The Center for Khmer Studies is delighted to welcome William Brehm to our Public Lecture Series. His talk is entitled:
Challenging Commonplace Assumptions about Rean Kua: An Investment in Human Capital, A Need for Good Governance, or a Manifestation of Educational Capitalism?
Date: Friday 28/12/2012
Time: 5.30 - 6.30 PM
Venue:
CKS Conference Hall
Wat Damnak
Siem Reap
Please Confirm attendance by 27/12/2012
Email: sreypich[atmark]khmerstudies.org or call 063 964 385
Abstract:
Within many developing countries, private tutoring is commonly understood as either an investment in the human capital of a child or an indication of deficient good governance practices resulting from educational corruption. Either a household is praised for its extra allocation of resources on education or teachers are blamed for corrupt practices of selling grades to the highest buyer. In Cambodia, this practice is called Rean Kua where students receive extra lessons from their formal schoolteachers after school hours for a fee.
Although there is evidence to support both human capital and good governance theories, upon closer examination, the phenomenon of private tutoring is far more complex. In some cases there is evidence to suggest teachers and students use the space of private tutoring to practice alternative pedagogies and innovate curricular content as compared to ministry standards. This complex terrain requires a robust theoretical perspective. This paper will detail Rean Kua through these different perspectives by drawing on a 2012 empirical study of achievement differentials and equity issues. It will end by introducing the idea of educational capitalism as a way to explain the commodification of education and its impact on the nation-state.
Bio:
William C. Brehm is a PhD student at the University of Hong Kong. His dissertation research focuses on the political economy of private tutoring in Cambodia. He graduated with a bachelor of arts in international relations in 2008 and completed his master's degree in comparative and international education in 2010 from Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA, USA). He has written numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals of education that focus on international education development and the history of education. He has worked in the Asian education sector since 2006 as a teacher, United Nations NGO representative, and researcher. Between 2010 and 2012, Brehm lived in Siem Reap, Cambodia, working for This Life Cambodia as the director of research. As the associate editor of European Education: Issues and Studies, he stays connected to comparative education research in Europe while living in Asia. He can be reached at wbrehm[atamark]hku.hk.
Please visit our website for further information.
http://khmerstudies.org/events/public-lecture-series/
