The Internationalization team of the Department of Early Childhood Education (ECE) established a partnership between the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP), the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS), and The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) in December 2021. Funded by the World Bank, the partners are currently implementing the ‘Cambodia Early Childhood Education Project’ (CECEP), which aims to train senior Cambodian educators in the field of ECE and undertake multiple research studies and knowledge transfer and dissemination activities.
Prof. Kerry LEE (Head of ECE) and Dr. Alfredo BAUTISTA (Associate Head, Internationalization) paid the first official visit to the Cambodian partners in July 2022. During the first day of the visit, in Phnom Penh, Prof. LEE and Dr. BAUTISTA met with RUPP and MoEYS leaders and discussed the current issues in the Cambodia ECE landscape, as well as the various policy initiatives being implemented. In the evening, Prof. LEE and Dr. BAUTISTA met with the participants from Cohort 1 (25 senior teacher educators and ministry officials) to discuss their views on the content and structure of the courses offered by ECE in the past semesters. Potential enhancements for Cohort 2 were also discussed.
On the following days of the visit, Prof. LEE and Dr. BAUTISTA visited different types of preschools located in different geographical areas (specifically Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Battambang), as well as teacher education centers to better understand the local educational contexts and conditions in the country. During the visits, the team interacted with many preschool teachers, principals, and children.
During the final day of the visit (July 29), Prof. LEE and Dr. BAUTISTA met with RUPP leaders to discuss the upcoming knowledge transfer activities, potential research studies needed within the Cambodian context, as well as future strategies to maximize the success of the CECEP partnership.
This trip was a wonderful experience to observe and understand the reality and diversity of the preschool sector in Cambodia. Interacting with local teachers, principals, teacher educators, and children will allow us to maximize the success of this partnership, having a positive impact on the development of the Cambodian preschool sector at the national level.