Ask DK Schoolhouse

How did you get your start in early childhood education?

  Growing up in rural South East Asia, my parents instilled in me a strong  passion for education. This was largely due to the ‘hands on’ approach to early learning my mother used with us children---we were taught sight-reading from the age of 2 and brought up in a academically stimulating environment.  

This motivated me to pursue an education in ECD, with emphasis on child psychology and early literacy.

Upon arriving in Cambodia more than 10 years ago, I was struck by the lack of access to basic education and the extremely high illiteracy rate in both rural and urban areas.

I became involved in various pro-bono education projects around the country and later wrote a customized phonics & writing curriculum that has since been used in several local/ international schools to promote early literacy.  

2. What do you look for in teachers you bring on to your team?

Parents entrust the lives of their little ones to us each day. As such, we are very careful with the selection of our teachers and choose teachers based on 3 main attributes

- Native-sounding oral and written English skills

- Hands-on experience in early childhood education

- Long -term (2+ years) commitment to live in Cambodia.

Cultural understanding is an invaluable skill we look for in teachers. It is not enough for them to simply hold pedagogy qualifications, they must also be able to adapt their teaching methods to the local culture.  Our motto is, live in the country, learn of the country. We require our teachers to have a basic knowledge of Khmer culture and to make efforts to learn/practice speaking Khmer language in order to facilitate better communication between parents and teachers.

3. What is the demographics of the parents? Are they more locals or expatriates?

We have predominately local parents with a small minority of expatriates. Our focus is and always has been to provide tailor-made education for Cambodian children and to provide the type of quality, affordable education we are accustomed to receiving in the West.

4. Are parents involved in school events? 

Yes! We actively encourage home-school communication. Our ‘Open Doors’ policy allows parents to drop in at any time of the day to take a sneak peak at what their child is learning in class. Teachers communicate with parents directly regarding a child’s individual progress and work together to build home habits that will encourage active learning.