Abstract

• The main purpose of this study is to study the behavioral autonomy of children. Upper primary school students were taken into account in this study. So, the participants in this study were 600 upper primary school students among four Basic Education High Schools located in Aungmyaytharzan Township. Descriptive survey method was used in this study; participants were 300 male students and 300 female students from Grade 4 and Grade 5. A questionnaire was used to collect demographic information of the participants such as gender, grade, sibling, parents’ education and parents’ occupation. The questionnaire was adapted from Manuela Fleming (2005) in this study. It was composed of 36 items and included three components: decision-making abilities, self-reliance and parental influence. The results of the study also reveal that there was no significant difference in decision-making abilities of children with respect to their gender, parents’ education and parents’ occupation. But, there existed significant difference in decision-making abilities of children with respect to their grade and sibling. There was no significant difference in self-reliance of children with respect to their parents’ education and occupation. But, there existed significant difference in self-reliance of children with respect to their gender, grade and sibling. There was no significant difference in parental influence on children with respect to their gender, grade, sibling and mother’s occupation. But, there existed significant difference in parental influence on children with respect to father’s education, mother’s education and father’s occupation. Therefore, studying the behavioral autonomy of upper primary school students provides many effects on both students and educational setting.