Expanding Teacher Professional Development in Cambodia under Digital Education Phase 2
October 28th, 2024 | News
Digital education stakeholders in Cambodia gather to plan for the program’s second phase.
èצӰÏñ is expanding its work to provide accessible continuous professional development for teachers, teacher educators, and education staff in Cambodia by undertaking phase two of the UNICEF Digital Education program through funding from the .
With this continued investment from UNICEF and the ongoing commitment of the Government of Cambodia to upgrade teacher capacity, we will grow the digital continuous professional development (CPD) platform over the next three years and solidify its long-term sustainability as a resource for all educators.
During the first phase of the Digital Education program, our goal was to assess the various existing CPD platforms and provide a clear direction for the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports to upgrade the most effective platform.
We began by conducting a national landscape scan to gain a deeper understanding of existing digital learning interventions for both teachers and students and to what extent they are effective in various contexts. As a result of this scan, we developed an inventory of digital learning interventions and reported our recommendations and findings to the government, funder, and partners. The findings from the national landscape scan informed the development of a , a high-quality, integrated online platform for teacher and teacher educator CPD.
The CDP platform includes evidence-based support to help teachers improve subject-specific instruction skills and apply methodologies for active and inclusive learning, classroom management, and remediation. It currently reaches more than 2,600 teachers and educators with a selection of more than 20 courses (early grade reading and math, classroom management, mentoring, life skills, career counseling) and is used by five government departments, including the departments of primary education, digital transformation, and teacher development.
The development and expansion of the digital CPD platform is guided by principles of human-centered and user-centered design and aims to ensure accessible, equitable, and responsible use of technology.
Activities of phase two include establishing a governance group of representatives from Ministry of Education departments and developing a governance strategy and capacity strengthening plan to provide the right resources continuously and collaboratively. We will grow the platform by surveying partners to assess existing courses, identifying blended or online courses that can be added and piloted, and work to turn in-person courses into blended or online courses.
At the program inception meeting, èצӰÏñ met with representatives of multiple government departments, the National Institute of Education, and teacher education institutes to discuss the program’s core activities, work plan, timeline, measurements of success, and risk mitigation strategies. Participants expressed a strong commitment to collaborate on this important work.
We look forward to continuing to support government priorities, enhance the long-term quality of instruction in schools throughout the country, and build on the existing foundation for sustainable digital learning interventions in Cambodia.
èצӰÏñ strives to build lasting relationships with partners across diverse geographic regions and technical sectors to produce better education outcomes for all.