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A University of Sussex EdD thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the aut hor, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details Encountering internationalisation: higher education and social justice in Myanmar Lynne Heslop Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Education School of Education and Social Work University of Sussex June 2019 i STATEMENT I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. Lynne Heslop Signature: ____________________________ ii Acknowledgements I am deeply indebted to the professors and Ministry of Education officials in Myanmar, whose commitment, candour and enthusiasm have made this study possible, and from whom I’ve learned so much. I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Mario Novelli, for his insightful advice and guidance, his continuous support and encouragement, and the stimulating discussions and experience he shared with me that have widened my world. My thanks also go to my second supervisor, Professor Yusuf Sayed, for his kind and generous help whenever needed, and for bringing a group of students together and guiding us in thought-provoking discussions from which this thesis has benefited considerably. Finally, I would like to thank Ali, whose understanding and patience over the years enabled me to do this. iii Encountering internationalisation: higher education and social justice in Myanmar Summary As Myanmar emerges from over half a century of military-backed authoritarian rule and international isolation, this study examines the international encounters of Myanmar’s higher education institutions (HEIs) from a social justice perspective. Social justice and peacebuilding are central to Myanmar’s development aims and are critical areas in which higher education has important roles and influences. Universities can be forces for progressive social change, promoting equity and long-term peace through their research, teaching and contributions to society. Conversely, they can also work against social justice as institutions that entrench or exacerbate social inequalities and exclusion. This study explores the way that the internationalisation of HE relates to aspects of social justice, firstly, in the arrangements and relationships between Myanmar HEIs and their international partners; and secondly, from an ‘outward-facing’ perspective in the contribution of their international activities towards social justice, peacebuilding and development, in response to Myanmar’s conflict-affected context and social inequalities. In-depth interviews were conducted with leaders and senior managers in four Myanmar HEIs, the Myanmar Ministry of Education and three UK HEIs. The rationales and motivations for engaging in international interactions in Myanmar were explored, and through Nancy Fraser’s theory of social justice based on parity of participation, the economic, cultural, political and peacebuilding dimensions of social justice of international interactions were analysed. The study’s findings show that the HE sector in Myanmar has been largely neglected by international development agencies, implying that the roles, functions and purposes of HE in social justice and peacebuilding are unrecognised, unacknowledged or ignored. In their encounters with internationalisation, Myanmar HEIs are experiencing social injustice in their HE partnerships. The findings reveal stark asymmetries in the motivations and rationales for Myanmar and UK HEIs to engage in their international interactions, driven predominantly by commercial interests in UK HEIs and by academic needs, which mostly remain unmet, in Myanmar public HEIs. In the absence of international development support, the ideologies of iv market liberalisation and international commercialisation of HE remain unchallenged by policy-makers, are impeding ethical HE interactions, and usurping the good will of international HEIs to contribute to Myanmar HEIs and wider social justice issues in Myanmar society. Through their activities and arrangements, some international interactions appear to be manifesting features of re-colonisation. In the Myanmar HEIs in this study, these were found to further entrench inequalities in the global circulation of knowledge production, perpetuate the epistemological subordination of Myanmar researchers, and create or maintain economic, cultural and political hegemonies in resources and power, reproducing the dependencies of Myanmar public HEIs and privileging Northern HEI partners. Although some international collaboration in HE supporting peacebuilding was present in Myanmar HEIs, the role of HE within a wider narrative of peace and social justice was not well understood by HEIs and education policy makers. While international HE partnerships were shown to have the potential leverage and opportunities to contribute to social justice and peacebuilding, only few were engaged in research topics that lead to a deeper understanding of the causes of grievances, discrimination and injustice, and supporting activities that foster citizenship, critical thinking, social cohesion and democratic processes within and beyond the university. Although the Myanmar government recognised the importance of university students in peacebuilding, the role of HE and internationalisation were situated firmly within a human capital logic, reflecting liberal peace ideology premised on social stability through economic growth and increasing privatisation, overshadowing other vital functions of HE and internationalisation in societal transformation and long-term peace. By critiquing international interactions through a social justice lens and by deepening the understanding of the processes that drive international HE, structural, cultural and epistemic injustices were identified and thereby make possible the dismantling of the barriers to parity of participation. In doing so, it may be feasible to develop more equitable international HE engagement in Myanmar’s low-income, conflict-affected context, steer international HE collaboration towards responding more effectively to the needs of Myanmar’s universities and contribute further to wider social justice and peacebuilding. Key words: higher education, social justice, internationalisation, peacebuilding, conflict, partnerships, Myanmar v Table of Contents Acknowledgements ii Summary iii List of Figures viii List of Tables viii List of Abbreviations x 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Research context 1 1.2 Aims and rationales for this research 2 1.3 Research questions 5 1.4 Organisation of the thesis 6 2 Higher education, social justice and internationalisation 8 2.1 Higher education in social transformation 8 2.2 Higher education and development 14 2.3 Higher education, conflict and peacebuilding 18 2.4 Social justice and higher education 30 2.5 The internationalisation of higher education 36 2.6 Summary 54 3 Conceptual frameworks 56 3.1 Conceptual frameworK for rationales of international interactions 56 3.2 Conceptual frameworK for social justice 59 Themes related to redistribution 63 Themes related to recognition 65 Themes related to representation 66 Themes related to reconciliation 67 3.3 Summary 69 vi 4 Research context in Myanmar 70 4.1 Myanmar: a socio-economic overview 71 4.2 Myanmar’s education system from colonial times to the present 72 4.3 Myanmar’s universities, colonialism and conflict 74 4.4 Overview of the Myanmar higher education system 80 4.5 Internationalisation in Myanmar’s HE reforms 87 4.6 Summary 89 5 Research methodology and research design 91 5.1 Critical realism 92 5.2 Qualitative research 94 5.3 Case study research design 95 5.4 Researcher positionality 96 5.5 Selection of research sites and participant recruitment 97 Sampling strategy of institutions 99 Research sites 100 Sampling strategy of participants 105 5.6 Ethical considerations and challenges 107 5.7 Data collection 110 Interviews 110 Documents 112 Approach to data analysis 112 5.8 Limitations of the study 114 5.9 Summary 115 6 The international interactions of Myanmar higher education institutions 116 6.1 Overview of international and regional cooperation with Myanmar HE 116 6.2 Types and foci of international interactions of four Myanmar HEIs 122 6.3 International collaboration by Myanmar HEIs in research 126 6.4 Analysis and discussion 128 7 Rationales and motivations for international collaboration of Myanmar and UK HEIs 131 vii 7.1 Rationales and motivations of Myanmar HEIs to engage in international interactions 132 7.2 Rationales and motivations of UK HEIs to engage with Myanmar 143 7.3 Analysis and discussion 150 7.4 Conclusion 154 8 Social justice in the international interactions of Myanmar higher education institutions 155 8.1 Redistribution: economic justice in international HEI interactions 155 8.2 Recognition: cultural justice in international HEI interactions 167 8.3 Representation: political justice in international HEI interactions 176 8.4 Reconciliation: peacebuilding justice in international