A version of this story was originally published on UNESCO's website.

In a vibrant classroom at Prey Totueng Primary School in Prey Chhor district, Kampong Cham Province, grade 1 teacher Ms. Theary Heang is teaching a Khmer language class.

As the morning sun filters through the wooden shutters, Theary captivates her students with colorful flashcards, making vowels leap off the page. The room comes alive with the sound of discussions, clapping and laughter, as charts and drawing boards serve as tools for discovery.

Steady encouragement from Theary fuels the students’ enthusiasm, creating an environment where learning is interactive and joyful.

Theary was born and raised in the Prey Chhor district and decided to return to her community to teach at the Prey Totueng Primary School after one year elsewhere. Now, she is in her fifth year of teaching at the school.

Reflecting on her journey, she shares, “Learning is very different from when I was in primary school. Back then, there wasn’t any interactive teaching or classroom activities, and I wanted to become a teacher to improve how knowledge is shared.”

Her passion for student-centered teaching has been supported by the national early grade learning program focusing on Khmer reading and math, launched by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and UNESCO with financial support from GPE.

Equipped with the enhanced content knowledge and pedagogies she learned from the teacher training and the comprehensive teacher guide, she now brings her lessons to life.

The students in her class received a package of colorful support books and flashcards with everyday examples to facilitate learning.

This transformation is made possible through UNESCO’s Strengthening Teacher Education Programmes in Cambodia (STEPCam) – one of the largest of its kind in Cambodia with a total investment of US$27.02 million from GPE.

In collaboration with the education ministry, UNESCO has supported the development and distribution of new early grade classroom materials, along with the training and mentoring of teachers like Ms. Theary in age-appropriate, play-based learning methods.

The ministry is on track to achieve its goal of nationwide rollout for grade 1 early grade reading in 2025, with ongoing investments to progressively achieve nationwide rollout across grade 1 to 3 for early grade reading and math.

Counting numbers, building futures

Working in close collaboration with the ministry, through its STEPCam program, UNESCO supported the development of the full set of early grade math packages from grades 1 to 3, consisting of a teacher guide, four student exercise books, a student support book, Happy Maths videos, printable teaching and learning aids, teaching demonstration videos, and Training-of-Trainers guides.

These materials are now used across Cambodia in the national early grade learning rollout led by the ministry of education.

Through STEPCam, UNESCO has supported the national rollout in multiple provinces – including Siem Reap, Oddar Meanchey, Preah Vihear, Kratie, Steung Treng, and now Kampong Cham under its second phase.

The investment in early grade learning has reached more than 4,700 teachers in early grade Khmer and over 3,000 in early grade math, benefiting more than 253,000 students.

In total, nearly 17,000 teacher guides and almost 250,000 student exercise books have been printed and distributed across Cambodia.

Becoming a mentor

Opportunities for development and professional support are essential to a teacher’s professional and personal growth. In its first phase, STEPCam supported the ministry of education in establishing a national early grade school-based mentoring program.

Theary was one of the senior teachers recognized for her experience and performance as an early grade teacher.

To become a school-based mentor, she was trained on the responsibilities and approaches to conduct classroom observations, as well as how to provide positive and constructive encouragement to teachers.

In addition to mentoring support to teachers, STEPCam has provided training to school directors and education officials at provincial and district levels.

Ms. South Samnang, the school director at Prey Totueng Primary School, has observed positive changes since the introduction of the early grade learning program.

Under STEPCam, the mentoring program has developed the capacities of more than 2,600 teacher mentors to provide ongoing professional support to early grade teachers, with more than 28,000 mentoring visits conducted.

The training enables teachers to earn continuous professional development credits registered in their Human Resource profile that can contribute to their personal growth and career advancement.

Together with other components of STEPCam, UNESCO takes a comprehensive approach to teacher development and teacher policy reform.

Theary’s experience reflects the transformative impact of STEPCam to support teachers throughout their professional journey.

By equipping educators with skills and resources, STEPCam ensures that every child in Cambodia has access to quality education and the opportunity to thrive.

About STEPCam

STEPCam is one of the largest teacher education programs in Cambodia. Phase I was implemented from 2018 to 2022 with a GPE grant of $14.4 million. Phase II was implemented in 2024 for over three years with a GPE grant of $12.62 million. STEPCam invests in the development of a professional and competent teaching workforce – from quality pre-service teacher education to continuous professional development and career path advancement, training and mentoring support for classroom teachers, and systematic approaches to ICT in education to enhance teaching and learning quality.
More about STEPCam