Teacher Education in Cambodia: Formulae, Challenges, and Suggestions for Improvement

Abstract

Education is the key to building human capital in all countries in the world. Without enough qualified individuals, no country can be properly developed. Therefore, teacher education is essential in all countries. All kinds of development processes emerge from learning and teaching. A teacher is the most important character in building human capital. So, teacher education is even more important. Cambodia has a very long history of education. Education in this country used to reach the top during the Angkor Period and dropped down to zero during the Killing Fields. This article reviews some aspects of education, the formulae of teacher education after year zero, and the challenges of teacher education, and it also suggests some ideas to improve the teacher education process in Cambodia. This research is qualitative research with a documentary study approach. This article shows that education in Cambodia used to peak and fall to zero.

Teacher educators as curriculum developers: a case study of teacher education colleges in Cambodia

“…In terms of the quality of the curriculum, MoEYS transfers the authority of curriculum development to TECs through directors who have ownership of developing syllabi, content of specialized subjects, and curriculum study (teaching methodologies) by teacher educators but under the curriculum framework. Thus, teacher education colleges still need more expertise and specialized teacher educators to educate future student teachers to become fully competent teachers and to improve teacher education programs (Pich, 2017;Sot et al, 2019;Em et al, 2022). Moreover, the teacher educators are a professional group that can provide a clear vision, the right expertise, and responsibility and contribute to improving teacher quality and teacher education in Cambodia (Sok and Heng, 2024).…”

Research on teacher education and implications for improving the quality of teacher education in Cambodia

“…To respond to these challenges, MoEYS (2015a) has set up a strategic plan to improve teacher education quality with several major objectives and has produced some notable achievements. For example, two new Teacher Education Colleges (TECs), namely the Phnom Penh Teacher Education College (PTEC) and the Battambang Teacher Education College (BTEC), have recently been established (Em et al, 2022;No & Sok, 2022). PTEC is upgraded from a combination of the Phnom Penh Regional Teacher Training Center and the Phnom Penh Municipality Teacher Training Center, whereas BTEC is upgraded from a combination of the Battambang Regional Teacher Training Center and the Battambang Provincial Teacher Training Center .…”

“…PTEC is upgraded from a combination of the Phnom Penh Regional Teacher Training Center and the Phnom Penh Municipality Teacher Training Center, whereas BTEC is upgraded from a combination of the Battambang Regional Teacher Training Center and the Battambang Provincial Teacher Training Center . These two TECs are intended to enhance the quality of education received by teacher trainees with lengthier periods of training-extending from two years after high school education (12+2) to four years after high school (12+4) (Em et al, 2022;No & Sok, 2022), and from one year after a bachelor's degree (Bachelor+1) to two years after a bachelor's degree (Bachelor+2) (Em et al, 2022;Heng & Sol, 2022;Sot et al, 2019). In addition, the two TECs have undertaken extensive recruitment processes to secure highly qualified teacher educators through competitive selection rounds and appointment of new management teams (Sot et al, 2022).…”

The Correlation Between Instructional Leadership and Efficacy Among the Cambodian Public Lower Secondary School Teachers

“…Teacher education differs in duration and substance. Teacher education for lower secondary school teachers lasts for two years and occurs in several training sites (Em, Chin, Khan, & Nun, 2022). Based on the Sub-Decree on Teacher Professional Ethics: 2008, 2016, the word "Teacher" refers to the education staff who teach at public and private educational institutions with educational licenses.…”