Education minister Hang Chuon Naron in Kampong Cham province on February 4. Plan International Cambodia
The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports will revise the textbooks for pre-school teachers for all subjects to a common format and content that integrates gender-responsive methodology which has the goal of gender equality for students in the classroom, according to ministry spokesman Ros Soveacha on February 7.
At the closing ceremony on February 4 of the workshop on reviewing the final draft of textbooks for teaching pre-school led by education minister Hang Chuon Naron, an agreement was reached to revise textbooks on the teaching of pre-school in five core subjects.
Soveacha said the five core subjects are motor skills, science, social studies, pre-math and Khmer language. These textbooks will be included in the next school year after approval of the relevant changes.
The education minister praised the efforts of all stakeholders in the development of this early childhood teacher’s educational material, especially Plan International Cambodia which supports the early childhood sub-sector and general education.
“We know that the preparation of these textbooks is organised at several stages. And what we already have in hand for training pre-school teachers is also very good. But there is still a need to incorporate new concepts to integrate new teaching methods so that teachers have a broad knowledge of early childhood education,” said Chuon Naron.
The minister said the revision of the teaching textbooks on the motor skills of pre-schoolers and pedagogy for pre-school would be a useful way to integrate new concepts into the textbooks to provide a basis for specialists and teachers to better understand them.
He said that with the motor skills book the teachers do not need to study general motor skills but only the motor skills of early childhood to highlight key points related to children’s development and how children learn and that this will improve the quality of pre-school education.
Plan International Cambodia actively supports the implementation of the ministry’s Early Childhood Education Programme at the national and sub-national level with both financial resources and technical expertise to improve the quality of early childhood education services in the community, especially in the remote areas.
Gwynneth Wong, country director of Plan International Cambodia, has expressed strong appreciation to the ministry and the Department of Early Childhood Education for openly accepting innovation and actively collaborating with the organisation on the development of curriculum and teacher’s training books which integrate gender-responsive methodology in pre-schools across the country.
“This partnership is supporting vulnerable children in remote areas to fulfill their potential development,” she said.
Wong hoped that teachers would have additional tools to facilitate children’s ability to learn and play equally and to decrease gender stereotypes and gender imbalance in preschools so that all children grow up healthy, happy and ready for school.
