Project profile

Building on CARE’s successful bilingual education program, this project will move towards improving secondary schools that enroll significant numbers of ethnic minority students. One of the key reasons for low enrolment in remote areas is a lack of inclusiveness in government schools. Secondary schools are located in district towns up to fifty kilometers from some ethnic minority villages. Remoteness, lack of boarding facilities and poverty in ethnic minority communities all prevent them from accessing secondary education.

 

In this project, a small designated team of teacher trainers works closely with local authorities and the management of eleven district secondary schools to improve the accessibility of indigenous students. This includes:

• Training 190 lower secondary teachers in cross-cultural methods which sensitises them to the needs of ethnic minority students, especially girls

• Training for school support committees and student councils to encourage meaningful youth and community participation in school management

• Support to increase the capacity of the Provincial and District Offices of Education.

 

The training courses address the unique needs of indigenous students: teaching students whose home language is not Khmer, cross-cultural communication, gender-responsive pedagogy, gender and stereotyping, developing schools for a culturally diverse student body and working with indigenous communities and elders.

 

This project also assists primary level indigenous students to make a smooth transition to lower secondary school.

 

Objective

To improve access to secondary education which promotes cultural diversity and advances education for girls.

 

Key activities

Project activities include:

• Develop culturally appropriate teaching and learning materials to promote inclusive education

• Strengthen the capacity of the education authorities to make secondary schools more responsive to the needs of a culturally diverse student body, through training and support visits in schools

• Improve the quality of teaching and learning in secondary schools for all students, especially for ethnic minority girls, through training and support visits

• Support primary education to increase access to secondary education, through orientation of graduates from primary schools, life skills training, visits to the secondary schools