclusiveness. The vast majority of investment and operating capital for aquaculture is
raised from informal sources. Although Myanmar Livestock and Fishery Development Bank
(MLFDB) provides credit at low rates of interest (13% per annum), it was said by informants
only to issue loans to farmers with more than 50 acres of ponds. Although loans from fish traders
are often secured with land use certificates (e.g., La Na 39/Form 7 or Form 105), meaning thatland can be foreclosed in the face of a serious default, the conditions are flexible (allowing for
regular borrowing to cover monthly feed costs, repayment upon harvest, and rescheduling of
payments in case. Small farms and nurseries are usually financed from a combination of own
savings, informal loans from relatives (both with and without interest) and informal
moneylenders (at between 3-6% per month, depending on terms), and (once running),
reinvestment of profits. A key constraint for enterprises seeking bank financing is stringent
collateral requirements. Moreover, leasehold title, which can be used as collateral for access tocredit, is rarely accepted because of complicated procedures and a complex legal system torecognize leasehold titles. High collateral requirements are further stimulated by difficult banking
regulations and the absence of loan guarantee mechanisms. Additionally, the absence of an
implemented moveable asset law that ensures movables such as cultured fish/shrimp in theponds, machinery, fishing boats and gear can be used as collateral makes it even more difficult
for the fisheries sector to access credit. Deficiencies in the banking sector are complicated by anabsence of alternative funding sources such as specialized finance lines, leasing microcredit or
sector development funds. There is also limited availability of microfinance services.
Furthermore, Myanmar SMEs Development Law (2015) exclude the fish farm or aquaculture
farm to be SMEs under definition of SMEs. So fish farm cannot access SME development loan at
low interest rate and tax exemption for SMEs. With depriving enterprises of funding that isneeded to invest in upgraded capacities, limited financial instruments increase the risk of doing
business. In particular, there is a low level of insurance use due to the previously government
managed insurance system.
Processing Plant: Processing plants are only able to focus on the processing alone and unable toparticipate as an operator in the entire fishery farming process. There are only 23 plants thatmeets EU standard in 2019. DoF also has its own processing standards and criteria for theprocessing plants.

42

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

3.5 Market access and Investment
Companies are not willing to invest in marketing which is much needed especially forexport and Myanmar fishery products are relatively unknown. Most Myanmar companies arewilling to operate jointly with foreign companies, but the current rules and regulations are still
inflexible with many requirements. The massive growth in trade of fish in Myanmar is a clear
example of the type of positive transformational change that can occur when regulations that
distort the functioning of the market are removed. In Market access, the export tax on fisheryproducts and import tax on inputs for fishery are exempt since 2013 allowing the industry togrow faster. However, because of growing domestic demand and low growth rate of fisheryproduction, export cannot be promoted much. There are many good social and economic benefits
come from fishery with no evidence of any major environment impacts.

4. Conclusions and Recommendations
Fishery production from aquaculture will be a major source of increased fish production,
following expansion of aquaculture industries, increased average production and modern
technology. For promotion of fish exports, the fishery sector should develop and apply fish
quality and safety management systems that support the current competitive position of Myanmar
fishery products in the regional and world markets through the implementation, validation andpromotion of HACCP, GAP, and GHP and improved laboratory practices, the promotion andconduct of training programs to upgrade the technical skills and competencies of personnel in theprivate sector and the strengthening the compliance of fisheries industry to regional andinternational requirements. There is an important need to upgrade the fish product to be semiprocessed or value-added in order to increase its value. The approaches to upgrade traditional
fishery processing and preservation methods as well as market promotion are also crucial for theeffective utilization of fisheries resources.
4.1 Policy Option for Legal frameworks governing land use
Restrictions on land use represent the single largest constraint to development of the farmsegment of the inland aquaculture value chain, particularly in areas outside of existing pondclusters. The prohibition on conversion of paddy land to other uses is misplaced given that rice
now represents a minor cost component in food budgets, even among the poorest, andaquaculture occupies a tiny fraction of cultivable land nationally. The need to apply for land use
titling change of in order to convert agricultural land to ponds in a legally compliant manner issimilarly restrictive. Accordingly, the removal of these controls is a priority. Holders of use
rights to agricultural land should be allowed complete freedom of choice in crop cultivation.
Redesigning aquaculture as a form of agriculture (in relation to land management issues only),
might offer one means of overcoming land use titling restrictions. Insecure tenure and legal
ambiguities have inhibited the development of private land rental markets that could support
smallholder access to land for aquaculture, and place those who have constructed ponds without
following due process at risk from a more interventionist future role for the state in land
management. Retroactively regularizing the status of ponds already constructed would remove
this source of uncertainty. An interim measure would be to waive the requirement for farms sized
10 acres or less to obtain apply for La Na 39, formalizing what is already a de facto norm in19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)43some locations and guaranteeing future security of tenure in a pro-smallholder manner. A steppedsystem of land taxation and pond licensing fees represents an additional option for rebalancing
the sector in favor of smallholders, by minimizing charges levied on smaller pond farms andtaxing larger operations at higher rates, proportional to farm area.
The following options should be considered as short-term and long-term policy
recommendations for land acquisition for fish-farming business start.
1.

Streamline procedures and transparent decision making process with appropriate timeframe for application of non-agricultural land use permit should be established bycollaboration among department of fishery and other concerned organization. (It is themost cost-effective and easiest way to reduce regulatory burden for land acquisition forfish farm.)
2.
Amend The Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law (2012) throughparliament. (This option also will be possible but it will take a certain to pass the law)3.
Waive the requirement for farms sized 10 acres or less to obtain apply for La Na 39,
and rearrange appropriate penalty fee
Policy Option for Finance and enabling environment
Limited access to finance is the greatest constraint to aquaculture development after land
use restrictions. Large farms are not generally severely credit constrained, but smaller
commercial producers must borrow from informal lenders at high rates of interest, and aresometimes unable to access credit from any source. This results in underinvestment, suboptimaluse of inputs, and diminished capacity to seize new opportunities. These observations indicatethat there is the need to continue and accelerate ongoing macro- scale reforms to finance andbanking.
With respect to sector specific finance mechanisms, the capacity of MLFDB to provide
larger volumes of credit to a wider customer base should be expanded, and its approach to loandispersal should be reformed to make it more responsive to the practical needs of aquaculture
producers. This should include an explicit remit to serve the needs of commercial small andmedium scale producers. Measures to achieve this goal could include: removing restrictions on
the size of farms to which loans can be extended; allowing for multiple loan withdrawals over thecourse of a production cycle; scheduling repayments in line with the duration of the production
cycle; reducing the degree of collateralization required; providing loan facilities with a windowof more than one year; supplying credit to non-farm SMEs in aquaculture value chains, and;training bank staff on aquaculture to support more effective decision making.
The following options should be considered as short-term and long-term policy
recommendations for reducing regulatory burden for financing of fish farming.
1. Establish a credit guarantee scheme with adequate resources, to be implemented incommercial or trade banks with the objective of reducing the collateral requirements
needed to access loans for the fisheries sector
2. Elaborate and endorse a movable assets law that ensures movables such as cultured
fish / shrimp in ponds, machinery, fishing boats and gear can be used as collateral inrequesting credit
3. Amend SMEs Development Law(2015) through parliamentary process

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19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

4. Establish specialized insurance for the fisheries sector in collaboration withemerging new private insurance companies.
Policy Option for Feeding
The feed manufacturing sector is currently uncompetitive. Foreign and domestic
investment in aqua-feed production should be encouraged to improve the sector’s performance,
leading to lower prices, higher product quality, and more widespread adoption of formulated
feeds with resultant productivity gains. For instance, very large farms (sized more than 100 acres,and operated primarily by absentee owners or companies) account for 60% of total pond area,
and a single company retains a virtual monopoly on fish feed production. Realizing the fullpotential of aquaculture will be an important piece of the puzzle if Myanmar’s agriculture is totransition toward the production of more diverse, higher value agricultural produce. To do so will
require fostering and facilitating more inclusive and more evenly distributed patterns ofaquaculture development and growth than exist at present. Moreover, collaboration between the
Myanmar Aqua-Feed Association (under MFF) and the Myanmar Pulses, Beans & Sesame Seeds
Merchants Association should increase to ensure that feeds, ingredients and inputs respect thequality requirements for fish feed production.
The following options should be considered as short-term and long-term policy
recommendations for reducing regulatory burden for feed supply of fish farming.
As a part of the fisheries policy and legislative framework, implement a delegation of
power to competent authorities, (including Regional and State governments), foreffective implementation and enforcement of fisheries laws
2. Strengthen law enforcement mechanisms such as inspection, execution and suing
within administrative and jurisdiction power, to reduce the occurrence of ‘informal
arrangements’ between parties being used to circumvent laws through delegatingsome law enforcement power to appropriate government organizations (e.g. armed
forces, coast guards, the police force, etc.) by administrative mechanisms
3. Enforcement of competition law and creating competitive business environment forfish feed firms
4. Eliminate import taxes on inputs to produce fish and shrimp feed (wheat flour, soya
cake, fish meal, feed additives, etc.) as a means to facilitate the production of higher
quality feed in quantity
For fishery export sector to strengthen, there is a need for the private sector to contribute
capacity building and technical know-how for manufacturing high-value products, stronger
access to financial support, more paying taxes and better access to data. Similarly, thegovernment needs to provide more port facilities, upgrade roads for better transportation and alsorelieve trade barriers. Since 2018, the export of fish and fishery products is sharply increase, andto sustain this trend, in keeping that of fine operational cold storages; that of the better
packaging; and that of fine quality fish.
1.

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19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

References
1. Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission, (2014), Regional overview of aquaculture trends in the Asia-Pacific Region
2014, RAP Publication
2. Belton, B., Hein, A., Htoo, K., Kham, L.S., Nischan, U., Reardon, T., Boughton, D., (2015), “Aquaculture intransition: Value Chain transformation, Fish and Food Security in Myanmar”, Feed the feature,
International Development Working Paper 139, Myanmar Development Resource Institute Center for Economic and Social Development (MDRI-CESD), and the International Food Policy
Research Institute (IFPRI)
3. FAO, (2013), State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture. Rome: FAO.
4. FAO, (2015), Technical Regulations for Export and Import of Fishery Products, TCP/MYA/3401 (D)
5. LEI (2012), Myanmar seafood exports. Quick scan of the EU market potential. Compiled for CBI by LEI
Wageningen UR. The Hague.
6. Ministry of Commerce (2015), National Export Strategy; Fishery sector strategy, 2015-19, International Trade
Sector, the Republic of Union of Myanmar
7. Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries and Rural Development (2018), Fishery Statistics,2018, Department of
Fishery, the Republic of Union of Myanmar
8. Malaysia Productivity Corporation (2014), Reducing Unnecessary Regulatory Burdens on Business: Growing Oil
Palm, Recommendation Report
9. Myanmar Fisheries Federation (MFF), www.fishfedmyanmar.com/
10. Myanmar President Office, www.president-office.gov.mm/en/
11. Srivinas, S. and Hlaing, U.S. (2015), Myanmar: Land Tenure Issues and the Impact on Rural Development.
Report prepared for Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

47

Impacts of Infrastructures on RiverKyi Kyi Lwin1

Abstract
Nowadays the sedimentation caused by gold mining, deforestation, climate change and someinfrastructure structures is the vital problem in Ayeyarwady River. The high sediment load andresulting River bed raises compromise navigation on the River. The location of the study area is Innwa waterway at Mandalay in middle of Ayeyarwady River. Bank erosion occurs at thedownstream and upstream of mouth of MyitNge River. Mainstream barriers and dams,
construction of bridges, River training structure around the navigation channel may result shoaling
problem at the Innwa waterway and it can affect not only human and River system. Field survey
and data collection was carried out and GIS software is used to know the changes of morphology
of River. The interview program was achieved by asking the questions to related departments andlocal people who lived near study area. Some local people houses were moved to new places andalso they cannot work by cargo carrying since vessel could not pass to the River. They also cannot
get the good quality of water. Therefore, it is necessary to protect the human life and River forsustainable use as well as human dignity.
Keywords: sediment transport, environmental and social impact, infrastructure

1. Introduction
The Ayeyarwady is Myanmar’s largest river basin and has been described as the heart of
the nation. River transport system save cost and energy has little environmental impact comparedto other modes of transport. Navigation enhancement is crucial for the development of national
economic. Nowadays the sedimentation caused by gold mining, deforestation, climate change
and some infrastructure structures such as hydropower station, bridge is the vital problem in
Ayeyarwady River. The high sediment load and resulting river bed raises compromise navigationon the river. The objective of the research is to know the impacts of infrastructures along theriver and to get a better understanding and investigate the activities of the water on thesedimentation and its impact on navigation.

2. Methods
The location of the study area is Innwa waterway which length is 8.536 km (5.3 miles) at
Mandalay in middle of Ayeyarwady River. Innwa waterway is one of the 14 constraints in
Mandalay, and is one of the most important inland waterways for the transportation. The locationof the study area is shown in figure 1.

1

Department of River and Coastal Engineering, Myanmar Maritime University Myanmar, jiwenwen@gmail.com

48

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Figure 1. Location of study area ( Source; Google)

To get a better understanding the activities in rivers and their surrounding catchments that
affect sedimentation and to investigate the impacts of infrastructures on public and navigation,
field surveys were carried out and interview program was achieved by asking the questions to
Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River Systems (DWIR) and local people
lived near study area. The morphological changes of river can be provided by ArcGIS software.
The causes and effects of problem source at study area are shown in figure 2.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)49

3. Results and Discussion
In 2008, the new bridge (Yadanabon Bridge) was constructed across Ayeyarwady River.
Due to the new bridge construction the amount of sedimentation is rapidly increasing. As a result
the vessels that are passing along river have faced the shoaling problem, a series of sand bars
appeared in river. Moreover there are social impacts due to construction of bridge. For example
the people who stayed near river had to move other places.
After 1983, the sand bars appeared in front of the Sagaing port every year. At the
upstream of Yadanarbon Bridge, the main current flows along the Sagging bank and towards
Amarapura between two bridges (old & new). At downstream, it flows along Tada Oo. Bankerosion occurs at the downstream and upstream of mouth of MyitNge River. Sand bar nearpagoda will move toward the new bridge yearly. Upstream of Taung Taw, the erosion problem
occurs because the water is flowing along bank.
DWIR operated the dredging work and removed snag rocks to improve the waterway
during dry season of 2013-2014. However, excavated sand bars reappear again and lead the
shoaling problems. The construction of new bridge (Yadanabon Bridge) is also a threat to theflow regime of the river. Along Innwa waterway, five places are needed to improve navigational
channel. The pictures indicate dredging of sand deposits by backhoe dredger near the bridge andremoving snag rock at MeThway Tite waterway.[1]Figure 3. Operations of dredging work and removing snag rock [1]From interviewing, the local people told that the sandbars are appeared due to theconstruction of bridge and the difficulty of navigation can be occurred especially for vessels.
Also their houses were moved to new places and also they cannot work by cargo carrying
because any vessel could not pass to the river for not enough water depth. They cannot get thegood quality of water. Although it can be negative impact to some people, some people can get
more income by selling food and other things at that place because new workers and investors
came to that place to get and buy dredged sand for construction work. The figures are with thelocal people who lived near study area.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

50

Figure 3.Interviewd with local people

From the Landsat image of river it can be seen the sand bar appeared at the junction of
Ayeyarwady River and MyitNge River by comparing between the year of 2000 and 2016. It is
one of the reasons for the effect of construction of bridge and also the reduction of flow velocity
can occur at the mouth of MyitNge River.

Figure 4. Morphological changes between 2005 and 2016

To get better transport along waterway, it is necessary to improve the navigational
channel. It can provide river training works to counter the migrating sand bar which are an
integrated part of the improvement of navigation on the Ayeyarwady River alongside dredging
maintenance.

19th SCA Conference51

4. Conclusion
The morphology changes of Ayeyarwady River can be seen from change detection
methods and navigation problems are the main issues for the improvement of river system. Formthe interviewing of local people, we can know that the construction of infrastructures may affectboth the positive and negative impact on human beings and environment of river system.
Dredging is the temporary solution and it is costly for yearly. To overcome the costly
conventional maintenance techniques innovated modern methods should be introduced. Also
financial support is also needed. More researches for improvement for good navigation should bestudied to get better coordination and better understood about the process of system. In addition,
it should be aware of impact of socio-economic system. Monitoring must be made for sustainableflow of the river according to criterion.
Acknowledgements
This research is supported by the fellowship program of Ayeyarwady Water Land and Ecosystem (WLE) of
IHE Delft Institute for Water Education. I would like to express my gratitude to my respectful teachers
Dr. Myat Lwin (Rector) and Professor Dr. Sanda Naing (Pro Rector) from Myanmar Maritime University for givinga chance to participate at the SCA conference. I would like to offer our sincerest gratitude to my teacher Professor
Dr. Khin Kyu Kyu for her valuable advices and suggestions. Special thanks to U Win Hlaing (Director General,
DWIR) who shared useful data and gave suggestions.

References[1]. “Report of Innwa waterway” Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River Systems (DWIR)

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

The Implication of Project Based Learning to Enhance Attitude Toward
Biology Learning
Nu Nu Nyunt1, Eaint Thandar Khine2

Abstract
The purpose of this research is to study the impact of project based learning to enhance
attitude toward Biology learning. Attitude is also considered to be an important productfor upper secondary school students’ in Myanmar. The total of 124 Grade 9 students who
enrolled in combination seven were selected from No.4, Basic Education High School, South
Dagon Township, Yangon Division. The design of this study is experimental in nature whichis also a classroom based on action research. In order to uplift the attitude toward Biology ofexperimental group, classroom based action research was carried out. During intervention,
project based learning is applied. Collected data were analyzed before and after intervention.
The results showed that students from experimental group had more positive attitude toward
Biology than controlled group. According to the pre-test and post-test results, post-test result issignificantly higher than that of pre-test. It can reasonably be said that project basedlearning could enhance students’ attitude towards Biology as well as Biology achievement.
Keywords: project based learning, biology chievement, action research,

1. Introduction
In Project based learning method, students gain knowledge and skills by working aconsiderable amount of time to explore and respond to an authentic, engaging and complex
question, problem, or challenge. Students bring diverse backgrounds and experiences to theclassroom. Students' ability, prior learning, rate of learning, social and cultural background,native language, maturity and individual's interest are factors in the learning process. Projectbased learning provides students different options for taking in information.
Horpyniuk,(2015) stated that project based learning is a strategy in which student led
education that can enhance engagement and educational motivation. Project based learning
may lead to improve academic grades and promotes better school behavior. Effective teachingstrategies can create positive attitude on the students toward school subjects (cited in Jebson
1998). Biology teachers should apply teaching methodologies that will promote positive attitude
towards Biology among students. The present study intended to study the implication ofproject based learning to enhance attitude toward Biology learning. Implementing Project-based
Instruction in the Classroom
Project-based learning is complex, from both a teacher’s and student’s perspectives.
For teachers, it requires a number of different roles, starting with planning and ending withassessment. It also requires students to assume different roles, and teachers need to assist
students as they learn how to perform these new roles. In this section we describe how teachers
can make project-based instruction work in their classroom, starting with the process of planning.
A second planning task is to identify a topic for study and then frame the topic in
1

Lecturer, Yangon University of Education, nyuntnn@gmail.com 317, Pyay Rd, Kamaryut Township, Yangon
University of Education, 09421057970, Fax 01504773
2
No.4, Basic Education High School, South Dagon, deaintthandarkhine@gmail.com

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19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

terms of a problem for students to investigate Topics for project-based learning can comefrom several sources. The most obvious is the assigned curriculum. Although teachers are
expected to teach a number of “assigned” topics driven by standards, all it takes is a little
creativity to transform these into the focal point of project. Another teacher planning task
during project based learning is to organize resources, both in print and media formats. Thistask has been made much simpler with the advent of the Internet, but teachers still need toplan for access to computers, the availability of relevant websites, as well as more mundane
things such as printing. The first step in implementing project based learning in the classroom isto orient students to the problem. An effective problem has several essential characteristics.
First, it must be real or meaningful to students. In addition, it must be understandable andafford a starting point for students’ investigative efforts. Finally, it must be complex and open
ended to provide students with multiple options for their investigations. After orienting
students to the problem, teachers need to organize students into study teams. One of theeasiest, but not necessarily the best, way to do this is by student choice. Group may not bebalanced in terms of ability, ethnicity, or gender. Working with friends or in homogeneousgroups often prevents students from learning about others and how to work with students who
are different form them (Eggen & Kauchak,2012). After students are organized into study
teams, teachers need to structure the teams’ efforts by establishing timelines, both forintermediate goals and final projects. Time lines provide concrete due dates for different groups
to meet and help with student accountability. Major tasks each group will need to struggle withare data collection and analysis. The final products that result from project based learning canand should take multiple forms. Students should take the audience into consideration whenplanning their reports and should be encouraged to employ a variety of media formats.
For the aim of capturing the uniqueness of project based learning, Thomas (2000)
offers five criteria to answer this question: centrality, driving question, constructive
investigation, autonomy and realism.
Centrality: Project based learning is central, not peripheral to the curriculum. According
to this feature, the project is the central teaching strategy; learners encounter and learn the mainconcept of a discipline through the project.
Driving Question: Project based learning focuses on questions or problems centeredon a theme. That drives learners to learn the central concepts and principles of a discipline.
When attempting to pursue the questions, activities, products and performances occupy
learners' time.
Constructive Investigations: projects involve learners in a constructive investigation:
an investigation is "a goal directed process that involves inquiry, knowledge building andresolution." The central activities of the project should involve the transformation andconstruction of knowledge by students.
Autonomy: Projects are student driven to a significant degree. Project based learning
includes more learners’ autonomy, choice and responsibility than traditional instruction.
Realism: Projects are authentic, not school-like. Projects embody some characteristics
that give the feature of authenticity to the learners. These characteristics may include the topic,
the task, the roles played by the learners, or the final product (Thomas, 2000).

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)55

2. Methods
2.1 Research Design
This study is mainly aimed to investigate the effect of project based learning to enhance
attitude towards Biology of Grade 9 students. It is the true experimental design which cancompare the pre-test and post-test score. This is a classroom-based action research. Design ofthis study is pre-test, post- test, controlled group design. Attitude towards Biology Questionnaire
was used to measure students’ attitudes towards Biology between the two groups:
experimental group and control group. The experimental group was given the treatment byusing project based learning and the control group was taught by using formal instruction.

2.2 Sample of the Study
The total of 124 Grade 9 students ( males and females) were randomly selected from
No.4 Basic Education High School, South Dagon Township, Yangon Region during 2017-2018
Academic Year as participants of this study. Participants ranged in age between 14 to 16 years.

2.3 Instrumentation
Attitude towards Biology questionnaire was used in this study. The questionnaire wasdeveloped by Dr. Pavol Prokop (2007). It includes three subscales such as interest, difficultand importance. Expert review was conducted for face validity and content validity by 10experts who have special knowledge and close relationships with the subject. There are 17 itemsin this questionnaire. Each item had a five-point Likert scale, 1= Strongly disagree, 2=
Disagree, 3= Undecided, 4= Agree, 5=Strongly agree. This inventory contained positive items
to check whether students’ responses were confirmed or not. Negative items are scored in areverse order.
2.4 Research Procedure
Pre-attitude test and post-attitude test question papers will be used. In this study, preattitude test will be administered to test whether there will be a significance difference between
experimental group who will be taught with project based learning and control group who will
be taught with traditional instruction.
Pre-attitude test was administered to the students in December 2nd week before
intervention. After administering the pre- attitude test, the objectives of the lessons wereidentified and prepared the lesson plans. The intervention period was conducted within 4
weeks. After intervention, post-attitude test was administered to experimental group andcontrolled group to compare the post attitude differences between these two groups on
February, 2018. Data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)
to generate descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, mean difference andindependent samples t- test.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

56

3. Results and Discussion
Table 1. Independent sample t-test result of Biology Achievement between Experimental groupand controlled group (Pre-test)Group
Experimental Group

N
58

Mean
34.91

S.D
9.55

t
1.51

Controlled Group

66

32.22

10.25

p
0.13

According to Table 1, there was no significant difference between experimental groupand control group. It can reasonably be said that two groups of students have the same ability on
biology achievement pre-test.

Table2. Independent sample t-test result of Attitude towards Biology between Experimentalgroup and controlled group (Pre-Test)

Attitude Towards
Biology (posttest)

Group

N

Mean

S.D

t

p

Experimental
Group

57

67.4386

6.07

1.816

0.072

Controlled
Group

69

65.1884

7.56

Based on the result, the mean score of the pre attitude test for experimental group was
67.43 and that of controlled group was 65.18. Table 2 Indicates that there is no statisticallysignificant difference between experimental group and controlled group in the pre-test score of
attitude towards Biology.
Table 3.The Comparison of Students’ Attitude towards Biology (post-test) Between Experimental
Group and Controlled Group

Attitude Towards
Biology (post-test)

Group

N

Mean

S.D

t

p

Experimental
Group

58

78.16

5.41

19.9340.000

Controlled
Group

66

44.17

12.59

The data obtained from the post-test scores were recorded and analyzed by using
independent sample t-test to compare the difference between experimental group and controlledgroup as shown in table 3. According to post-test results, students’ attitude towards Biology
from experimental group and controlled group were 78.16 and 44.17 respectively. Result
evidently shows that students’ attitude towards Biology can be increased after intervention
with project based learning. Students’ attitude towards Biology from experimental groupperformed better on that from controlled group.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

57

Table 4. Independent sample t-test result of Biology Achievement between Experimental groupand controlled group (Post-Test)
Group

N

Mean

S.D

t

p

Experimental Group

58

43.81

6.86

7.15

0.000

Controlled Group

66

32.36

10.73

Table 4 shows that there was significant difference between experimental group andcontrol group. It can reasonably be said that students from experimental group performed betteron biology achievement post-test. The result evidently show that project based learning canenhance students' learning biology.
Table 5. Paired Samples Statistics of Biology Achievement of Grade 9 Students
Group
Experimental
Group
Controlled
Group

Biology Achievement (Pre)

Mean
34.91

Biology Achievement (Post)

N
58

S.D
t
9.55 -5.582

43.81

58

6.86

Biology Achievement (Pre)

32.22

66

10.25

Biology Achievement (Post)

32.36

66

10.73

-.084

p
0.000

0.933

The mean scores of students’ biology achievement from controlled group on pre-test
and post-test result were 32.22 and 32.36, respectively. The mean score of students' Biology
achievement from controlled group between pre-test and post-test were slightly differed but nosignificant different was not found. Concerning the experimental group, the mean scores ofpre-test and post-test result were 34.91 and 43.81, respectively. The mean score of students'
Biology post-test achievement from experimental group was significantly higher than that of
pre-test result. It may be concluded that application of project based learning can enhance
students' biology learning.
Table 6. Comparison of Means and Standard Deviations of Controlled Group between Preattitude test and Post-attitude testGroup
Controlled
Group

Attitude Towards Biology
Attitude Towards Biology

N Mea SDtp
66 65.7 7.273 12.028 0.000
66 44.1 12.59

The mean score of students’ attitude towards biology from controlled group on pre-test
and post-test result were 65.70 and 44.17 respectively. The mean score of the students’ attitude
towards biology from controlled group between pre-test and post-test were slightly differed.
The mean score of the students’ attitude towards biology post-test from controlled group was
significantly lower than that of pre-test result. It may be concluded that the application ofproject based learning is necessary to enhance attitude towards biology.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

58

Table 7. Mean Comparison of Students’ Attitude towards Biology of Experimental GroupGroup
Experimental
Group

Attitude Towards Biology
Attitude Towards Biology

N
58
58

Mea SD68.9 5.27
78.1 5.41

t-10.016p
0.000

According to table 7, the pre-test mean score and the post-test mean score ofexperimental group were 68.97 and 78.16 respectively. Accordingly to t-test result, the meanscore of post-test was significantly higher than that of pre-test. The students’ attitude towards
Biology on post-test was greater than that of pre-test. It can be concluded that students fromexperimental group show higher attitude towards Biology than the students from controlledgroup. Therefore, results can be interpreted that project based learning is effective in order toimprove students’ academic achievement and attitudes towards Biology. Biology teachers
should teach biology subject by using project based learning. It can confidently said thatstudents’ attitude towards Biology could be enhanced by using project based learning.
4. Conclusions
In order to enhance the attitude towards Biology of experimental group, classroombased action research was carried out. During intervention, project based learning was carriedout. Collected data were analyzed before and after intervention. The results revealed thatstudents from experimental group had more positive attitude towards Biology than controlledgroup. According to the biology achievement score, posttest results are significantly higher
than that of pretest. Teachers should use project based learning in all subject area for all gradelevel.
Project based learning was found to be effective on students’ attitudes towards Biology.
After the implementing of project based learning, students’ biology academic achievement andattitudes were improved. In addition to the academic achievements, experimental groupexpressed positive attitudes towards learning Biology, the students seemed rather happy to learn
Biology through project based learning because they were able to progress at their own paceand, at the same time, contribute to others’ learning in such a supportive and encouraging
learning context.
The findings of post-test at the end of the four-week implementation indicate that theexperimental group performed better than the control group. By project-based learning,
students have a chance to practice their understanding on the learning material by interacting
and communicating with their peers in the groups. Students do not memorize the concepts andother things; they do study the learning materials and learn deeply. So, the learning
environment should be organized so that students interact face to face with each other andshare the responsibility of the learning process. All the teachers from primary level to highschool level might use project based learning in order to enhance students’ attitudes
towards respective subject areas.
Based on the findings of the study and conclusion reached, the following
recommendations were made:19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

59

1.

Biology teachers should adopt project based learning as an effective teaching learning
strategy in order to enhance students’ attitude towards Biology.

2.

Seminars, workshops and conferences should be organized in order to apply project basedlearning in classroom.

Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to express to my gratitude to Former Rector Dr. Aye Aye Myint(Yangon University of Education), and Pro-Rectors Dr. Pyone Pyone Aung and Dr Kay Thwe Hlaing (Yangon
University of Education) for their kind administrative support to complete this paper successfully. I would liketo acknowledge to Dr. Naing Naing Maw (Professor and Head of Department, Department of Educational
Psychology), Yangon University of Education for her guidance, advice, constructive criticism andencouragements throughout this study.

References[1] Horpyniuk, P. Using project-based learning with junior high school students: University of Victoria., 2015,
Retrieved Nov 11, 2017 from http://www.nsta.org/college[2] Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, Active Learning Cooperation in the College Classroom (2nd Ed.). Edina, MN:
Interaction Book Company.1998.
[3] Eggen & Kauchak, Learning and Teaching: Research-Based Methods. Boston: Library of Congress
Cataloging in Publication Data, Pearson Education, Inc, 2012.
[4] Thomas. A review of research on project-based learning. Report prepared for The Autodesk Foundation.
2000, Retrieved November 5th, 2017 from http://www.bie.org/research/study/review_of_project_based_learning_2000

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Why Popular Factors for Success Do Not Lead Success?
The Three Types of Omissions That Exclude Useful Information Out of
Successful Cases
Shin Ichiro IRIE1

Abstract
To learn from successful cases of innovation, we should understand what is omitted from thedescription of success stories and factor analysis. Policies are made based on plausible factors for
success, but actually, not only there is little useful information in workplace, but also it misleads
the policy that does not lead success. In this presentation, based on the Actor Network Theory inanthropology of science, taking historical research of Edison light bulb as data, I clarify three
types of omissions: (1) Few data due to less legitimacy of tricks. (2) Reification by language
conventions. (3) Ignorance by Scientism. After explained these three omissions, I examine that theWestern dualism make the three omissions, and that objectivity in dualism is impossible in social
science because of excessive abstraction and recursiveness. This presentation is not just point out
the limit of traditional social science, I explore the further potential. In order for that, I examine
experience of Japan as the clue evading dualism, propose another possibility of Case Study that
may be ensured legitimacy by local-generality. This presentation is a systematic summary of what
has been said individually in; phenomenology, Bourdieu, situated approach in cognitive science,
anthropology of science, and social constructionism, it is easier to use as a clue for practitioners tolearn from successful cases.
Keywords: innovation, success, Actor Network Theory, reduction, factor, scientism

1. Introduction
The original meaning of innovation is the introduction of novelties to social. Whencapitalism grew, the introduction of newness to the economy was called innovation [1], and whensocial change due to diffusion of new technology became conspicuous, new technology wascalled innovation [2].
In this article, so called technological innovation is discussed, mainly focused on thereason why innovation is difficult although full of success stories on mass media and factor
analysis on academic papers. On this issue, author consider that knowledge that is useful for
success in innovation is not top secret, although many peoples know, because of less legitimacyof the knowledge of trick, the useful knowledge do not discuss in social science.

2. Method and Data
The method is qualitative analysis based on the logic of the Actor Network Theory [3], as
one of Social Constructionism [4] [5]. The data is historical description of Edison Bulb [6] andexamples of 'translation' of tricks in negotiation [7] [8], as follows.

1

Assistant Professor. Kyoto Institute of Technology, iriesin@gmail.com, Shin Ichiro IRIE, 1 Hashigamicho,
Mtsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, 606-8585, Japan. +81-(0)90-7570-4235

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3. Edison's electric light business
When Thomas A. Edison began developing light bulbs in the United States, 20 types oflight bulb patents were already registered. In the UK, light bulbs were produced in factories.
What Edison did was an improvement. Edison bulbs were 'invented' with filaments made bycarbonizing bamboo thin stick from Kyoto. Edison struggled with the development of the lightbulb because he intended to make the filament made of carbonized material with a resistanceunusually high. Why was it had to so high resistance? It was to make the filament glow with only
small current. If the resistance is large, the electrons will collide and heat up and emit light.
However, the filament is easily cut at a high temperature. So, the previous filament was made ofmetal. Then why did Edison stick to making it glow with a small current? It was because thecurrent that flows is small, less copper (more expensive than iron) was necessary for the longelectrical wires, and the cost of coal for power generation was also cheaper. The reason Edison
wanted to make it cheaper was to provide light service at a lower price than the gas lights thatwere widely used as existing room lighting.
The degree of resistance was calculated using Ohm's law, which was the most advanced
scientific theory at the time. It seems that Edson, a graduate of elementary school, did notunderstand Ohm's Law well, but he hired a university graduate engineer as a research assistant at
the Edison's R & D facility called Menlo Park, and understood that the resistance of carbonizedfilaments satisfied the condition. Edison wrote a memo that estimate the costs and profits. If
successful, enormous profits were expected.
Edison’s electric lamps that are less expensive than gas lamps have become very popular
because they had a very low risk of house fire and did not pollute indoor air. The gas lamp
industry had taken action. Because there was no utility pole, the electrical wires had to be buried,
the legal legislation that limits the construction period to a few month was made, as the effort oflobbying of the gas lamp industry.
During the burial work, Edison himself performed the insulation work. He entered thedug trench and connected the wires. If there was insufficient insulation even at one location,
electricity would be leak and all the bulbs would not light. Edison took a nap for about threehours a day on a bundle of wires. It is said that Edison have slept for three hours while working,but he seems to taken a nap frequently with a bed in the corner of the lab. However, it seems thatthe sleep was fairly three hours a day during the wire burial work. He is described as respectable
hard worker. But, if the insulation failed and the lamps did not glow, not only the sales was lost,
huge development costs wiould not be got and Edison may had gone bankrupt. However, if it
was successful, huge profits were expected with concrete numbers on the memo. Even if we are
not Edison, there may be not a few people who can do their best by sleeping for three hours aday.
Edison improved more than just the light bulb filament. He had developed all sorts ofrelated technologies, including generators that efficiently generate small currents, parallel
distribution systems, and methods for efficiently removing coal ash generated by power
generation, and so on.
Edison also frequented the Patent Office. The lawsuits were filed for patents that might
compete not only with light bulbs but also with related technologies. He established EEIC, a
company specializing in patent management. Edison took all measure against the competitors. In19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)63

order to compete with laws and regulations that the gas lamp industry had made, Edison
performed clever entertainment for lobbying. He pulled out expert glass craftsmen fromcompeting light bulb companies and made it impossible to produce. When an alternating current(AC) that threatened Edison’s direct-current (DC) electric light business appeared, Edison madethe newspaper reporter to post an illustration of dogs and cats that was dead by AC electric shockon the electric fence in the ranch. He also worked on the New York State Parliament to change
from a hanging to an execution by AC electric chair.
To develop new technology, Edison established Menlo Park, an organization dedicated toresearch and development that was not seen at that time. Menlo Park's public relations magazine
was sent to investors to raise funds, and articles on 'innovative development' often referred to as
hype were posted.
Edison is not the inventor of the light bulb. Edison invented the electric power business.
Connect to the electric wire network which laid by the electric light business, any electricmachine will work. The company's name founded by Edison is General Electric.
.
3.1 Examples of 'translation'
The actor which want to develop and to diffuse new technology have to be connected
with; human actors such as competent research assistant, physical actors such as elemental
technologies, and ‘social’ actors such as funds and patents. Natural scientists tend to neglect‘social’ actors, and social scientists tend to neglect physical actors. On the other hand, Edison
performed the connection without distinguishing whether the actor is human, physical or ‘social’.
Edison’s view of the world is not that of natural scientist nor social scientist. For Edison, thesethree types of actors are equally important. This kind of view of world is called ‘hybrid’ where
human actors, material actors, and ‘social’ actors are mixed without being distinguished [3][7].
In order to achieve our goal based on the hybrid view of the world, to connect with astrong actor with limited resources, we have to work against the actors that are usually stronger
than us. The work is called "translation" [7]. In ordinary terms, the work against human actor iscalled 'persuasion', 'install' physical actor, and 'get' social actor, for example. In the Actor
Network Theory, human actor, physical actor and ‘social’ actor are regarded as equivalent andare not distinguished, so the same terminology 'translation' is used. The ‘translation’ is the work
against the actor (usually stronger than translating actor) to be connected. Here are someexamples as below.
When the actor in charge of traffic safety install traffic sign that say at 20 km/h in order tomake the car drive slowly but in vain, hump on the road is made. The drivers see the small
protrusion on the road, the driver brakes for selfish reasons that the driver does not want to hurt
car with an impact. As a result, the slow driving desired by the road safety officer is realized. The
hump is called a ‘sleeping policeman’.
The hotel front manager at the resort wanted to prevent guests from losing their keys
when they went out. However, even if front manager put a plate with the message “Please leave
the key at the front desk when you go out” on the desk or tell it verbally, the effect was small. It
was the same when the manager wrote a message on the key holder. But, when a weight was tied
to the key holder, the customer willing to leave the key at the front desk, because the weight is64

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disturber in the pocket of customer.
In these two cases, the translator’s purpose, such as slowing down for traffic safety andpreventing key loss, are ‘translated’ into the selfish motives of drivers and guests. In these twocases, ‘translation’ created physical negatives for actors that want to be connected. There isanother example of ‘translation’ that produce the desired result just by creating possibilities withwords.
During World War II, the physicist proposed developing nuclear weapons to Pentagon
general. The general rejected saying because new weapons take decades to operate well,
physicists should refine existing weapons. So, the physicist said. "What if Nazi Germany got thenuclear bomb first?" At this moment, the general’s purpose (war victory) was transformed from a
victory with existing weapons to a victory in nuclear warfare. The physicist did ‘translate’ thepurpose of the general.
Translation is different from persuasion. Persuasion controls the opponent until the end.
In the ‘translation’, the translator actor only prepares halfway. After the preparation, theopponent actor will voluntary be connected. This is the strategy of ‘the Sun’ in the fable of “TheNorth Wind and the Sun”. This is the strategy not grabbing the fruit with hand, but waits for the
fruit to ripen and fall into the translator's palm.

3.2 Three reductions that omit useful knowledge
For entrepreneurs who want to start new businesses and engineers who want to develop
new technologies, Edison's practice and the cases of ‘translation’ are useful. However, it is
impossible to learn from Edison's biography more than the importance of inspiration and effort.
Many success stories of new technologies are on the newspapers and the magazines, but there islittle description that make you confirm that you can do it. In addition to biography and mass
media, academic papers in social sciences such as economics and management have elucidated
factors for success, it avoide ‘translation’.
The aspects of the useful knowledge at workplace in innovation could be summarized as
MELD; Mobilizable, Ex ante, Local, generate desirable Dynamics. Why do articles that are notuseful in the workplace have been accumulated as success stories of mass media and factors ofsocial science? This is because useful knowledge is omitted by three reductions as below.

Reduction 1: Few Data due to Less Legitimacy
Because ‘translation’ is a kind of trick, it is regarded as less orthodox as a scientificknowledge. The reasons are as below.
1) No merit to talk for successful person: The successful person do not talk ‘translation’because not only it makes a bad impression, but also it announces competitive secret.
2) Mass media censorship: Publishers of biographies and business articles must balance thedemands of both; readers who want to read easy-to-understand success stories and successful
person who want to improve their impressions.
3) Silence on the academic stage: Because it is difficult to handle by a natural science method,19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)65

scholars do not consider that it is not matter of science and talk ‘translation’ as anecdote at a
drinking party.
4) Less orthodoxy of Humanities: Humanities have been written ‘translation’ as; proverbs, artof war in history, and strategy of negotiation in novels, etc. However, it is considered
unscientific, the knowledge of humanities is underestimated in legitimacy.

Reduction 2: Reification by Language Conventions
1) Disassemble and conceptualize: In order to talk about Edison Bulb easier, we extract partial
actor network and put the abstract word (concept) as a label, making the distinction between
human, things and ‘social’. For example, the abstract words ‘entrepreneurship’ (human), ’coretechnology’ (material) and ‘potential demand’ (social) are made. For example, in order to explain
why the Edison's light business were welcomed, we extract the partial actor network contains
actors such as city residents, gas lights, house fires, room air pollution, bills more expensive thanelectric lights. Then we label abstract word ‘potential demand’ on the small actor network as aconcept. So do we ‘core technology’ and ‘entrepreneurship’.
2) Substantiate (reify): While abstract concepts such as ‘potential demand’ are frequently usedin conversations and sentence, concept can be understood even if the specific partial actor
network that the concept means is not recalled. At this time, the abstract concept exists in thesame way for everyone like a substance (entity). Thus, the abstract word is no longer a label ofthe partial actor network, but an entity that exists like material. A success story is made by makethese substantialized words arranged and filled with sentences.
3) Retrospect and paraphrase: Paraphrasing the aspects of successful state as key factors for
success by transporting aspects from the present to the past. For example, we can recognize'potential demand' only when interpret the big seles amount of the new product. Most of new
product would not sell, and until new products had released and sold, there was no demand. What
exists was only a vague desire and it is not demand. We can’t recognize 'potential demand' ex
ante. So can’t 'entrepreneurship' and 'core technology'. We are allowed to explain the success of
new product saying "Because the potential demand was discovered.", "Because the engineer haveentrepreneurship such as strong spirit and rich imagination." or "Because the core technology
was developed." This explanation is not wrong in casual conversation, but in case persons in the
manager give instructions based on this understanding, their subordinates get lost.
Consequence of reduction 2; is director boss syndrome. They direct to subordinates; "Find out
potential demand!", "Work hard and never give up!" and "Develop core technology!" Director
boss requires results without showing means. In this sense, director boss is obscene andincompetent, but they have power. And one source of their power is ‘scientific’ factors for
success on business magazines.

Reduction 3: Ignorance by Scientism
1)Numerical scientism: It is difficult to explain phenomena with subjective intentions and social
relationships such as 'translation' by the method of natural science, because natural science
require to measure numerically. However, some social scientists believe that natural science
methods are the best way to elucidate the human world [9]. Natural scientific methods require

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strict conditions such as objectivity, universality, reproducibility, using numerical data. Because
phenomena that do not fit the natural science method are difficult to study, if social scientists
know ‘translations’ through daily experience, they do not treat ‘translation’ as scientific issue. As
a result, only the phenomena that natural science method is easy to implement is studied as a
topic of social science.
2) Procedure scientism for achievements: Even when there is no meaningful implication for
theory nor workplace at the end of academic paper, social scientists must publish academic
papers in order to obtain better jobs. When they were a graduate student, they think this kind ofresearch practice do not fulfill their social responsibilities, but when students got a job, they arebusy with miscellaneous work, they can’t get enough time for research, and give up makeresearch both scientific and practical. Then, they tell themselves that “I wrote papers based on thescientific procedure, I fulfilled my social responsibilities as a scientist.”
Consequence of reduction 3; is Relevance Lost between scientific knowledge and workplace
practice. In spite of the accumulation of scientifically ‘correct’ knowledge about the humanworld, it is difficult for social science cause changes as scientists intended like natural sciencecan do. Even if many of director boss exist in business, social science has weak power toimprove.
3.3 Western dualism derives three reductions
The three reductions can be derived from Western European dualism. The background ofWestern European language conventions is the Christian worldview. It is assumed that theomnipotent god is placed at the top of the hierarchical world, and that man is entrusted to rule theworld. Therefore, humans are located at the center of the world, and they are called subjects.
Anything other than subject are positioned as environment around subject are called object.
Object to be observed consists of; human being other than the observer, material, and residual
neither human nor material called social (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Position of scientist is top/center of the world
the dualistic view.

Figure 2. Human, material and ‘social’ are equal actor inin the hybrid network view.

As the industrial revolution began and capitalists increased, the following wereconstructed to counter the churches and kingships that would take profits. The rational individual

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)67

who has God-given freedom against the church and kingship, the nature around subject given torational subject (citizen, individual) by the God, science as a means to make effective use ofnature that is the second Bible written by the God. As a result, the position of priests, who were
agents of the God in the Middle Ages, was replaced by scientists in modern ages. Scientists are
orthodox and have the legitimacy of being able to control nature under the commission of the
God implicitly. Therefore, the biography of an innocent scientist do not describe politicalbargaining.
Even it is pseudo-correlation, desirable results can be easily reproduced in the world ofthings. This made natural science and factory production successful and it fostered capitalism.
When natural science got success in the world of things, it was applied to the human world,
because there were much social problems caused by industrialization. Scientists applied naturalscience to the human world, assigned macro to sociology and micro to psychology. What
traditional sociology and psychology can do were limited to the phenomena that natural science
methods can be applied, produced a lot of useful knowledge, the success of sociology andpsychology has raised the status of social science. As a result, the status of ‘non-scientific’humanities has been lowered.
3.4 Objectivity in dualism is impossible in social science
Scientists try to explain the world around them objectively and universally. In order toexplain objectively, the object and scientist must exist independently. As a result, theenvironment around the scientist is positioned as object to be observed. In order to observe object
objectively and comprehensively, it is necessary to look at object from the viewpoint of a bird,
the viewpoint of scientists exists at the apex of a conical world. This bird's view derives
excessive abstraction that make scientists ignore actual knowledge that relate to MELD:
Mobilizable, Ex ante, Local and generate desirable Dynamics, at first. For second, the bird's viewalso ignores recursiveness as below.
If the object is material, a lot of useful knowledge can be produced even from a bird's eye
view. However, in the social sciences, scientists who are observers are part of the society thatshould be observed. There is kind of difficulty to observe my eyes with my own eyes. If
scientists elucidate the laws of chemical reaction and astronomical motion, the chemical reaction
and astronomical motion would not change. So, objective research is possible. However, whensocial scientists produce knowledge about the human world, the knowledge is used to intervenein humans and society, and the human world will be changed from its previous state. In somecases, the observation itself change what scientists observe. In other word, social (object) waschanged by social (scientist’s practice) itself. It is called recursiveness.
In order to try to avoid this problem of recursiveness, if scientists try to study the humanworld so that it never affect the human activities and social phenomena at all, i.e. objectively,
elucidate MELD knowledge is difficult. It is because scientists can get knowledge about specificactors and relations which is related to MELD by the result of intervening object like anexperiment. In order to describe MELD knowledge legitimately, social science have to construct
the social science method that ensure the scientific correctness.

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3.5 Experience of Japan as the clue to evade dualism
The necessary aspects of practical knowledge to realize innovation are MELD:
Mobilizable, Ex ante, Local, generate desirable Dynamics. It contains both time (ex ante) andspace (local). But it is simple. Ex ante is matter of local, because when it is mobilizable ex ante,
it is always local. (Of course, all local is not necessary mobilizable.)
MELD is possible by evading dualism. By evading dualism, no distinction between thecenter and the periphery, the world became kind of hybrid network that do not distinguishhuman/material/social (Figure 2). This world is pluralistic, local actor that can mobilize and thatgenerate desirable dynamics could be found, because if the social is monolith, it is impossible forthe actor embedded in the social to intervene by utilizing differences in different positions. On
that occasion, the concepts we design is relational that not substantialized factors. In the nondualism world, human is not the God's surrogate, human is equal at most to nature and thisunderstanding of world may lead environmental sustainability.
This hybrid world view is not uncommon in Asia, such as Lao-tse in 3rd century B.C.
China, Buddhist Nāgārjuna in century India, for example. Martin Heidegger and Albert Einsteinsuggested that Buddhism might be compatible with science and technology, and it is not a
metaphysical imagination, but has been realized in economics to a certain extent already in 20th
century Japan.
Japan has an experience at the end of the 19th century, with the national policy of‘Japanese spirits and Western technology’; Japan was industrialized by avoiding colonization. In
some successful Japanese management, the world view seems non-dualism.
In production improvement, although improvement plan is usually made by elite engineer
in private room in the West, but in Toyota's Kaizen, blue workers on the production line discuss
together and improve the process of production. This Kaizen is considered as most importantfactor for success of Toyota.
In develop new product, although it is usually designed by elite engineer in the West, 1980s
Japanese facsimile maker that defeated Western manufacturers, the new product design was
drawn at production factory. The low-level engineers drew blueprint, in order to manufacture
easier, they combine multiple parts into one part and simplified the lines. As a result, thefacsimile is cheap but high speed and hard to break.
Salespersons in the West only sell products developed by the elite, while Japanese sales
department called Eigyo propose new products, coordinate with factory production plan andnegotiate budget at the top management committee. Persons of Eigyo are as powerful asengineers in the company, and it is often the case top managements came from Eigyo.
In engineer education, after the industrial revolution, since engineering is not a matter ofscholar in traditional universities in the West, department of engineering was not made in the
traditional universities at first, and was set up in a poly-tech or institute outside of the university,
when Japan made department of engineering in first national university.
In management research, this kind of fact have been described as Case Study especially byPeter Drucker and some Japanese qualitative researchers, for example. These qualitative studies
have room to further development in methodologies for ensure the scientific legitimacy.
It is difficult to ensure the scientific legitimacy on knowledge that derived from a small

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number of cases usually one case however rich the case is. It is because induction from a small
number of facts does not provide grounds for correctness as knowledge. However, there is thelegitimacy of knowledge in the historical facts that are not reproducible. The fictional anecdotes
in novels are often change reader’s life. What bring this in humanities? There is a rhetoric: By
examine the fact which author surprised, visualizes existing common sense which makes theauthor surprise at the fact, then, make alternative understanding reversing common sense.
Here, the amazing fact is against the existing common sense and is example of alternative
understanding that includes the amazing fact. The alternative understanding made by logic basedon the existing common sense. In this sense, alternative understanding shares a space of existing
common sense. Because it is impossible to do induction from one fact, we can’t make another
understanding directly from the fact, by reflect against common sense, there is a possibility that
local-generality within the range where common sense exists can be given to alternative
understanding.

4. Conclusion
To learn from successful cases of innovation, we should understand that MELD
information may be omitted by three reductions. The three reductions omit useful knowledge inworkplace. The Western dualism derives these three reductions, and objectivity in dualism is
impossible in social science, because of excessive abstraction and recursiveness, whenexperience of Japan is the clue to evade dualism. The Case Study of non-dualism cases may beensured legitimacy by local-generality of alternative understanding by reflecting amazing factagainst existing common sense.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by KAKENHI（24653083 and 21330093). I also am grateful to Dr. Noboru
Matsushima for helpful discussions.

References[1] Joseph A. Schumpeter, “Business Cycles”, McGraw-Hill, 1939.
[2] Everett M. Rogers, “Diffusion of Innovations”, 1962.
[3] Bruno Latour, “Reassembling the Social: An introduction to Actor-Network-Theory”, Open University Press,
2005.
[4] Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann, “The Social Construction of Reality: a treatise in the sociology ofknowledge”, Doubleday, 1966.
[5] Kenneth J. Gergen, “An Invitation to Social Construction”, Sage, 1999.
[6] Thomas P. Hughes, “Networks of Power: electrification in Western society, 1880-1930”, Johns Hopkins Press,
1993.
[7] Bruno Latour, “Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers Through Society”, Harvard
University Press, 1987.
[8] Bruno Latour, “Pandora's Hope: essays on the reality of science studies”, Harvard University Press, 1999.
[9] Friedrich A. Hayek, “The Counter-Revolution of Science: studies on the abuse of reason”, Liberty Press, 1952.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Educational Service Quality of Meiktila University of Economics in Myanmar(Case Study: Master of Public Administration Programme –Mandalay University Campus)
Thida Htoo1

Abstract
The better the educational service, the greater the opportunities to the students who generate
lifelong learning for their career development. People are asking that whether the quality ofeducational services provided by higher education institutions is good or not. This study intends
to examine the quality of educational services in MPA Programme (Mandalay Campus) provided
by Meiktila University of Economics. Parasuraman’s SERVQUAL dimensions is used to find out
the factors that contribute to quality of educational services and learning outcomes of the students.
The study found that according to the five dimensions, all dimensions are negative mean gap
value. However, reliability dimension, assurance dimension and empathy dimension, andresponsiveness dimension are low negative mean gap value. This means that students’ expectationand their perception are very close in these dimension. However, tangible dimension are shownhigh negative mean gap value. This means that students have less satisfaction on tangible
dimension especially hygienic canteen, sport and health facilities. Regarding with the expected
learning outcomes, students have strongly recommended on their acquiring knowledge gained
from the MPA programme. They have highest mean value on ability to apply knowledge gained
from learning courses in their working environment, and their community, ability to have criticalthinking, improvement in social network, good professional ethic and attitudes, and ability to dowith team work. The students have strongly recommend good image of teaching and learning
strategy of MPA programme, and they want further study in advanced level courses especially
PhD in MPA programme.
Keywords: Quality, Educational service, Learning outcomes

1. Introduction
Education plays a vital role for assessing the human personality and promoting social,economic and cultural as well as the development of the country. The more the person has life
long learning, the higher the rate of return for their career and thereby contributing to faster thenational development. The investment in higher education can provide the appropriate and usefulskilled human power for industry, for science and technology, for creation of basic social(education, food, shelter, health, and nutrition) and economic (agriculture, energy, water,transport and communication) infrastructure and for better social and administrative governance.
Therefore, higher education presents a critical factor in innovation and human resource
development (HRD) and plays a vital role in the success and sustainability of the knowledge
economy.
The more the students gain in advanced degrees, the greater the probability of earning
more income and improving their career and their social status are. According to the UnitedStates Census Bureau Report (2007b), adults with advanced degrees earn four times more thanthose with less than a high school diploma. Therefore higher education become effective tools for1

Dr. Professor & Head, Department of Economics, Meiktila University of Economics. thidahtoo4@gmail.com

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human resource development. For human resource development, university plays a vital role forproviding educational services. The more the quality of educational services in higher education,
the greater the well qualified –educated human resources can produce in the university. To obtain
quality in higher education, “To create an education system that can generate a learning society
capable of facing the challenges of the Knowledge Age” become more obvious. Therefore thisstudy intends to examine the whether the students satisfied the educational services provided by
MPA programme (Mandalay Campus) or not, and to find out the factors that contribute tolearning outcome and future intentions of post-graduated students who are attending MPA
programme (Mandalay University Campus).

Problem statement
Although Myanmar’s Universities produce a large number of graduates, there are many
complaint on quality of education and educational services provided by higher institutions. This
is why university need to evaluate the progrmmes provided to their students and thereby leading
to better educational services that will provide for the students for future. The study intends toexamine the gaps between post-graduated students’ perceptions on service quality and their
expectations on service quality.

2. Research Methodology
In order to achieve study objectives, service gap analysis was used. The questionnaire isbased especially on AUN-QA programme level criteria by using Parasuraman SERVQUAL
dimensions. In assessing the gaps between post-graduated students’ expectation and theirperception, Likert Scale are mainly used with structured questions.

Profile of Meiktila University of Economics (MEUE)MEUE offered five Bachelor Degree Programmes: Bachelor of Business Administration,
Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Economics, Bachelor of Public Administration and Bachelorof Statistics; five Master Degree Programmes: Master of Business Administration, Master ofCommerce, Master of Economics, Master of Public Administration, and Master of Statistics;
three Ph.D. Programmes: Ph.D. Commerce, Ph.D. Economics, Ph.D. Statistics; but Executive
Master has not been offered yet. Master of Business Administration and Master of Public
Administration programmes are expanded at Mandalay University and Nay Pyi Taw as well as
MDevS Programme in Nay Pyi Taw. Defense Services Administration School is an affiliatedinstitution of MEUE and it offers Master of Public Administration.

3. Result and Discussion
3.1 Tangibility
According to the tangibility, there is a gap between students’ expectation and theirperception. The service quality gap arise the difference between students’ expectation and theirperception in terms of tangibles dimension. According to the mean gap score, among the items

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)73

for tangible dimension, good feature of university, adequate parking area, providing teaching aid
materials in classrooms, safety classroom, having good personality of academic and support
staffs shows lowest negative gap. Nonetheless, the statement of overall cleanliness within the
University Campus, University Provides Up-to-date library with adequate up-to-date text books ,up-to-date research paper, providing sufficient internet, hygienic canteens, providing adequate
sport and health facilities have largest negative gap. The study found that University need toprovide up-to-date text books, research paper, sufficient internet and wifi, hygienic canteens andsport and health facilities. Students’ expectation are very close to their perception, means thatstudents have satisfaction on most of the items of tangibility dimension. It can be reflected that
overall mean score value is (-0.68) (See Appendix Table-1)

3.2 Reliability
According to the reliability dimension, taking class right time by the academic staffs (0.21), providing up-to-date courses that align with the needs of the region/labor market, teaching
and learning strategy with freely and actively collaborate in discussions, error fee records ofstudents’ result, alignment with the subjects that academic staffs deliver due to specializations
shows lowest negative gap. This means that students’ perception are closely with their
expectation. Overall mean value for reliability is (-0.17), this means that the more the students
have their expectation from the programme, the greater the satisfaction on the programme. If the
programme provides more seminar related with courses/ research /thesis, students have more
knowledge and idea that can apply in their working environment (See AppendixTable-2).

3.3 ResponsivenessAccording to the responsiveness, students’ expectation are close with their perception
thereby leading to lower negative gap. Because the overall mean value is (-0.391). The study
found that students have satisfaction on academic staffs’ willingness to give directions andsuggestions on their query, prompt services with full knowledge and understanding of thesubject, ability to supervise the students’ thesis, prompt services of programme director with thenotion of flexibility and ability to adapt the needs of the students, and prompt services of rector
with a notion of flexibility and ability to adapt the needs of the students. The students have
however less satisfaction on supporting staffs from student affair department, admin and financedepartment, and engineer department to adapt to the needs of the students (See Appendix
Table -3).

3.4 Assurance
According to the assurance, students have satisfaction on well-manner of academic staffs,
and supporting staffs, having adequate competency to share the students’ query, adequate
experience in helping /suggesting the student’s research work effectively, student-centeredapproach, active learning, presentation with empirical work, logically sequenced, integrated andup-to-date courses, providing courses with full knowledge and understanding, providing courses
with critical thinking and apply in working environment. This is due to lower negative meanvalue gap. This means that students’ expectation are close with their perception on assurance

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)74

dimension. Thus overall mean value is (-0.22). University need to provide safe environment forthe students within the campus due to negative mean value of 0.44 (See Appendix Table-4).

3.5 Empathy
Regarding with empathy dimension, student satisfaction on academic staffs’ attention to
the students’ needs concerning with lecturing, supporting staffs’ attention to the students
concerning with exam and students’ affairs, academic staffs’ sincerely responses for students’difficulties, sincere interest of rector on solving other social problems, convenient working hourof student affair department. This statements show lowest negative mean value for empathy
dimension. Student have more satisfaction on programme director’s sincere interest in solving
problem and difficulties. In sum, the students have satisfaction on items of empathy dimension
because the overall mean value has only (-0.18) (See AppendixTable-5).

3.6 Means Gap Score by Five Dimensions
According to means of SERVQUAL scores in terms of all dimensions, the overall levelof perception mean score of each dimension is higher than the overall level of expectation mean
score
Mean Gap Scores by Five Dimensions
No.

Dimension

Expectation

Perception

GAP

1.

Tangible dimension

3.88

3.2

-0.68

2.

Reliability dimension

4.14

3.97

-0.17

3.

Responsiveness dimension

4.02

3.63

-0.39

4.

Assurance dimension

4.01

3.79

-0.22

5.

Empathy dimension

3.93

3.75

-0.18

Overall Mean Gap Score

3.99

3.67

-0.32

Source: Survey Data, August, 2017

According to the five dimension, all dimensions are negative mean gap value. However,reliability dimension, assurance dimension and empathy dimension, and responsivenessdimension are low negative mean gap value. This means that students’ expectation and theirperception are very close in these dimension. However, tangible dimension are shown highnegative mean gap value. This means that students have less satisfaction on tangible dimension
especially hygienic canteen, sport and health facilities.

3.7 Expected Learning Outcomes
Regarding with the expected learning outcomes, students have strongly recommended on
their acquiring knowledge gained from the MPA programme. They have highest mean value on
ability to apply knowledge gained from learning courses in their working environment, and theircommunity, ability to have critical thinking, improvement in social network, good professional

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)75

ethic and attitudes, ability to do with team work. Moreover, they have ability to manage theirtime and people in their working environment, ability to solve problems with confidence, ability
to be thoughtful in everything, ability to work with right decision in their career, ability to gainhigh position in their work due to the MPA programme.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Mean Value
1 I have ability to be thoughtful in everything

3.96

2 I have acquired knowledge gained from the MPA programme

4.16

3 I can apply knowledge gained from learning courses in my work

4.19

4 I can apply knowledge gained from learning courses in the community

4.61

5 I have critical thinking and explore the good result.

4.20

6 I have ability to lead and manage people and time.

4.15

7 I have ability to report writing technically

3.97

8 I have good communication skills

4.15

9 I have good professional ethic and attitudes

4.25

10 I have ability to do team working

4.21

11 I have ability to solve problems with confidence

4.13

12 I have ability to work right decisions in my career

4.13

13 I have ability to gain high position in my work

4.12

14 Improvement in social network

4.28

Overall mean value

4.18

Source: Survey Data, 2019

Future Intention
According to the future intention, students have strongly recommend good image ofteaching and learning strategy of MPA programme, and they want further study in advanced
level courses especially PhD in MPA programme.
Table (8) Future Intention
Mean value
1

I want further study in advanced level courses (PhD) from thisprogramme

3.83

2

I will recommend good image of teaching and learning strategyof this programme

4.26

Overall mean value

4.18

Source: Survey Data, 2019

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)76

4. Conclusion
In sum, students have satisfaction on MPA programme due to their expectation andperception which are very close. University need to provide more internet and wifi, up-to-datelibrary, hygienic canteens, sports and health facilities as infrastructure. Regarding withresponsiveness dimension, supporting staffs from student affair department, admin and financedepartment, and engineer department need to take care of students on their needs. As assurance
dimension, University need to provide safe environment for the students within the campus.
University need to provide more infrastructure like hygiene canteen, Sports field and healthfacilities.

Acknowledgements
Firstly, I would like to express my profound gratitude to Dr.Thet Lwin (Chair, Myanmar Academy of Arts
and Science, and Science Council of Asia for giving me a chance to write this research paper. Secondly, I am very
grateful to Rector, Professor Dr.Tun Aung, Meiktila University of Economics, Professor Dr.Thida Kyu, Pro-rector of
Meiktila University of Economics, for their encouragement and detailed supervision. Lastly, I am grateful to therespective persons who help me to collect data and encourage to write this paper. I also deeply owe a great thanks to
my parents.

References
Ministry of Education, Union of Myanmar. Myanmar Education Development Strategy Focusing on Inclusive
Education. Country Report, October (2008).
Ministry of Education (2014). Data Collection Survey on Education Sector in Myanmar. Report,
Comprehensive Education Sector Review, CESR, phase 1.
Ministry of Education (2014). Development of Education in Myanmar. Report, September 2014..
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A. & Berry, L. L. (1985). A Conceptual Model of Service Quality andits Implications for Future Research. Journal of Marketing,Philip, G. and Hazlett, S. A. (1997). The Measurement of Service Quality: A New PCP Attributes
Model. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management,
Shawn Lea Temple (2009). Factors that influence students’ desires to attend higher education, Seton University.
United States Census Bureau Reports (2007b). Earnings gap highlighted by census bureau data on educational
attainment. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 2008 fiom http://www.census.gov/PressRelease/\~~~/releases/archives/education~009749.html.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

The Traditional Monk's Bowl as Sustainable Development in Myanmar
Lei Shwe Sin Myint1, Thet Mar Aye2, Thandar Aye3

Abstract
A bowl is one of the eight necessary requisites of a monk. Before the Buddha laid down the ruleon the kind of bowl a monk should use, monks used bowls made of various materials. The bowls
made of earth and iron is allowed. Innwa village when Myanmar people mostly live is wellknown as the center of domestic business of traditional handicrafts. It mainly focuses on to agreater understanding of what makes to collect and review existing research on the economic andsocial impact of valuable as the unique handicraft. Field researches will carry out in order to getnecessary information. Field researches include non-participant observations, key-informant
interviews, and in-depth interviews. The results on the monk’s bowl casting show that the art wasmade without the help any machine, the tools used in the work are hand-made, and man poweralone. A monk’s bowls is not only essential material object for Buddhist monks but also an
important cultural symbol for Myanmar people, especially for Buddhists. It is assumed that
another form of style replaced as traditional cultural handicraft in Innwa especially for producing
monk’s bowls sacred for Buddhist monks.
Keywords: monk’ bowl, material, handicrafts, culture, economic

1.

Introduction

Innwa village is one of the villages in Ta-Da-Oo village group, Hanthawady District,
Mandalay Region. Most inhabitants are Myanmar and it is well known as a place for various
traditional handicrafts. One of the handicrafts is bowl-production. This art has long been existed
in Innwa for about a hundred years. A bowl is one of the four necessary requisites for Buddhist
monks, and for this reason, it is one of the religious objects in Myanmar. Innwa used to produces
two kinds of bowls – iron and earthen, but earthen bowls are not produced any more in Innwa.
Earthen bowls have been used at the time of the Buddha (see figure-1). Iron-bowls have taken theplace of earthen bowls. It is appropriate for monks to use iron bowls. Although the tradition ofearthen bowls has disappeared, the craftsmen continue to produce iron bowls in Innwa. There areabout seven families that make iron bowls. A bowl is one of the eight necessary requisites of amonk. Before the Buddha laid down the rule on the kind of bowl a monk should used, monks
used bowls made of various materials. The Buddha later laid down the rule that monks should
not use bowls made of wood, gold, silver, ruby, stone, beryl, glass, white copper, glaze, whitelead, black lead, and copper. The bowls made of earth and iron is allowed. (Myanmar
Encyclopedia, Vol. X) Bowls, earth or iron, are used for monks to go alms-round and eat meals.
A bowl suitable for monks to use needs a specific color. Then only monks can mark it as thebowl. As bowls are necessary requisites for Myanmar Buddhist monks, it becomes a religious
symbol for Myanmar people. There used to be many bowl productions in Mandalay, but atpresent the business has moved to Innwa. The kinds of bowls made in Innwa are earthen or iron
(white bowl and black bowl). However Innwa only has a few earthen bowl productions. Monks
used to use earthen bowls that are permitted by Vinaya rules, but now this tradition is alreadyextinct. Earthen bowls are good for health and allowed by the Buddha. However, it is so fragile
1

Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Mandalay. kalyah007@gmail.com
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Yangon
3
Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Mandalay
2

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)78

that people do not really like them. For this reason, no-one uses earthen bowls nowadays.
Consequently, there are only few people who know the art of making earthen bowls. Monks use
iron or lacquer bowls, instead. Therefore, this traditional art started at the time of Myanmar
monarchical period is soon to be extinct, and this paper aims at leaving a record on it so that later
generations will have some information about the tradition.

Figure 1. Earthen Bowls(Source from the Mirror Newspaper, 8.10.2016)

2.

Methods

The main purpose of this research is to come to a greater understanding of what makes tocollect and review existing research on the economic and social impact of valuable as the uniquehandicraft and also as a learning form. The specific objectives are to examine environmental
awareness, conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, to analyze on the realistic
functions of the learning form of handicraft, to study the current problems and development
practice for monk’s bowl products for a creative economy. In this research, the data werecollected by using available information, library research and field research. Qualitative method
was used to get data. Therefore non-participant observation (NPO), key informant interview(KII), in-depth interview (IDI) were applied to collect data. Non-participant observation method
was done in work place of alms bowls making in Innwa Village. To carry out key-informant
interviews 7 home industries of alms bowls making were collected.

3.

Results and Discussion

3.1 Historical Background of Research Area and Earthen Bowls
The history of bowls goes back to the time of the Buddha. Tha-bake-tan Village in let-thit
quarter in Mandalay used to be the only place where earthen bowls were made. There was a local
demand for bowls in Mandalay since it was the place where there were many monks dwelling
and learning Pariyatti. Besides, the weather in this dry area was also supportive for making
thayoe (mixture of wood-oil, sawdust, and powdered charcoal and fine ash used in the making of
lacquer-ware and gilded glass mosaic). Let-thit-yat village used to be included in Amarapura
Township in Mandalay Region. There used to be royal bowl productions in those areas.
Amarapura Royal City was established in 1144, and tha-bake-tan village was included in thisarea. The bowls made there were carried by bullock-carts or cars, and sold in Eindawya. Let-thityat village was the only place famous for bowl productions. Let-thit-yat tha-bake-tan is locatedin the east of Innwa, and in the north-east of Pinya. Innwa and Pinya are the cities on the west
and south-west bank of Dutthawady River and let-thit-yat tha-bake-tan is on the east bank. The

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

79

tradition of earthen bowls in let-thit-yat came down from Bagan Period through Konbaung
Period. There is no written record on the history of bowls in let-thit-yat tha-bake-tan, but the
local people believe that they had this tradition long and they are proud of it. Earthen and ironbowls are allowed for monks. Studies show that earthen bowls are more used at the time of the
Buddha. Pitaka literature provides the rules for earthen bowls. Monks are supposed to use thebowls until it is broken. If there is a crack on a bowl, monks should mend it. They should mend it
until the crack is so long that it needs five knots on it. After that the bowl is not usable and monks
can find a new one. Monks should not keep their bowls at open spaces for that can damage thebowls. Besides monks should not ask for many bowls more than they really need even if a bowlmaker has made an offer to donate. This rule meant to protect the bowl-makers' business and toteach monks to lead a life of contentment. (Aunt Nyein Chan, 1997) These records prove thatmonks, during the time of the Buddha, used earthen bowls.
It proves that the people of that time value it a lot. During the time of the Buddha, earthenbowls were widely used, and became a religious symbol for Buddhists. Monks in Myanmar use
iron bowls for going alms-round. The donors also use the bowls made of aluminum vessels or
steel pots. Earthen bowls are rarely used nowadays. People use iron bowls, instead. It is assumed
that for the people of Myanmar although there is a material cultural change, the use and value onearthen bowls remain the same. Therefore, Myanmar is a place unique for making earthen bowls
for monks, and it is necessary to preserve this culture.

3.2 Learning system of Earthen Bowl Productions
The necessary tools and materials used to make earthen bowls include earth (in Myanmar
language called Kabar-myae), pet-kyin, set-pyin, ta-mhaw-lone, oak-htoe, let-khat, chit or khwe,
kyauk, si, htin, phoe, thit-say, and tha-bake-tike. The earth suitable for making bowls is available
at a place near Let-ywe Village, a mile away from Let-thit-yat tha-bake-tan. There used to be alake at that place. The owners of earthen bowl foundries also own pieces of land in that area. In
March and April, they carry the earth from their land and keep it at home. It is the most suitable
time to bring the soil from that place since the area is dry and the transportation is good enough.
Besides, farmers are free from their farm-works and their bulls and bullock-carts are available torent. This is good for both bowl-makers and farmers. It is important for bowl-makers use
particular type of earth. They cannot make bowls using wrong types of earth. It is difficult forthem to mould bowls and also these bowls can be broken when they bake them. If they use
wrong types of soil and were lucky to have some bowls baked, the bowls are so fragile, and do
not last long. Wet food cannot be kept in those bowls. The soil must be clean. Sandy soil andnewly settled silt are also not usable to make earthen bowls. The best type of soil is yellow thicksilt settled a long time ago. The bowl-makers called this kind of earth (soil) as kabar-mye-say or
tha-bake-mye. Pet-kyin or a hole dug on the ground is dug up by bowl-makers. The soil that ischosen to make bowls is mixed with water in this pet-kyin. Set-pyin is a circular wooden plate
which is used to shape bowls. Ta-mhaw-lone is a tool shaped like a stick. It is used to hit the mud(the soil already mixed with water) until the mud gets sticky and shaped like a mortar. The shapeis similar to a stick that people in Myanmar use to wash clothes.
Oak-htoe is a tool used when bowl-makers mould the mud into a bowl. They use it while
they are hitting the mud to shape a bowl. They place it inside the bowl-shaped mud and hit the
mud with a ta-mhaw-lone outside. It is also called let-khu-tone. Let-khat is a flat stick used with80

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

hands. The shape is similar to a table tennis bat. It is usually made of teak-wood or gum-kino
wood. This tool has two parts, the flat area (let-khat-pya) and the handle (let-khat-yoe). Chit or
khwe is a flat iron ring used to scrape the inside part of bowls. Kyauk is a tool used to makeearthen bowls. It is a hard and smooth rock that can be found in streams or rivers. It is about one
inch and a half big. Si is some oil such as ground-nut oil, sesame oil, kerosene, or oil dregs thatare applied on the bowls before baking them. With the oil on the bowls, when they are baked, thebowls became black and shiny. Htin is the wood used to bake bowls. Usually they are about six
feet long. Most bowl-makers like the wood from Than tree (Terminalia oliveri) or Dahat tree
(Tectona hamiltoniana) since they produce high temperature flame. Teak wood and oil are usedat the end of baking process to get the required color. However, teak wood is expensive, and they
only use pieces of wood. Phoe is a place where the bowls are baked. First the bowls alreadymould are dried under the sun. When they get dry enough, they are baked in a phoe. The shape ofphoe used throughout the year in let-thit-yat is unique. Some people build their phoe on the flatground, but some prefer a high ground. However, the structure is the same. A high ground isactually man-made. They add the soil on the flat ground until they get a 9 feet high pile of soil,
25 feet in diameter at the bottom and 15 feet in diameter at the top. They make high ground phoeso that they can use it in rainy seasons when the river floods the area. Oleo-resin obtained fromthe tree is called thit-say. It is used to color the bowls black and it helps the bowls last long. Thitsay is also pronounced as thit-see, or Sit-see. The black oleo-resin liquid among all other kinds isthe best for making bowls.
Tha-bake-tike is a room in the ground. The bowls that are already baked and colored with
thit-say are kept safely and dried in the tha-bake-tike. The bowl foundries at Let-thit-yat thabake-tan do not usually use brick walls or concrete roofs. They put the wooden sticks on the holeon the ground and covered with soil. Earthen bowls without painting with thit-say have moredemand in the market than those painted with thit-say. The observation found that there are eightmaye-tikes, but only two are in use.

3.3 Learning system of Iron Bowls Production
An iron plate is hammered until it is shaped into a bowl. There are two distinct steps inthe process. First, the bowl makers hammer an iron plate to shape it into a bowl, and it is called aplain bowl or a white bowl. Secondly, they apply tha-yoe (mixture of wood-oil, sawdust,
powdered charcoal and fine ash used in the making of lacquer-ware and gilded glass mosaic) on
it. This step is called making a black bowl. Iron bowls last longer and also are lighter to carryaround; they are preferred by monks than earthen bowls (see figure-2).
The size of iron bowls vary. However, there are four usual sizes: Shin (the size suitablefor young novices), Inn-khan (the size suitable for monks, but a little small), A-kyi (the size
suitable for monks, and bigger than Inn-khan), Shan (the size used in Shan State).
Shin size is the smallest one. People usually donate eight requisites at the novice-initiation
ceremonies. The bowls usually donated in such ceremonies must be allowed by the Vinaya rules
and also big enough to use for the novices to eat the meals from the bowls. The iron plate needs
to be ten inches in diameter, and when it is finished hammering, the mouth is seven inches indiameter and the bowl is about four inches deep. The widest part which is in the middle part of

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)81

the bowl is 26 inches in circumference. 32 bowls can be made out of a standard barrel used as thecontainers for cooking oil.
The second smallest size bowl is called Inn-khan. The sizes between an Inn-khan and an
A-kyi do not have much difference, but an Inn-khan is much bigger than a Shin. An iron platewith 11 inches in diameter is used to make an Inn-khan bowl. The mouth is eight inches indiameter and the bowl is about four inch and a half deep. The widest part of the bowl is 28 inches
in circumference. 23 bowls can be made out of a standard barrel mentioned above.
A-kyi is the second biggest bowl made for monks. An iron plate with 11 inches and a halfin diameter is used to make an A-kyi bowl. The mouth is eight inches in diameter and the bowl isabout four inch and a half deep. The widest part of the bowl is over 30 inches in circumference.
23 bowls can be made out of a standard barrel mentioned above. Previously, Shan bowls are as
twice bigger as a-kyi bowls. It is the biggest size of the bowls usually made. This kind of bowl isused in Shan State and for this reason it is called Shan bowls. However, the size is too big
according to Vinaya rules, and monks do not use them when they go alms-round or eat meals. It
is used when the monastery boys go alms-round for monks. In some Shan villages, the bowl isplaced at the village centre where people come to put their offerings in it. When the bowl is filledwith food, it is taken to the monastery. Nowadays, not many Shan bowls are sold out andtherefore bowl makers make them when they receive special orders. Usual Shan bowls need aniron plate with 14 inches and a half in diameter. The mouth is over eleven inches in diameter andthe bowl is about seven inches deep. The widest part of the bowl is over 42 inches incircumference.
During the time of the Buddha, earthen bowls were mainly used by monks. However,there are some records of iron bowls at that time. Later, as the development in iron-smith
business, iron bowls are more used. In early Mandalay Period, according to some senior monks,
almost all monks used iron bowls. There used to be many monks who went alms-round withearthen bowls before independence. But nowadays, iron bowls are preferred. In some regions, atfood offering ceremonies and novice-initiation ceremonies, earthen bowls are used since they areallowed by Vinaya rules and cheaper. Therefore, the value of earthen bowls is still high among
Buddhists. Besides, earthen bowls are more suitable for monks since they are good for health andallowed by the Vinaya rules. It seems therefore that people prefer to donate earthen bowls. As abowl is one of the eight requisites of monks, Buddhists consider that bowl-donation is a noble
act. Therefore it can be noted here that bowls represent as a symbol of Buddhism for both monks
and laypeople. Studies show that there are two stages in the process of making an iron bowl: thestage of white bowl and that of black bowl.

3.4 Learning Step of White Bowls
A circular iron plate is placed on an anvil and hammered until it shapes into a bowl. It is
the stage of a bowl before the bowl is painted with tha-yoe (see figure-3), and become a black
bowl. This stage is called aphyu-hte (plain), ayaing-hte (natural), or kongyan-hte (raw). Studies
show that the bowl business was very good about 50 years ago. An area called Oh-bow in NorthMandalay was famous for white bowls. The area was reportedly filled with the sound ofhammering. Later, the bowl foundries are replaced with car-body foundries which become abetter business with more money. The bowl foundries moved to nearby villages where they can

82

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

get cheaper labors. Ye-won Village and the area around this village becomes a centre for whitebowl foundries. The raw material required for white bowls is iron plates. Previously, bowl
makers made iron plates out of iron, but they started using brown iron plates and thick barrels 50
years ago. But nowadays, they use thinner barrels that are used as the cooking-oil containers. The
tools used include chisels, hammers, anvils, scrapers, and bellows. Bowl makers usually use thechisels that are sharp enough to cut iron plates. It is usually harder than the iron plates. The flatedge at the end is about half of an inch or an inch, and the body is about one inch in diameter andsix inches in length.
A hammer (Tu) is a tool consisting of a piece of metal with a flat end which is fixed onto
the end of a long thin usually wooden handle, used for hitting things. It is used to smoothen or
cut iron plates, or making a mould. There are various kinds of hammers used to make bowls:
khwet-tu, tu-shae, tu-lat, kauk-tu, pu-tu, etc. Tu-shae, tu-lat, and tu-pu are also called yike-tu.
Depending on the area, the location of the foundry and the preference of bowl makers, the size ofhammers vary, but the shapes are the same.
An anvil (Pay), which is used by blacksmiths and goldsmiths, is a heavy block of iron onwhich heated pieces of metal are shaped by hammering. An iron plate is placed on an anvil andhammered until it shapes into a bowl. There are various kinds of anvils: khwet-pay, rite-pay,kauk-pay, and sint-pay. A scraper (kyauk) is used to brush the iron. The type of scraper used isusually made of natural stones or iron scrapers especially designed for the purpose. The scraper isused on a motor or with hands when the edge of the bowl-mouth is smoothened. A bellow(phoe) is a stove in which iron plates are heated. It is a tool used to blow air, especially into a fireto make it burn better. In this bellow, iron plates are heated. The material cultures are used in
making white or plane bowls, and they are made by the bowl makers themselves.

3.5 Learning Step of Black bowls
In this stage, the white bowl is coated with thit-say (lacquer) (see figure-4). The bowl
makers coat the white bowls with thit-say and put them in the tha-bake-tike, and repeat thisprocess again and again until the bowls are strong enough to use. This stage is called thit-say-thayoe-kain-loke-ngan. This stage includes various steps: thit-say-thoat (coating with lacquer), pyapet (spraying with ash), tha-yoe-chaw, khae-tike, a-young-khan-thoat, shwe-khan-thoat, khaetike, a-young-tin, and a-hte-si, etc. Required materials and tools include tha-bake-tike, thit-say,put-khon, phwe-kyan, and kyauk, etc. One of the peculiar features of iron bowl making is that abowl must be coated with thit-say and put it in the tha-bake-tike, and this should be done again
and again. This is necessary because then only thit-say gets dry easily and will not become dusty.
Therefore, every foundry has tha-bake-tike. The walls of tha-bake-tikes need to be brick-walls
and the roof must be concrete. Then only, the work will be done safely and quickly. A tha-baketike is an under-ground room; it has only one hole with a door that can be tightly closed. Inside
the tha-bake-tike, on the walls, there are shelves, eight to nine inches distance from one another.
The bowls are kept on those shelves. The construction is almost the same for all tha-bake-tikes.
The bowls, after being coated with thit-say, are dried in tha-bake-tikes in a room temperature.
This is a necessary step in making bowls, but it might cost money and time for the bowl foundry
owners.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)83

An iron bowl with an inscription, "U Paw Kywe's donation, 1300 Sakkaraj", on it is foundin a bowl shop at Eindawya in Mandalay. That bowl has the mouth which is 3.8 inches indiameter. This bowl is called food offering bowl (Swan-taw-tin Tha-bake). It was made over 50
years ago, but it is still in its original condition. It used a thick iron plate. This bowl stands as aprove that Myanmar Buddhists place great value on monk-bowls which are the symbol of
Buddhism in Myanmar.

Figure 2. Iron Bowl

Figure 3. White Bowl

Figure 4. Black Bowl

3.6 Responsibilities and Skills of Bowl Makers
The bowl makers in Innwa value their job. They are proud of their job believing it issomething religious and wholesome since they make iron bowls and earthen bowls that arenecessary for Buddhist monks. They also believe that they have wholesome livelihood. They
believe, "Good mind produces good bowls", and that their success depends on the attitude they
have. Besides, this is a kind of art that needs skills, and therefore the workers value their art. One
needs to learn this art from basic. This art is handed down through family tradition. The onlychange in the tradition is that they used to make earthen bowls, but now they make iron bowls.
School education is not a necessity to become a bowl maker, but there are specific skills theyneed to learn, and most importantly they need to have the right attitude. Innwa is now a centre formonk-bowls. Each foundry has at least ten workers. They work every day, but they do not seem
tired of their job for this is where their interest is. They get the daily wage of round about 3500
kyats. The workers consider that their job produce things that are supportive for the attainment of
Nibbana. This is one of their motivations to continue this tradition. A skilled in the past worker
need at least three year experience at work. They need to learn from skilled workers (see figure5). At first, a worker who newly joins the team is not paid, for he is at the learning stage. Whenhe has learnt some skills, he starts getting some money which is a pocket money. The money
they get depends on the skill they have, and how helpful they are at work. They need to learn
thit-say coating, and other details. When their work shows neat and satisfactory, the teacher asksthem to make a bowl without getting any help from others. This is a kind of test and with theteacher's approval; they are allowed to work on their own.
There is a story that the workers tell. One day, a young boy from Ye-won Village who
used to be a novice came to learn how to make bowls. He had a monk-bowl-full of tamarindseeds that he used to count how many times he needed to hammer the iron plate to make a bowl.
For each strike of hammer, he took one tamarind seed out of the bowl. When all the seeds weretaken out, he found that he had not yet finished even a white bowl. He thought the life as alayman was too tiring, and he joined the order of monks again. This story seems to highlight thefact that a bowl-maker must have perseverance, love the job, and have some skills. Nowadays,
the workers get their wages as soon as they join the team. However the money depends on how19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)84they are helpful at work and on the skills they have. Sometimes, the money depends on the partof work they do. A new worker gets 3000 kyats every day. There are some people who wanted to
become bowl-makers, but they are not successful. People whose hands are always wet with bodyoil cannot get the job. And there are people who are allergic to thit-say. Oily hands cause delay inthe time require for thit-say to get dry. Besides, thit-say color becomes dull and consequently
there is a delay at work. Those who are allergic to thit-say cannot make monk-bowls. Even those
who do not have such problems may get some skin diseases. Their skin gets dull or they get
ringworms on their body, or the skin gets dry. Therefore, this is not a kind of work for everyone.
It needs handcraftsmanship, and there is a problem of getting new workers. There is a danger that
this art might extinct. Besides, there are other jobs available in Innwa and this also causes the
problem. Therefore, one need to be interested in this art and also must have health condition
suitable for this work.

Figure 5. Skilled workers

4. Conclusion
Monk-bowl foundries have existed in Innwa for many years. The art of making earthenbowls that used to be the requisite of monks and laypeople devotionally donated is now almost
disappeared. Monks use iron bowls and lacquer bowls nowadays, and they do not use earthenbowls anymore. Bowl foundries in Innwa are owned by families. This is a kind of familybusiness which everyone in the family needs to give their hand. Bowl workers value their job forthey consider that they are making religious items and therefore they need to keep their mind
wholesome. It is difficult to make an earthen bowl and also an earthen bowl is fragile. There isalso a shortage of raw materials and this is not environmentally friendly. For those reasons,probably, people do not use earthen bowls anymore. On the other hand, there is a danger oflosing the culture of donating bowls that are made in accordance with the Vinaya rules. There areadvantages in using earthen bowls: although they are fragile, they are cheaper; they can keep thefood warm longer; they can be hold with hot food in them for the heat-resistance is better; they
are good for health; and people believe that eating the food from earthen bowls is healthy. On theother hand, raw materials for iron bowls are easily available. Asphalt barrels, that are not usefulfor any other purposes, can be used to make monk-bowls. Although iron-bowls do not have goodheat-resistance, they are cheaper, and lighter to carry. These advantages of iron bowls may attract
people. Besides, iron pieces that are cut off from the plates can be sold. This is one of the most
attractive facts for the foundry-owners for they can make money out of everything. However, theart of making earthen bowls that have existed since the time of monarchical period is facing thedanger of extinction. With the extinction of this art, Myanmar people will lose one of theirbeautiful cultures. For the medical point of view, this work is harmful for health; thit-say, whichis allergic to some people, is necessary material in iron-bowls, and this might frighten newworkers away. Besides, new job availability is also a danger for bowl-making art. Therefore, a19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)85

medical help is necessary to protect thit-say allergy. Workers play important role in this kind of
business, and therefore, it is necessary to find out how workers can protect their skin. Then only
the problem of getting new workers can be solved, and this will help to maintain the tradition of
making monk-bowls. To get skilled workers is essential for bowl-foundries. The workers need tobe motivated so that they realize that they are doing something wholesome. Therefore, it isassumed that workers must value their job while there are other job opportunities in Innwa.

Acknowledgments
First of all, we would like to convey our deepest thanks to Ministry of Education, Department of Higher
Education and University of Mandalay, Department of Anthropology for invaluable financial support efforts in ourstudy and permission to conduct this research. Particular thanks are due to Done Pyan alms bowl casting homeindustry, all of craftsmen, in Innwa village, Mandalay Region and Sayardaw Vaseitta (monk), the monastery of
Innwa village for this study and without them this study would not have been accomplished.

References[1] Aung Nyein Chan, "Myanmar Traditional monk’s bowls handicrafts" published by Mandalar press, 1997.
[2] Lei Shwe Sin Myint, Thet Mar Aye, Thandar Aye, "The Handicraft of Thabaik (Monk’s Bowl) Production in
Innwa Village, Ta-Da-Oo Township, Mandalay Region, Myanmar", Departmental Research,
Department of Anthropology, University of Mandalay, 2017.
[3] Myanmar Encyclopedia Vol-X, published by literature printing press, 1966.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Early School Life: Importance of Caregivers’ Role in Educational culture
Khin Moe Moe Kyu1
Abstract
There are round about 5 million children are studying in primary level education in Myanmar.
However, the paper would like to do emic research on early school life. It would like to conduct
as field research in three primary schools: village school, urban community school and private
school. The three schools are based on curriculum of Ministry of Education. They are different in
student-teachers’ ratio, and pedagogy parents’ knowledge and accessibilities. As ananthropological study, children personalities are shaped by their gene and environments. The
paper would like to state that “How do scaffolding nurturing environment system support tochildren’s school life and what important factors are basic cause of out of school for children in
Myanmar? It wants to focus on socialization in function of schooling, transmission of culture
from home life to school life and to find out importance of caregivers in the production of equity
and the possibilities of educational culture. The limitation of the study is students’ environments
such as peer, parents and teachers. Such research methodology conducted as participant
observation, interviewing and case study of the schools. Different knowledge shapes different
children life and educational culture.
Keywords: capabilities, environments, caregivers’ knowledge, educational culture

1. Introduction
The main objective of the study is to provide an pinpoint to reduce out of school children
quantity. It dealt with the environmental setting, a brief historical background and a descriptionof pedagogy evolved. Educational culture is a priority for a child development and it is viewed asa key for national development. In recent years, many reforms in education have been undertaken
in Myanmar. However there still remain areas of concern that will have to be addressed. In here,
the study would like to define parents and teachers are care givers of a student. Althoughteachers’ roles are as one of the “five gems” in the societies, rural area is more typical than urban
school. They pay respect as teacher is regarded to be on the same reverence as the Buddha, thescriptures, the monks and parents. The teachers are usually role models in the communities. They
are traditionally regarded as community leaders in rural as well as urban communities; but morein rural ones. Because of this role in the community they are often regarded as key players in anysocial mobilization effort. Parents and teachers, therefore, have great potential to act as agents ofchange children characters.
In the view of Sassi Abdelhafid on George Spindler, education is the studies of culturalacquisition and transmission of a culture. In the study, the children of educated parents are
assured of a child’s school life. In Myanmar there are 0.26 million are primary teachers. Now aday, Myanmar civil government tries to effort to get better education reform. In 2018, lower
primary teachers’ have given special refresher training course not only government’s teachers but
also private school teachers and community school teachers such as monastic school for new
curriculum design. According to mission of Ministry of Education, every child who attend grade
4 can read, write and calculate basically. Furthermore, other qualifications need to develop.

1

Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Dagon University, Email: khinmomokyu@gmail.com

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Therefore, the curriculum design and teaching-learning system have to base on these. After that,life skills education will be start on grade 5. (Annually reports, 2018,)
The largest group is the students in educational culture setting. There are approximately
7.5 million students (out of a total population of over 50 million) from all levels of education.
1.2 to 1.4 million attending primary education. Now a day, the young people of Myanmar havebecome more aware of the world around them. They are becoming increasingly aware of whatlife has to offer; but many of them are very naive and unaware of the dangers and pitfalls ofmodern societies. Following the 1998 and 1999 education reforms towards “creative learning”
and “critical thinking.” They are being encouraged to read more widely and go beyond the rigid
confines of a national school curriculum that is being gradually reformed. (Professor, U Han Tin,
2004)
There is an important one that is parents, teachers, and students have to have mutual
understanding and trust each other. The three groups are the same as stove-top. It means that all
have to be harmony with each other and a sociological phenomenon is also referred tocharacteristics of a culture, social class, political views and individuals based on a part of selfidentification. The changes of children’s home life to school life regarded in anthropology as areality itself, revealing at every of its stages cultural particularity in a new sense. The children
and its upbringing within family, child subcultures and peer groups, or social environment are
affected on school lifestyle. (Jarema Drozdowicz, 2014, p 66-82)

2. Methodology of the study
The study would like to know emic situation in educational culture which light toeducation setting of a society. It also conducted on qualitative approach especially in participant
observation, in-depth-interviewing and case study of some parents, teachers, and students in threebasic primary schools. Data analysis is based on visual, recording, check, cross-check and double
check information flow system.
3. Result and Discussion
By studying case study on the 3 schools: (1) Basic Education Middle School No-1, Dagon
Township (BEMS-1 DT), (2) Basic Education Primary School, Zaw Ti Gone village (BEPS,
ZTG),(3) Flower Private Education Center (FPEC), notice that there are different backgroundenvironments can shape how happy and interesting in school life of a child. All the three aresituated in Yangon Region.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

89

Table 1. Characteristics of the three schools
Schools’ Name

Basic Characteristics of Educational Culture

Basic Education Middle
School No-1 Dagon
Township*Situated in crowded downtown of Yangon* Families have one or two children in each.
* Parents have got one or more degree.
*1:30 to 1:40 teachers –students’ ratio.
* Well prepared to go school in pre-school or at home.
* Proud of attending the school.

Basic Education Primary *Situated in village
School ,Zaw Ti Gone * Parents are simple life and low knowledge in important
Village,
Hmawbi of education.
Townshp* There is not partition in school building for each class*.Many parents’ think that there is more important to getmoney for covering daily expenditure for food.

Flower Private Education *Situated in Dagon Myothit
Center* Not only formal education center but also physiotherapy
center for disables children.
* Students-teachers ration is 1:3, 1:5 to 1:15.
* Recommended by neuro physiotherapy specialists.
*Scaffolding system with special classes; art, music,
language and etc.
Source: Field data

In the year 2014, pedagogy is as usual. Students of BEMS-1 DT are busy with much time
to recite text and doing exercises. Barking and beating on palm rules for controlling class is ok.
In Myanmar proverb, if you want to get best quality pot, beat again and again. From our
Myanmar society, the slogan was very popular in rural and old parents in last millennium. In theyear 2018, some parents’ concept is changed on controlling class system by some issue of social
media. As for typical Myanmar, this is problem for teachers how to control the class as big as theclass size as well as typical traditional class control culture.

3.1 Different concept of care givers in the three schools
There are 3 categories in the schools.
1) Parents and students of BEMS-1 DT have higher and higher for the students. The
students attend two kind of school in the same study year. They attend English language trainingor some of them are sitting in Cambridge Exam Course by the help of British Council Culture

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19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Center such as Starter, Mover, and Flyer or IGCSE exams and take regular sport training; gym,
aerobic, different kinds of martial art, etc. In summer time, take language class, music, painting,etc. Some of parents want to be high marks even full marks in every subject. If their children
cannot effort it, they push to get more and more study hours. The parents always learn theirchildren’s lessons. A mother said that “when her child attends KG class, she attend KG. Whenher child attends grade 3, she is grade 3’’.
2) Some students do not want to follow the first categories. They are weak to adaptable tothe school culture. As special case in the intake of 2014 students, there is two school boys do notwant to attend class because of inadaptability of the school culture. When he was grade two, hewants to quite from the school. And then, one go to private school and another is attends special
need and disables class in physiotherapy center. But, a teacher who got well experience in theschool said that “a new student has to be happy, healthy and adaptability in the school culture, if
it is not, the student does not want to attend the school”. In the intake of 2017, a student is alittle delay in communication skill. He attends the KG class that is new teaching learning systemby the arrangement of Ministry of Education. Although new teaching learning system is coming
up and utilize in the school, old cultures are there in the environment even teachers and parents.
Many parents and teachers like old model of child care system. Later months of KG are very
difficult for him and his mother. He feels mental depression. And then he transfer to private
school. In a year later, the new child care culture and pedagogy are practice in the school. The
boy reenrolled in the School. It is because, his mother and physiotherapist of the private school
try to pay therapy and reconstruct on his mind. One year later, he accepts to attend his class. His
mother and the school teachers try to persuade to attend his class in the school.
3) The third category is very weak to get end education for their children. Parents’concept of BEPS- ZTG is that they are poor, they have very important to get money for covering
daily expenditure for food. Only few parents want to hope on their children to get a degree. Mostof the villagers are cultivators, blue labour and daily workers. Some are Kyaban Loutha it means
the people have not regular or permanent job. They said that they are Ta Nay Lout Mha Ta Nay
Sar Yar Dar. It means when they have work on this day, they can eat their meal. Therefore, they
are not interested in child education. If their children got grade 1 or 2 it is ok form them. The
parents’ concept is when their children go to school; they can’t help their house work. If they failin exam, it is a big failure for them. If they pass exam, it is very low profit for their family. In thestudent’s mindset, they want to go school, but their parents can’t effort it. When they go backhome, they have no time to study because of helping house work. In such case, lesson home work
is not appropriate for the students. In the school of FPEC, most students are special needs care.
Some are Autism, CB, Down. Some have a little symptom of that syndrome. The school is not
only formal education center but also physiotherapy center for disable children. Curriculum andsyllabus of the school is scaffolding nurturing system and edutainment to encourage childreninteresting and how to find their hobby. Her slogan is the earlier, the better for children. FPEC is
Basic Education Middle School. But school fee is problem for some parents.

4. Conclusion
By studying above finding, the paper would like to conclude that early school is very
important for a child’s education. The three schools have different educational culture;competitive, prioritize to get daily expenditure and too need to support their children. Teachers

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)91

and parents are play a major role in learner’s personal, social, emotional or interpersonal
problems. Therefore, to get a good interpersonal relationship between teachers and students,
parents and child, feeling and emotion that everyone experiences are considered vital factors. In
the case of a student who is as normal as others typical children although family culture isdifferent from other, if the teachers bound with the students well understand on them and educate
students as daily life factors will affect the quality of this interaction and communication. When
parents well know value of education for their children, all children will take their classes. If not,children will end school lives. As for too care to child’s education in wrong way, it is also
dangerous for early school life. He can’t stand himself, he stand his parents’ will. It is not goodeducation for him.
In the case of school boy who is delay in communication and intake in 2017 that iscommunities’ school are fond of practicing in new pedagogy such as edutainment. The notion ofculture tends to privilege the continuity of socialization and harmony. These current changes
rises of dynamic practice and performance oriented concept of culture which begins addressing
the problem of fusing home culture and class culture by the concept. Anthropological study ofculture mismatch between home and school were quite influential and how class factors
produced inequality.
In the case of Zaw Ti Gone Village Primary School, it is very important to get income fordaily expenditure of a family is the basic factor to go out of school for a student. Education is thedevelopment of a child’s personality, talents and abilities. In recognition of the fact that every
child has unique characteristics, interests, abilities, and learning needs. (Aye Aye Aung, 2018).
It is important to know that child’s education is not only literacy and numeracy, but also
closer to apply for life. Education should also pinpoint to ensure that essential life skills are learnt
by every child and that no child leaves school. In that point, care givers; parents and teachers arevery careful to their children not to away from school. Whatever teaching-learning systems,
whatever curriculum design, whatever teacher-students ratio, the paper would like to state thatcaregivers are play a vital role in children’s education to overcome home life to school life. If wenotice the point, our educational culture will promote and bar from children who are out ofschool.
Therefore, the study would like to recommend that

Be aware of background culture to transmit class culture.
Every school should be second home in early education.
Should encourage to promote knowledge among care givers that education is how
important in child’s future.
A school in a township should have a special care class room in lower primary educationlevel.
Acknowledgements

This paper fieldwork was supported by persons, teachers, parents and students of the three schools. I would
also like to thank all of the responsible persons of the SCA19 Conference. In addition, I owe special thanks to mycompanionship, dedication, and unsurpassable skills greatly enriched many aspects of this fieldwork. In
particular , I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the many patients colleagues of department ofanthropology in Dagon University and my family members. This paper is dedicated to them.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

92

References[1] Annual Report, Ministry of Education, 2018.
[2] Annual Report, Basic Education Middle School (1), Dagon Township, 2018.
[3] Annual Report, Basic Education Primary School, Zaw Ti Gone Village, Hmawbi Township, 2018.
[4] Annual Report, Flower Private Education Center, North Dagon Township, 2018.
[5] Aung, Aye Aye and Aye Aye Myint, “An Assessment of Emotional Intelligence Impact on Teachers’ Job
Performance” Doctoral Dissertation Research Reports, Myanmar Academy of Arts and Science
2015 Calendar Year Award Winning Press, 2018,pp. 205-241.
[6]Alice BinAzzi,2016, The role of formal and non-formal education for children’s empowerment and as aprevention tool from violence, Comparative Cultural Studies: European and Latin America
Perspectives, 2016.
[7] Han Tin, Education in Myanmar, Centre for UNESCO, Australian National University, Canberra, 2004.
[8] Jarema Drozdowicz, To trust the Other. Anthropology of education in the context of Polish debates on
multiculturalism,Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, pp 66-82 Levinson, Bradley A andMica Pollock, (2016) A Companion to the Anthropology of Education, Wiley Blackwell, UK,
2014.
[9] Sassi Abdelhafid, Educational Anthropology: A Theoretical Exploration, University of Mascara, 2008.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Social Support as a Mediator between Emotional Intelligence and Job
Satisfaction of Employees in Yangon
May Lwin Nyein1, Myint Myint Khine2, Tin Nwe Oo3

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the role of social support as mediator in the relationshipbetween emotional intelligence and job satisfaction of Myanmar employees in private sector
organizations and companies. Participants were 200 employees from Dagon group of companies,
Information Matrix Co. Ltd., Myanmar Solar Rays Co. Ltd., Myanmar Electrical Business Group
Public Co. Ltd., Thukha Myanmar Co. Ltd., Citta Consultancy and VOA Burmese Service whocompleted a battery of self-report questionnaires, including Emotional Intelligence Scale,Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire andthe demographic variables. Regression analysis was adopted to test the mediating effect of social
support between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction. The results suggested that emotional
intelligence was a positive significant predictor to social support and job satisfaction.
Additionally, social support was positively associated with job satisfaction. The meditational
analysis revealed that social support functioned as a mediator between emotional intelligence andjob satisfaction. The outcomes of this study have significant implications for the field of I/O
psychology. The results also suggested that explicit interventions could be used to improve
employees job satisfaction by focusing on enhancing multiple social support system such as
coworker/friends, family and significant others.
Keywords: Job Satisfaction, Emotional Intelligence, Social Support

1.

Introduction

Myanmar is transforming to Democracy in political approach since 2010. At the sametime, Myanmar’s economy open out and there is widespread agreement that the country has ahuge potential for continued rapid development in the future. Simultaneously, a key challenge isto ensure that economic growth is inclusive in Myanmar. Despite there is a number of market
research to gain sustainability market share, there has been only a few research work conductedunderstanding work-related phenomena such as job satisfaction, turnover, and employee wellbeing to develop human resource in Myanmar.
Employee job satisfaction is an essential ingredient to reach organizational success. Job
satisfaction among employees is an indicator of organizational effectiveness, and it has got direct
relationship with organizational and personal factors (Lumley et al., 2011)[1]. Majority of theemployees are aware that the performance of an organization depends in part on their level of job
satisfaction (Ibid). This is the cradle of the mostly widely believed maxim of management that “ahappy worker is a productive worker”.
Nowadays, researchers have become increasingly interested in understanding how thisjob satisfaction is associated with emotional and social abilities of employees beyond the job
itself or the relevant environment. Emotional and social competencies seem to play a vital role in
the process of networking in order to maximize job performance as “the one who has developed
more relationships with others and has richer social ties is the one with greater success to
1

Assistant Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Mandalay, maylwin18917@gmail.com
Student, Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Psychology, University of Yangon, myintmyint.khine92@gmail.com
3
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Yangon, tinnweoo531@gmail.com
2

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19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

information” (Balwajder, 1992, pp.13) [2].
The concept of emotional intelligence (EI) was first proposed by Mayer & Salovey(1997) which was then popularized by Goleman: Why it can matter more than IQ”. Emotional
Intelligence (EI), which is defined as an individual’s ability to process and treat affectinformation and effect problems, is an important predictor of job satisfaction (Dong et al.,
2014[4]; Siegling et al., 2015[5]). Zacher et al. (2012) [6] noticed that EI has an effect on key
organizational outcomes such as job satisfaction. Palmer and colleagues suggest that people’sability to treat effect information by recognizing their own emotion and ability to manage
emotion can significantly affect their job satisfaction (Palmer et al., 2002)[7]. Freudenthaler et al.
(2008) [8] also found that EI can independently predict job satisfaction. Hence, people with highEI are believed to have high job satisfaction and they are also aware of their emotions and canbetter utilize it to regulate stress and negative emotion, which can result in positive evaluations
on work or work-related situations.
[3]

Theories indicate that social support is a key factor in job satisfaction and performance ofan employee. Indeed, support from friends and family can promote workers performance (Sun,Zhang, Fu, 2007) [9], as it buffers the stress associated with the work related illness (Zimet,
Powell, Farley, Werkman, & Berkoff, 1990) [10]. Social support is defined as the spiritual andmaterial help provided by various social aspects (i.e., family, relatives, and friends), that reflects
one’s closeness with social relations (Oh et al., 2014) [11]. Perceived social support is the
subjective feeling one gets from social support. This is helpful in relieving life pressure andpromoting life satisfaction, and is a good indicator for measuring social adaptation (Pavlova etal., 2015) [12]. Research shows that the negative effects of stress are buffered by goodinterpersonal communication and perceived social support (Karademas, 2006) [13]. Meanwhile,the lack of support from colleagues, supervisors, and family members can lead to job
dissatisfaction. Thus, social support can increase employees’ feelings of job satisfaction, and its
absence serves as a stressor that acts as a catalyst for job dissatisfaction (Prince et al., 1997) [14].
Additionally, moving beyond from examining the relationships between EI with job satisfaction
and social support with job satisfaction, some studies also have analyzed the direct and indirect
associations between them in recent years. For example, Dawei (2018) [15] studied the trilateralrelations among EI, social support, and job satisfaction in China.
Recognizing the essential of the three highly related variables and the lack of studies in
Myanmar, this study is an attempt to contribute to understand the nature of relations among EI,
social support, and job satisfaction. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand thenature of relations between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction by exploring the mediating
effect of social support in private sector organizations in Myanmar. More specifically, based on
the previous literature reviewed, we generate the following hypotheses: (1) Emotional
intelligence will be positively associated with job satisfaction. (2) Emotional intelligence will bepositively associated with social support. (3) Social support will be positively associated with job
satisfaction. (4) The relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction will be
mediated by social support.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)2.

95

Methods

Participants
Surveys were distributed to 250 employees of private sector organizations and companies
in Yangon, Myanmar: Dagon group of companies, Information Matrix Co. Ltd., Myanmar Solar
Rays Co. Ltd., Myanmar Electrical Business Group Public Co. Ltd., Thukha Myanmar Co. Ltd.,
Citta Consultancy and VOA Burmese Service. A total of 200 usable data were returned; including
82 males (41%) and 118 females (59%), who were between 18 and 70 years old (M = 31.51, SD= 10.49). Among them, 32% of the participants were single and 68% of the participants were
married. There were 16 % of undergraduates, 80% of graduates and 4% of postgraduates.
MeasureEmotional Intelligence Scale (EIS): The 33-item scale (EIS), developed by Schutte et al.
(1998) [16] was used to measure the total Emotional Intelligence. It was translated into Myanmar
by the researcher. Each item consists of a short statement, to which participants was asked toindicate how closely they identify using a 5-point scale from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly
Agree). Some items of the scale includes: “I like to share my emotions with others”, “I arrange
events others enjoy”, and “I know why my emotions change”. The Schutte et al., (1998)[16]reported that the internal consistency reliability of the EIS is .87.
Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS): The 12- item self-reportmeasure (MSPSS) developed by Zimet et al. (1988) [17] was used to measure how one perceives
their social support system. It was translated into Myanmar by the researcher. Items are
responded on a 7- point scale from 1 (Very strongly disagree) to 7 (Very strongly agree) (Zimet etal., 1988) [17]. Examples of items from this survey form include “I get the emotional help andsupport I need from my family”, “My friends really try to help me”. Internal reliability for the
MSPSS, measured using Cronbach’s coefficient alpha for the total scale was .90 (Zimet et al.
1988) [17].
Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ): The Myanmar version of the Minnesota
Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) was used to measure job satisfaction in this study (May Lwin
Nyein & Nilar Kyu, 2014)[18]. The short form of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ)
was originally developed by Weiss et al. (1967) [19]. The MSQ taps into people’s cognitiveorientation toward their jobs and comprise 20 items rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (verydissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied). The total score ranges from 20 (low level of job satisfaction) to100 (high level of job satisfaction). Cook, Hepworth, Wall and Warr (1981) [20] stated that the
short form of the MSQ appears to yield a sound measure of overall job satisfaction. The
Myanmar version of the MSQ with an internal consistency reliability of .89 was reported by May
Lwin Nyein & Nilar Kyu (2014) [18].
Demographic Questionnaire: This questionnaire included demographic variables ofparticular interest (i.e., age, sex, marital status, family size, education, position, organization size,organization type, monthly income).
Procedure
Before the questionnaires were distributed to all participants, permission for theparticipants to take part voluntarily in this study during their working hours was obtained fromthe person in charge of the companies and private sector organizations. Then, the researcher gave

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clear instructions to the participants to answer the survey questionnaires. The survey booklet
contained a cover letter explaining the purpose of the study and requesting participation(Informed consent) and a battery of self- report questionnaires. Participants were told that theirsurveys were kept anonymous and they could refuse if they wished. Confidentiality was ensured.
Valid responses were obtained from 80% of the respondents – 200 participants.
3.

Results and Discussion

3.1 Results
Descriptive analysis
The final sample included 41% male and 59% female, who were between 18 to 65 years
old (Mean = 31.5, SD = 10.49). In terms of marital status, 32% of the respondents were single,
68% of the respondents were married. The range of family size was 1 to 10 members, with themean of 4.67. Among them, 16 % of the participants were undergraduates, 80% of theparticipants were graduates and 4% of the participants were postgraduates. There were 5
categories of position that are 17% of office staff, 32% of admin officer, 30% of engineer andmedia professionals, 18% of manager and project coordinator, 3% of executive and director.
According to organization size, 5% were from small business organization, 39% from medium
business organization and 55% were from large organization. There were 5 kinds of organization
type that are 24% from service sectors, 9.5% from Manufacturing sector, 35% from Sale andMarketing Sector, 20.5% from media sector, 0.5% from agencies, 10.5% from other sectors.
Regarding to the monthly income, the individual’s monthly income fewer than 100,000 Kyats
was 0.5%, between 100,001 Kyats and 300,000 Kyats was 47%, between 300,001 Kyats and
500,000 Kyats was 25%, between 500,001 Kyats and 1,000,000 Kyats was 19%, between
1,000,001 Kyats and 2,000,000 Kyat was 7% and the individual’s monthly income more than
2,000,001 Kyats was 1.5%.
Correlation Analysis
Inter-correlations among the variables, means and standard deviations for the measuresused in this study, are presented in Table 1. There is a significant positive correlation between
emotional intelligence (EI) and the demographic variables of age, organization size, organization
type and monthly income (r = .16, p<.05, r = .21, p<.01, r = .14, p<.05, r = .14, p<.05).
Furthermore, perceived social support showed a significant positive correlation with position andmonthly income (r = .16, p<0.5, r = .21, p<.01). Surprisingly, a significant negative correlation
was found between perceived social support and family size (r = -.15, p<.05). Moreover,correlation of job satisfaction with the age and organization size were all positively significant (r= .17, p<.05, r = .18, p<.05). Essentially, an examination of the relationship between emotional
intelligence (EI) and perceived social support, revealed a significant high positive correlation(r=.31, p<.001). In addition, significant positive correlation was found between perceived social
support and job satisfaction (r = .27, p<.001). Further, emotional intelligence (EI) had asignificant positive correlation with job satisfaction (r = .31, p<.001), as shown in Table 1.

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19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Table 1. Means, SDs and intercorrelations among study variables
Mean

SD

1

2

1. Age

31.51

10.49

_

2. Sex1.59

0.49-.21**
***

3. MS

1.68

0.47

-.50

4. F Size

4.67

1.62

-.14

1.88

0.43

.18

*

6. Position 2.57

1.05

.31***

0.67

.22

***

.18

*
***

5. Edu7. O Size
8. O Type

2.53
2.96

1.49

9. Income 2.89

1.04

.34

10. EI

15.25

.16*

11. SS
12. JS125.87
62.43
75.13

12.06
9.92

.06
.17

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

.27***__.28***

_

.01

.16*

_

.06

-.06

-.11

_

-.28***-.22**-.15*.30***

_

-.14

-.05

.04

-.03

.01

_

-.04

-.03

.11

.27***

_

.07

.05

_

.22**

.14*

.14*

.05

**

-.13
-.16
.05
-.03

*

3

.05

*

-.16

*

-.22

**

-.03
-.08
-.04

-.15

*

.06
-.15
-.05

.35
.06

*

.11
.00

***

.72

***

.12
.16
.03

*

-.03
.18

*

-.00

.21
.12

_
.36***.31***_

Note: MS = Marital Status, F Size = Family Size, Edu = Education, O Size = Organization Size, O Type = Organization Type, EI= Emotional Intelligence, SS = Social Support, JS = Job Satisfaction. *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001.

Regression analysis
In order to test our hypotheses, regression analyses were conducted. In the first threeregression analyses, age, sex, marital status, family size, education, position, organization size,organization type, monthly income were used as control demographic variables. Firstly, job
satisfaction was regressed on emotional intelligence (EI). For the predictive effect of emotional
intelligence (EI) on job satisfaction, result was shown in regression of Table 2. The combinationof all variables accounted for 14% of job satisfaction’s variance. After controlling for
demographic variables, emotional intelligence (EI) significantly explained 6% of the variances.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) was a positive predictor to job satisfaction (β = .26, p<.001). As
shown in Table 3, the results of regression analysis on emotional intelligence (EI) as a predictorof perceived social support. Regression showed the combination of all the variables explained
18% of the variances. After controlling the demographic variables, emotional intelligence (EI)
significantly explained 10% of the variances. Emotional intelligence (EI) was a positive predictor
to perceived social support (β = .34, p<.001). According to Table 4, the results of regression
analysis on perceived social support as a predictor of job satisfaction. Regression revealed the
combination of the all the variables explained 14% of the variances. After the demographic
variable had controlled, perceived social support significantly explained 6% of the variances.
Perceived social support was a positive predictor to job satisfaction (β = .26, p<.001).
Subsequently, meditational analysis was conducted to investigate whether perceived
social support could mediate for the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and job
satisfaction. Following the method outlined by Baron & Kenny (1986)[21], mediation isestablished when the following conditions are met: (1) a significant relationship is found between

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19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Table 2 Regression Analysis with EI as
predictor of Job Satisfaction
R2Age

R2 Change.08

Table 3 Regression Analysis with EI as
predictor of Perceived Social Support

β

F

.11

1.7

R2
Age

R2
Change

.08

β

F

-.11

1.78

Sex

.07

Sex

-.01

Marital Status-.02

Marital Status-.07

Family Size-.05

Family Size-.16*

Education-.04

Education.

Position-.08

Position-.03

Organization Size

.14

Organization Size-.07

Organizational Type-.08

Organizational Type.02

Income.11

Income.18*

Emotional Intelligence

.14

.06

.26***

2.84**

p<.01, ***p<.001.

Emotional Intelligence

.18

.10

05

.34***

3.95******

p<.05, ***p<.001.

Table 4 Regression Analysis with Perceived
Social Support as predictor of Job Satisfaction

Table 5 Meditation Analysis with Perceived
Social Support as mediators between
Emotional Intelligence and Job Satisfaction

R2Age

R2 Change

.08

β

F

.15

1.66

R2
Step 1.10

Marital Status.00

Family Size

.00

Education-.05

Position-.06

Organization Size

.18*

Emotional Intelligence

Organizational Type-.07

Perceived
Support

Income.08*

Social.14.06.26***

β.31***

Emotional Intelligence

Step 2

14.46***.13

SocialF
21.88***.10

Sex

Perceived
Support

R2
Change.03.25***.18*

p<.05, ***p<.001.

2.86****

p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001.

the independent variable (emotional intelligence) and the presumed mediator (perceived social
support); (2) a significant relationship is found between the presumed mediator (perceived social
support) and the dependent variable (job satisfaction); and (3) a significant association between
the independent variable (emotional intelligence) and the dependent variable (job satisfaction) is
significantly mediated after statistically controlling for the presumed mediator (perceived social
support). Conditions 1 & 2 were met in all cases. Therefore, meditational model was used to test
condition 3.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)99

On the first step, job satisfaction was regressed on emotional intelligence (EI). On thesecond step, perceived social support was added to the regression to investigate whether theamount of variance accounted for by emotional intelligence would be mediated. In the
regression, the relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction was mediated andremained significant by perceived social support. The results are shown in Table 5.
3.2 Discussion
The primary purpose of the present study was to examine the mediating effect of social
support on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction among Myanmar
employees from companies and private sector organizations. In doing so, regression analyses
were adopted to examine emotional intelligence as a predictor of job satisfaction, emotional
intelligence as a predictor of social support, social support as a predictor of job satisfaction andsocial support as a mediator between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction.
According to the results, it was found that emotional intelligence is a predictor of job
satisfaction, which supports Hypothesis 1. This means that individuals in the workplace withhigher EI are more likely to be satisfied with their job than those with lower EI. This finding
supports the previous studies. There is a study which exhibits significant association between
ability based EI scale and Job contentment (Trivellas, Gerogiannis, &Svarna, 2013) [22]. EI is theability of processing affect information and dealing with emotional problems, whereas job
satisfaction is the complex and subjective experience of work (He et al. 2014) [23]. Individuals
with high EI can positively and actively adjust their own affection when facing troubles, whichallows them to evaluate this work positively (Petrides and Furnham 2001) [24]. Employees withhigh EI can immediately identify and perceive the causes of work-related problems upon
experiencing them and develop appropriate strategies to manage their emotional response towardcauses of stress. Emotional intelligence is proposed as an important predictor of key
organizational outcomes including job satisfaction (Daus & Ashkanasy, 2005) [25].
Furthermore, in this study, emotional intelligence was positively associated with social
support, providing support for Hypothesis 2. Previous researches suggest that individual’s
confidence in their emotional skills would impact their expectation of support from others. With
regard to self-report EI, individuals’ perception is that they can accurately appraise the emotionsof self and others and express their emotions appropriately contributed to perceived social
support (Fabio & Kenny, 2012) [26]. This means that persons who perceive more available social
support report that they are better to be able to recognize emotions in themselves and in others
and to express their emotions. As social support involves an exchange of resources between
persons and involves recognition of the need for and ability to appropriately ask for assistanceunder conditions of psychological distress, perceived skill in the appraisal and expression ofemotions relates logically to social support (Shumaker & Brownell, 1984) [27]. The use ofemotions in problem solving also reasonably relates to one’s capacity to use emotional support inproblem solving and coping.
It was also found that perceived social support is positively associated with job
satisfaction, which supports hypothesis 3. Self-determination theory also points out that job
satisfaction is enhanced when employees’ psychological autonomy, competence, and relatedness
are supported and social support fulfills the need to belong (Teixeira et al. 2012) [28]. Other
studies also found that social support is an importance job resource. When good interpersonalcommunication between clients, colleagues, and family members is prioritized, an increase in job

100

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)satisfaction occurs (Tooksoon 2011) [29]. Individuals may benefit from social support inenhancing their job satisfaction because some studies have suggested that it is an important social
resource in the work environment which is more effective than other individual strategies (Lu etal. 2012) [30].
Regarding organization size, we found that employees who are working for largeorganizations would be more satisfied with their job than those in small organizations. Thisfinding is not totally consistent with existing researches. Some previous studies found thatorganization size often is inversely related to job satisfaction. That is, the employees in small andmedium organizations tend to be more satisfied with their jobs and working in large organization
reduces the level of job satisfaction. According to Myanmar culture, people who are working forlarge organizations tend to be more satisfied with their jobs than those in small organizations
because of the factors of job security, prestige and status. They assume that their jobs are moreprestigious and working in large organization assures work and stable income which gives senseof security. In accordance with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs model, safety needs such as pay,
benefits and job security satisfied, an employee will be ready to achieve higher level of needs ofesteem and self-actualization.
In addition, it was found that family size and social support were negatively associated.
The larger the family size, the less likely that the individual will get the social support. Other
researches also supported this finding. The larger the families, the less likely that it becharacterized by a predominance of positive affect (Bossard and Boll, 1956) [31]. A study revealed
that parents with multiple adult children report higher levels of collective ambivalence in relation
to quality of intra-familial relationships (Ward, Spitze & Deane, 2009) [32].
Finally, the meditational analysis revealed that social support functioned as a mediator
between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction. Current findings are also supported toprevious researches. Testing the mediating effect proved the evident relationship between
emotional intelligence and job satisfaction through social support, and verified that social support
is also an important factor in job satisfaction. Lopes and other scholars suggested that people
with high emotional intelligence have the ability of effect recognition, application andmanagement, and are capable of adjusting their emotions (Lopes et al. 2003[33]; Xiao et al.
2014[34]). Thus, contradictions or conflicts in interpersonal relationships can be easily relieved
and become harmonious. These individuals are also competent at sensing and evaluating thework environment, allowing them to seek and use social support when problems occur.
Individuals with high EI have a high frequency of social activity, they have more chances to seek
help from others, realize their value in the workplace, and openly talk about their struggles; thus,
job satisfaction is increased (Extremera & Fernandez-Berrocal, 2005) [35].
In spite of the promising results, the present study has several notable limitations. First,
this study used self-report surveys that do not accurately represent the responses of theparticipants. While self-report EI reflects one’s perception of their emotional intelligenceabilities, objective forms of EI can reflect one’s actual emotional intelligence potential. Thus,
future research may wish to incorporate more objective measurements of emotional intelligenceabilities. For the measurement of job satisfaction, we can also design and study the different
dimensions under organization, job and personal factors in future research. A further limitation isthat the generalizability of the findings to all types of employees is also limited. This study was
limited to white collar employees. Additional research using other types of populations is101

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)necessary to ensure the generalizability of these results. In the future, it might be better if othermediators, such as coping style and self-esteem could be explored between the relationship ofemotional intelligence and job satisfaction. However, this study currently provides meaningful
data for understanding the relationship between emotional intelligence, social support and job
satisfaction in Myanmar.
4.

Conclusions

To reiterate, the current study evidences that social support can mediate the relationshipbetween emotional intelligence and job satisfaction among employees from private sector
organizations and companies in Yangon, Myanmar. The significant relation between the threevariables EI, social support and job satisfaction in this study shows that high EI is beneficial forthe management of interpersonal relationship, obtaining further social support, and eventually
increasing one’s job satisfaction This finding has very important applications in counseling toemployees for their work related problems and interventions and focus on the importance ofusing multi-level social support, such as that of those from colleagues and supervisors, friends,
family members and others. It is hoped that the current research can contribute in organizational
behavior to appreciate Myanmar employee well-being. The significance of this study is that itprovides substantial evidence for the external validity of the relationship between emotional
intelligence and job satisfaction in a Myanmar cultural setting. The study also provides strong
evidence that training for the emotional ability of Myanmar employees is of utmost importance inachieving happiness and favorable performance in the workplace.

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Differences, 39(5), 937-948.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

The Effect of Guided Discovery Method in Teaching Science at the Middle
School Level
Khin Mar Khine1, Khine Nyein Aye2
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of guided discovery method in teachingscience at the middle school level. It was an experimental study in which guided discovery method
was compared with formal teaching in improving students’ science achievement. It was conductedwith the 120 Grade Six students from BEHS Pale and BEHS (Branch) Tanae in Pale Township,
Sagaing Region. The sample schools were selected by simple random sampling method.
Moreover, subjects in each school were selected by using simple random sampling method andwere randomly assigned into two equivalent groups: Experimental Group and Control Group.
Each group consisted of 30 students. The experimental groups were exposed to guided discovery
method while the control groups were taught formally. At the end of the treatment, a posttest wasadministered whether there were significant differences between the two groups regarding theirachievement. The obtained data were analyzed by using independent samples t-test. The results ofthis study showed superiority of guided discovery method over formal teaching. It is suggested
that teachers should use guided discovery method to enhance students’ science achievement andmake them to be independent learners.
Keywords: effect, guided discovery method, science

1. Introduction
Education should play an important role in enabling people to live together in ways that
contributes to sustainable development. In addition, science education is emphasized forscientifically literate citizens who can apply the science knowledge in their everyday decision
making. According to Godek (2004) [1] , there cannot be any meaningful development without
science education. Science advancement has been seen as the single most important factor insustained economic growth. It has also been described as the principal driving force behind longterm economic growth of developed countries and their rising standard of living. Thus, scienceeducation is very crucial for the development of country.
The aim of the Myanmar science curriculum is to provide students with practicalexperiences based on exploration of the environment and also to develop their scientific inquiry
skills to gain scientific knowledge and positive attitudes towards science. To achieve effective
science education, science and technology curricula should be emphasized on the process ofscience. This would also lead to changes in instructional techniques and methods. The formal
methods used for teaching science in science classroom only transact knowledge from the headof teacher to the head of students. These methods are not sufficient to develop true knowledge
and understanding of science and prove futile exercises to inculcate problem solving abilities,
critical and reflective thinking among the children. Therefore, there is urgent need to reform theteaching practices and it is needed to study the Guided Discovery Method which may effect on
middle school level science teaching.
1

Associate Professor, Department of Methodology, Yangon University of Education, +959250074460,
drkhinmarkhine@gmail.com
2
Assistant Lecturer, Methodology Department, Sagaing University of Education, khinenyein.suoe1@gmail.com

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

106

Aim
The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of guided discovery method in teachingscience at the middle school level.

Objectives
The specific objectives of this study are as follows:

To investigate the effect of guided discovery method in teaching science at the middle
school level science achievement of the students
To compare the science achievement of the students who receive guided discovery
method and those who do not receive it
To give suggestions for the improvement of science teaching based on the data obtained
from the study

Research HypothesesThere is a significant difference between posttest scores of experimental group andcontrol group.
There is a significant difference between posttest scores of experimental group andcontrol group in answering remember level questions.
There is a significant difference between posttest scores of experimental group andcontrol group in answering understand level questions.
There is a significant difference between posttest scores of experimental group andcontrol group in answering apply level questions.


Definition of Key Terms


Effect: Effect means having power to produce or producing a desired result (Cruickshank& Bainer, 1990) [2].

Guided Discovery Method: It is one of the techniques happens when the students
encounter unfamiliar situation and try to interpret the situation for understanding andcomprehension (El-Kahlout, 2010, as cited in Zahara, 2017) [3].

Science: Science is the system of knowing about the universe through data collected byobservation and controlled experimentation (Carin & Sund, 1989) [4].

Scope of the Study
This study is intended to investigate the effectiveness of guided discovery method inteaching science at the middle school level. This study was restricted to BEHS, Pale and BEHS
(Branch) Tanae, Pale Township, Sagaing Region. The participants were120 Grade Six students
from those schools. The content area was limited to Chapter 5 of Grade Six General Science
Textbook for 2018-2019 Academic Year.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)107

2. Methods
A quantitative research method is used in order to compare students’ achievement
between two groups: control group and experimental group.
The instrument used in this study was a posttest. The posttest items were based on
Chapter 5 from Grade Six General Science Textbook. After getting validation from experts,
suitable refinement was made and in order to evaluate the feasibility of the instruments for the
study, pilot experiment was conducted at No.4 B.E.H.S Sanchaung, Yangon. After pilot testing,the test items of posttest were analyzed by SPSS. Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient was (.718).
The main study was conducted in BEHS Pale and BEHS (Branch) Tanae in Pale
Township, Sagaing Region. Sample size was 120 Grade Six students of selected schools within
2018-2019 Academic Year and each group consisted of 30 students. In each school, the control
group was taught by formal teaching method and the experimental group was taught by guided
discovery method. The treatment period was two weeks. At the end of treatment period, bothgroups had to sit for posttest.

3. Results and Discussion
Table 1 t-values for Overall Posttest Scores
Sig.
School

Group

N

M

SD

MD

t

df
(2 tailed)

Experimental

30

17.20

3.428

Control

30

13.50

4.158

Experimental

30

17.33

2.820

Control

30

14.70

2.744

Control

60

14.10

3.545

BEHS 1

BEHS 2

3.70

3.760

58

.001***

2.63

3.666

58

.01**

Note: **p<.01, ***p ≤ .001 BEHS 1 = BEHS Pale, BEHS 2 = BEHS (Branch) Tanae

According to the results, the mean scores of the experimental groups were significantly
higher than that of the control groups in each school. Thus, it showed that teaching by guided
discovery method had significant effect on science achievement.

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Table 2 t-values for Posttest Scores on Remember Level Questions
Sig.
School

Group

N

M

SD

MD

t

df
(2 tailed)

Experimental

30

6.97

1.974

Control

30

5.53

1.907

Experimental

30

6.37

1.697

Control

30

6.47

1.426

Control

60

5.95

1.721

BEHS 1

BEHS 2

1.44

2.861

58

.006**

.10

.247

58

.806(n.s)Note: *p<.05, **p<.01, n.s = not significant

Results showed that the mean score of the experimental group of BEHS 1 wassignificantly higher than that of the control group in remember level scores but not in BEHS 2.
Table 3 t-values for Posttest Scores on Understand Level Questions
Sig.
School

Group

N

M

SD

MD

t

df
(2 tailed)

BEHS 1

BEHS 2

Experimental

30

5.50

1.208

Control

30

4.77

1.775

Experimental

30

6.30

1.236

Control

30

4.57

1.305

0.73

2.381

58

.021*

1.73

5.283

58

.000***

Note: ***p < .001, *p<.05

As regards with understand level scores, the mean scores of the experimental groups weresignificantly higher than that of the control groups in each school. It showed that there was asignificant difference between the experimental groups and the control groups for scores onunderstand level questions.
Table 4 t-values for Posttest Scores on Apply Level Questions
SchoolBEHS 1

BEHS 2

Group

N

M

SD

Experimental

30

4.53

1.548

Control

30

3.20

1.584

Experimental

30

4.57

1.251

Control

30

3.77

1.073

Control

60

3.48

1.372

Sig.

MD

t

df

1.33

3.297

58

.002**

.80

2.659

58

.010*

(2 tailed)

Note: ***p <.001, **p<.01, *p<.05

According to the result, the mean scores of the experimental groups were significantly higher
than that of the control groups in each school. It showed that there was a significant difference19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)109

between the scores of experimental groups and control groups in answering apply level
questions.
Therefore, it can be interpreted that guided discovery method has positively contributed
to the ‘remember, understand and apply’ levels of the teaching science.
According to the result of this study, there was a significant difference between the
posttest scores of the two groups in all schools. Thus, it showed that teaching by guided
discovery method had significant effects on science achievement scores of the students. Hence,
guided discovery method can contribute to the improvement of students’ achievement in teachingscience. This result is consistent with the finding of Akani (2017) [5] who investigated the use of
guided discovery method to improve achievement of the secondary level students in teachingchemistry.
From the result of the posttest scores on remember level questions, there was no
significant difference between the mean scores of experimental group and control group in BEHS
2. It pointed out that formal teaching method was not very much different from guided discovery
method at remember level in certain conditions. However, mean score of the experimental groupwas significantly higher than that of the control group in BEHS (1). This result is consistent withthe finding of Bamiro (2015) [6] who investigated the effects of three strategies (guided
discovery, think-pair-share, and lecture) on secondary school students’ achievement in chemistry.
Besides, the comparison of mean scores on understanding level questions indicated that
there were significant differences between the means of the two groups in each school. Thisfinding affirmed that there were significant differences between the performance of theexperimental groups and the control groups on understand level questions. It pointed out thatguided discovery method can enhance students’ understanding in teaching science than theformal teaching method. This result is in line with Okwute (2015) [7] who indicated that students
from guided discovery group were able to achieve greater understanding than those who weren’t
and built their understanding of new concepts rather than merely absorbing information.
Moreover, the results for apply level revealed that there were significant differences
between the means of the two groups in each school. This proved that there were significant
differences between the results of the experimental groups and the control groups on apply level
questions. It can also be concluded that guided discovery method had more effect on applying
what the students had learned. This is similar to the result of Herlily, Anhar, Ahda and Sumarmin(2013) [8] who studied guided discovery method to enhance student achievement in science.
3.1 Suggestions
With respect to the research findings, the following facts were suggested.
The teachers should plan the activities to engage all the students in the activities.
The teachers should have a firm knowledge base about the uses of this method.
During the activity, the teacher should monitor the students and use the leading questionsin asking the students because they are very important for the students to discover theconcepts.
The teachers should use guided discovery method in teaching learning process as aneffective method in their classroom teaching.

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4. Recommendations and Conclusion
4.1 Recommendations


There were some limitations in this study such as time duration, and content area. The
results were not representative for the whole content area of Grade Six General Science
because only one content area was studied. Therefore, further studies should be extended
with a large number of contents and enough time duration for reliable results.



Although this research was concerned with science teaching, it can be applied into othersubject matter contexts and the various school levels. To be more reliable, the similar
research should be conducted on other States and Regions.



Finally, the teachers and students’ attitudes towards the use of guided discovery method inteaching science or other subjects at different school levels should be explored because
the teachers and students are very crucial in teaching learning process.

4.2 Conclusions
This study revealed the effect of guided discovery method in teaching science at the
middle school level. The sample size was 120 Grade Six students within (2018-2019) academic
year from two Basic Education High Schools, Pale Township, Sagaing Region.
The instrument used in this study was a posttest. The mean scores of the two groups werecompared by using the independent samples t-test. In each school, the control group was taught
by formal teaching method and the experimental group was taught by guided discovery method.
It took two weeks for the treatment. After the treatment, both groups received a posttest.
According to the quantitative results of the research, the conclusions were as follows.
1. There was a significant difference between posttest scores of experimental group andcontrol group.
2. There was a significant difference between posttest scores of experimental group andcontrol group in answering remember level questions.
3. There was a significant difference between posttest scores of experimental group andcontrol group in answering understand level questions.
4. There was a significant difference between posttest scores of the experimental group andcontrol group in answering apply level questions.
To sum up, the results of students’ performance with guided discovery method did better
than those with formal teaching method. Therefore, guided discovery method should be used inteaching science in order to facilitate the teaching learning process and to improve the quality ofeducation system.

Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to Dr. Aye Aye Myint (Retired Rector, Yangon University of Education), Dr. Pyone
Pyone Aung (Pro-Rector, Yangon University of Education) and Dr. Kay Thwe Hlaing (Pro-Rector, Yangon
University of Education) for their permission and great compassion throughout the study.

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References[1] Yasemin Godek, “The development of science education in countries”, Kirsehir Education Faculty, 2004,
vol.5(1),pp 1-9.
[2] Donal Cruickshank, Deborah Bainer, “The Act of Teaching: Decisions, Plans, Methods”, Macmillan Publishing
Company, 1990.
[3] Ida Zahara , “ The effectiveness of using guided discovery in teaching reading comprehension”, Pendidikan Dan
Pengajaran, 2017, vol. 4(2). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324182378[4] Carin, A. A., & Sund, R. B., “Teaching Modern Science”, Merrill Publishing Company, 1989.
[5] Omiko Akani, “ Effect of guided discovery method of instruction and students’ achievement in chemistry at thesecondary school level in Nigeria”, Scientific Research and Education, 2017, vol. 5(2), 2321-7545.
doi.org/10.18535/ ijsre/ v5 i02.06.
[6] Adekunle Oladipupo Bamiro, “Effect of guided discovery and think-pair-share strategies on secondary school
students’ achievement in chemistry”, 2015, doi:10.1177/2158244014564754.
[7] Andrew Ojoka Okwute, “Effect of guided discovery method on mathematics performance of low and highaverted secondary school students in Fct Abuja, Nigeria”, Unpublished M.Ed. degree thesis,
Department of Science Education, Ahmadu Bello University, 2015.
[8] Vera Herlily, Azwir Anhar, Yuni Ahda, Ramadhan Sumarmin , “Application of learning guided discovery with
scientific approach to enhance learning competency science seventh grade students”, Sciences andHigh Technologies, 2013, vol. 6(2), pp 499-505.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

A Study of Pre-service and In-service Teachers’ Perceptions on
Co-curriculum Activities
Soe Soe Thein1
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions on
Co-curriculum activities. In terms of geographical area, this study was restricted to Mandalay
Region. Participants involved in this research were (322) primary and junior teachers in
Aungmyaytharsan Township and (340) pre-service teachers in Mandalay and Meikhtila Education
Colleges. A quantitative research method was used. A questionnaire was constructed based on
Kebede (2015) and Kisango (2016). The questionnaire included (40) items on a five point Likert
scale. The independent samples t test was used to examine whether there were differences in preservice and in-service teachers’ perceptions on co-curriculum activities in terms of funding of cocurriculum activities, organization and nature of co-curriculum activities, participation of cocurriculum activities, promoting quality education, factors affecting on co-curriculum activities,
managing and encouraging of co-curriculum activities and teachers’ role in co-curriculum
activities. The results showed that there were significant differences in funding, organization andnature, participation, factors affecting, managing and encouraging and teachers’ role in cocurriculum activities except promoting quality education between pre-service and in-service
teachers’ perceptions on co-curriculum activities. To sum up, it can be concluded that pre-service
teachers have more positive perception than in-service teachers on co-curriculum activities.
Keywords: co-curriculum activity, perception, pre-service teacher, in-service teacher

1. Introduction
Education aims at the wholesome development of children. To become the wholesome
development of children, they need to gain value education in several ways. To gain the value
education, varieties of educative experiences are to be provided in the school programs which
may contribute to a long, happy and normal life of the child. In this regard, educational
experiences should not only be limited to formal knowledge to help him develop intellectuallyand mentally but also experiences for his social and physical development (Winston, 2008, citedin Mokohen, 2015). This value education can be inculcated through curriculum and cocurriculum activities.
Co-curriculum activities are aimed at providing students with the knowledge and skills
required to become holistic students with superior personal characteristics, such as high selfesteem, innovativeness, creativity, productivity, competitiveness and resilience, to face thecurrent phase of globalization, which is becoming more challenging. Co-curriculum activities are
essential part of curriculum. These activities are important for the harmonious development of
the personality. Co-curriculum activities facilitate all round development of children in various
domains of mind and personality such as intellectual development, emotional development,social development, moral development and aesthetic development. Creativity, enthusiasm, andenergetic, positive thinking are some of the facts of personality development and the outcomes of
co-curriculum activities (Mohamad, 2006, cited in Mokohen, 2015).

1

Dr. Lecturer, Department of Methodology, Sagaing University of Education, Myanmar, soesoe.sioe@gmail.com,
09256120622

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Most schools did not give due attention to co-curriculum activities and co-curriculum
activities management were not properly provided by most schools. As a result, students are notbenefiting from the total educational aim due to lack of the part of education, co-curriculum
activities (Abdulkadir, 2011, cited in Mokohen, 2015). Many teachers and even principals do
not realize that they must carry out co-curriculum activities like implementing the academic
curriculum in the classroom. In fact, the academic curriculum and co-curriculum activities are
related and are supportive of each other. School curriculum emphasizes on the cognitive
characteristics while the co-curriculum activities focuses more on acquiring affective andpsychomotor skills. Thus, the importance of co-curriculum activities is equivalent to theimportance of the academic curriculum. To implement the national education policy, emphasis is
not only given to academic curriculum development but the areas of co-curricular development
also should be given equal emphasis (Ahmad, 2008, cited in Dhanmeher, 2014).
Students also realize the importance of developing overall competences by joining cocurriculum activities and working collaboratively with their peers on academic work in order togain hands-on experience (Fung, 2007, cited in Mokohen, 2015). Numerous researches wereconducted to investigate this relationship and found that co-curriculum activities were positively
correlated with academic performance. Co-curriculum activities are a very important element inteacher training which can be applied in schools where educators and students can identify andapply the theories learned (Mclnnis, Craing, Hartley & Robyn, 2002). All teachers (prospective
teachers and trained teachers) should be equipped with knowledge and skill related to cocurriculum activities so that they are capable in the context of national education producing
capable individuals. To attain the education goals and all-round development of students, cocurriculum activities are of paramount importance and these activities must be implemented
effectively. Therefore, a research needed to study the perceptions of pre-service and in-service
teachers’ perceptions on co-curriculum activities.

2. Method
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the pre-service and in-service teachers’
perceptions on co-curriculum activities. In this study, a quantitative research method was used
and the participants were in total (340) pre-service teachers attending in Mandalay and Meikhtila
Education Colleges and in total (322) in-service teachers (primary and junior) working in
Aungmyaytharsan Township, Mandalay Region. As an instrument, a questionnaire for preservice and in-service teachers’ perceptions on co-curricular activities based on Mokohen (2015)
and Kisango (2016) was constructed. It was composed of seven dimensions: funding of cocurriculum activities; organization and nature of co-curriculum activities; participation of cocurriculum activities; promoting quality education; the factors affecting on co-curriculum
activities; managing and encouraging on co-curriculum activities and teacher’s role in cocurriculum activities. The questionnaire consisted of (40) items on a five-point Likert scales.
Simple positive items included. Then expert view and pilot study conducted. Internalconsistencies of these scales for this study were (0.876) and (0.91) respectively. After pilot test,
the major survey was conducted. Then obtained data were analyzed by using Descriptive
statistics and independent samples t test.

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3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Findings of Pre-service and In-service Teachers’ Perceptions on Co-curricular Activities
In order to investigate the pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions on cocurriculum activities, independent samples t test was used.
Table1. t Value of Pre-service Teachers and In-service Teachers’ Perceptions on Co-curriculum
Activities
Type of Teacher

N

M

SD

Pre-service Teacher

340

152.1413.98

In-service Teacher

322

148.33

11.72

t

df

p

-3.787660.000***

Note. ***p <.001
According to the Table 1, the result of t value showed that there was a significant
difference between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions on co-curriculum activities at.001 level (p<.001). This means that pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions differ on cocurriculum activities. Based on the result of means, Figure 1 was illustrated.

Meam

120

148.33140

152.14160

100
Pre-service Teacher

80

In-service Teacher

60
40
20
0
Pre-service Teacher
In-service Teacher
Typer of Teacher

Figure 1.Means Comparison of pre-service and In-service Teachers’ perceptions on Co-curriculum Activities

3.2 Findings of Pre-service and In-service Teachers’ Perceptions on Co-curriculum
Activities in Terms of Dimension
In the study, seven dimensions of co-curriculum activities were used to explore thedifferences in pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions on co-curriculum activities. Dataobtained were analyzed by independent samples t test.

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Table2. t Value of Pre-service and In-service Teachers’ Perceptions on Co-curriculum Activities
in terms of Dimension
Dimension

Type of Teacher

N

M

SD

Pre-service

340

19.31

2.87

Funding
In-Service

322

18.22

2.21

Pre-service

340

20.48

2.00

In-Service

322

19.87

1.77

Pre-service

340

19.76

3.12

In-Service

322

19.05

2.15

Pre-service

340

39.98

4.71

In-Service

322

39.45

3.39

Factors
Affecting

Pre-service

340

15.74

2.87

In-Service

322

14.81

2.84

Managing andEncouraging

Pre-service

340

19.61

2.52

Organization
and NatureParticipation
Promoting
Quality
Education

Teachers’ Role

In-Service

322

18.78

2.85

Pre-service

340

18.20

2.38

In-Service

322

17.21

2.21

t

df

p

-5.463660.000***-3.331

660.001**-3.361

660.001**-1.642660.101-3.773660.000***-3.958660.000***-5.509660.000***

Note. ***p<.001 **p<.01

In Table 2, the results of t value showed that there were significant differences in all
dimensions except promoting quality education between pre-service and in-service teachers’
perceptions on co-curriculum activities at .001 and .01 levels. In Education Colleges (ECs), cocurriculum activities are taught theoretically and practically according to the teachers’ manual by
educators of these subjects. In Basic Education High Schools (BEHSs), there are no co-curricularteachers particularly to teach and guide these activities. Teachers in BEHSs give more attention
to academic subjects and also teachers cannot link those activities to the teaching learning
process. Thus, students do not understand the benefits they can get from participating cocurriculum activities. Therefore, it was concluded that pre-service and in-service teachers’
perceptions on co-curriculum activities differed except promoting quality education. In otherwords, pre-service teachers have better perceptions than in-service teachers on co-curriculum
activities. Based on the result of means, Figure 2 was illustrated.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

39.98
39.45

117

40

18.20
17.21

19.61
18.78

15.74
14.81

20

19.76
19.05

25

19.31
18.22

Meam

30

20.48
19.87

35

Pre-Sevice
In-service

15
10
5
0
Funding

Organization Participation
and Nature

Promoting
Quality
Education

Factors
AffectingManaging
andEncouraging

Teachers’Role

Dimension
Figure2. Means Comparison of the of pre-service and In-service Teachers’ perceptions on Co-curriculum Activities in terms ofDimension.

However, there was a significant difference in funding of co-curriculum activities
between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions. This means that there was less financial
support of co-curriculum activities allocated in BEHSs. School’s funding influences thedevelopment of students’ activities in co-curriculum activities.
Moreover, there was a significant difference in organization and nature of co-curriculum
activities between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions. Although the activities incontent of co-curriculum subjects and other co-curriculum activities are organized systematicallyin Education Colleges (ECs) and Basic Education High Schools (BEHSs), it was assumed that
there is a weak in the implementation of co-curriculum activities at Basic Education HighSchools (BEHSs).
Besides, there was a significant difference in the participation of co-curriculum activities
between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions. Almost all students should participate
actively in at least one club (Education Bureau, 1993). In ECs, all pre-service teachers have toparticipate in all the co-curriculum activities supervised by respective departments of the cocurriculum subjects actively. In BEHSs, most of the teachers have less competence in theactivities of co-curriculum subjects. So, they cannot participate in performing co-curriculum
activities. Besides, there is a lack of facilities like sport fields, working classes in the schools for
co-curriculum activities.
But there was no significant difference in promoting quality education between preservice and in-service teachers’ perceptions. Co-curriculum activities promote equality education
by:





Supporting to increase academic achievement of students.
Engaging with lessons like leadership, teamwork, organization, analytical, thinking,problem solving, time management, learning to juggle many tasks at once and it allows
them to discover their talents.
Making students’ forecast their destiny in their later occupation (Mokohen, 2015).

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According to the response rates, all teachers (pre service and teachers and in service
teachers) know well the importance of co-curriculum activities in quality education.
Moreover, there was a significant difference in the factors affecting on co-curriculum
activities between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions. It can be concluded that inservice teachers have low interest towards co-curriculum activities and due to high teaching loadand other duties of the teachers.
Besides, there was significant difference in managing and encouraging of co-curriculum
activities between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions. The effectiveness of cocurriculum activities depends on effective management system. In BEHSs, it was assumed thatmanaging and encouraging of co-curriculum activities are weak.
According to the result of the findings, there was a significant difference in teachers’ roleon co-curriculum activities between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions. The role ofthe mentor teachers also influenced the participation and involvement of the students in theactivities designed and implemented. In-service teachers have less awareness in building thestudents’ self-confidence and interacting with students not only in the classroom but after theschool and cultivating students’ ability to meet school standards. Besides in BEHSs, It isnecessary to have teachers particularly specialized in co-curriculum subjects. Teachers need to beskillful in the activities of co-curriculum subjects so that they can carry out different cocurriculum activities systematically throughout the year. Thus, pre-service and in-service
teachers’ perceptions differ and pre-service teachers have more positive perception than inservice teachers in BEHSs on co-curriculum activities.

4. Conclusion
Based on the results of data analysis, the study can be concluded that there weresignificant differences in funding of co-curriculum activities, organization and nature of cocurriculum activities, participation of co-curriculum activities, factors affecting on co-curriculum
activities, managing and encouraging of co-curriculum activities, teachers’ roles in co-curriculum
activities between pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions. The overall goal of education
is not only academic achievement but also the development of students mentally, physically,
psychologically, emotionally and socially. It is sure that there is no quality education without
having co-curriculum activities. Thus, in ECs, co-curriculum activities are being prepared to
implement them in BEHSs. Although co-curriculum activities are organized systematically, it
will not be implementation of co-curriculum activities if teachers do not perform these activities
in practice. In BEHSs, therefore, every students should be supplied the opportunities toparticipate in all the co-curriculum activities and teachers need to realized the benefits theirstudents can get from the participation of these activities. And, teachers can be planner, leader,organizer, manager, advisor, motivator, communicator or coordinator in co-curriculum activities.
Besides, teachers have to be experts in their roles. Therefore, this study will be fruitful toenhance the perception of pre-service and in-service teachers on co-curriculum activities. It isalso recommended for further research in order to fill up the research gaps on this study.

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Acknowledgements
We would like to express our sincere thanks to Dr. Saw Pyone Naing, Rector and Dr. Myat Myat Thaw,
Prorector, Sagaing University of Education for their kind permission to do this study. Our special thanks go to Dr.
Wai Wai Oo, Associate Professor, Head of Department, Department of Methodology, Sagaing University of
Education for her invaluable guidance, precious advice, kind support and encouragement throughout our study. We
are also grateful to all participants of respective teachers and headmasters for their cooperation in this study.

References[1] Kebede Mokohen. “Co-curricular activities as a means for sustaining quality education, Haramaya University”,
Haramaya, 2015. Retrieved from http://hulirs.haramaya.edu.et/bitstream/handle/123456789/
mekonen%20kebede/pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y[2] Bharati Rajendra Dhanmeher. “Impact of co-curricular activities on the non-academic development of juniorcollege students”, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.dypatil.edu/schools/management/wpcontent/uploads/...
[3] Mclnnis, Craing, Hartley & Robyn. “Managing study and work. The impact of full-time study and paid work on
the undergraduate experience in Australian Universities”, 2002. Retrieved fromhttp://hdl.voced,edu.acc/10707/85879[4] Benard Kisango. “Factors influencing students’ participation in co-curricular activities in public secondary
schools”, University of Nairobi, 2016. Retrieved from http://erepository.uombi.ac.ke..8080/
bitstream/handle/11295/99137/...
[5] Education Bureau. “Guidelines on extra-curricular activities in schools”, 1993. Retrieved fromwww.yll.edu.hk>PDF>Gui

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Relationship Between Achievement Goal Orientation and Approaches toLearning: A Study on Student Teachers in Sagaing District
Yar Zar Chit1, Zaw Zaw Min2
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between achievement goal orientation and approaches tolearning. 592 student teachers from education institutions in Sagaing District were selected as
participants by using simple random sampling technique. Descriptive research design and survey
method were used. As the instruments, Achievement Goal Orientation Questionnaire by Midgley
et al. (1998) and Approaches to Learning Inventory by Entwistle, Tait, & McCune (2000) wereapplied. According to the results, it was found that there were no significant differences in not
only overall but also subscales of achievement goal orientation by gender. However, first year
students were significantly higher than second year students in achievement goal orientation. The
result also indicated that male students were significantly higher than female in surface approach.
Moreover, first year students were significantly higher than second year students in approaches tolearning. Besides, there was a moderate correlation between achievement goal orientation andapproaches to learning. It was also found that mastery goal, performance approach goal andperformance avoidance goal are the best predictors for approaches to learning. Finally, this study
hopes to be able to give ideas how to promote student teachers’ lifelong learning by proper
approaches to learning and achievement goal orientations.
Keywords: achievement goal orientation, learning, approaches to learning

1.

Introduction

The efforts to develop new generation will not be achieved without good education. The
objective of education in general and at tertiary level in particular is to enable students become
agents of national development. Therefore, the prediction and explanation of college students’
academic success is an important area of research in education. This is because students who
underperform, fail or drop out waste their own time, resources, and often become demoralized.
Although academic achievement is often associated with factors such as teachers, parents
and school environments, aspects of intellectual and nonintellectual conditions of the students
may also affect academic achievement [1]. Among these, achievement goal orientations andapproaches to learning of students’ may facilitate or hinder learner’s academic achievement.
Researchers agree that goal orientation shapes how students approach and react toachievement situations [2].As to achievement goal theory, one among social cognitive motivation
theories, students in learning environments adopt different achievement goal orientations. Goals
provide a framework within which individuals interpret and react to events [3]. This theory posits
that students differ from each other in the purpose of their achievement behavior and that thesedifferences are associated with distinctive emotional, motivational, cognitive, and behavioral
outcomes (e.g., Covington, 2000 [4]; Elliot, 2005 [5]; Pint rich, 2000 [6]).
1

Dr. Assistant Lecturer, Department of Educational Psychology, Sagaing University of Education, Myanmar,+95797117913, yarzar02@gmail.com
2
Senior Teacher, BEHS-2 (Sagaing)

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Another area of higher education which requires attention is the approaches to learning ofstudents. How a learner approaches a learning task is dependent upon both the personality andthe setting in which the learning takes place [7]. Approaches to learning refer to “the learners’
different ways of relating to the learning task- how and why a learner learns”. The ‘how’ are thestrategies devised by the learner to solve the problems defined by their motives (the why oflearning).
Teacher education institutions in Myanmar are expected to train teachers who are capableof achieving the intended educational goals of the region in particular and the country in general.
To achieve this, it is necessary to investigate different variables which may affect the students’success in their college education. Thus, this study mainly focuses on investigating therelationship between students’ achievement goal orientation and approaches to learning among
student teachers from education institutions in Sagaing district.

Aim of the Study
The main aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between achievement goal
orientation and approaches to learning among student teachers from education institutions in
Sagaing District. The specific objectives are as follows.
1. To find out the achievement goal orientations and approaches to learning of student
teachers
2. To explore the relationship between achievement goal orientation and approaches tolearning of student teachers
3. To examine achievement goal orientation factors as the best predictors for each approachto learning
2. Methods
Sampling
Firstly, in order to complete this study, student teachers from Education Institutions in
Sagaing District who were studying in the academic year of 2017-2018 were sorted out as themain population. Total numbers of the sample were 592 student teachers from Sagaing Education
College (190), University for the Development of National Races (200) and Sagaing Universityof Education (202) by using simple random sampling technique.
Research Method
The quantitative approach of survey method and descriptive research design were used inthis study.
Instruments
The researcher used two questionnaires in order to obtain information from the sample ofthe study concerning students’ achievement goal orientations and approaches to learning.
Achievement goals were measured using Achievement Goal Questionnaire that assesses a three
dimensional conceptualization of achievement goals, which includes mastery, performance
approach, and performance-avoidance. This scale was developed over a period of eight years bya group of researchers at the University of Michigan (Midgley et al., 1998) [8]. Totally, it has 18

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19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

items with five scale points that ranges from 5 (agree) to 1 (disagree). The reliability of the wholescale was α = 0.802 and that of each subscale was found as follows: mastery (α =.716);
performance approach (α = .746); and performance avoidance (α =.715).
The Approaches to Learning Inventory was adapted from Entwistle, Tait, & McCune(2000) [9]. This instrument has 52-items which are intended to measure the three approaches tolearning: deep, strategic, and surface learning approaches. It has a 5-point Likert-type scale,ranging from 1 (disagree) to 5 (agree). Based on the pilot study, 45 items, fifteen for each sub
scale were selected. The reliability of the whole scale was α = 0.70 and that of each sub scales
was found as follows: Deep (α = .715), strategic (α =.728) and surface (α =.720).
3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Descriptive Statistics for Students’ Achievement Goal Orientation
According to Table 1, among achievement goal orientations, mean value of “mastery goal
orientation” is highest ( =23.86) and that of “performance avoidance goal orientation” is lowest( =19.41). Therefore, it can be concluded that student teachers commonly try hard in theirlessons to be mastered. However, they seldom study their lessons to avoid failure. Moreover,since the sample mean of the overall achievement goal orientation is 65.54, it is greater thantheoretical mean (54). Therefore, it can be said that student teachers always set any goal and they
intentionally try hard in their learning.
Table 1 Descriptive Statistics for Students’ Achievement Goal Orientation
Mean

Std. Deviation

Mastery Goal Orientation

23.86

3.183

Performance Approach Goal Orientation

22.27

4.292

Performance Avoidance Goal Orientation

19.41

3.993

Overall Achievement Goal Orientation

65.54

8.963

3.2 Descriptive Statistics for Students’ Approaches to Learning
In order to investigate students’ approaches to learning, statistical procedure was carriedout by using the received data from Students’ Approaches to Learning Inventory. The result was
shown in Table 2. Mean value of “strategic approach” is highest ( =59.73) and that of “surface
approach” is lowest ( =48.15). Therefore, it can be concluded that student teachers commonly
learn their lessons by systematic ways. They generally make good use of their time during the
day and usually plan out their week's works in advance. However, they tend to read very little
beyond what is actually required to pass. In other words, their learning is just surface learning.
Moreover, since the sample mean of the overall approaches to learning is 166.25, it is greaterthan theoretical mean (135). Therefore, it can be said that student teachers always use any
approach to learn their lessons.

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19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics for Students’ Approaches to LearningN

Mean

Std. Deviation

Deep Approach

592

58.38

5.612

Strategic Approach

592

59.73

6.641

Surface Approach

592

48.15

6.735

Overall Approaches to Learning592

166.2514.124The Relationship between Achievement Goal Orientation and Approaches to Learning
To investigate the relationship between achievement goal orientation and approaches tolearning, the Pearson Product Moment Correlation coefficient was initially calculated. Theintercorrelation was reported in Table 3.
Table 3 Intercorrelation Results Between Achievement Goal Orientation and Approaches toLearning
Deep Approach

Strategic
Approach

Surface
Approach

Overall Approaches
to Learning

Mastery Goal

.635**.650**.053.583**

Performance Approach Goal

.341**.407**.246**.444**

Performance AvoidanceGoal.256**.250**.419**.419**Overall Achievement Goal
Orientation.503**.537**.323**.607****. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)

Table 3 indicated that there was a significant moderate correlation between achievement
goal orientation and their approaches to learning (r= .607, p<0.01). Therefore, it can be said thatstudents who have high achievement goal orientation will obtain better their approaches tolearning. Moreover, all subscales of achievement goal orientation were significantly positive
intercorrelated with the subscales of approaches to learning at 0.01 level. However, there was no
significant correlation between mastery goal orientation and surface approach.
3.4 Regression Analysis Results of Achievement Goal Orientation on Approaches toLearning
In order to investigate how well students’ achievement goal orientation (AGO) predictedon their approaches to learning (AL), a linear regression was computed. The results were
statistically significant F (1, 590) = 343.447. The adjusted R squared value was .367. The result
indicated that 36.7% of the students’ approaches to learning can be predicted from achievement
goal orientation. Therefore, it can be concluded the higher achievement goal orientation, thebetter approaches to learning they will get.

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Table 4. Results of Linear Regression Analysis of Achievement Goal Orientation as Predictor of
Approaches to Learning
Unstandardized
Coefficients

Model

B
(Constant)Standardized
Coefficients

Std. Error

103.61

3.412

.956

.052

Achievement
Goal Orientation

t

Sig.

30.370.000

18.532

.000

Beta

.607

Dependent Variable: Approaches to Learning
According to Table 4, the resultant model of linear regression expressing the relationshipbetween achievement goal orientation and approaches to learning was presented in the following
equation.
AL = 103.61+0.956AGO

AL = Approaches to Learning
AGO = Achievement Goal Orientation
Table5. Standardized Regression Coefficients (β) of Achievement Goal Orientation Factors on
Each Approach to Learning
Predictors

Approaches to Learning
Deep

Strategic

Surface

Mastery Goal Orientation

0.590**

0.580**-0.079Performance Approach Goal
Orientation

0.071

0.170**

0.016

Performance Avoidance Goal
Orientation

0.063

0.007

0.407**

Adjusted R2

0.413

0.446

0.177

Note: **p<0.001.

Then and there, in order to find out the best orientation predictors for each approach tolearning, multiple linear regression analysis was conducted. The results and standardized betacoefficients are described in Table 5. The R2 values suggested that 41.3% of the variability indeep approach, 44.6% of the variability in strategic approach and 17.7% of the variability insurface approach can be explained by the three achievement goal orientations.
Specifically, the results of the regression advocated that among the three achievement
goal orientations, only mastery goal orientation can significantly predict student teachers’ deeplearning. However, it was found that mastery and performance approach goal orientations are thebest predictors for strategic learning and only performance avoidance goal orientation is the best
predictor for surface learning.

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4.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

Conclusion

First of all, according to the result of the descriptive statistics, it can be concluded thatstudents' overall achievement goal orientation scores were good enough and satisfactory in thisstudy. Moreover, it can also be said that students' overall approaches to learning scores were goodenough in this study.
In the correlation matrix, there was significant moderate correlation between achievement
goal orientation and their approaches to learning (r= .607, p<0.01). Moreover, mastery goal,
performance approach goal and performance avoidance goal are best predictors for approaches tolearning. Therefore, it can be said that students who have high achievement goal orientation will
use better approaches to learning. It is consistent with the results of Shih (2005) [10] and Geta
(2012) [11]. They found that there was positive correlation between achievement goal orientation
and approaches to learning.
According to the results of this study, it is obvious that the students’ achievement goal
orientation largely depends on their approaches to learning. For this reason, the following
suggestions and recommendations would like to be conveyed to students and teachers for the
improvement of learning.
 Early identification of students’ goal orientation type is important to develop the desiredgoal Student teachers are needed to be equipped with study skills to organize their study more
effectively and to understand their learning materials at a deeper level.
 Teacher educators should help their students desire to be mastered and to perform inlearning so that their learning becomes deep and strategic.
 Teachers should improve the students learning by employing active learning methods,
using assessment techniques that place more emphasis on understanding of the subject
and avoiding inappropriate workload on learners.
To sum up, in order to upgrade education system, the teachers’ qualities are needed to be
improved. Therefore, they should be well trained since their student teacher life. Only if they
have well constructive motivation to achieve, their learning will be more effective and successful.
Therefore, this study highlighted student teachers’ approaches to learning in keeping with theirachievement goal orientations. Therefore, it is hoped that these valuable results can be any help
and support for Myanmar teacher education sector.

Acknowledgements
Our deepest appreciation goes to Dr. Saw Pyone Naing (Rector, Sagaing University of Education), and Dr.
Myat Myat Thaw (Pro-rector, Sagaing University of Education) for their support to do this research in education
institutions from Sagaing District.
In particular, we would like to express our heartfelt indebtedness to Dr. Khin Hnin Nwe (Associate
Professor and Head, Department of Educational Psychology, Sagaing University of Education) for her
encouragement to do this paper.
We are especially grateful to student teachers from three institutions of education in Sagaing District, fortheir willingness to openly share their time and experiences.

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19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

References[1] B. L. Erickson, C. B. Peters, D. W. Strommer, “Teaching first-year college students: Revised and expanded
edition of teaching college freshmen”, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006.
[2] C. Ames, “Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation”, 1992, Journal of Educational Psychology, vol.
84, pp. 261-271.
[3] C. S. Dweck, Leggett, E. L, “A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality”, 1988, Psychological
Review, vol. 95(2), pp. 256-273.
[4] M. V. Covington, “Goal theory, motivation, and school achievement: An integrative review”, 2000, Annual
Review of Psychology, vol. 51, pp. 171–200.
[5] A. J. Elliot, “A conceptual history of the achievement goal construct”, In A. J. Elliot, and C. S. Dweck (eds.),
Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 52-72), New York: The Guilford Press, 2005.
[6] P. R. Pintrich, “An achievement goal theory perspective on issues in motivation terminology, theory, andresearch”, 2000, Contemporary Educational Psychology, vol. 25, pp. 92–104.
[7] N. Entwistle, P. Ramsden, “Understanding student learning”, New York: Nichols, 1983.
[8] C. Midgley, A. Kaplan, M. Middleton, M. Maehr, T. Urdan, L. Anderman, E. Anderman, R. Roeser, “Thedevelopment and validation of scales assessing students’ achievement goal orientations”, 1998,
Contemporary Educational Psychology, vol. 23, pp. 113–131.
[9] N. Entwistle, H. Tait, V. McCune, “Patterns of response to approaches to studying inventory across contrastinggroups and contexts”, 2000, European Journal of Psychology of Education, vol. 15, pp. 33-48.
[10] S. S. Shih, “Taiwanese sixth graders’ achievement goals and their motivation, strategy use, and grades: An
examination of the multiple goal perspective”. 2005, The Elementary School Journal, vol. 106(1),pp. 39-58.
[11] Mohammed Geta, “An investigation on the relationship between achievement goal orientation, approaches tolearning and academic achievement of college students: the case of Bonga college of teacher
education”, Unpublished master’s thesis. Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2012.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

The Sociolinguistics Study of Myanmar Syntax Error fromCurrent Myanmar Journals
Mon Mon Aung1

Abstract
This paper deals with the sociolinguistic study of common Myanmar syntax errors in current
Myanmar journals. The aim of this paper is to find out how Myanmar syntax errors relate to
Myanmar syntax standards. The standards of Myanmar language were considered in 1947,1974
and 2008. A syntax error is an error in the grammar of a sentence that goes against this grammar.
This paper studies Myanmar language journals published between 2016 and 2018 in the Union of
Myanmar. Sociolinguistics is a branch of linguistics which studies all aspects of the relationshipbetween language and society. The research questions are (1) how do we solve the Myanmar
syntax error? And (2) Which effect can influence of Myanmar syntax error in Myanmar social
media? This paper is focused on sociolinguistics as a descriptive method.
Key Words: Myanmar syntax, Myanmar syntax error, Myanmar Journals, Language and Society.

1. Introduction
This paper will present the sociolinguistics of Myanmar syntax errors in current Myanmar
journals. It has two parts, firstly sociolinguistics and the role of sentence in Myanmar language
and then secondly, the analysis of syntax error of current Myanmar Journals. In this paper, theerrors are take it from Journals published 2016 to 2018 in the Union of Myanmar.
Aim
The aim of this paper is to find out how Myanmar syntax errors relate to Myanmar syntax
standards.

Research Problem and Research Design
Myanmar language is the national language of Myanmar, spoken and written also by
Myanmar many ethnic minorities. 1947 Constitution Article 216 described Myanmar language
must be an official language. In Article 152(B) of a law passed in 1974 Constitution, it isdescribed Myanmar language should be considered a public language. In Article 450 of a law
passed in 2008 Constitution, it is described how the Myanmar language must be treated as theofficial national language of Myanmar. So, Myanmar language is a standard language. Although
it is standard language, the syntax error can be found in some current Myanmar Journals.
The research questions are(1) How do we solve the Myanmar syntax error?
(2) Which effect can influence of Myanmar syntax error in Myanmar social media.
This paper is focused by descriptive method of Sociolinguistics.
1

Dr. Professor, Department of Myanmar, University of Dawei, Union of Myanmar

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

130

Hypothesis
If the positions of phrase will correct place, Myanmar sentence will be corrected andevery Myanmar can easily read the correct meaning in social life.

2. Sociolinguistics and The role of Sentence in Myanmar language
This paper will be solved by Descriptive Research Method from the aspect ofSociolinguistics.
Sociolinguistics is a branch of linguistics which studies all aspects of therelationship between language and society.1
In Linguistics terms and Concepts,
Sociolinguistics, or the study of Language in relation to society, is a relative
newcomer to the linguistic fold. It was not until the early 1960s, largely as a resultof William Labov’s work in America, and Peter Trudgill’s in Britain, that it
developed into a recognized branch of Linguistics.2
According to this point, Sociolinguistics is the study of the relationship between
Language and its society.
In sociolinguistics, it has language functions.
It has been pointed out that apart from conveying information from one person toanother, language may be used to express emotions from one person to another,language may be used to express emotions and to direct the activities of otherpeople.3
Language has its functions in sociolinguistics. C- Criper and H.G. Widdowson (1975)
distinguished seven factors of language functions. They are(1) Referential function(2) Expressive or emotive function(3) Directive function(4) Phatic or contact function(5) Contextual function(6) Metalinguistic function(7) Poetic function.4
This paper will be analyzed the Myanmar syntax error by seven language functions ofsociolinguistics.
The syntax is the grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence. The syntax error isan error in the syntax of a sequence of sentence.
1

Crystal,2003,422.
Finch,2000,193.
3
Criper&Widdowson, 1975,195.
4
Criper & Widdowson, 1975,195-197.
2

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)131

In that, sentence is defined as Myanmar Grammar Volume 3,
Sentence is a systematically arrangement of phrases to become a meaningful
sentence.1
In Oxford Dictionary
A sentence is a set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a
subject and predicate, conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command,and consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more subordinate clauses.2
According to the above points, Sentence is a set of words that is systematicallyarrangement to become a meaningful sentence. So, position of phrase is the impact of sentence.
In this case, the positions of phrase is impact of Myanmar grammar. So, the associationof Myanmar academy of Arts and science had described the meaning of the position of phrases.
(1) Position of Subject
The position of subject is a start of sentence or in front of the verb.3(2) Position of Adjective
The adjective with ‘thaw’ (aom) particle is in front of noun modifier.4(3) Position of Adverb
The position of adverb is in front of verb.5
The position of phrase is the impact of Myanmar sentence. If the position of phrase isright, the sentence will be right.

2.1 Literature Review
The research concerning with Myanmar syntax can be found in the Ph.D. Thesis of
Maung Ko Lay (2003) at University of Yangon, ‘Myanmar Grammar’. In that, he described
word, phrase, sub- sentence and Sentence classifying aspects of linguistics.
Besides, University of Yangon Ph.D. Thesis of Ma Choon Ma Ma (2006), ‘Sentence’s
meaning and context in Myanmar language’ showed Sentence’s meaning and context in
Myanmar language aspects of pragmatics.
Similarly, University of Yangon Ph.D. Thesis of Ma Moe Moe (2007), ‘The study of
Sentence’s meaning’ that is described the sentence’s meaning aspects of semantics andsociolinguistics.
The above researches can be found the study of Myanmar syntax aspects of linguistics,
semantics and sociolinguistics. But they did not analyze syntax error aspects of sociolinguistics.
So this paper will be fulfilled a part of this blank.

1
2
3

jrefrmpmtzGJU? 1988? 62/
Wehmeier,2000, 1165.

jrefrmpmtzGJU? 1992? 90/
jrefrmpmtzGJU? 1992? 93/
5 jrefrmpmtzGJU? 1992? 95/
4

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)132

3. Analysis of Myanmar Syntax error in current Myanmar Journals.
Some of the Myanmar current journal can be found syntax error. If the syntax is error, themeaning will be wrong.
(1) In the news of 7 Days news Journal1

a&S;a[mif;NrdKUawmf yk*Ha'oudk ,leufpudk\urÇmhtarGtESpfpm&if; 0ifEdkif? r0ifEdkif
tpD&ifcHpma&;&ef vma&mufppfaq;aom ynm&Sifupmar;yGJ atmif[kajymaMumif;
omoema&;ESifh ,Ofaus;rI0efBuD;Xme jynfaxmifpk0efBuD; ol&OD;atmifudku
pufwifbm 27 &ufwGif ajymMum;onf/
On 27th September, Thura U Aung Ko, the minister of Ministry of Religious
Affairs and Culture said that ‘the scholar who is writing the report and examine ofAncient Bagan city can involve or not in UNESCO’s heritage list told pass theexamination’.

vma&mufppfaq;aomynm&Sifu
Syntax error -tpD&ifcHpma&;&efGrammar classifier - Subject and Verbpmar;yGJatmif

Language function- Referential function, Emotive function, Contextual function,
Metalinguistic function
Correct syntax- ,leufpudk\urÇmhtarGtESpfpm&if;

0ifEdkif? r0ifEdkif tpD&ifcHpma&;&ef vma&muf
ppfaq;aom ynm&Sifu a&S;a[mif;NrdKUawmf yk*Ha'oudk pmar;yGJ atmifonf[kajymaMumif;omoema&;ESifh ,Ofaus;rI0efBuD;Xme jynfaxmifpk0efBuD; ol&
OD;atmifudku pufwifbm 27 &ufwGif ajymMum;onf/

On 27th September, Thura U Aung Ko, the minister of Ministry of
Religious Affairs and Culture said that ‘the scholar who is writing thereport and examine of Bagan can involve or not in UNESCO’s heritage
list told Ancient Bagan city is passed the examination’.
Analysisf
In the above case, Syntax error is ‘tpD&ifcHpma&;&ef vma&mufppfaq;aom ynm&Siu
pmar;yGJatmif} (the scholar who is writing the report and examine told pass the examination). So,
the reader can think this meaning is the scholar pass the examination. The correct sentence is ‘On
27th September, Thura U Aung Ko, the minister of Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture said
that ‘the scholar who is writing the report and examine of Bagan can involve or not in
UNESCO’s heritage list told Ancient Bagan city is passed the examination’. The omit object isa&S;a[mif;NrdKUawmf yk*Ha'oudk (Ancient Bagan city).

tpD&ifcHpma&;&efvma&mufppfaq;aom ynm&Sif (the scholar who is writing the reportand examine) and ,Ofaus;rI0efBuD;Xme jynfaxmifpk0efBuD; ol&OD;atmifudk (Thura U Aung Ko,
the minister of Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture) performed contextual function, it
described Ancient Bagan city is passed the examination, performed referential function, emotivefunction and metalinguistic function.
1

7 Day News Journal, (3.10.2018),11.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

133(2) In the news heading of 7 Days news Journal1&JrSL;csKyfig;OD; ae&mtajymif;ta&TUjyKvkyf
The five chief police officers do transfer.
Syntax error- &JrSL;csKyfig;OD;

Grammar classifier- Subject

Language function- Referential function, Emotive function, Directive function, Contextual
function
Correct syntax- &JrSL;csKyfig;OD;udk ae&mtajymif;ta&TUjyKvkyf
The five chief police officers are done transfer.
Analysis
In the above sentence, the error is the subject &JrSL;csKyfig;OD; (The five chief police
officers). So, it must be object &JrSL;csKyfig;OD;udk ae&mtajymif;ta&TUjyKvky(f The five chief police
officers are done transfer).
In that, &JrSL;csKyfig;OD; (The five chief police officers) performed contextual function andreferential function. These officers are done transfer so it performed emotive function, directivefunction.
(3) In the news heading of Newsweek journal2

ql;av&Sef*&Dvmc taqmufttHkopfrS
yef;yJwef;jynfolrsm; uefUuGuf

trsm;oHk;oefUpifcef;cxm;&SdrItay:

Pabedan people demur the public toilet from the new building of Sule
Shangarilar.
Syntax error - ql;av&Sef*&DvmtaqmufttHkopfrSfrom the new building of Sule Shangarilar
Grammar classifier- Noun phrase

Language function- Referential function, Emotive function, Directive function, Contextual
function
Correct syntax- ql;av&Sef*&DvmtaqmufttHkopfrSm trsm;oHk;oefUpifcef;xm;&SdrItay:yef;yJwef;jynfolrsm; uefUuGuf
Pabedan people demur the public toilet at the new building of Sule Shangarilar.
Analysis
In the above sentence, rS is the departure showed particle and the place showed particles
are wGif? ü? rSm ? 0,f in Myanmar. So, the correct sentence is (ql;av&Sef*&Dvm taqmufttHk
1
2

7 Days News Journal, (6.10.2017), 1.
Newsweek Journal, (20.10.2016), extra sheet.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

134

opfrSm trsm;oHk;oefUpifcef;xm;&SdrItay: yef;yJwef;jynfolrsm; uefUuGuf) Pabedan people
demur the public toilet at the new building of Sule Shangarilar.
In that, it is intended ‘the public toilet at the new building of Sule Shangarilar’, so it
performed referential function. yef;yJwef;jynfolrsm; (Pabedan people) performed contextual
function. ‘Pabedan people demur the public toilet at the new building of Sule Shangarilar’ that
performed emotive function and directive function.
(5) In the news heading of News watch Journal,1

wdkifMum;cHxm;&aom bkwvifNrdKUe,faq;&HktkyfBuD;u ppfaq;onfhtcg trSef
w&m; ay:aygufvmvdrfhrnf[kajym
He said, when the complained Butalin township Medical superintendent haveexamined, the truth will be formed.
Syntax error- bkwvifNrdKUe,faq;&HktkyfBuD;u
Butalin township Medical superintendent

Grammar classifier- Subject

Language function- Referential function, Emotive function, Contextual function

wdkifMum;cHxm;&aom bkwvifNrdKUe,faq;&HktkyfBuD;udk
trSefw&m; ay:aygufvmvdrfhrnf[kajym/

Correct

syntax-

ppfaq;onfhtcg

He said, when the complained Butalin township Medical superintendent havebeen examined, the truth will be formed.
Analysis
In the above sentence, the error is bkwvifNrdKUe,faq;&HktkyfBuD;u ‘Butalin township
Medical superintendent’. The correct sentence is wdkifMum;cHxm;&aom bkwvifNrdKUe,f aq;&Hk

tkyfBuD;udk ppfaq;onfhtcg trSefw&m; ay:aygufvmvdrfhrnf [kajym/ ]He said, when thecomplained Butalin township Medical superintendent have been examined, the truth will beformed.’In that, the sentence intended ‘Butalin township Medical superintendent’, so it performed
referential function and contextual function. The sentence, ‘when the complained Butalin
township Medical superintendent have been examined, the truth will be formed’ intended
emotive function.

4. Conclusion and Finding
This paper was presented the sociolinguistics study of Myanmar syntax error from current
Myanmar Journals. It has two parts, sociolinguistics and the role of sentence in Myanmar
language and then the analysis of syntax error of current Myanmar Journals.
1

News watch Journal, (2.6. 2018), extra sheet.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

135

In that, it is analyzed the syntax errors from 7 Day News Journal, Newsweek journal andNews watch Journal.
The syntax errors can be found, they are(1) The omitting object (e.g, yk*Ha'oudk)(2) The omitting the object particle (e.g, &JrSL;csKyfig;OD;udk)(3) The wrong usage of the departure showed particle (rS) and the place showed particle (rSm)(4) The wrong usage of subject and object (bkwvifNrdKUe,faq;&HktkyfBuD;u? bkwvif
NrdKUe,faq;&HktkyfBuD;udk)
These sentences are performed language functions.
No.
1.

SentencesFour
sentences

Langueage function
Referential function

Times
4

Percentage
100 %Emotive function

4

100%

Directive function

250%

Phatic or contact function Contextual function

4

100%

Metalinguistic function

1

25%

Poetic function.

-

Language Function Percentage Chart
Poetic function.

025%

Metalinguistic function

1
100%

Contextual function
Phatic or contact function

4

0
50%

Directive function

2

Emotive function

100%

4

Referential function

100%

4

0

0.5

1
Series2

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Series1

According to the above chart, the analysis of four sentences, there are not poetic function
and phatic or contact function because of the news and heading. There are 25% of Metalinguistic
function, 50% of directive function, 100% of emotive function, contextual function andreferential function.
In the syntax errors, one is the news and three are the news’ heading. Why they are
wrong, because of the summary writing style. The errors are the position of phrase wrong andomitting the phrase.

19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

136

After reading the syntax error consists of the news in Journals, the readers took a photo ofthis error and then posted to the face book. People who are reading that error in social media,
they will laugh and think Myanmar people cannot able to write for understanding Myanmar
audients. So, they can notice the phrase errors and they can repair the error. If the positions ofphrase will correct place, Myanmar sentence will be corrected and every Myanmar can easily
read the correct meaning in social life.
Therefore, the syntax becomes to right in Myanmar Journals, Myanmar language andliterature will be developed.

Acknowledgements
Firstly, I would like to thank the organizers of SCA conference and secondly, I would like to thank Dr.
Theingi Shwe (Rector, Dawei University), Dr. Khin May Aung (Pro-Rector, Dawei University), Dr. Cho Cho
Myint (Pro-Rector, Dawei University), Dr. Kyu Kyu Myint (Professor, Head, Department of Myanmar, Dawei
University) for giving me the chance to present my paper. Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to Dr. Khin Aye(Retired. Professor, Head, Department of Myanmar, University of Yangon), Dr. Aung Myint Oo (Professor, Head,
Department of Myanmar, University of Yangon) and all of my teachers and my parents who gave me valuableknowledge.

References

udkav;/(2003)/ jrefrmo'´g(bmomaA'avhvmcsuf)/ yg&*lbGJUtwGufwifoGif;aomusrf;? &efukefwuúodkvf/
cifrif?armif("EkjzL)/(2018)/ bmompmayokawoepmwrf;rsm;/ &efukef? &mjynfhpmtkyfwdkuf/
csHKrr/(2006)/ jrefrmbmompum;&Sd 0gusrsm;\ teuft"dyÜm,fESifh tquftpyf

oabm/ yg&*lbGJUtwGufwifoGif;aomusrf;? &efukefwuúodkvf/
jynfaxmifpkor®wjrefrmEdkifiHawmf/(1947)/jynfaxmifpkor®wjrefrmEdkifiHawmfzGJUpnf;tkyfcsKyfyHktajccHOya'/jynfaxmifpkqkd&S,fvpfor®wjrefrmEdkifiaH wmf/(1974)/jynfaxmifpkqdk&S,fvpfor®wjrefrmEdkifiHawmf

zGJUpnf;yHktajccHOya'/jynfaxmifpkor®wjrefrmEdkifiHawmf/(2008)/jynfaxmifpkor®wjrefrmEdkifiHawmfzGJUpnf;yHktajccHOya'/
rdk;rdk;/(2007)/jrefrm0gusrsm;\teuft"dyÜm,favhvmjcif;/yg&*lbGJUtwGufwifoGif;aomusrf;?&efukefwuúodkvf/
jrefrmpmtzGJU/(1988)/ jrefrmo'´g twGJ(3)/ &efukef? jrefrmpmtzGUJ OD;pD;Xme/jrefrmpmtzGJU/(1992)/ jrefrmo'´g twGJ(2)/ &efuke?f jrefrmpmtzGUJ OD;pD;Xme/atmifjrifhOD;?a'gufwm/(2003)/vlrIbmomaA'rdwfquf/&efukef?ynmwefaqmifyHkESdyfwdkuf/
atmifjrifOh ;D ?a'gufwm/(2005)/vlrIbmomaA'oabmw&m;/&efukef?ynmwefaqmifyHkESdyfwdkuf/
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Linguistics, London: Oxford University Press.
Crystal,David. (2003). A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics.(5th edn.). Oxford : Black Well
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Levine, Diane P. & Rowe, Bruce M. (2006) . A Concise Introduction to Linguistics. Boston: Pearson
Education. Inc.
Richard, Jack C. & Platt, John& Platt, Heidi. (1992) . Dictionary of Language teaching and Applied
Linguistics.(2ndedn).England: Longman Group UK Ltd.
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Newsweek journal, 20. 10. 2016.

News watch Journal, 2. 6. 2018.

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Myanmar Language Practice: Brief Approach to Myanmar Linguistic Culture
Aung Myint Oo1

Abstract
This paper gives an analysis of the practice of language being used and spoken within Myanmar
society. Area studies conducted and answered which language use or language variety is suitable
and should be used within Myanmar Society. This studies based on the scope of sociolinguistics.
During the survey, the method of literature survey, excursion and interviews are mostly
emphasized. Throughout the studies of language spoken within Myanmar society, it mainly
focused on 5 main areas. 1. Practice of language using in introducing each other, greeting andleave taking. 2. Practice of address term 3. Practice of linguistic politeness. 4. Linguistic behaviour
concerns with gender. 5. Practice of paralinguistic behaviour. In this paper, I propose an assemble
approach of Myanmar society and language among the society. It helps to understand the way ofusing Myanmar language properly and according to situations. Moreover, Myanmar Language
Practice can be compared any other language practice of other countries.
Keywords: language practice, greeting and leave-taking, address term, linguistic politeness,gender, using sociolect

1. Introduction
This paper gives an analysis of the practice of language being used and spoken within
Myanmar society. What is language practice? Language practice is the working with language
and linguistic behaviour of speakers in society. It is one of the study area of Sociolinguistics.
Sociolinguistics reveals the correlation between a society and its language. It is derived fromlinguistics. Learners of a language, if they have studied sociolinguistics, they will understand thelanguage and its correlation with the society and it will be easier to study the language and also toapply, what has been learnt in a more efficient or useful manner. This paper is mentioned
Myanmar language variation and use in Myanmar society.
2. Background
Language is a social phenomenon. Language and society are always combined. Those
who are studying a language must also do the same to the corresponding society. In a society,depending on social situations, the use of language differs from time to time. Sociolinguistics is a
study of the relation between the language and the society .Those who studying the Myanmar
language and not only must understand the Myanmar language but also Myanmar society.
Myanmar language is in Tibeto-Burman language family, sub-family of Sino
Tibetan language. Lewis (2009) expressed class of Myanmar is “Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burmese,
Lolo- Burmese, Burmish, Southern” (p.482). Tone is very important in Myanmar language.
Myanmar language can be classified as tone/tonal language. Tone language is a language which
the tone or pitch on a syllable is phonemic, so that words with identical segments but different
tones are different words (Formkin, 2003, p.597). Myanmar language has three tones. There aremany dialects in Myanmar such as Myeik, Dawae, Yaw, Danu, Inthar. Preferred variety is
spoken in Mandalay. Many ethnic groups are monolinguals in Myanmar language and some arebilinguals.

1

Dr. Professor/Head, Department of Myanmar, University of Yangon.

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3. Greeting and Leave-taking
Firstly this paper is presented concerning with language practice of greeting and leavetaking in Myanmar society. Greeting and leave-taking have an important role in society. They areacts of communication in which people intentionally make their presence or absence known toeach other. These expressions don't usually add new or important information, but they are polite
and friendly. They help people feel comfortable. The way this is done is slightly different informal and in formal situations.
In Myanmar language, according to social traditions, there are many words of greeting.
The most usual way of greeting someone both formal and informal situation is to say ]]r*Fvmyg}}/mI)) g\ la ba /. It means 'Auspiciousness to you'. ]]r*Fvmyg}} was deliberately created as an allpurpose greeting for teacher and pupils in school. It is used mostly to foreigners and publicannouncements. Myanmar people use the greeting ]]awGY&wm0rf;omygw,}f }/ twe. ja. da wu)):
Ta ba dE/, when we want to greet someone who are meeting each other for the first time.
]]awGY&wm0rf;omygw,}f } means "Glad to see you" or '"Happy to see you" or "Nice to see you" or"Nice to meet you". It is usually accompanied by a hand shake like the English.
Unlike the English, most of Myanmar greetings are based not on the time of day ''Good
morning", "Good afternoon", "Good Evening" but on the situation. Myanmar use according to
the situation ]]b,foGm;rvdkYvJ}} / aDSv`9lkn-kD9 /, ]]b,fvJ}}/ aDkD9 / (Where are you going?),]]b,fujyefvmwmv}J }/bE ga. pja)) la da lE: / (From where are you returning?), ]]pm;NyD;NyDvm;}}/sa: pI: bI la: / (How is your lunch/ dinner?/Have you eaten yet?), ]]rawGY&wmMumNyDaem}f }/ ma twe. ja. da tCa bI nO / (Haven’t seen you for a long time?), and so on. The answers to thesequestions can be quite vague, the questions are not meant to be intrusive. In Myanmar society,greeting can start by asking or talking about other's health. For example; ]]aeaumif;&JUvm;}}/ne kau: jE. la: /,]]aeaumif;vm;}}/ne kau: la:/ (How are you?), ]]ydefoGm;w,faemf}}/peI)) Twa:dE nO /(You become thin./You seem to have slimmed down), ]]0vmw,faemf}}/ wa. la dE nO /(Youbecome fat /You seem to have gained weight), ]]jzLvmw,faemf}}/pju la dE nO / (You become white),]]ndKoGm;w,}f } /ɲo Twa: dE/(You become brown skin) and so on.
A more informal way of greeting someone is to say ]]a[;}}/ he: / and ]][,f}} /hE /. These
exclamations are used in very informal situations when people who know intimately each othermeet. These words of greeting when two friends meet .These must be chosen to suit various
situations. It depends on time, place, situation, speaker and the hearer.
In Myanmar society, there are different ways of saying goodbye depending on
situation.]]oGm;ygtkH;r,f}} / Twa: ba ou)): mE/, ]]jyefygtkH;r,f}} / pja)) ba ou)): mE /(I've to go now) can beused only when we are leaving someone. If we expect to see again the other person soon, we canuse the expression ]]aemufrSawGYMuwmaygh}}/ nau/ hma. twe. ʤa. da pO. /(be seeing you), ]]aemufaeY
awGYMuwmaygh}}/nau/ ne. twe. ʤa. da pO. /(see you tomorrow) etc. We can also say ]]owdxm;
oGm;ygaem}f } / D\ di. tha: Sv`9mN / (take care) when we are saying leave-taking to someone.
When we are saying goodbye to someone we do not know well, we can use more formal
expression such as ]]jyefcGifhjyKygcifAsm^&Sif}}/pja)) khwI)). pju. ba khI)) bja, CI ) / (May I go back now).
Sometimes Myanmar people use English loan words "Ta-ta" and "Bye-bye" informal situation.

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Myanmar greeting and leave-taking describe not only to know Myanmar language practice but
also to understand about Myanmar society.
3.1 Address Term
Secondly this presentation is moved to Myanmar address terms which are how to use in
Myanmar society as Myanmar language practice. In sociolinguistics, the pronoun used by the
speaker to represent the hearer is called address terms or address forms. Address terms are asocial phenomenon in society, there are general rules of their usage, but because of social factors,
they vary in different situations. The study of address terms is a field of study in sociolinguistics.
There are many forms of address terms to make representation for the hearer. An address formshould be chosen according to social situation.
In Myanmar language, according to tradition and linguistic culture there are many formsof address terms. If the address terms in Myanmar language can be categorized in general into six
categories. They are (1) address terms according to age, (2) Address terms according to relation,(3) Address terms according to rank (4) Address terms according to social relation status such (5)Address terms according to names: giving name, nick name, pet name, and (6) General address
term.
Address terms according to age such as ]]OD;av;}} / u: le: / (uncle), ta': / \ dO / (aunty),
tar / \ me / (mother) , tpfudk / \ ko /(brother), tpfr / \ ma. / (sister), armifav; / mau)) le: /(younger brother), nDrav; / ɲ\ ma. le: / (younger sister), aumifav;/ kau)) le: / (boy), aumifrav;/ kau)) ma. le: / (girl) , uav; \ kh\ le`: / (baby) , etc.
Address terms according to relation such as ]]OD;av;}} / u: le: / (uncle), ta':/ \ dO / ,]]a':a':}} / dO dO / (aunty), tar / \ me /, ]]arar}}/ me me /mother)/ ]]taz}}/ \ phe /]]azaz}} / phe phe /(father) , ]]tpfudk}}/ \ ko /]]udkudk}}/ ko ko / (elder brother), ]]tpfr}} / \ ma. /]]rr}} / ma. ma. / (elder
sister) , ]]nDav;}} / ɲI le: / ]]armifav;}}/ mau)) le: / (younger brother), etc.
Address terms according to rank such as ]]q&m}}/ sh\ ja / (teacher), ]]q&mr}} / sh\ ja ma. /(teacher), ]]q&mBuD;}}\ sh\ ja ʤH:/ (master),]]q&mrBuD;}} / sh\ ja ma. ʤH:/ (mistress), ]]AdkvfrSL;BuD;}}/bo hmu: ʤH: /(colonel),]]oHtrwfBuD;}}/ Ta)) \ ma/ tCI: /(ambassador), ]]ñTefcsKyfBuD;}} / hɲu)) ʤou/ tCI: /(director general) etc. Address terms according to the kind of work such as um;q&m/ ka:sh\ ja/(driver), ]]pufjyifq&m}} / sE/ pjI)) sh\ ja /(mechanic), ]]pma&;q&m}}/ sa je: sh\ ja / (writer),]]tqdkawmf}} / \ sho dO / (singer), etc.
Address terms according to social relation status such as ]]q&m}} / sh\ ja / (teacher),]]q&morm; }}/ sh\i`S\ ma: / (master), ]]oli,fcsif; }} / T\NE ʤI:)) / (friend), ]]tcspf}} / \ tCI/ /(darling), etc.
Address terms according to giving names such as ]]EG,feDtkef;}} / nwE nI ou)): /, ]]pef;pef;EG,f}}/ sa)): sa)):) nwE /, ]]pE´m0if;}} / sa)) da wI)): /, ]]vrif;aqG}} / la. mI:)) swe /, ]]ol&d,}} / Tu jI. ja. / etc.
Nick name address terms such as ]]ajymifBuD; }} / pjau)) ʤH9 / (bald head), ]]t&SnfBuD; }}/\ Ce ʤH9 / (tall person), ]]av;vkH; }} / le9 lou)): / (person with spectacles), ]]zufwD; }} / phE/ tI: / (fat

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person), ]]0g;jcrf;jym; }} / w\ tCha)): bja: / (skinny person), ]]a&Tacg}} / Cwe khO: / (person withprotruding teeth), etc.
Pet name address terms such as ]]tonf;av;}} / \ TE: le: / (little sweet heart), ]]tcspfav; }}/ \tChI/ le: / (little honey), ]]0dkif;cspfav; }} / waI)):) tChI/ le: / (a person beloved by all), ]]0wkwfav; }}/ wa. tou/ le: / (little lovely fatty), ]]rD;rD;av; }} / mI: mI: le: / (little lovely daughter), ]]cspfudkBuD; }}/ tChI/ ko ʤI: / (dear elder brother), etc.
General address term such as ]]a[hvl}}/ he. lu/ (hey man), ]]a[haumif}} / he. kau)) ) / (heyboy), ]]aumifav; }} / kau)) le: / (little boy), ]]aumifrav; }} / kau)) ma. le: / (little girl), etc.
As such, there are many forms of address terms. When speaking to each other, a pronounsuitable with the social situation has to be spoken with. An address term is important because, thestart of a conversation is to speak with the address term for the hearer. The address terms reflects
the social situation, social relationship and the social opinion. For example, sometimes rather of aname lovingly shows more intimacy or friendliness .Its more respectful to the hearer to use ]]OD; }}/ u: /, ]]a': }} / dO /, ]]udk}} / ko /, ]]armif}} / mau)) /, ]]r}} / ma. /, before his or her name. But thiscannot be taken consistently, the social situations are important.

3.2 Linguistic Politeness
Thirdly this paper is mentioned the practice of linguistic respect. It is concern withhierarchical organization, transaction domain, symmetrical social relationship, asymmetricalsocial relationship, conversational turn-taking, using euphemism and avoiding taboo words etc.
Linguistic politeness can be defined as the ways in which can language or language
variety is employed in conversation to show consideration for the feelings and desires of one's
interlocutors, to create and uphold interpersonal relationships and to comply with the rules forwhat society or one's culture. Linguistic politeness is a great virtue. A person who behaved
towards others is not only respected but loved also. People speak well of him or her on all
occasion with linguistic politeness.
There are many polite phrases in Myanmar such as ]]aus;Zl;wifygw,f}}/ tCe: zu: tI)) ba dE /(Thank you), ]]aus;Zl;trsm;BuD;wifygw,f}}/ tCe: zu: \ mja: ʤI: tI ) ba dE / (Thank you very much),]]aus;Zl;jyKNyD;}}/ tCe: zu: pju. pjI:/ (Please), ]]tm;emygw,f}} / a: na ba dE / (Excuse me for troubling),]]tm;remygeJY}}/ a: m\ na ba nE./ (Don't feel awkward), ]]tm;em p&mBuD;}} / a: na z\ ja ʤH9 / (Youare so kind), ]]*½kpdkufyg}}/ g\ ju. saI/ pa / (Take care), ]]pdwfraumif;ygbl;}}/ seI/ m\ ka : ba bu: /(I'm so sorry), ]]udpör&Sdygbl;}} / keI/ sa. m\ CI. ba bu/ (I don't mind), ]]pdwfr&SdygeJY}}/ seI/ m\ CI. ba nE./ (I beg your pardon), ]]&ygw,f}}/ ja. ba dE/ (It's all right), and so on. It canbe used to show politeness in Myanmar society.
Word choosing is important in linguistic politeness. In Myanmar language, according tosocial situations such as hierarchical organization, transaction domain, symmetrical social
relationship, asymmetrical social relationship, even speaking with the use of language differs. As
example the uses of pronouns in Myanmar language. Various pronouns for speaker (addresser),listener (addressee) are used in concerning social situations. These are ]]uRefawmf}} / tCu)) dO /,19th SCA Conference(Sub-theme II)

143]]uRefr}}/ tCu)) ma. /, ]]ig}} / Na /,]]usKyf}} / tCou/ /, ]]uREkfyf}} / tC\ nou/ / , ]]udk,f}} / ko / , ]]'dkY}} / do. / ,]]orD;}} / T\ mI: / , ]]om; }}/ Ta: / etc. The speaker or the addresser has to choose correctly apronoun for him-self or her-self having in minded whom the one has to speak to. Concerningwith linguistic politeness, the suitable choice has to be done in according with the age, social
status, role of relation, and gender of the hearer. If the hearer or addresser is younger than the
speaker, pronoun ]]ig}} / Na / can be used to represent the speaker .If the hearer is younger but hisor her social status is his higher than the speaker it’s not suitable and impolite to use the pronoun]]ig}}/ Na / for himself or herself. In that situation it is only suitable to use ]]uRefr}} / tCu)) ma. / if the
speaker is a female and ]]uRefawmf}} / tCu)) dO / if the one is a male. Then, if the hearer though isolder in age and his or her social status is higher, the speaker can use ]]ig}} / Na /, if the speaker
and the hearer are very friendly or intimate. This manner is the same in choosing a pronoun forthe hearer.
Minimum responses are essential for linguistic politeness in conversation. Language
practice studies in sociolinguistics besides the common speaking forms, minimum responses
which is used according to discourse and conversation. Minimum responses show respect ofhearer during conversation. Myanmar language learners if they know and study the minimum
responses they would be more convenient in speaking the Myanmar language. Some minimum
responses in Myanmar conversation are: ]]atmf}} / O / , ]]atmfatmf}} / O O / , ]]tif;}} / I)): / , ]]tif;tif;}}/ I)): I)): /, ]]tif;av;}} / I)): le /, ]]at;av}} / e: le / , ]]atat;}} / e: e: / , ]]tif;aygh}} / I)): pO./ , ]]at;aygh}} /e: pO. / , ]]tif;aemf}} / I)): nO/ , ]]at;aemf}} / e: nO / , ]]at;;ayghaemf}} / e: pO. nO / , ]]tif;ayghaemf}}/ I)): pO. nO /, ]][kwfuJh}} / hou/ kE. / , ]][kwf}} / hou/ /. If the hearer do not make any minimum
responses it seem to be impolite behaviour.
In speaking with the Myanmar language, there are many euphemism applied to form apolite form in accordance with the social situation. Euphemism is a word or phrase that replaces
a taboo word or is used to avoid reference to certain acts of subject (Fromkin, 2003, p.581). For
example, ]]udk,fvufoefYpifcef;}} / ko lE/ Ta)). zI)) kha)): / (cleaning room) for ]]tdrfom}} / eI)) Da / (toilet)
in Myanmar. If there is a pregnancy, its more polite to say ]]udk,f0efonf}} / ko wu)) DE / (carry apregnancy), ]]udk,f0ef&Sdonf}} / ko wu)) CI. DI / (there’s a pregnancy), ]]uav;&Sdonf}} / kh\ le: CI. DI /(there is a child), than to say ]]AdkufBuD;onf}} / bai/ tCI: DI / (big belly). It’s more polite to say]]pdwfusef;rma&;raumif;ol}} / sei/ tCa)): ma je: m\ kau)): Du / (to have a mental illness), than]]t½l;}}/\ ju: /(idiot). It’s more polite to say ]]udk,fvufoefYpifonf}}/ ko lE/ Ta)). zI)) DI / (clean the
body and hands), than ]]tdrfomwufonf}} / eI)) Da tE/ TI / (going to toilet). Similarly taboo(impolite dirty terms) can be changed into polite forms by use of euphemisms. In learning
Myanmar language it is also need to study euphemism.

3.3 Language and Gender
In sociolinguistics, language and nature of gender is studied as a chapter. Myanmar
language and nature of gender, “Is there gender in Myanmar language?” is a question commonlyraised by Myanmar language learners. Unlike German, France and Pali, there is no grammaticalgender system in Myanmar language. But there is a natural gender system to show the difference

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in gender. It is required to address correctly the type of gender (male, female) with the nature ofgender system. In Myanmar language the words which separate the male and female are-]]a,mufsm;}} / jau/ tCa: / (man) - ]]rdef;r}} / meI:)) ma. / (woman)]]om;}} / S`9 / (son) - ]]orD;}} / T\ mI: / (daughter)]]vif}} / lI)) / (husband) - ]]r,m;}} / m\ ja: / (wife)]]cifyGef;}} / khI)) bu)):) / (husband) - ]]ZeD;}} / z\ nI: / (wife)]]bkef;BuD;}} / phou)): §I: / (monk) - ]]oDv&Sif}} / TI la. CI)) / (nun)]]vkvif}} / lu. lI)) / (lad) - ]]vkHr}} / lou)) ma. / (lass)]]vlysdK}} / lu bjo / (boy virgin) - ]]tysdK}} / \ pjo / (girl virgin), etc.
For other words, the particles indicating male sex ]]om;}}/ Ta: / (son),]]armif}}/mau)) /(boy) may be suffixed to nouns and the particles indicating female sex ]]orD;}} / T\ mI: /(daughter), ]]r}} / ma. / (girl), ]]ol}} / Tu / , / Du / (a person), ]]ar}} / me / (a gentle woman, afemale) are usually suffixed to nouns of the common gender where there are need to do so. For
example ]]trsdK;om;}} / \ mjo: Ta: / (a gentleman), ]]trsdK;orD;}} / \ mjo: T\ mI: /(a lady) , ]]ppfom;}}/sI/ Ta: / (soldier) , ]]ppforD;}} / sI/ T\ mI: / (woman soldier), ]]rif;om;}} / mI)): Da: / (actor/prince),]]rif;orD;}}/mI)): T\ mI: /(actress/princess),]]owdkYom;}}/ D\ do. Ta:/ (bridegroom), ]]owdkYorD;}}/D\ do.T\ mI: / (bride), ]]ausmif;om;}} / tCau)): Da: / (male student), ]]ausmif;ol}} /tCau)): Du / (female
student), ]]½kH;om;}} / jou)): Da: / (male office staff), ]]½kH;ol}}/ jou)): Du / (female office staff) , ]]q&m0ef}}/sh\ ja wu)) / (man doctor), ]]q&m0efr}} /sh\ ja wu)) ma./ (female doctor), ]]q&m}} /sh\ ja / (maleteacher), ]]q&mr}} / sh\ ja ma. / (female teacher) , ]]pma&;q&m}} / sa je: sh\ ja / (man author),]]pma&;q&mr}} / sa je: sh\ ja ma. / (female author), ]]tdrf&Sif}}/ eI)) CI / (male house owner), ]]tdrf&Sifr}}/ eI)) CI)) ma. / (female house owner), ]]av,mOfarmif}}/ le jI)) mau)) / (man air hostess), ]]av,mOfr,f}}/ le jI)) mE / (woman air hostess), ]]&Jom;}} / jE: Da: / (policeman), ]]&Jar}} / jE: me/ (police woman)and so on.
There are words by which the addresser shows his or her gender. Pronouns such as]]uRefawmf}}/ tCu)) dO / (I) for male, ]]uRefr}} / tCu)) ma. / (I) for female, ]]wynfhawmf}} / d\ bI. dO / (yourdisciple for male) - ]]wynhfawmfr}} / d\ bI. dO ma./ (your disciple for female), etc.
There are also objects for ending of sentences. ]]cifAsm}} / khI)) bja /, ]]cifAsmh}} / khI)) bja. /,]]Asm}}/ bja /, ]]Asmh}}/ bja. /, ]]½Sif}} / CI)) /, ]]½Sifh}} / CI)). / etc. If the speaker is a man ]]cifAsm}} /khI)) bja /,]]cifAsmh}} / khI)) bja. /, ]]Asm}} /bja /, ]]Asmh}} / bja. / are used and if the one is a woman ]]½Sif}} / CI))/,]]½Sif}} / CI)). / are chosen to use. It is made according to the basic of gender.

3.4 Using Sociolects

One of the language practice or linguistic behaviour of Myanmar society is using
sociolects like other societies. Sociolect is a variety of language that differs from one social classor social status to the next. Crystal (2008) defined that “A term used by some sociolinguists

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refers to a linguistic variety (or lect) defined on social (as opposed to regional) grounds, e.g.
correlating with a particular social class or occupational group” (p. 440). Sociolect is applied inaccordance with the social boundary. Sociolects are used every society in Myanmar.
For Example, in the transportation situation we can heard many sociolects by bus drivers
and spares and taxi drivers. Passengers coming along in a bus holding hands to something at theentrance of the car are called twG,ftwm / \ twE \ ta / (the original meaning is dearly loved andhard to be parted), a traffic policeman is called bJO / bE: u. / (duck egg) because the round white
hats they wear look like duck egg and so on.
The group of earners buying and selling in trading, is growing and people of the group
have their own words to he used within their group. For example, wanting to sell for urgent needof money is called Adkufem / baI/ na / (belly pain-in a sense that the person's belly is aching and alatrine is urgently needs to release his bowel), a price lower than the usual value is called
atmufaps; /au/ ze: / (sub price), a good thing obtained with an unreasonably low price is termed
aygacsmifaumif; / pO tChau)) kau)):) / (cheap, easy and good), selling a bad thing fraud is termed
tifxnfh/ I)) thE. /, tifxk / I)) thu. / (apply in wood- in a sense that selling out a bad wood with a goodprice).
Slangs are mostly used by young people from urban area in Myanmar. For example, toscold is called yGrf / pwa)) / (the sound of the beep of a car), ykvJc / p\ lE: kha. / (descending of
pearls) for crying, ikwfwkwfarh / Nou/ tou/ me. / (become unconscious while sitting) for being
stunned, vdrfh / leI)). / (roll), and ,Gef; / ju)): / (change position), and 'dk; / do: / (a child playing pebble
which easily rolls) for coming or going, wif; / tI)): / (tense) and ESmupf / hna kI/ /(an uneasy feelingin the nose) for getting angry. usdK; / tCo: / (broken) for a tiredly and sound sleep, zJh / phE. / (tobreach out a part) for a physical or mental assault, and so on are used very commonly. These
usages are taste of the age group. Some old people also apply the usage to become a friendly
person in the group. But if an old person is applying these usage in abundance, he will be gradedan indecent speaker.

4. Conclusion
The Myanmar are generous, genial and open people. Myanmar language and Myanmar
society are always combined. Those who are studying Myanmar language must also do the sameto the corresponding the society. In the society, depending on social situations, the use oflanguage differs from time to time. Those who studying the Myanmar language and not
only must understand the Myanmar language but also Myanmar society. In this presentation
We've look at five of the main areas of Myanmar language practice: greeting and leave -taking,address terms, linguistic politeness, language and gender, and using sociolect. All these areas areconnected with Myanmar society. This paper support to understand Myanmar language more andmore and to use Myanmar language well in the Myanmar society.

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References[1]. Crystal, D. (1997). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Second edn. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
[2]. Crystal, D. (2008). A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics.Sixth edn. Oxford: Blackwell
Publishing.
[3]. Formkin, V., Rodman R, and Hyams, N. (2003). An Introduction to Language. Massachusetts: Heinle.
[4]. Lewis M. P. (2005). Ethnologue: Language of the world. Sixteen edn. Dallas: SIL International. Meiji [5]. Soe(2012). Culture and Beyond Myanmar. Yangon: Sarpay Beikman Printing and Publishing
Enterprise.
[6]. Swann,J.,A. Deumert,T. Lillis and R. Mesthrie.(2004). A Dictionary of Sociolinguistics. Edinburgh:
Edinburigh University Press.
[7]. Wardhaugh, R. (2006). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics.Fifth edn. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
[8]. Sun Associates (1997). Practical Myanmar. Yangon: Myan Com Services.

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A Comparative Study of the Usage of "에/DÁ/, 에서/DÁ sNÁ/" in Korean Languageand "rS /hma/ , odkY /SnÂ" in Myanmar Language
Htwe Su Hlaing1

Abstract
The research analyses and presents about the usages of “에/DÁ/,에서/DÁ sNÁ/” in Korean Languageand " rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ)”in Myanmar Language comparatively. The aim of this study is forstudents learning Korean Language to comprehend well about the complex usages as well as for
effective teaching. The principles of Myanmar and Korean Grammar to apprehend similarities
and differences of practical use of above mentioned two languages though they are derived fromthe same root and have same grammatical use are briefly and firstly described, and errors
committed by students are followed as examples. It is comparatively presented how
aforementioned “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ)”and “에/DÁ/,에서/DÁ sNÁ/” usages are used in Myanmar andKorea Languages. With the objective of revealing the effective and comprehensive methods forstudents in teaching the usages “에/DÁ/,에서/DÁ sNÁ/” in Korean Language, this research is presented.
Unlike Korean Language, Myanmar Language has written and spoken usages. Hence, relatingwith “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ) ” usages in Myanmar Language, some Myanmar daily usages, the way inwritten and spoken usages, are presented.
Keywords: Korean Grammar, Myanmar Grammar, auxiliary particle

1.

Introduction
This research aims to contrast differences between two adverbial particles in Korean'에/DÁ/, 에서/DÁ rNÁ' and postpositional markers in Myanmar “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ) ” in terms of theirusages, grammatical functions and the use.
While studying a language, four skills (speaking, writing, listening and reading) must be
studied. Nowadays, technology for various fields is developing and it is necessary tocommunicate with each other by means of language. It is necessary to use the grammar of alanguage systematically for the correct language use since grammar is the basic standard of alanguage. In a language, correct usage of basic grammar is necessary to communicate
successfully. Therefore, it is important for people who use a particular language to understand its
grammatical structures for successful social interaction. In writing or speaking, noun and verb
play important roles in a sentence, yet the sentence cannot be created without particles. The
reason is that in speaking and writing, particle plays a vital role in combining nouns and verbs toform a sentence. Particle defines whether a noun is a subject or an object, and it helps to state themeaning of a sentence well, so the role of particle is the most important in creating a sentence.
Therefore, it is important for learners studying Korean as a foreign language to know the use ofparticles in Korean grammar. Moreover, learners studying basic Korean have to study caseending first, but even advanced learners make mistakes in the use of case ending, which seems tobe easy.

1

Dr. Lecturer, Department of Korean, Mandalay University of Foreign Languages, Myanmar.
htwesuhlaing98@gmail.com

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Learners who are studying Korean as a foreign language compare and contrast it with themother tongue. Korean and Myanmar belongs to different language families, yet they have a lotof similarities. According to language system, Korean belongs to the Altaic family of languages,
and Myanmar belongs to sino-tipet system. However, both languages have same word order(Subject+ Object + Verb) and they both have a wide use of part of speech. However, students
have difficulties in using particles and they make mistakes because adverbial particles in Korean
have different usages and a variety of meanings ,they have mother tongue influence and two
languages have different case endings. For the above reasons, the usages ofadverbial particle in
Korean and Myanmar particles “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ)” will be examined in this study.
2.

Methods
The use of two case endings in Korean ' “에/DÂ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/” and Myanmar particles “rS(hma) rS (SnÂ) ” will be compared and contracted in this study. While studying Korean as aforeign language, case endings “에/DÂ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/”in basic grammar semasiologically have many
connotations and semasiology synth of case endings “에/DÂ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/” in the book “The Use of
Korean Grammar for Foreigners” (2005) is used. The use of Myanmar particles “rS (hma) odkY(SnÂ)” is extracted from Myanmar Grammar book published by Department of Myanmar andLanguage Education, Ministry of Education in 2005.Different meanings of particles in Korean
and Myanmar are classified and the unique features of case endings are highlighted in this study.
The meanings of Korean case endings “에/DÂ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/”and their functions are analysed.
Likewise, the meanings of Korean case endings “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ)” and their functions areanalysed. Based on the results, similarities and differences between particles in Myanmar andKorean languages are compared and contrasted.

3.

Results and Discussion

3.1Meaning and Classification of Particles in Korean
Particle is one of the parts of speech in Korean. Parts of speech indicate different
grammatical features of a word. There are nine parts of speech in Korean, namely – noun,
pronoun, numeral, verb, adjective, unanjugation adjective or modifier, adverb, exclamation,interjection and postposition1.
Postposition can be classified into three parts – case ending, special postposition andjoining postposition. Case ending is a postposition which describes grammatical features of
independence morpheme. There are nominative subjective case, objective case, meter,
predicative, the vocative case, an adverbial and adjective. Special postposition is a postposition
which describes the meanings of the combination of words which can stand independently
whereas joining postposition has the function of associating two words. There are nine parts ofspeech in Myanmar. Parts of speech indicate the function of a word spoken to get the meaning.
Nine parts of speech in Myanmar are classified as noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb,

1

The Use of Korean Grammar for Foreigners, 2005, pp.18

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postpositional marker, conjunctions, particles and interjection. 1 Myanmar Grammar(2005)
focuses on written grammar. Postpositional markers are used as suffixes after nouns or pronouns
and they identify whether the given noun or pronoun is subject or object. Moreover, they are usedas suffixed after verbs and they indicates time and types of verbs. Conjunctions are words thatconnect either other words or sentences or meaning reciprocally. Particles support the meanings
of noun, pronoun, adjective, verb and adverb.
Myanmar Grammar (2005) is used to study grammar while leaning Myanmar as a second
language, yet the book only focuses on written grammar. There are differences in spoken
language and written language in Myanmar and there is no stability of grammar usage.
Therefore, the grammatical function of “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ) ” in Myanmar is different depending on
the sentence. This research analyse different functions of “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ) ” in a sentence.
Grammatical usages in Myanmar Grammar (2005),which is traditionally used, are found to havedifferent grammatical functions in spoken languages.
3.2 The Meaning of “에/DÂ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/” in Korean Language
The meaning of Korean case ending “에/DÂ/”is semantically analysed. The Use of Korean
Language for foreigners published by national Korean Center (2005) states that the meaning of“에/DÂ/” shows location, time, reason, direction, purpose, object, standard, unit, receiver of abehavior, abstract fact and state and quality. It is used to support the superior word or add thefront word. “에/DÂ/” is used as a comparison when more than two things are combines. Its usages
can be seen in the following sentences.
e.g (1). 부모님은 대전에 살고 계십니다.(shows location)(2).

내일은 한시에 만나요. (shows time)(3). 서울에 오니 사람도 많고 공기도 탁해 답답하군요.(shows direction)(4). 비에 옷이 다 젖었네. (shows reason)(5). 돈을 지갑에 넣어 두어라.(shows receiver)(6). 옷이 마음에 안 들어요. (shows behaviour)(7). 칼에 손을 베었어요. (identifies object)(8). 보약은 허약해진 몸에 특히 좋다. (identifies purpose)(9). 그의 실력은 전문가에 가까웠다.( identifies purpose)(10). 더운 날씨에 건강히 잘 지내시는지요? (identifies situation)

1

Myanmar Commission, Myanmar Grammar, 1975-2005, pp-69

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150(11). 수박은 한 개에 만 원입니다. (shows number)(12). 총무에 그 사람이 제격이다. (shows position)(13). 이 문제에 관한 의견을 말씀해 바랍니다. (shows indication)(14). 3 에 5 를 더하면 8 이 된다. (shows combination)(15). 영수는 생일 선물로 연필에 가방에 장난감에 이것저것 많이 받았다.
(shows comparison)
According to the book “ The Use of Korean Grammar”(2005) for foreigners published by
National Korean Center, " 에서/DÂrNÁ/" shows location, departure, time etc.
e.g (16). 보통 오전에는 학교에서 공부해요. (shows location)(17). 학교에서 가면 얼마 걸리겠어요? (shows departure)(18). 너에게 조금이나마 도움이 되고자 하는 뜻에 한 마디만 하겠다. (shows reason)(19). 세상에 가장 아름다운 것이 바로 사랑이다. (shows collectivity and background)(20). 이 상황에서 어떻게 더 좋아질 수가 있겠어요?(shows compared thing)(21). 정부에서 실시한 조사 결과가 발표되었다. (shows subject)

3.3 Comparison of “에/DÂ/” and “에서/DÂrNÁ/”In Korean language, “에/DÁ/” is used to show location, destination, place of arrival, reason
and situation, whereas “에서/DÂrNÁ/” is used to shows location, departure, reasons and comparison.
They have semantically same grammatical usages when they are used to show location.
e.g. ( 22) 나는 양곤에 산다.
(23) 나는 양곤에서 산다.
Both “에” in sentence (22) and “에서/DÂrNÁ/” in sentence (23) have the same grammatical usage
when they are used with the verb “살다” which means “live”. Although they have the samegrammatical functions, they have different meanings in the sentence.
e.g.(24) 친구가 밖에 서 있다.
(25) 친구가 밖에서 서 있다.

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In the uses of “에” in sentence (24) and “에서/DÂrNÁ/” in sentence (25), the later one havethe correct grammatical usage since the verb “서 있다”, which means standing, is used as anaction not as the location.
e.g.( 26) 양곤에 논문 발표가 있다.
(27) 양곤에서 논문 발표가 있다.
In the above sentences, the grammatical usage in sentence (26) is incorrect. In that sentence,“에/DÁ/” means “Doing paper reading”; it does not means “있다”,which means “exist”. “에/DÁ/”indicates the location while “에서/DÂrNÁ/” shows the place where the action happens. Therefore,
they have same meaning only to show the location, but in term of the whole sentence, theycannot be interchangeable since they have different grammatical functions.
e.g (28) a. 15 분 후에 학교에 도착한다.
b. 다음 주에 바간에 간다.
c. 만달레이에서 몇 시에 출발할 거야?
d. 나는 양곤에서 왔다.
“에/DÁ/” and “에서/DÂrNÁ/” in example (28) are used the destination or arrival rather than thelocation. “에서” is used to show departure or arrival.
3.4 Grammatical usages of “rS (hma) odkYS (SnÂ) ” in Myanmar“rS (hma)” is semantically analysed. According to Myanmar Grammar (2005) by
Department of Myanmar and Language Education, Ministry of Education, it is used as a
postpositional marker for departure. Its usages can be found as follows:e.g ( 29 ) armifbonf rEÅav;rS jyefvmonf။ Mg Ba comes back from Mandalay.
( 30 ) armifbonf rEÅav;u jyefvmonf ။ Mg Ba comes back from Mandalay.
In sentence (29), the place of departure is Mandalay and " rS (hma) " is used after “rEÅav;”to show departure. However, it is mostly used in written language. In spoken language, “u” isused to show departure, and in sentence (30), “u” is used instead of “rS”.
Myanmar postpositional marker relating to noun “မွ(hma)” has different grammatical functions
depending on its use in a sentence.
e.g ( 31 ) q&mrudk zkef;qufOD;rS ။ I will call the teacher.
( 32 ) eifvmrS igjyefr,f ။ I will leave only when you come.

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In sentence (31), “rS (hma)” is used to emphasize the speaker’s immediate thought to call theteacher and it is used as a particle that is used after a sentence. Besides, in sentence (32), “rS(hma)” has different grammatical function, joining two sentences “eifvmonf” and “igjyefr,f” .

]]odkY (SnÂ)” in Myanmar is semantically analysed. According to Myanmar Grammar (2005) by
Department of Myanmar and Language Education, Ministry of Education, it is used as a
postpositional marker to show destination or arrival. Its usages can be found in the following
sentences.
e.g (33 ) armifb ausmif;odkY oGm;onf။ Mg Ba goes to school.
( 34 ) armifb ausmif;udk oGm;onf။ Mg Ba goes to school.
In the above sentences, “ausmif; (school)” is Mg Ba’s destination or the place of arrival.
“odkY (SnÂ)” is used after the noun “ausmif; (school)” to emphasize that Mg Ba arrives there.
However, “odkY (SnÂ)” is widely used as a postpositional marker ,that shows arrival, only in written
language. In spoken language, “udk ” is used instead of “odkY (SnÂ)”. This can be found in sentence(34).
The usages, unique features and different usages of particles and postpositional markers
in two languages are analysed with example sentences, by comparing two adverbial
particles“에/DÁ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/'” in Korean and “rS (hma), odkY” in Myanmar. This can be found as
follows:
It is found out that two case ending in Korean language “에/DÁ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/” have various
meanings. “에/DÁ/” in Korean language shows location, destination, arrival, reason and situation
whereas “에/DÁ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/” shows location, departure, reason and comparison. Both of them canbe used to show location, yet they have different meanings in term of the whole sentence. “에/DÁ/”shows location while “에/DÁ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/” shows the place where the action happens, so they are
not interchangeable. In Korean grammar, words have same lexical meaning but in a sentence,
they have different grammatical functions. Moreover, non-native speakers of Korean language
can make mistakes in using particles since they have many grammatical functions.
Korean case ending “에/DÁ/” is used as a postpositional marker that shows arrival.
Likewise, “odkY” in Myanmar has same grammatical function. There is instability in Myanmar
grammar because postpositional marker used in written language can be substituted by anotherone in spoken language. Korean grammar has stability because there are same particles for bothspoken and written language.
Case ending “에서/DÂrNÁ/” in Korean shows departure and it has the same grammatical
function with Myanmar word “rS (hma)”. However, “rS” is only used in written language, not in
spoken language. Besides,“ rS (hma)”, one of the postpositional marker, which is used to show
departure has other grammatical functions in a sentence.

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4. Conclusion
This study helps Myanmar students who are studying Korean understand the usages of“에/DÁ/, 에서/DÂrNÁ/” in Korean language and “rS (hma) odkY (SnÂ) ” in Myanmar, the use of particles
in two languages, their unique features and different usages. It is found out that particles in
Korean language have different connotations. Korean grammar is stable because there is nochange in the usage of grammar both in spoken and written language. Postpositional markers in
Myanmar have different meanings and different grammatical function when they are in isolation
and within a sentence. Moreover, Myanmar grammar is instable because different grammaticalunits are used in written language and spoken language. Myanmar students who are studying
Korean have difficulties in Korean grammar exercises because of the differences stated above.
Furthermore, mother tongue influence is one of the cause of committing errors. Therefore, thisstudy highlights similarities and differences of two languages by comparing usages of particles in
two languages. People should use a language systematically because language is the main part ofthe society. Moreover, there are many things that should be studied in a language because
language is always improving. Therefore, further researches concerning particles in Korean
language and Myanmar language will be conducted in the future.

Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge everyone who played a role in my academic accomplishment. I would like toexpress my deep and sincere gratitude to my colleagues for providing patient advice and guidance throughout the
research process.

References[1] 남기심, 고영근,『표준 국어문법론』, 탑출판사, 2006.
[2] 서울대학교 국어교육연구소,『한국어 교육학 사전』, 서울대학교 국어교육연구소 편, 2014, Vol-2.
[3] 연세대학교 한국어학당 교재편찬위원회, 『연세 한국어 5-1』, 연세대학교, 연세대학교 출판부, 2013.
[4] 이익섭,국어학개설』, 학연사, 2008.
[5] 이익섭, 이상억, 재완, 『한국의 언어』, 신구문학사, 1997.
[6] 이정희 외, 『경희 한국어 문법 5』, 경희대학교 한국어학당 교재 편찬의원회, 도서출판하우,2000.
[7] 임호빈.홍경표.장숙인,『외국인을 위한 한국어 문법』, 연세대학교 출판부,2003.
[8] Dagon U San Ngwe(1974),『문법관과 문학관, Sarpay Beik Man 출판사.

[9]Dr.Aung Myint Oo, ]]bmompum;okawoe}}, Duwon Press,2010.
[10]John Okell and Anna Albtt, 『Burmese/ Myanmar Dictionary of Grammatical Forms, TJ International, Padstow, Cronwall, Geet
Britain, 2001 .
[11]Myanmar Commission, 『Myanmar Grammar』, 1975-2005 , Myanmar .
[12]San San Aye, ]]jrefrmo'´g0dbwfwdkY\tydkif;u@}}, Myanmar Department, Yongon,1994.

[13]U Phay Maung Tin, ]]bmompum;pmayavmu}}, Sarpay Beik Man Press, 1958.
[14]U Phay Maung Tin, ]]jrefrmo'´gtokH;tEIef;}} , Sarpay Beik Man Press, 1963.
[15]U Thaung Lwin, ]]enf;opfo'´g}}, Neethi Press, 1978.

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Relationship between Women’s Empowerment and Socioeconomic Status in
Myanmar: An Emphasis on Participation in Household Decision Making andExperience of Domestic Violence
Mya Thandar1, Hlaing Hlaing Moe2

Abstract
Women’s empowerment is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). The Goal 5: “Achieve gender equity and empower all women and girls” is especiallyaimed at improving the status of females. Women’s rights and issues have become a subject ofserious concern among both academicians and policymakers. This paper explores how
socioeconomic characteristics shape two aspects of women’s empowerment: decision making in
the household and experience of domestic violence. Data for currently married women age(15-49) from the 2015-2016 Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) are analyzed
using logistic regression analysis. This study shows that household decision-making is
associated with women’s employment status, age, residence, education and wealth index.
Women’s experience in domestic violence is related to women’s employment status, residence,education, and wealth index as well as husband-wife age difference. The study highlights thatage and women’s employment status are major determinants of women's participation inhousehold decision making while wealth index mainly influences on experiencing domestic
violence. In acceptance of traditional gender roles, it is not sufficient to assert women’s
empowerment in Myanmar and there would be under reporting the prevalence of domestic
violence. The results of this study could contribute to the government’s efforts to mainstream
the gender dimension into the country’s development policies and programs.
Keywords: women’s empowerment, socioeconomic status, decision-making in the household,domestic violence

1. Introduction
Since the 1990s, women have been identified as key agents of sustainable development,with women’s empowerment and equity viewed as important aspects of social and economic
progress. At the UN Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995, women’s
empowerment was introduced to an expanded audience of state actors and governments.
The UN Human Development Report ranks Myanmar as 80th of 159 countries in the2015 gender inequality index (UNDP 2016)1. The government has been striving to achieve
women’s empowerment and gender equality by collaborating with the UN, non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs), and international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs). The
government makes concerted efforts through the National Strategic Plan for the Advancement of
Women (2013-2022) by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief, and Resettlement to empower
women and to integrate gender equity in policies and programs. Research on women’s
empowerment supports the view that it is a multidimensional, complex and context-specificissue (Kabeer 2005)2. Therefore, what is valid in one region may not be valid for other regions,while socio-cultural systems vary considerably from one setting to another, and even within the12Professor, Department of Statistics, Yangon University of Economics, myathandar.yie@gmail.com
Lecturer, Department of Statistics, Yangon University of Economics, hlainghlaingmoe.moe@gmail.com

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19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)same country (Pambè et. al., 2014)3. It is necessary to study women’s empowerment from theperspective of women’s socioeconomic characteristics. This paper thus raises the question as tohow socioeconomic factors shape two aspects of women’s empowerment in Myanmar, namely
decision making in the household and experience of domestic violence. Reducing violenceagainst women, as well as enhancing their capacity to decide for themselves, is important in
empowering women. This paper aims to advance the understanding of women’s empowerment
and domestic violence in Myanmar to contribute the government’s efforts to mainstream thegender dimension into the country’s development policies and programs.

2. Method
2.1 Data
Data for the analysis are drawn from the newly available national 2015-16 Myanmar
Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS), which collected data for multiple indicators of
demographic and health information (Ministry of Health and Sports and ICF 2017)4. Approval
was obtained from Myanmar Ministry of Health and Sports and The DHS Program to use thedatasets for this study. The MDHS data are publicly available free of charge from The DHS
Program in the form of standard recode data files, at https://www.dhsprogram.com/Data/.
The data analysis of this study focuses only on currently married women age 15-49.
Although data on 12,885 women are available from the 2015-16 MDHS, among them 7,870
are currently married women age 15-49. To obtain nationally representative estimates,
sampling weight was applied and the final weighted samples included 7,758 currently married
women age 15-49 were considered.
The MFDHS 2015-16 provides information on participation in decision making anddomestic violence, among other things, in Myanmar. Our research focuses on women who werecurrently married and who successfully completed the interview on domestic violence, yielding asample size of 3059 which is only 40% of currently married women. The main concerns are thatquestions concerning domestic violence might not be response due to of cultural norms,
among other reasons and women might be hesitant these issues to strangers, as it is seriously
perceived in the community.

2.2 Key Variables
The two outcome variables analyzed in this study are women’s participation in decision
making and women’s report of their experience of domestic violence. Women’s participation indecision making was assessed through three types of household decision-making: woman’s own
health care, major household purchases, and visits to family or relatives. For each of these three
dimensions of decision-making, women are asked who usually makes the decisions. Eachquestion had five response options: respondent alone, respondent and husband/partner,
husband/partner alone; someone else; and others. We created a binary variable for each type ofdecision-making by grouping together the first two responses in which women participate indecision-making, coded as 1, and other responses together in which she has no say in decision
making, coded as 0.

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In the DHS domestic violence module, women were asked a series of questions about
their experience of domestic violence by husband/partner, i.e. physical (if the respondent has
ever been: pushed, shook or had something thrown at; slapped; punched with fist or hit bysomething harmful; kicked or dragged; strangled or burnt; threatened with a weapon); emotional(if the respondent has ever been humiliated or threatened with harm) and sexual violence (if the
respondent has ever been physically forced into unwanted sex or other unwanted sexual acts).
Each question has four responses for married women: never, often, sometimes, yes but not in
the last 12 months. In this study, we considered experience of domestic violence within the last
12 months prior to the survey. Women reporting that they experienced violence “often” or“sometimes” were categorized as having experienced domestic violence in the last 12 months
and coded as 1, and other responses were categorized as no experience of domestic violence inthe last 12 months and coded as 0.
The key independent variables used in the study are women’s education, employment
status, and household wealth index. Women’s education is coded into four categories: noteducated, primary, secondary and higher. Employment status includes two categories: notemployed, and employed. Wealth index is categorized as, poor, middle, and rich. The wealthindexes are constructed using information on household ownership of consumer items. This
recoded variable is included in the MDHS 2015-16 data.

2.3 Statistical Analysis
A binary logistic regression model is used when the dependent variable is dichotomous
such as participation in decision-making and experience domestic violence (Fox, 1999)5.
Logistic regression provides odd ratios, which represent the ratio of two probabilities: theprobability that the event occur (P) and the probability that it does not occur (1-P)(Wooldridge, 2013)6. The odds ratio is interpreted in terms of deviation from a reference
category. For women’s participation in household decision making, three separate models are
fitted, one for each of the three variables. For the three domestic violence outcomes – physicalviolence, sexual violence and emotional violence, separate logistic regression models were built
to examine their association with women’s socioeconomic characteristics. A number ofsocioeconomic and demographic variables were controlled for in the regressions, including
women’s age, education, employment status, wealth index, spousal age difference, spousal
education difference and area of residence.

3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Descriptive Analysis
Table 1 shows that information on socioeconomic and demographic characteristics ofwomen included in this study as well as descriptive statistics on their participation in household
decision making and experience of domestic violence in last 12 months. It is found that nearly
75% of the women are likely to live in rural areas, about 50% of those have only primarylevel of education, around two-third of the women are younger than their husbands and morethan 40% of those are poor. Approximately two-third of women is employed and more than halfof them have equal education level with their husbands.

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Table 1. Percent Distribution of Women who Participate in Household Decision Making and who
Experienced Various Forms of Domestic Violence by Measures of Socioeconomic
Status and Background Characteristics

aking
major
householdpurchaseisits tofamily or
relatives

Physicalviolence

Emotional
violence

Sexualviolence

81.1

73.3

86.7

10.5

15.9

4.2

82.6
84.1
90.5

74.8
73.5
76.6

87.3
87.5
89.4

13.2
10.8
7.9

14.4
13.8
7.4

3.5
3.1
0.9

36.3
63.7

82.0
84.2

72.1
75.6

85.1
89.2

10.7
12.3

13.3
14.3

3.6
3.1

41.3
20.1
38.6

79.9
84.9
86.5

74.3
73.0
75.1

85.3
88.9
89.6

14.0
17.2
4.1
11.4
11.9
3.4
8.9
11.3
2.1
Background Characteristics

3.0
10.7
16.2
19.4
19.1
16.5
15.1

69.7
76.1
84.2
85.7
84.3
84.7
85.0

54.4
62.1
72.9
75.4
77.0
79.5
78.1

81.1
81.9
85.8
87.6
89.9
89.5
90.3

12.9
12.6
12.2
12.1
11.2
12.7
9.0

20.3
13.9
15.2
13.0
13.1
13.3
14.9

2.7
4.3
3.8
2.8
3.0
3.4
3.3

73.9
26.1

81.8
88.1

73.7
76.3

87.2
89.0

12.2
10.1

14.1
13.4

3.4
3.1

10.5

84.7

75.0

88.5

13.1

16.4

2.2

21.5
68.0

84.8
82.8

75.8
73.8

89.0
87.2

8.5
12.5

13.4
13.7

3.0
3.6

54.6

83.5

74.2

87.4

11.9

13.9

3.7

20.0

84.5

74.4

88.3

11.2

16.2

3.1

25.4

82.4

74.6

87.9

11.7

12.3

2.7

Socioeconomic Status
Education
15.4
No education
Primary
47.1
Secondary
29.5
Higher
8.0
Employment
No
Yes
Wealth index
Poor
Middle
Rich
Age
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
Residence
Rural
Urban
Husband-wife age
difference
Wife is same age
Wife is older
Wife is young
Husband-wife
educationdifference
Both have equal
education
Wife has moreeducation
Husband has moreeducation

Domestic violenceoman’s own
health care

Characteristics

Percent

Decision making

Source: Authors’ Calculations from 2015-16 MDHS Data

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Women’s participation in Household Decision Making
Analysis of women’s participation in household decision making shows that womenwith higher level of education and employed women are more likely to participate in all three
types of decision making, similar to rich women and those from urban area. The older the
women the more they participate for visits to family or relatives. Also, the younger the wife, thelower the women’s involvement in all three types of decision making. When the wife has
more education, they are more likely to participate in all three types of decision making.

Women’s Experience of Domestic Violence
As to women’s experience of domestic violence, women with higher level of education,rich women and those from urban are less likely to experience all three types of domestic
violence. When considering physical violence and emotional violence, employed women are
more likely to report these forms of domestic violence while the older the wife, they are lesslikely to report them. Concerning sexual violence, employed women are less likely to reporttheir experience. When wife has more education, they are less likely to report physical violence
whereas if husband has more education, women are less likely to report emotional violence.
However, the sexual violence does not show clear patterns by background characteristics
except for residence.

3.2 Multivariate Analysis
Table 2 provides the results on the binary logistic analysis on the determinants of boththree aspects of decision making and domestic violence. The results present the adjusted
associations between each of the three measures of socioeconomic status and each of the
aspects of two outcomes variables, after controlling for key characteristics that could
confound the association.

Socioeconomic Determinants of Decision Making
Conditional on these key background variables, it is found that employed women are
more likely to participate in all three types of decision making. Woman’s decision making on
own health care appears higher among women with higher education. The womenparticipating in decisions for visits to family and relatives are higher among women living in
middle and rich household quintile than poor women, but wealth status does not have asignificant association with women’s decision making on large household purchases. The
results also highlight women’s age as an important determinant of household decision making.
Older women are more likely to participate in all three types of household decision making. In
terms of place of residence, women in urban are more likely to participate in decision making on
own health care. However, findings do not reveal significant differences between women by
spousal age difference and education difference.

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Socioeconomic Determinants of Domestic Violence
Of the three measures of socioeconomic status, only wealth quintile is significantly
associated with women’s experience of all three types domestic of violence. The rich womenare less likely to experience the physical and sexual violence. Similarly, wealth status’ effectis significant for middle and rich women for emotional violence. After adjusting for control
variables, women with higher education have less likely to experience emotional violence than
women with no education. But, the results do not show significant association between
education level of women and experiencing other two types of domestic violence.
Unexpectedly, employed women are more likely to experience the physical violence thanthose are unemployed. The differences are not significant for urban-rural residence, exceptthat experiencing emotional violence is greater for urban women. As for backgroundvariables, age of women and education difference are not statistically significant for all
three types of domestic violence. Regarding husband-wife age difference is significant forphysical and emotional violence. If wife is older than husband, she is less likely to experience
physical and emotional violence than the wife’s age is same with husband. Similarly, wife isyounger than husband; she is less likely to experience emotional violence than woman’ age issame with him.

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Table 2. Relationship between Measures of Socioeconomic Characteristics and Women’sParticipation in Household Decision Making, and Women’s Experience ofDomestic Violence among Married Women Age 15-49 in Myanmar
Decision making

Domestic violence

MakingCharacteristics

Woman’sown healthcare

Visits tofamily or
relatives

major
householdPhysicalviolence

Emotional
violence

Sexualviolencepurchase

Constant

1.71**
1.02
2.96***
Socioeconomic Status

0.13***

0.31***

0.02***

1.11

1
1.14

1
1.40

1
1.05

1
0.96

Education
No education (reference)Primary1
1.11

Secondary

1.11

1.16

1.07

1.18

0.83

0.75

Higher
Employment
No (reference)

1.51*

1.17

1.00

0.92

0.42**

0.63

1

1

1

1

1

1.16**

1.39***

1.34**

1.12

1.13

1

Yes

1

1.16*

Wealth index
Poor (reference)

1

1

1

1

1

1

Middle1.32***

0.86

1.29**

0.86

0.55***

0.76

Rich

1.26**
0.93
1.44***
Background Characteristics

0.58***

0.58***

0.29***

1

1

1

Age
15-19 (reference)

1

1

1

20-24

1.36*

1.38*

1.04

0.99

0.71

1.81

25-29

2.19***

2.23***

1.33

0.98

0.88

1.31

30-34

2.45***

2.53***

1.51*

0.94

0.62

0.83

35-39

2.15***

2.76***

1.85***

0.90

0.71

1.17

40-44
45-49

2.21***
2.23***

3.22***
3.00***

1.77***
1.89***

0.92
0.70

0.69
0.66

1.07
1.1

Residence
Rural (reference)Urban

1
1.42***

1
1.15

1
1.03

1
1.06

1
1.43**

1
1.31

Husband-wife age difference
1
Wife is same age (reference)
Wife is older
Wife is young
Husband-wife educationdifference
Both have equal education(reference)
Wife has more education
Husband has more education

1

0.98

0.98

1
1.01

1

1

1

0.57**

0.71*

1.76

0.94

0.99

0.94

0.82

0.63**

1.72

1

1

1

1

1

1

1.06

1.03

1.15

1.20

1.19

0.86

0.93

1.02

1.01

0.95

0.87

0.74

Note: ***, **, * represent 1%, 5% and 10% level of significance Source: Authors’ Calculations from 2015-16 MDHS Data

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4. Conclusions
This paper focuses on the relationship between women’s socioeconomic
characteristics and their empowerment in the household (participation in decision making in
the couple and experience of domestic violence) in Myanmar. It could be that thesocioeconomic factors included in this study are more closely related to women’s decision
making, than to domestic violence. The overall findings of this study raise questions about thepoor link between domestic violence and socioeconomic status and the low prevalence ofreported domestic violence in Myanmar. Factors surrounding women’s empowerment form
part of the causes of domestic violence. Whatever their level of education or contribution tohousehold wealth, having a conjugal home is a central issue for women in Myanmar. It
might be that regardless of the level of education and financial contribution to household
wealth, women in Myanmar are respectful of the traditional gender norms and consequently
might not dispute the authority of the husband as chief of the family, what glaringly
contributes to an apparent harmony in couple relationships. One of the major concerns
highlighted by this study is that domestic violence in Myanmar might be under-reported
because of cultural norms, among other reasons. Women might be reluctant to disclose intimate
issues to strangers, as it is badly perceived in the society (Randall et al. 2013)7. Some studies
have also found that the estimated prevalence of domestic violence is lower in the DHS than infocused surveys (Ellsberg et. al., 2001)8. Other caveat might be that DHS data are crosssectional and therefore do not help capture causal relationships between explanatory factors
and main outcome variables. This study adds an insight into the understanding of
women’s empowerment in Myanmar, where to our knowledge there is a scarcity of studies on
this issue. Our findings confirm the major role of education for improving women’s status interms of participation in the decision making in the household. It provides thus additional
arguments for the continuity of actions in favour of girl’s education at higher levels of schoolingin addition to the primary level. The development of national policies and programs aiming tosubstantially increase women’s status in Myanmar should foster positive socio-cultural attitudes
toward gender equality.

Acknowledgements
Our deepest gratitude goes to Yangon University of Economics for free internet access. We would like tothank USAID/ICF for providing data of the MDHS and the STATA software through the DHS fellow program.
Our special thanks go to Program Facilitators: Dr. Kerry MacQuarrie, Dr. Elma Laguna, Dr. Jennifer Yourkavich,
Mr. Khin Kyu, and authors and publishers of different journals for open access to researchers, without them thisstudy would be not realized.

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References[1] UNDP, “Human Development Report 2016: Human Development for Everyone”, New York, United Nations
Development Program (UNDP), 2016, https://www.undp.org /content/undp /en/home/library.
Retrieved 30 May 2017[2] Naila Kabeer, "Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: A Critical Analysis of the Third Millennium
Development Goal", Gender and Development, 2005, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 13-24,https://www.
tandfonline.com › doi › abs. Retrieved 10, May 2019[3] Madeleine Wayack Pambè, Bilampoa Gnoumou/Thiombiano, Idrissa Kaboré, “Relationship between
women’s socioeconomic status and empowerment in Burkina Faso: A focus on participation indecision-making and experience of domestic violence”, African Population Studies, 2014,vol 28, no. 2, pp. 1146-1156, https://www.academia. edu ›Relationship_between_womens_socioeconomic... . Retrieved 30 July 2019[4] Ministry of Health and Sports, ICF, “Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey: 2015-16”, Nay Pyi Taw,
Myanmar and Rockville, MD,
USA: Ministry of Health andSports, and ICF, 2017,https://www.dhsprogram.com/publications/ publication-fr324-dhs-final-reports.cfm . Retrieved 18
September 2017[5] William Fox, "Statistiques Sociales", Les Presses de l ’Université Laval de Boeck Université,
1999, https://www.payot.ch/Detail/statistiques_sociales-william_fox-9782804133481. Retrieved 3
May 2018[6] Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, “Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach”, South-Western, Cengage
Learning Press, 2013. https://www.amazon.co.uk/introductory-econometrics-approach-jeffreywooldridge/dp/ . Retrieved 30 May 2019[7] Sara Randall, Ernestina Coast, Natacha Compaore, Philippe Antoine, "The power of the interviewer."
Demographic Research, 2013, vol 28, pp. 763-792, https://www.demographic-research.org/
volumes/vol28/27/ . Retrieved 5 August 2019[8] Mary Ellsberg, Lori Heise, Rodolfo Pena, Sonia Agurto, Anna Winkvist, "Researching Domestic Violence
Against Women: Methodological and Ethical Considerations", Studies in Family Planning, 2001,
vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 1-16,

19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

A Critical Study of Gender Representation in Life (Intermediate) Coursebook
Su Khine Oo1

Abstract
Life is a six-level series which focuses on communicative skills in English through the use of realworld content. It encourages students to think critically through informative topics from real-life
communication. This paper investigates a critical study of gender representation found in listening
comprehension exercises along with pictures in Life (Intermediate). Mixed method which includes
descriptive qualitative as well as quantitative approach was used to reveal visibility, gender firstness,gender neutral and gender specific nouns, and gender stereotypes with reference to Porreca's (1984)
framework. The importance of gender-based characters was measured using Leiskin's (2001)
framework. The results of the research showed that dominance of female representation can be foundin dialogues related to beliefs and traditions whereas male dominance can be found in dialogues
concerning doubtful thoughts. Only limited number of gender stereotypes was found due to the factthat being published by National Geographic Learning, recording includes characters who are createdas authentic as possible to the current trend in which most male and female share the same interest
like travelling and music. It is hoped that this paper will be useful for language instructors andstudents who study English from the point of view of gender representation and stereotypes.
Keywords: gender representation, visibility, gender firstness, gender neutral and specific nouns,
gender stereotypes

1. Introduction
Tannenbaum et al. (2016) claimed that "Gender roles, gender identity, gender relations, andinstitutionalized gender influence the way in which an implementation strategy works, for whom,
under what circumstances and why." Gender representation has become one of the mostcontroversial topics in language learning and teaching continuum especially in the 21st century.
People no longer go along with the outdated sayings and proverbs like Let women stay at home andhold their peace by Aeschylus in 467 B.C., Woman's place is in the kitchen by Morrison in 1878,
Woman's place is in th2e home by Levesen in 1945. Sőğűt (2018) raised the awareness on gender
representation in teaching and learning process by insisting that it has "the potential to affect learners
and teacher in terms of their attitudes, mindsets, and values." This paper therefore attempts to findout gender representation in listening comprehension exercises of Life (Intermediate) Course bookwhich has been used at English Language Proficiency Course (Basic II) by CHRD in Yangon
University of Foreign Languages. It is found that most previous works on gender representation
were based on coursebooks specifically written to fit the culture of respective learners. For thisreason, contents are culture-bound and reflect their own culture as these coursebooks were designed
for local use. However, in this paper, the material chosen to analyze is a coursebook meant forinternational adult English learners and therefore Myanmar culture is not found in this coursebook.
Therefore, the results of this research are also dramatically different from those of previous
researches.
1Dr., Assistant Lecturer, Department of English, Yangon University of Foreign Languages, dkosyufl@gmail.com

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1.2 Aim and Objectives
The aim of this paper is to engage in critical analysis of gender representation found in thecoursebook Life (Intermediate).
Objectives of this paper are:(1) To identify gender visibility, gender firstness, gender neutral and specific nouns, genderstereotypes in selected coursebook(2) To explore different jobs and interests based on gender(3) To observe attitudes and beliefs of different gender from their dialogues(4) To highlight how both men and women share the same role in society
This paper attempts to answer the following research questions:(1) How did the coursebook writer assign roles to men and women?
(2) To what extent do men and women share same interests and attitudes towards different
topics used?
(3) What are the roles of men and women based on content of different units?
1.3 Literature Survey
Gender representation in ELT context
In general, gender is a naturally gifted criterion which pre-defines the abilities of males andfemales. In this 21st century, Gender Equality Commission of the Council of Europe (2015)
ascertains that the historical relations of power of men over women as well as sexist attitudes
impeded the advancement of women. Gender representation goes beyond simply being male orfemale but is related to implied meanings and expectations in terms of society and culture.
According to the research done in Asian and Middle Eastern countries by Ansary and Babaii(2003) cited in Hall (2014), gender stereotypes found in some coursebooks like men jobs are related
to science, arts, army, politics and medicine. The most significant job allocation for women in most
ELT coursebooks are related to education like teachers, educational consultants, research consultants
and to government like government officers.
According to Mustapha and Mills (2015), "some teachers and students are minimally awareof gender stereotyping in their coursebooks while others deny or ignore its existence." They also
pointed out the importance of gender issues in ELT context related to society, religion and culture.
ELT teachers should be aware and should raise awareness among students to such differences interms of target language relativity and determinism, and those of mother tongue.
1.4 Porreca's (1984) framework
Porreca (1984) proposed different aspects of gender representation known as the frequencyof occurrence of males and females, gender firstness, or the frequency of context in which males or
females are presented first and the frequency of nouns designating male or female characters or
gender stereotypes. In doing critical analysis of gender representation, she suggested finding out how
many times male and female characters are found, how many times male or female characters appear
first and how these characters are assigned roles in society.

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In addition, she focused on omission of gender in the text, occupational visibility, masculine
generic constructions and adjectives used in gender representation. She highlighted some situations
in coursebooks in which male or female is not important and therefore omission of gender is found.
She believed that some roles like teacher, accountant and housekeeper are commonly designated tofemale characters whereas those such as politicians, computer programmers and soldiers are
assigned to males. She attempted to take linguistic forms that are used mostly by men into
consideration in observing gender differences. In accordance with Yule (2014), generic words andconstructions vary from gender to gender. Women language is poise and polite whereas that of men
is dominant and influential on others.

1.5 Leiskin's (2001) framework
Leiskin (2001) proposed systematic method of analysis in measuring the importance of roles
the characters have. She claimed that gender bias did exist in communicative dominance and social
dominance. Communicative dominance is characterized by frequent turns of speaking in dominantmanner where as social dominance refers to "the maintenance and stability of group-based social
hierarchies."
Leiskin insisted that "People who are centers of conversations, topics of writing, or the
information focus would seem to have more social prominence than people who are not." Sheelaborated the dominance of gender depending on different contextual background. For example, if
the theme of conversation is about environmental conservation, it is likely that men will lead thefloor whereas women-led conversations are mostly about babysitting and beauty.

1.6 Life (Intermediate) Coursebook
Life is a coursebook which comes in six levels as adult series published by National
Geographic Learning. It helps adult learners improve their English language proficiency throughexploration of the world. All of its series include real-life experiences, attractive visuals, interestingarticles and interactive videos which certainly help adults learn English in creative atmosphere. Maincomponents of every series are comprehensive grammar, language functions, vocabulary,pronunciation and language skills which are designed to enrich communicative and creative skills.
At the end of every unit, in Review sections, self-reflective checklists are included so that students
can reflect whether they can do things in checklist efficiently. This can serve as a ruler to measure
the success of teaching and learning processes.
In terms of CEFR, the level of Life (Intermediate) chosen to analyze is B1. Although most
grammar sections are familiar to adult learns of CHRD evening class, they can gain benefit fromvivid grammar explanations and practice exercises. In addition, most students believe that they can
engage in vocabulary enrichment because of interesting topics used. What is more, they can practise
all four language skills of English in addition to critical thinking and creative skills.

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1.7 Previous Researches
Nagatomo (2010) investigated "A Critical Analysis of Gender Representation in an EFL
Textbook," using Conversation Topics for Japanese University Students in accordance withtheoretical frameworks by Porreca (1978) and Leiskin (2001). The findings of her research showedthat female characters were more significant and were given more active roles, and that social
dominance was not found in terms of sentence structure.
Hall (2014) did a research on "Gender Representation in Current EFL Textbooks [Right Path
to English I and II] in Iranian Secondary Schools" through systematic quantitative approach. His
focuses were on gender visibility and gender-oriented dialogues using the framework of of Porreca(1984). He then used qualitative approach in identifying "(1) male-centred language including: (a)firstness and (b) masculine generic construction; (2) gender-linked occupation possibilities; (3)distribution of household responsibilities, and (4) distribution of spare time and leisure activities"
The results of his research proved that there was unequal distribution of gender representation in
selected textbooks.
Hafidhoh, et.al. (2018) conducted a research on Gender Representation on Reading Texts,
Dialogues and Pictures in “When English Rings a Bell” for Grade VII Junior High School." Theirfocus was on gender representation found in reading texts, dialogues and illustrations found in thecoursebook. Descriptive qualitative approach and Porreca's (1984) gender analysis was used to
identify differences and similarities in both representations. Outcomes of their research ascertainedthat female dominance was found in reading texts and dialogues, but that male dominance wasobserved in illustrations.
2. Research Methods
Research methods serve as a foundational framework for the emergence of reliable research
results. Being the lifeblood of an effective research, research methods have been given the firstpriority in conducting every empirical research. This paper was carried out using both quantitativeand descriptive qualitative research methods. Firstly, the data on gender representation werecollected from selected coursebook Life (Intermediate) and were statistically entered. Then using
Porreca's (1984) and Leiskin's (2001) frameworks, collected data were analyzed. Analysis section
was divided into sections: (1) Gender-linked nouns used for designation, (2) Gender-related leisureactivities, (3) Gender visibility, and (4) Gender firstness. The third step known as interpretation ofanalyzed data was done through descriptive qualitative method. Gender stereotypes, Communicative
dominance and social dominance found in this coursebook were discussed in Results and Discussionsection.
2.1 Analysis of Gender Representation in Life (Intermediate)
Gender representation plays a vital role in coursebooks as it can affect the beliefs andattitudes of teachers and learners in teaching and learning processes. Coursebooks which are notspecifically meant for target learners are designed as scrupulously as possible not to have negative
impact on gender representation in different cultures.
The following is the table which shows gender-linked nouns related to designations for males
and females. M refers to Male and F refers to Female.

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Table 1: Gender Representation Related to Occupations
No UnitOccupation

M

F

No Unit

IT student
Finance assistantSales assistant
Anthropologist
primate researcher
art director
electronics company staff
Peruvian weaver
Gold-medal winningswimmerPresenter
DancerFilm director
Taiko masterRadio presenter
Raft woman
Marine ecologist
Project Manager
Office staff

0
1
0
2
0
1
0
1

1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0

33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40

0

1

41

1
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
1

0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
2

42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50

10
10a

Accountant

0

2

51

10b

Nurse
Senior Technician

0
1

1
0

52
53

10c

22

Farmer

1

0

54

11a

23
24
25

Manager
Gas station Attendantfactory worker

1
0
0

0
1
1

55
56
57

11b
11c
11d

Student

0

1

58

11R

Biologist
Conservationist
HolidaymakerTour guide
Neuroscientist
restaurant owner

1
1
1
0
1
1

0
0
0
1
0
0

59
60
61
62
63
64
65

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

1a
1c
1d
1f
2a
2b
2e
2f
3
3a
3c
3f
4

19
20
21

4a

4b

26
27
28
29
30
31
32

5a
5b
5d
6c

6d
7
7a
7b
7b
7d
8b

8c

9
9a
9b
9d

12
12a
12b
12c
12R

Occupation

M F

WaiterArchitect
Photographer
Presenter
Ecologist
estate agent
ArtistAviator

1
0
4
0
1
1
1
0

0
1
0
1
0
0
0
1

Navigator

10Archaeologist
Geneticist
market researcher
police officer
shopping expert
Sales assistantSales operator
marathon athlete
Presenter
President of the Mars
society
RunnerHitchhiker
Survival International
Spokesmantravel journalist
Technician
Secretary
Google's executive
chairmanInterpreter
Fisherman
wildlife researcher
Biologist
Explorer
Samurai
wildlife photographer

0
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
1

1
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0

1

0

0
1

1
0

1

0

0
1
0

1
0
1

1

0

0
1
0
0
1
1
1

1
0
1
1
0
0
0

It is said that depending on gender, they have different interests for pastime activities. For
instance, teenage boys would consider playing football while girls would think of going shopping for
clothes.

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Table 2: Gender Representation Related to Leisure Activities
No

Unit

1

2d

2
3
4

Leisure

M

F

No

Unit

LeisureM

FGoing out

1

1

5

5b

Going on a trip

2

2

3b

Travelling

0

1

6

9c

mountaineering

1

0

3e
5

PicnicGoing on a round-the-world trip

1
0

0
1

7

11f

Skiing02

Gender visibility was analyzed using significant visual aids in all 12 units of coursebook. Gendervisibility based on visuals in Life (Intermediate) coursebook is as follows.
Table 3: Frequency of Gender Visibility in Visuals
No UnitDescription
M F No Unit
Description
M F
1
2
3

1
1a

Family event

0

2

30

Using mobile phone

1

0

31

Quechua high school student

1

0

32

4

1b

Birthday party

0

2

33

5

1d

Job interview

1

2

34

6

1f

Peruvian weaver

1

0

35

7

1R

Olympic athlete

0

1

36

8

2

Mexican folk dancer

0

2

37

9

2a

musician4038Singer

1

0

39

10
11

2b

Hip Hop dancer

3

2

40

12

2d

Film director

1

0

41

13

2f

Taiko master

1

0

42

14

3

Water fetcher

0

12

43

15

3a

Raft rower

3

0

44

16
17

3c
4

AdventurerChildren playing inside old jeep

1
3

0
0

45
46

18

4a

Bikers

3

0

7f
8c
9b
9f
10
10a
10c

Immigrants

3

0

Pilot

0

1

Shopping expert

01

Shopper

0

1

Buyer

1

0

Seller1

0

Marathon runners

11

Doctor

1

0

Patient

0

1

Skier

1

0

Refugee10Police10Victim

1

0

Hiker

1

0

Koro language speaker

0

1

11a

Linguist
Tribe

1
4

0
1

47

11e

Residents' meeting

1

2

10d
10f
11

19

Gas station attendant

0

1

48

11f

Antarctic walkers

0

2

20

Factory worker

0

1

49

11R

Newspaper reader

10

Graduate

0

1

50

12

Fisherman

1

0

Student

0151Wildlife researcher

01Chinese factory workers

11

7

52

21

4b

22
23
24
25

4c
4f
4f

DancerBusinessmen

0
2

1
0

12a

Biologist

0

1

53

12b

Man eating his boots

1

0

54

12c

Samurai

10

Man looking at his watch

10

Au pair
Host

0
2

1
2

26

5a

Long walker

1

0

55

12d

27
28

5c
6b

Hiker
Man engaging in imaginary eating

1
1

0
0

56
57

12e

29

7c

Amateur singer

40

The following table shows the frequency of gender firstness in listening comprehension of Life
(Intermediate) coursebook.

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Table 4: Frequency and Percentage of Gender Firstness
Male (%)

Female (%)

38 (47.5%)

42 52.5%)

3. Results and Discussion
With regard to the analysis, it was found that coursebook writer of Life (Intermediate)
attempted to give equal role of importance in most parts of the coursebook although standard
deviations of occupation and visibility were higher than other areas. To start with, it was observedthat the role of office assistant was shared by both males and females in Unit 4 Open-up. What was
surprising in findings of this research is culture-bound. Some gender-linked occupations are nolonger confined to gender but their professionalism and discipline. For instance, according to Table
1, it was seen that an IT student, aviator, archeologist, travel journalist, and wildlife researcher arefemales. It deviated the widely accepted relativism that those jobs are mostly done by males. It waseven noted that people doing extreme sports like white water rafting in Unit 3a and walkers in
Antarctica in Unit 11f are females. These extreme sports are done mostly by male athletes but thiscoursebook tends to highlight gender equality in terms of physical ability and mental strength. Thiswanes the power of male dominance over females as the latter have engaged in such male-related
activities nowadays.
With regard to analysis of this paper, it can be observed that occupations like weaver are
confined to females only in Myanmar society. There is a substantial number of occupations which
fit the view of Myanmar society as well. Most females' jobs are related to public relations likeinterviewer, dancers, secretaries, radio presenters and so on. Most males' jobs are related to hard
infrastructure like technicians, neuroscientists and navigators, and to politics and those at the top ofhierarchical position like President of the Mars society, spokesman and executive chairman. In
addition, all musicians and singers illustrated in this coursebook like those in Unit 2a are males.
In terms of leisure activities, it was obvious that both males and females are interested ingoing out for dinner or for fun in Unit 2d, and in going on a trip or travelling in Unit 3b and 5b. Due
to diachronic changes in beliefs and attitudes, females are no longer absorbed in their household
activities but in outdoor activities like going out for shopping and travelling to different places. It
was found that gender-linked designations were assigned to males and females based on widely
accepted values in that native society. For instance, in Unit 1a, Quechua high school student wearing
traditional costume is male as only males are allowed to complete their studies until high school. In
Unit 2f, Taiko master is a male because of common beliefs and culture in Japanese society as it isrelated to Buddhist and Shinto religions, and Taiko is regarded as a sacred instrument to be play bymales only. 12 female water fetchers from Indian villages in Unit 3 Open-Up still reflects females
from some distant villages of Myanmar. Occupations which are considered dangerous like Hiker in
Unit 10f, fishermen in Unit 12 and explorer in Unit 12b are normally done by males mostly insocieties.
Although most Asian society gives more role to males in conversations, results of this paper
proved that both males and females were given equal importance to reinforce gender equality. It was

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19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

found that even conversations related to extreme sports and adventures like in Unit 3a were led byfemales and they had communicative dominance over males as they served the central role in theseconversations. The following Table 5 and Figure 1 show the overall results of the research.
Table 5. Gender Representation in Life (Intermediate) Coursebook
GenderRepresentation

Male

FemaleStandard Deviation

Occupation

44

28

11

Leisure Activities

5

7

1

Visibility

69

51

13

Firstness

38

42

3

Total

156

128

20

Overall Percentage

55

45

7

80
60
Male

40
20

Fem
ale

0
Occupation

LeisureActivities

Visibility

Firstness

Overall
Percentage

Figure 1: Gender Representation in Life (Intermediate) Coursebook

Overall results of this research as shown in Table 5 and Figure 1 are in line with those of
Hafidhoh, et.al. (2018) in that male dominance (a total of 69 times) over female (a total of 51 times)
was found in visibility through illustrations. It is likely that coursebook writers attempt to preserve
widely accepted values and at the same time raise awareness on coursebook users that the role ofwomen has become as significant as that of men in different cultures these days. It attempts tobalance gender representation in terms of gender visibility, gender firstness, gender-free occupations
and gender-free activities as much as possible. However, male dominance was found in Occupation(44) and Visibility (69) whilst female dominance was observed in Leisure Activities (7) andFirstness (42). Coursebook writers did not give dominance to only one type of gender. It is one of
the factors which make this coursebook applicable and acceptable by both teachers and learners fromdifferent countries.

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19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

Similar to findings of Nagatomo (2010) in "A Critical Analysis of Gender Representationin an EFL Textbook," female characters (52.5%) were slightly more significant than males interms of gender firstness found in selected coursebook. Unlike the results of Nagatomo's
research, gender-related household activities except fetching water were not found in selectedcoursebook. As the main purpose of National Geographic Learning is to help its users learn
English through exploration of the world, the coursebook does not stick to only one culture but tothose around the world.
Like the findings of Hall (2014), male dominance (55%) was found in overall percentage
of gender representation. As the standard deviation for overall percentage was only 7, it can beassumed that significant dominance was not found. Unlike the research done by Hall, thesignificance of male-centered language was not found as more or less equal importance wasgiven in different contexts in the coursebook. Contrary to his research, both men and womenshared most of the spare time and leisure activities like going out and travelling. Approximately
equal distribution of gender representation was observed through values and traditions around theworld.

4. Conclusion
To wind up briefly, this paper attempts to highlight gender representation in Life
(Intermediate) with focus on gender-related designations, gender-related leisure activities, gendervisibility and gender firstness. With regard to statistical data and data interpretation based onframeworks of Porreca (1984) and Leiskin (2001), it can be concluded that an effective
coursebook meant for general adult users is free from gender imbalance and bias on gender
representation so that it does not have negative impact on understanding of widely acceptedvalues and beliefs of users around the world who are trying to improve their language proficiency
through observing different contexts worldwide. Further researches can be done on othercoursebooks relating representation of gender and cultural notes. It is hoped that this paper will
be useful for those who are interested in observing the role of gender representation in Life
series.

Acknowledgements
First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Sayagyi Dr. Kyi Shwin, Rector of Yangon
University of Foreign Languages for giving me a chance to present my paper at The 19th Science Council of Asia
Conference. Secondly, my special thanks are for Dr. Mi Mi Aung and Dr. Yin Myo Thu, Pro-Rectors of Yangon
University of Foreign Languages for their kind support and guidance in doing this research. Thirdly, my heartfelt
thanks go to Dr. Ni Ni Aung, Professor and Head of English Department, for persuading me to be research-minded
and for giving me successive support regardless of her tight schedule at work. In addition, I would like to thank Dr.
Yin Myat Phyu Win. Lastly, I am indebted to teachers of English Department for their continuous support and help.

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19th SCA Conference (Sub-theme II)

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