Teacher Education Curriculum Reform in Cambodia: Perspectives, Practices, and Challenges

Over the past four decades, the Global Education Reform Movement has emphasized the evaluation and improvement of teacher education programs. Worldwide, concerns about unqualified teachers have prompted Cambodia to initiate teacher reforms. This qualitative case study examines educators’ perspectives, practices, and challenges in teacher education curriculum reform, distinguishing between “teacher training” and “teacher education” within Cambodian teacher education colleges. The findings indicate that the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport decided to provide the teacher education system more flexibility and autonomy as a higher education institution in governance and management, curriculum structure, teacher educators’ qualifications, professional status and responsibility, and functional allowance. Additionally, in the context of institutional change, educators conceptualized a clear distinction: “education” refers to learning activities that contribute to human development, whereas “training” focuses on practical teaching skills in the classroom. The study revealed that implementing reforms brought about opportunities and challenges, as demonstrated by varying evidence of autonomous leadership and management, curriculum development, interpretation, implementation, assessment, and improvement of curricula and syllabi. However, teacher educators’ mindsets, knowledge, and skills in the pedagogy of the field and fear new practices remain challenges, and the top-down approach still has influence. This study provides insight into the observations that middle leaders are linchpins of curriculum reform and teacher educators, as curriculum implementers, require a mindset change.