Translating policy into practice: Cambodian primary schoolteachers’ sense-making of the Child Friendly Schools policy

Aligning means and goals: Insights from professional development to promote learner-centered education in Cambodia

“…The present study focused on teachers from several sites in Phnom Penh as a single case, as experience with these teachers indicated that they shared similar characteristics. This kind of multifaceted case study is similar to that of King (2018), who used the same approach in Cambodia with multiple and varied settings. Yin (2018: 18) cautioned against failing to distinguish between case study as a formal methodology and studying a case as an organizing approach to inquiry.…”

“…Additionally, the manner in which LCE was introduced at the national level was largely theoretical and was presented to trainers using teacher-centered pedagogy (lecture, reading from textbooks and copying exercises) rather than actual LCE strategies. This disconnected practice continued to the local levels where teacher trainers continued utilizing teacher-centered practices to instruct teacher candidates in LCE (Courtney, 2007; Hill, 2001; King, 2018; Song, 2015).…”

“…Problem solving and critical thinking are also understood to be essential to this approach, as are the use of small group learning, games, relevant and suitable content, continuous assessment, higher order questions, discussions, explanations to others, varied materials, posing problems, making conjectures—and in the case of Cambodia—a five-step lesson structure (Song, 2015). Although connoting child-centeredness, LCE places high demands on teachers, who are viewed as “facilitators of learners” (King, 2018: 19) as they seek to provide a richly collaborative learning environment.…”

“…In-service models that have provided the most promising results are therefore those that: (a) are developed over time (King, 2018); (b) offer a progression of skills with a built-in support structure (King, 2018); (c) provide strategies that address the student/teacher realities within the context of the culture, and have trainers provide structured feedback within the classroom (Courtney, 2007; King, 2018; Song, 2015) and (d) ensure support at the school level by the school administration (Courtney, 2007; Dyer et al, 2004; Hargreaves et al, 2001; O’Sullivan, 2004; Spillane et al, 2002). The current study has attempted to include these components through (a) extending the training over multiple years; (b) offering a well-sequenced set of skills and understanding that spanned from setting clear objectives, offering engaging and collaborative learning, to using rubrics along with varied and focused assessments; (c) supporting teachers in the classroom following sessions; and (d) including administrators from the very beginning of the training.…”

“…Training in both pedagogy and subject expertise have been indicated in the literature. King (2018) examined the educational levels of Cambodian teachers, investigating the educational background of 104 primary level teachers in varied contexts in the country, concluding that subject matter expertise was a major obstacle to growing in LCE, as a good number of the teachers had not completed their secondary education. However, when teachers were asked in which areas they perceived their needs to be, nearly all expressed interest in developing skills in LCE.…”