Background
The Center for Educational Research and Innovation (formerly known as Education Unit) of Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) was established in 2015 to bring related funding and grants under one roof to support innovative research with potential to improve education and training in Cambodia. To maximise the impact and effectiveness of education policy research and dialogue, the Unit works in coordination and consultation with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and its Directorate General of Higher Education, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MOLVT) and its Directorate General of Technical and Vocational Education and Training, and the Ministry of Tourism (MOT). Core areas of focus are education system reform, technical and vocational education and training, and teaching and learning quality.
The Education Unit works to address key issues faced by Cambodian higher education (HE) and technical and vocation education and training (TVET). With the support from four development partners, namely the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Special Fund and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Asia Foundation, the unit’s research themes include, to mention just a few, STEM education, governance and financing in HE and internationalization of and talent attraction in HE, public-private partnerships for TVET and innovations in education and training.
Center for Educational Research and Innovation’s Main Activities
Upon its inception, the Center for Educational Research and Innovation of Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) has worked rigorously to conduct policy-informing research with a focus on post-secondary education, both vocational and academic, and influence policy-making with the research evidence. The Unit has contributed to various publications including in-house Working Paper Series, Policy Brief and the quarterly Cambodia Development Review as well as international journals. Some of the Unit’s highlighted works in 2019 include a paper entitled “correlates of STEM major Choice” (Research in Science & Technological Education) and another on “innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in Cambodia: the roles of academic institutions” (CDRI Working Paper Series). The research produced are also communicated to policymakers and other stakeholders through regular forums and conferences to serve as basis for policy dialogues and discussion on the issues concerned. Apart from researching and conducting policy discussions, the unit is also actively engaged in providing technical capacity development to the CDRI staff and partners in the forms of training workshops, researcher exchange and international exposure visits and internships.
Partnership with Ponlok Chomnes
Under the Ponlok Chomnes Program, the Center for Educational Research and Innovation will utilize the support to strengthen its organizational and technical capacity and to conduct researchers. This partnership program is called “Thnal Udom Chomnes: Promoting Cambodian Higher Education Innovation”.
Publications by CDRI under Ponlok Chomnes Program
- Building STEM Literacy in Cambodian Higher Education, published in 2019
- Correlates of STEM major choice: a quantitative look at Cambodian university freshmen, published in 2019
- Educational Disruption and Opportunities during the COVID-19 Pandemic, published in December 2020
- De-framing STEM Discourses in Cambodia, published in June 2021
- Faculty Engagement in the Internationalisation of Higher Education: A Literature Review, published in June 2021
- How Strong Is the Link between High School Streaming and University Major Choices? published in September 2021
- Cambodian Post-Secondary Education and Training in the Global Knowledge Societies, published in March 2022
- Perceived Experiences, Self-Efficacy, and Interest in Learning Mathematics and Sciences of Cambodian Upper Secondary School Students, published in March 2022
- STEM Major Choice of Cambodian Senior Year University Students: Further Indication of Secondary School and Future Career Influences, published in March 2022
- Are Students Financially Incentivised to Enroll in STEM Majors in Cambodian Higher Education?, published in March 2022
- Upper Secondary School Tracking and Major Choices in Higher Education: To Switch or Not to Switch, published in March 2022
- Internationalisation of Cambodian Higher Education: Trends and Challenges, published in March 2022
- Cambodian Secondary School Teachers’ Readiness for Online Teaching during the COVID-19, published in May 2022
- Blended Learning: Practices, Challenges and Possibilities in Cambodia Secondary Resource Schools, published in June 2022
Please click here for more information about CDRI.