Implementation of multilingual mother tongue education in Cambodian public schools for indigenous ethnic minority students

Wayne E. Wright; Sovicheth Boun; Virak Chan

doi:10.1515/eduling-2022-0002

Article

Implementation of multilingual mother tongue education in Cambodian public schools for indigenous ethnic minority students

Wayne E. Wright , Sovicheth Boun and Virak Chan

Published/Copyright: March 1, 2022

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From the journal Educational Linguistics Volume 1 Issue 1

Abstract

In this qualitative interpretive policy analysis case study, we examine the Cambodian government’s adoption and expansion of a Multilingual Education (MLE) program for speakers of different indigenous ethnic minority languages across five Northeastern provinces. Data include MLE policy documents and curriculum, observations in MLE schools, and interviews and focus groups with NGO staff, government officials, MLE Core Trainers, local MLE teachers, and school board members. We also analyze the nature of Khmer and indigenous language use and the nature of teaching and learning in the MLE schools and classrooms. Findings reveal significant success in establishing new schools and programs, expanding access to nearly 5,000 indigenous students, but also identify a number of challenges related to the governments’ capacity to further develop and expand MLE, with continual reliance on NGOs for technical and other support. Analyses of classroom observation data provide evidence of fidelity to the MLE model and curriculum, effective teaching and learning, and highly engaged teachers and students.

Keywords: bilingual/multilingual education; Bunong; Cambodia; education policy; indigenous language education; Khmer; Kreung; language policy; Tampuan

Corresponding author: Wayne E. Wright, PhD, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA, E-mail: wewright@purdue.edu

Acknowledgments

We express our sincere gratitude to CARE International in Cambodia for their support of this study and for facilitating our visits to the MLE Schools. In particular we thank the various CARE staff members who gave generously of their time to arrange the schedules, meet with us, and to accompany us to each interview and focus group. We also wish to thank our expert driver from CARE who not only knew the unmarked roads to the remote villages and schools, but was also a great source of knowledge and insights from his many years of experience with the organization. Finally, we express our thanks to the MLE officials, trainers, teachers, and community board members for taking their time to meet with us and for sharing their knowledge, experience and passion for MLE education.

Research funding: Travel expenses from the U.S. to Cambodia and transcription and translation costs were supported with funding from the Barbara I. Cook Chair of Literacy and Language Education endowment at Purdue University, awarded to the first author, Wayne E. Wright. Travel by car from Phnom Penh to the research sites in Rattanakiri and Mondulkiri was provided by CARE Cambodia. The funding organizations played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.
Author contributions: Each author made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the work, the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data for the work, contributed to the drafting and revising of the work, and approved this final version. All agree to be accountable for all aspects of this work.
Competing interests: We declare there were no competing interests in the conduct of this study.
Ethical approval: The research related to human use has complied with all the relevant national regulations, institutional policies, and in accordance with the tenets of the Helsinki Declaration, and has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of Salem State University on June 7, 2018 (IRB Registration IRB = IRB00006274; Federal Wide Assurance – FWA00013010), “Multilingual Education in Cambodia: Implementation, Challenges and Future Prospects.”
Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all research participants.

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Received: 2022-01-25

Accepted: 2022-02-11

Published Online: 2022-03-01

Published in Print: 2022-06-27

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/eduling-2022-0002

Keywords for this article

bilingual/multilingual education; Bunong; Cambodia; education policy; indigenous language education; Khmer; Kreung; language policy; Tampuan