Background of NGPRD

 

The department was first established as the New Generation Pedagogical Research Center in 2019 to address a shortage of qualified teachers within the New Generation Schools. After just a few years of operation, it appeared that the NGS couldn’t operate well by just working with old-generation teachers who were not always willing to learn the new procedures and accept the new ethical rules of NGS. To make the reform sustainable we had to train people on a regular basis. To this effect, the NGO Kampuchea Action to Promote Education (KAPE), who was already providing expertise to the NGS network, created the NGPRC on the campus of the National Institute of Education (NIE).

The main strategy that we came by was to train not teachers directly, but mentors who could advise teachers within the schools themselves. This would allow us to gain more leverage, and also to adapt more quickly to the real situation in the field. In effect, mentors are trained to observe real classrooms and adapt their recommendations to the actual circumstances and objectives of each school and each teacher instead of providing a pre-made methodology ex cathedra.

The NGPRD developed new strategies and practices over the years, especially during the COVID crisis, when we had to resort to simulations and video observation to conduct our practicum. The exercise proved useful and is still in place today, not as a replacement of the real practicum, but as an introduction to it. This approach ensures a smooth and painless start in the duties of the mentors.

In 2025, the NGPRC was renamed New Generation Pedagogical Department to integrate it better within the NIE structure. The NGPRD still retains a significant autonomy and its willingness to innovate.