On the borders of Pedagogy - Implementing a critical pedagogy for students on the Thai Burma Border

Oct 15, 2026

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Explores how critical pedagogy can be implemented for students living in the Thai-Burma borderlands through an auto-ethnographic account of teaching adolescent development. The author describes a personal reflection showing how teaching on the border reshaped understanding of the pedagogy underpinning her practice, and revealed a mismatch between espoused theories and classroom application. The study aims to trace early steps toward developing a Thai-Burma classroom praxis grounded in humanising critical pedagogy and informed by the realities of Burmese refugee education.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background: Burmese Refugees and Education on the border

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 57, Number 1, April 2017 On the borders of Pedagogy: Implementing a critical pedagogy for students on the Thai Burma Border Jen Couch Australian Catholic University This article uses an auto-ethnographic approach to explore the reflections and insights that occurred during my teaching of a subject in adolescent development on the Thai Burma border. This paper adopts a relatively descriptive style to a personal reflection of teaching on the border and how it transformed the way Iteach and made me look at the pedagogy that underpins my teaching practice. I found a lack of congruence between the pedagogical theories that are espoused and how I could apply these to a border setting. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explore some of the ways I began to develop a Thai Burma classroom praxis that drew on the theoretical underpinnings of a humanising critical pedagogy. Keywords: refugee, Burmese, critical pedagogy, transformation, collaboration On the borders of Pedagogy: Implementing a critical pedagogy for students on the Thai Burma Border 127 Introduction The border between Burma and Thailand represents the beginnings, endings, and blending of languages, cultures, communities, and countries. It also reflects the complexity, juxtaposition, and intersection of identities, economies, and social and educational issues. Since 2008 the Australian Catholic University has delivered a diploma in liberal arts for Burmese refugees living in this border region. The circumstances for students in these borderlands create significant and complex challenges within a tertiary education environment. This article uses an autoethnographic approach to explore the reflections and insights that occurred during my teaching of a subject in adolescent development. This paper adopts a relatively descriptive style to a personal reflection of teaching on the border and how it transformed the way I teach and made me look at the pedagogy that underpins my teaching practice. I found a lack of congruence between the pedagogical theories that are espoused and how I could apply these to a border setting. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explore some of the ways I began to develop a Thai Burma classroom praxis that drew on the theoretical underpinnings of critical pedagogy. Background: Burmese Refugees and Education on the border For decades Burma’s population of approximately 50 million has struggled for democracy and human rights against a brutal military regime (Allden, 2015:4) . With over one hundred ethnic groups, Burma is said to have the richest ethnic diversity in Asia. The largest ethnic minorities typically live in mountainous frontier regions. Minority group demands for autonomy and self-determination, often in the form of militant insurgency have been brutally supressed by the Burmese military. Civilians in these ethnic areas suffer the most and thousands have been forcibly relocated and their land confiscated. Increasing campaigns against ethnic groups have driven an estimated 500,000 people from their homes into Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) areas inside Myanmar or across the border to refugee camps in Thailand (Allden 2015:5) . The conflict has resulted in over 3,000 ethnic villages being razed to the ground, poor farmers being killed or abducted, and educational, health and social services being destroyed. While the inhabitants of the 128 Jen Couch camps have mostly fled violence and oppression in their homeland, an increasing number are leaving for reasons of poverty and educational opportunities (KHRG 2009) . Zeus (2011) estimates that around 150,000 refugees live in refugee camps along the Thai Burma Border, and have done so for a quarter of a century (2011:257) . Until 1995, refugees on the Thailand-Burma border lived in village-type settlements and were allowed to travel outside the camps to get food and shelter materials. Camp life changed dramati

FAQs

What approach does the article use to examine teaching on the Thai Burma border?

It uses an auto-ethnographic approach to explore reflections and insights arising during teaching of a subject in adolescent development.

What problem does the author identify regarding critical pedagogy and classroom practice?

The author finds a lack of congruence between the pedagogical theories that are espoused and how they could be applied in a border setting.

What is the purpose of the article in relation to the Thai Burma classroom?

To explore ways the author began developing a Thai Burma classroom praxis drawing on the theoretical foundations of humanising critical pedagogy.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by McGucket