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Humanities
- ISSN: 2155-7993
- Journal of Modern Education Review
The Impact of Holistic Educational Programs on Quality and Learning
Outcomes in Cambodia
Pisseth Hang1, Daro Khorn1, Steven Prigent2, Kaongyou Yuth1
(1. Kampuchean Action for Primary Education, Cambodia; 2. School for Advanced Studies of the Social Sciences, Paris, France)
Abstract: Since 2013, Save the Children International, funded by the Norwegian Government (NORAD), has been implementing a four years’ educational pilot program called “I’m Learning!” in 15 rural primary schools in Cambodia. This holistic program is based on four main Quality Learning Environment (QLE) guiding principles (GP): emotional and psychosocial protection; physical protection; teaching learning environment (active learning); collaboration between schools and parents/community. In order to validate the value of the QLE framework using evidence-based methodologies, Save the Children Norway (SCN) and Save the Children International (SCI) in Cambodia engaged an independent local NGO — Kampuchean Action for Primary Education (KAPE) — to design and conduct a research study to assess the relationship between SC interventions according to the QLE GP and learning outcomes during the last three years of the four year pilot. The research is based on four schools out of fifteen in which SCI undertook interventions. Four other schools where no SCI interventions took place were selected for comparative purposes. The research is based on qualitative and quantitative data collected over three school years, 2014–2017. The paper will show that “I’m Learning!” really made a difference in reading skills, and that although it is not possible to prove a clear relationship between QLE GP and student learning outcomes, three main improvements lead to better student learning outcomes in the framework of “I’m Learning!”, namely community-based monitoring, positive discipline and enriched teaching methods.
Key words: holistic educational programs, quality learning environment (QLE), learning outcomes,
Cambodia