Impact on children in the bilingual education programme

Stung Treng, one of the distant northeasterly states of the Kingdom of Cambodia, is inhabited by different cultural minority groups in add-on to the bulk Khmers, such as “ Brao, Kaveth, Lun, Phnong, Khmer Khe, and Kuy ” ( Center for Advanced Study, 2009, p. 285 ) . Without schooling, these groups have high hazards of being exploited and exposed to bad behaviours such as drug maltreatment and unprotected sex. With low degrees of literacy they can be more prone to infection by common diseases in their community like malaria and dandy fever febrility, which farther depletes their minimum incomes necessitating outgo on medical specialties and medical expertness. Furthermore, their full potencies to develop themselves every bit good as their community have non been realized due to miss of chances.

There are many benefits associated with female parent lingua based bilingual instruction: higher registration rates in formal system ; lower dropout rates ( a common ground for dropout in the early old ages of instruction is linguisticcommunication; there are high dropout rates for kids talking a different female parent lingua to the linguistic communication of direction ) ; lower repeat rates, for kids necessitating to reiterate peculiar classs of their schooling ; higher rates of success for misss remaining in instruction ; higher rates of parental and community engagement in kids ‘s instruction ; it can better the relationship between political leaders and a multilingual population ; it leads to greater proficiency and eloquence in national linguistic communication ( and besides so international linguistic communications if these are pursued ) if initial direction is done in female parent longue ; and community engagement in instruction is really of import – affecting parents, community and instructors in instruction helps kids learn. Greater engagement is found when initial direction is in the female parent lingua.

Over recent old ages the United Nations Children ‘s Fund ( UNICEF ) , in coaction with the Ministry ofEducation, Youth and Sport ( MoEYS ) , has piloted a bilingual instruction programme in Siem Pang territory, Stung Treng state, where most Kaveth cultural group members are concentrated. This has been done in order to supply primary instruction to kids of this group by utilizing a bilingual theoretical account of larning implemented by CARE Cambodia, portion of CARE International, in Rattanakiri state. The programme focused on a minority population in three small towns of Siem Pang territory straight profiting about 225 kids. For confidentiality purposes the small towns will be known as small town K, small town O and small town T.

1. 2 Problem Statement

The bilingual method of learning adopted in the plan has been the agencies of supplying primary instruction to kids of cultural minorities in this state and its impact has non been studied therefore far, so the research worker has great involvement in researching this.

1. 3 Purpose and Significance

It is anticipated that the informations collected and analyzed in this survey will be used as a strong foundation to reason for an enlargement of the plan to other minority communities which are presently underserved by the Kampuchean instruction system. This has deductions for an addition in instruction entree for the-hard-to-reach kids of the state ‘s minority groups. The scope of possible impacts include the person ‘s future work chances, their attitudes towards and value for instruction, and the development of positive behaviours towards effectual wellness and hygiene patterns within the minority communities.

Hopefully, the research findings will show the positive results and impact of the bilingual instruction programme. It may besides bring out issues or jobs that can be addressed. The positive impact will function as an protagonism message to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport “ for bilingual instruction to be portion of national instruction policy programs, and the programs must be implemented in pattern with sufficient resources in the signifier of allocated financess, decently trained forces and other necessary resources ” ( UNESCO, 2005, p. 3 ) .

1. 2 Research Questions

This research proposal intends to research the inquiry “ What are the self-reported impacts of attending at the bilingual instruction programme on kids, their households and communities? ” with the following purposes:

To document the impact on take parting pupils of their attendance/involvement in the bilingual instruction programme in Stung Treng ;

To document the impact on the households of pupils who attend the bilingual instruction programme in Stung Treng ; and

To document the impact on the local communities in which pupils and their households attend bilingual instruction programme in Stung Treng.

2. Methods

Discussed in this subdivision will be the sampling technique, informations aggregation procedures and the method for informations analysis. Ethical issues and the stairss taken to turn to them will besides be considered here.

2. 1 Sampling

The proposed research will concentrate on the impact of bilingual instruction on the minority communities in Siem Pang territory, Stung Treng state. In each of these communities there is one school supplying bilingual instruction from classs one to three, and this research will utilize a convenience sample to choose one school with ready entree for the research worker. Two pupils from each of the three classs ( n = 6 ) from the selected school will be invited to take part in aninterview. A parent of each of the invited pupils will be invited to take part in a focal point group treatment plus two members of the school support commission based on their handiness ( n= 8 ) .

A list of male and female pupils from the selected school will be sought from the school principal by the research worker. Simple random sampling will be used to choose two pupils from each of the three classs. The research worker will compose each single pupil ‘s name on a separate faux pas of paper, topographic point all the faux pass in a container, agitate the container, and choice faux pass from the container until the coveted figure of participants is selected. This procedure will be repeated by class and gender with misss in one container and male childs in the other in order to hold gender balance. It is of import to hold gender balance in this survey so that every bit representative voices can be heard.

An Information Form and an Informed Consent signifier and missive from the school principal developed by the research worker will be sent to parents by the instructor through the selected pupils to seek their parental blessing. If parents of the selected pupils do non O. K. of their kids take parting in this research, the same procedure will be repeated with other pupils of the selected school until the coveted sample has been achieved.

There are restrictions deducing from both clip restraints and geographical conditions for carry oning this research, so the sample size will non be big plenty to generalise the results of this survey. This trying attack besides has some restrictions. It can non vouch a good representation of the whole population in the small town or the category, cut downing the generalizability of the consequences. However, the impact of bilingual instruction in this minority community can still be measured through a carefully structured research tool.

2. 2 Data aggregation

2. 2. 1 Interviewing

Data will be collected through single interviews with the pupils of each of the three classs who have received parental consent to take part, and with two grownup focal point groups of four each group dwelling of the parents of three pupils and a member of school support commission in each group. Student interviews will be done by class degree, three interviews with the 2 kids from the same class degree.

Due to clip restraints, carry oning pair interviews with pupils is a preferred option to the research worker. To cut down the possibility of male childs ruling the interview, the interviewer will deliberately direct the inquiries to girl pupils in an attempt to promote female engagement.

The possible grownup participants in focal point group treatments will be provided with an Information Sheet in their ain linguistic communication, explicating the research intent and a Consent Form ( see Appendix A ) . Potential kid participants will be provided with an Information Form and Consent Form in their ain linguistic communication that requires parental every bit good as child consent, in an effort to turn to ethical concerns about questioning kids who are under the legal age of consent. Interviews with pupils will be conducted at their school on Thursday forenoon because Thursday is no-class twenty-four hours whilst focal point group treatments will be conducted in the afternoon of the same twenty-four hours and at the same topographic point. The interviews and concentrate group treatments will be audio-recorded for ulterior written text and analysis

The interviews and concentrate groups ( draft inquiries in Appendix E ) will be conducted by the research worker and facilitated by a bilingual instructor, who can talk the local linguistic communication good, to assist smooth the procedure and to avoid any possible misinterpretation during interviews and concentrate group treatments. The instructor will non be the kid ‘s instructor to forestall any concerns of the kid in the event they make a critical remark. An instruction functionary each from the provincial and territory offices will be approached to set up communicating flow between the research worker and survey participants in footings of doing assignments for the interviews and concentrate group treatments.

An interview protocol and inquiries will be developed for usage in the interviews and concentrate group treatments ( see Appendix B ) . Students will be asked semi-structured inquiries by the research worker, with interlingual rendition by a bilingual instructor. Possibly examining inquiries will besides be developed to utilize when new subjects come up during interviews and concentrate group treatments. The research worker will discourse the inquiries beforehand with the transcriber to clear up the content and purpose of the inquiries with the purpose of thereby cut downing confusion during the times of questioning and treatment.

All interviews and treatments will be audio-recorded so that the procedure can be conducted swimmingly without breaks for note pickings. The recordings will subsequently be transcribed for thorough analysis, and will be translated into English. The recordings, the written texts every bit good as the interlingual renditions will be stored and watchword protected in the research worker ‘s personal computing machine for confidentiality and will be destroyed after the research study has been completed.

There are some restrictions to the usage of interviews and concentrate group treatments. Students, their parents and community leaders of the minority group do non hold much exposure to the universe outside their immediate community, and this may take to narrow positions in their responses and treatments and limit the profusion of data/information aggregation. All the research participants are new to interviews and concentrate group treatments, and this may keep them from talking openly and honestly. The usage of a transcriber could besides perplex the procedure and add an unintended confusion to participants. Focus groups can non vouch confidentiality hence single respondents may be restrained in their responses if they believe person in the group might state others about peculiar remarks, particularly any perceived as critical.

2. 3 Data analysis

The analysis will be done first by transcribing the recorded responses from the interviews and focal point groups. Similar phrases from each transcript are put together under descriptive labels. By making so, informations are pooled and a form or subject will emerge. Give the little figure of participants in both interviews and concentrate group treatments, informations analysis will be done utilizing excel spreadsheet.

2. 4 Ethical considerations

The true intent of this survey will be obviously explained to all participants in this research and the general benefits deducing from this research for their community will besides be explained in order to derive their full engagement. It will be explained that engagement is voluntary and anon. . By making so the research participants understand they are non compelled to prosecute against their will and may retreat from take parting at any clip.

The research worker pays great attending to ethical issues that might be concerned with the survey in footings of coercion and power imposed on the participants. Therefore, the research worker has designed an Information Sheet and Consent Form in the cultural linguistic communication explicating the intent and the procedure of the survey every bit good as their right to decline to take part before the survey can get down.

An informal attack to the behavior of the interviews and focal point groups will be pursued in order to set all the participants at easiness and to arouse as rich and varied information as possible.

3. Literature Reappraisal

3. 1 International context

Surveies have shown that direction in the female parent lingua is good to achievement in other capable countries and 2nd linguistic communication acquisition. In parts where the linguistic communication of the scholar is non the national linguistic communication of the state, bilingual instruction can do female parent lingua direction possible while supplying acquisition of the national linguistic communication at the same clip ( UNCESCO, 2003 ) .

International research shows that at least five old ages of direction in the first linguistic communication -but sooner throughout the instruction system – is required to supply a solid foundation for farther surveies. A strong foundation in the female parent lingua is besides needed for 2nd linguistic communication acquisition and successful transportation of the literacy accomplishments from the first to the 2nd linguistic communication ( UNESCO, 2006 ) .

Teaching basic accomplishments to hapless kids through linguistic communication submergence may be damaging, but bilingual instruction is a much more effectual option. Students in the United States of America having direction in a native linguistic communication and English at different times of the twenty-four hours were found to do the most dramatic additions in reading public presentation compared to their English-only equals. This research is pertinent to multilingual low-income states ( World Bank, 2006 ) .

The figure of old ages of direction in the first linguistic communication is the most of import forecaster of reading public presentation in a 2nd linguistic communication. It is non of import what the first linguistic communication is, but instead how much cognitive andacademicdevelopment the pupil has experienced in it. The higher the pupils ‘ accomplishment in the primary linguistic communication, the faster they will come on in the 2nd linguistic communication ( World Bank, 2006 ) .

3. 2 Kampuchean context

The footings “ cultural minorities, ” “ autochthonal peoples, ” “ hill folks ” and “ Highlanders ” are non synonymous. They are used interchangeably to depict the population groups who reside in remote, difficult-to-access countries within Cambodia. They make a life largely by subsistence agriculture and from forest merchandises, and do non talk Khmer, the national linguistic communication, as a female parent lingua ( UNCESCO, 2005 ) .

With the publicity of Education For All ( EFA ) , the Royal Government of Cambodia ( RGC ) is cognizant of the demand to do instruction accessible to all. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport is get downing to acknowledge that bilingual instruction may be an effectual manner of run intoing the educational demands of Cambodia ‘s cultural minorities while enabling them to take part more to the full in Khmer society ( UNESCO, 2007 ) .

To accomplish Education For All in minority communities, particular schemes such as bilingual instruction can be used ( UNESCO, 2006 ) . Bilingual instruction encompasses more than the female parent lingua as the linguistic communication of direction. Curriculum, stuffs, instructors and, learner-centered methodological analysiss are all elements of the educational procedure related to the autochthonal people ‘s civilization in a wide sense. Furthermore the attack has promoted the acceptance of inclusive instruction with scholars from upland autochthonal groups have long been marginalized and deprived of any chance for formal instruction ( UNCESCO, 2005 ) .

Cultural minority communities have maintained their cultural, lingual and traditional differences through their farness from the bulk cultural communities. Given this farness, there has non been the chance to back up substructure and the development and/or renovation of school edifices, conveyance and administrative substructure that instruction may necessitate ( UNCESCO, 2005 ) . This compounds the disadvantage of the minority groups even further.

There have been few educational chances for autochthonal peoples and, accordingly, there are few trained forces who are fluid in cultural minority linguistic communications and Khmer. As Khmer is non the first linguistic communication of the different upland groups, kids are placed at a disadvantage when it is used as the lone linguistic communication of direction ( UNESCO, 2005 ) . Find some figures that describe the engagement rates of cultural minority groups in higher instruction in Cambodia – it will beef up this point every bit good as the Significance of the research

Given that there have been few undertakings that catered to the specific educational demands of cultural minorities, there is besides a deficiency of stuffs that are culturally relevant or readily adaptable for usage in footings of linguistic communication and content ( UNESCO, 2005 ) . Indeed, small town support for schooling has been missing, most likely due to the fact that formal school services did non run into the demands of the community, and conflicted with socio-cultural norms in upland small towns. Besides, learning methodological analysis and inflexible time-tabling were non suited. Curriculum and stuff developed for the cultural minorities needs to be appropriate to accommodate the demands of the autochthonal communities. If an instruction undertaking is non based on existent, identified demands in the targeted communities, the scholars will hold it inappropriate and non utile for their demands ( UNESCO, 2005 ) with subsequent low engagement and success rates.

Education for misss faces particularly tough obstructions within Cambodia and can be observed frequently in the signifier of negative attitudes – by parents, instructors and community members. Discriminationis apparent in societal norms, linguistic communication, and submissive stereotypes. Socio-cultural influences work against misss ‘ entree to instruction in the signifier of early matrimonies, a heavy domestic work load and low educational outlooks ( UNESCO, 2005 ) . This is particularly true in a traditional society like Cambodia, in which miss ‘ instruction is less valued than male childs ‘ and misss are confined to household jobs, allow entirely misss from the state ‘s minority groups.