Global Governance and Curriculum Design: The Influences on Cambodian Universities

Abstract

This study investigates influences that are being brought to bear on curriculum design in the context of five Cambodian universities, specifically in the bachelor's degree in teaching English. The research questions concern the factors that influence the curriculum designers' decision-making, such as theories, philosophies, and policies; the selected curriculum content; and the process of designing curriculum of the programme. In this study, 'recontexualisation' is used as a key explanatory concept to discuss the nature and purpose of the influences found in the data. The findings suggest that there a number of external influences utilised as 'recontextualising principles' including neoliberal instrumentalism, twenty-first century narratives, progressivism, and constructivism. The findings also include a discussion of the conflation of curriculum and pedagogy and the influence of the narrative of generic skills in the curriculum making process. Finally, 'global governance' is used as an overarching concept to explain the process of recontextualisation as discourses from international agencies such as the OECD, UNESCO, and the World Bank, influence curriculum decision-making in these Cambodian universities. Based on the analysis of these influences, it is argued that Cambodian higher education is strongly influenced by instrumental aims, focussing on developing skills and competencies. This instrumental emphasis makes knowledge, which is fundamental to curriculum theory and enables students to develop abstract thinking, largely taken for granted in curriculum development and educational policy.