In this paper, I aimed to understand why an ongoing student-centered pedagogical reform implemented in Cambodian primary schools has failed to bring substantial changes in teaching and learning, by revealing a “logic” that governs teaching and learning practices. With the data collected through 1-year fieldwork in Prey Veng Province, Cambodia, I tackled the following research questions: (1) what is a logic that shapes the form and meaning of pedagogical practices as they are today, and (2) how has such logic been re-constructed (or maintained) after the implementation of student-centered pedagogical reform?

  First, in order to unveil the logic that underlies teaching and learning practices in Cambodia, I analyzed three cases, namely, monthly cluster teacher meeting (Case #1), mathematics class taught in grade 3 (Case #2), and Khmer literacy class taught in grade 1 (Case #3). As a result, the following characteristics were identified. First, teaching and learning were organized based on tasks. Secondly, procedures to complete such tasks were divided into small steps and learners were supposed to memorize and master these procedures (techniques). And finally, teaching and learning were designed based on techniques so that all learners, regardless of their levels of understanding, could at least follow steps. Although existing research associates these characteristics with low levels of teacher knowledge and their unwillingness to change practices, it turned out that these characteristics were seen in classes taught by a teacher who has knowledge and eagerness to practice student-centered pedagogies. The centrality of techniques, therefore, has a root not just in the traits of teachers but also in the broader social, political, and cultural logic that governs teaching and learning practices.

  I then moved on to locate this idea of technique in Cambodian historical, political, and cultural context by borrowing the Khmer word “paccekteeh” (technique or technical in English), which appeared most often during the fieldwork. Paccekteeh in teaching and learning has its origin in pre-colonial era, when Buddhist pagodas played a role as educational institutions. At that time, due to limited access to books, teaching and learning were mostly conducted orally. Therefore, it was important to divide the big ideas of Buddhism into small chunks and teach students one chunk after another, in order to make it accessible for students to learn. However, at the same time, such practice, i.e. teaching small chunks, also limited the possibility to understand the whole picture, and enclosed the body of Buddhist knowledge into pagoda. Therefore, paccekteeh was directly linked to the logic used to control knowledge and power. This logic of paccekteeh survived French colonial period and even during Khmer Rouge and the following civil war, and still governs teaching and learning practices even in current classrooms.

  The above discussion is followed by an analysis of the ongoing student-centered pedagogical reform, called Effective Teaching and Learning (ETL). ETL was originally intended to replace “traditional” teaching and learning practices characterized with rote learning and memorization (which is based on the logic of paccekteeh) with more “modern” and democratic practices in which learners actively take part in teaching and learning and teachers play a role of professionals rather than technical experts. However, a close analysis of ETL materials reveals that ETL itself is caught by the logic of paccekteeh. It means, when this ETL reform policy was translated into materials to be distributed to teachers throughout the country, the whole idea of ETL and its student-centered philosophies were somehow divided into small pieces and presented as very scripted tasks as many as 26. Although such tasks might help teachers (View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)