'It is not politically correct': exploring tensions in developing student-centred policy in Cambodia. Issue 5 (3rd September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ogisu, Takayo
• Is Part Of: Compare. Volume 48:Issue 5(2018)
• Page Start: 768
• Page End: 784
• Publication Date: 2018-09-03
• Subjects: Cambodia -- pedagogical reform -- policy as practice; Comparative education -- Periodicals; 370.9
• DOI: 10.1080/03057925.2017.1353409
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0305-7925

Abstract

Abstract: Drawing on a sociocultural perspective, this article analyses a Cambodian student-centred policy named Effective Teaching and Learning (ETL) to explore how this policy is practiced, or constructed through the negotiation among policy actors. Tensions I found in the policy between radical orientation toward the transformation of knowledge and its conservative approaches based on the transmission of knowledge, was used as a scaffold to make sense of the politics in education policy-making. In-depth interviews with national and international policy actors indicated that ETL's intended transformation orientation was altered to fit more closely with the existing top-down, transmission-based structure over the course of negotiation. Such tensions, however, allowed various stakeholders to take part in pedagogical reform – not necessarily ETL per se – bringing their distinctive perspectives. These findings suggest the importance of shedding light on the sociocultural nature of education policy-making, an aspect that has been less explored in current policy implementation research.