Teaching Myanmar students under the Gaokao policy in a borderland school: Teachers’ challenges and agency

Abstract

This study examines the classroom interactions and agentive practices of a cohort of Chinese teachers when teaching Myanmar students under the Gaokao policy at a borderland high school in China. The complexities of teaching Myanmar students of diverse backgrounds are manifested in the context of the constraints of professional accountability and working conditions. The study reveals these teachers’ classroom norms and interactions are an outcome of negotiations between their agency and structural power. The teachers’ expectations of the international students’ abilities and prospects are constrained by the limitations of the current curriculum. The paper argues that internal and external conditions contribute to restricting the students’ access to educational resources and employment prospects. This paper draws attention to tensions and dilemmas of pedagogic practice in a borderland setting and calls for setting up a hybrid, inclusive third space for students and teachers in international education.