A Study of teachers' reflective teaching practices on students' academic achievement in Myanmar

Abstract

Recently, the quality of government schools is questioned and criticized due to evidences on students’ academic achievement data. According to the current educational transformations in Myanmar, teachers’ capacity building and in-service professional development became prioritized areas to develop for students’ quality education. However, the existence of various developmental constraints makes the system to find out the suitable method for teachers’ in-service professional development. Reflective teaching has been regarded as a valuable, convenient and effective practice for in-service teachers. In this regard, it is needed to explore which reflective teaching practices are useful for teachers in current practice and ultimately improve students’ academic achievement and learning. To give implications to policy makers in education field for in-service professional development of the teachers in Myanmar, this study investigated the reflective teaching practices which have effects on students’ academic achievement and therefore can be advantageous for the teachers by applying them in classroom context. This study set up the model and conducted a survey to verify the model. Regression analysis was carried out to find out the effective reflective practices. The findings presented reflective teaching practices of teachers currently in practice which have positive impacts on students’ academic achievement and observable academic competencies. Policy implications have been provided based on the research results, for further development and nurturing teachers’ reflective teaching and also some recommendations for future research limitations to improve.