Preparing for their own futures English supplementary education and student capabilities in Takeo Province, Cambodia

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English supplementary education and student capabilities in Takeo

Province, Cambodia

MSc Thesis

International Development Studies

Graduate School of Social Sciences

University of Amsterdam

James MacArthur Boyd Young – 12776394

teacherjames1993@gmail.com

Supervisor – Dr. Marielle Le Mat

Second reader – Dr. Nicky Pouw

Word Count: 24998

16/08/2020

Preparing for their own

futures

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3.1. Methodology ... 18 Research Strategy ... 18 3.2. Unit of analysis ... 19 3.3. Sample ... 19 3.4. Organization of fieldwork ... 21 3.5. Analysis ... 21 3.6. Methodological reflection... 22 Credibility ... 22 Transferability ... 22 Dependability ... 23 Confirmability ... 23 Authenticity ... 24 Limitations... 24 3.7. Ethical Reflection ... 25

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4 – Context ... 26

4.1. Takeo Province, Cambodia ... 26

4.2. Public school education in Takeo ... 25

4.3. Supplementary English education in Takeo ... 27

4.4. Background of Your English School ... 27

5 - Finding value in English education ... 29

5.1. Capabilities: the ability to achieve ... 29

5.1.1. Speak English ... 29

5.1.2. Behaviour ... 30

5.1.3. Motivation ... 31

5.1.4. Confidence ... 32

5.2. Achievements for students’ futures ... 33

5.2.1. Tertiary education ... 33

5.2.2. Jobs and aspirations ... 35

5.2.3. Accessing Knowledge ... 36

5.2.4. Abroad ... 37

5.2.5. Helping family ... 37

5.2.6. ICT ... 38

Concluding remarks ... 39

6 – Learning English in Takeo ... 40

Opportunities while learning English ... 40

6.1. Engagement ... 40 6.2. Enjoyment ... 42 6.3. Support... 43 6.4. Resources ... 44 6.5. Technology ... 45 6.6. Safety ... 46 6.7. Inclusion ... 47 Concluding remarks ... 49

7 - The challenges to overcome ... 50

7.1. Teacher quality... 50

7.2. Student not involved in the learning experience ... 51

7.3. Class size ... 51

7.4. Exclusion ... 52

7.5. Resources and free-time ... 53

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8 – Conclusion and recommendations ... 56

8.1. The relationship between learning English and student capabilities? ... 56

8.2.Learning English in supplementary education ... 57

8.3. Challenges and solutions in English education ... 57

8.4. Supplementary English education’s impact on the capabilities of students ... 58

8.5. Recommendations ... 59

Policy and Practice ... 59

Future research ... 61

References ... 63

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Acknowledgements

I am massively grateful for the helpful, patient and detailed supervision from Dr. Marielle le Mat throughout the entire thesis process. I am also thankful to my second reader Dr. Nicky Pouw for taking the time to read and critique this research. I would like to thank everyone I encountered in Takeo Province, the old friends I got to meet again as well as the new friends I made there. I am looking forward to eating grilled quail with them in the near future. I am especially thankful to the teachers of Your English School and appreciated getting to see their English classes in rural Preykla Commune. I am also thankful to all the students at YES and the enthusiasm they demonstrated for education. To all the participants involved; thank you for taking the time to speak with me about English education in Takeo. Finally, I would like to thank all the friends and family that took an interest in my research work.

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Abstract

English education is gaining growing importance in Cambodia, and there is a growing supply of supplementary English education in the country. Supplementary education has been subject to debate, typically focusing on education outcomes on the one side or the dangers of free-market education supply on the other. However, there has been little research on the impact of supplementary English education on the lives of students in underserviced rural areas. By discovering what students consider are the capabilities and functionings they gain from their supplementary English education, a more detailed picture of the impact English is having on the lives or rural students can be reached. This research here shall address the question: How might English supplementary education in Takeo Province, Cambodia, impact the capabilities of students? Cambodian student capabilities and their English education has not been explored through a capability lens. Using Sen’s capability approach this research sets out to find out what students might find valuable about their English education , by focusing on more than education outcomes alone. The student voice can highlight issues important to students which are not made apparent by engaging with teachers’ opinions. Giving the students a voice in this research is fundamental and is done by qualitative interviews and focus groups. Students receiving supplementary English education in Takeo were found to learn English most effectively in an environment that was engaging, enjoyable, supportive, equipped with resources the students found useful, used technology in class and where they felt safe. They identified the capabilities they gained while studying English were discipline, improved behaviour, motivation and confidence. With these capabilities students felt that they were more likely to do well at university, get the job they wanted, improve their knowledge, go abroad, help their families, and use ICT proficiently. What students see as capabilities and functionings they gain through learning English, have real world practical benefits. Student voices can inform educators effectively about what they find useful while learning English. However, the challenges, such as low teacher quality, inactive learners, class size, and exclusion are not made apparent by the students themselves. They do however identity resources they are missing which they find important to enjoy their free-time which is one of the most important aspects of supplementary education for young learners.

Keywords: English education, student capabilities, rural Cambodia, supplementary education, student voice.

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1 - Introduction

Students living in rural Cambodia experience an underserviced education system and have less opportunities to pursue their own futures compared with students from urban areas (Bray, 2013; S. Clayton, 2012; T. Clayton, 2002; Igawa, 2010). The ability to speak English is a step up on the ladder to success in Cambodian society. Hence, supplementary English education is becoming more common in rural communities and it is important to understand the impact this type of education can have on the students. Most academic work on English education in Cambodia has been conducted in urban areas (Bray, 2013; S. Clayton, 2012; T. Clayton, 2002; Igawa, 2008; Igawa, 2010; Moore and Bounchan, 2010; Tweed and Som, 2015). Research on English education in Cambodia highlights the educational and economic benefits of learning English but does not explore the impact of learning English on the everyday lives of students (S. Clayton, 2012; T. Clayton 2002; Igawa, 2008 & 2010; Tweed and Som, 2015). Most of the educational research conducted in Cambodia focuses on the opinions of teachers (Benveniste et al., 2008; Igawa, 2010; Kim and Rouse, 2011; Sitha, 2002; Tan and Ng, 2012; Tandon and Fukao, 2015). Teacher practices influence the students in the classroom and how students view themselves (Bourke and MacDonald, 2016), yet the perspectives of students have not been widely explored. The student experience of learning English in underserviced rural areas needs more academic attention, to better understand how English supplementary education impacts the lives of students in a poor rice-growing community and how students believe they can use their English education.

The capability approach allows for exploration of what the learners find valuable from their education. By using the capability approach there is potential to highlight nuanced findings about the practice of learning English. This approach gives scope outside of outcome-focused achievements such as exam results and increased pay. There has been no research on the views of rural students on how their English education impacts them. This is a problem as the work conducted on English education in urban Cambodia speaks to the situation in rural Cambodia without conducting research in such areas.

A brief history of the English language in Cambodia follows in order to understand why learning English became important to Cambodians. English, along with French, was first used prominently under the pro-American Lon Nol regime from 1970 to 1975 (T. Clayton, 2002). When Pol Pot and his brutal Khmer Rouge regime came to power in 1975 they banned the use of English, and killed 75% of Cambodian educators (Tweed and Som, 2015). The occupying Vietnamese forces which toppled Pol Pot continued the banning of English until 1989 when they left (T. Clayton, 2002). English could be taught in the new Cambodia after 1989 and became the language of ‘reconstruction and development’ (S. Clayton, 2012: 145). The 1990s saw Cambodia opening to aid from around the world as well as opening up its economy to international businesses (Igawa, 2008). This trend continued into the 2000s with Cambodia joining The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1999 (Tweed and Som, 2015). English became important not only for economic and development issues but also political, as ASEAN use English as the language of communication (Hashim et al., 2014). The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) understood the importance of Cambodians learning English, and, during the 2010s, aimed to increase the number of hours each week primary and high school students studied English (Tweed and Som, 2015).

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education system with the hope of having a bilingual Khmer-English system by 2040 (Cambodia 2040 Economic Development, 2020 & Cambodia 2040 Culture and Society, 2020).

Alongside the increased focus on English education in schools, the number of supplementary education institutes offering English to young Cambodians has risen (Bray, 2013). English supplementary education has been subject to increased scrutiny and debate over the past few years. There has been a great deal of research focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of supplementary (English) education. Researchers in favour of low-cost private education tend to focus on inputs and outputs such as teacher cost, per pupil cost, exam results,

efficiency (Tooley, 2013) and even the profit potential of privatisation (Stanfield, 2011). The effectiveness of low-cost private tuition compared with public school has been documented by many scholars across the developing world (Buchmann, 2003; DeStanfo, 2010, Stanfield, 2011; Tooley, 2013; Tooley, 2016). However, those against privatisation of education rightly highlight the dangers of the free market absolving the state of their duties and contest the alleged benefits of low-cost education (Cole, 2016 & Hartman, 2008).

To better understand the impact of supplementary English education on young rural

Cambodians, this study employs the capability approach to explore the learners view of how supplementary English education might impact their capabilities. The capability approach is used to discover what the learners find valuable. Capabilities are defined as the ability to achieve, and functionings are the achievements. By using the capability approach there is potential to bring up nuanced findings about practice of learning English. The capability approach gives room to discover criteria which, if present in English education, mean the student is more likely to achieve their goals. The capability approach allows students to define their own goals which can highlight development paths not always considered by educators, academics or policymakers. This approach gives scope outside of outcome-orientated achievements such as exam results and increased pay, or the risks associated with free-market education supply, which the discussion so far has tended to focus on. Moreover, there has been no research on the views of rural students; thus, omitting valuable information on English education in Cambodia. Educational research is focussed on students but often fails to talk with children themselves (Edes, 2020). This can also be true of development research. This research therefore focuses on the students and used qualitative research to discover how they view their English supplementary education might impact their

capabilities. Giving a stronger voice to those that are the most impacted by education will shed new light into how learning English affects students in underserviced rural areas. In a country where English is increasingly important and quality English education is lacking in rural Cambodia, it is vital to understand the impact English supplementary education is having on students. From the learners’ perspective it can be discovered the impact that learning English has on their lives by addressing the overriding question of this work.

1.1. Research question and sub-questions

This thesis looks at English supplementary education in Takeo Province, Cambodia. It focuses on ways English supplementary education might impact the students’ lives and discovers the students’ views on what the relationship between their English education and

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9 the capabilities they could gain from it are. Given the context of rural education in Cambodia, the purpose of this approach is to determine how education can be improved to the benefit of the ones receiving the education. Following this research intention, the main research

question this thesis seeks to answer is:

To answer the research question this thesis will explore the topic using three sub-questions. The sub-research questions are:

1. How do students in Takeo view the relationship between learning English and their capabilities?

2. How do students in Takeo Province learn English and what do they find helpful while learning?

3. What are current challenges in English supplementary education, and how can these be improved in order to enhance the capabilities of students?

1.2. Structure of thesis

The following chapter provides the theoretical framework of this research, places

supplementary English education, capabilities and student voice within existing literature engaging with the relevant topics in Cambodia and globally. Chapter 3 will explain which research methods were used in this qualitative study to bring out the student voice. There are three results chapters each answering the relevant questions in order. Answering the sub-questions allows the final chapter to conclude by answering the overarching question of this research and making recommendations based on results gained.

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2 - Theoretical Framework

To understand the impact English supplementary education has on learners the capability approach allows a focus on the students and their views on how their English education affects their lives. In order to create a workable theoretical framework, common

understandings of capabilities along with critiques of the concept will be provided. This is done so that this research on English supplementary education can be understood using the framework created. Sen’s Capability Approach is discussed in 2.1. Issues such as reasons for using an approach focused on capabilities is mentioned in 2.2. and how this applies to

education is discussed in 2.3. The importance of engaging with the student voice is explained in 2.4. Furthermore, English supplementary education will be explained and different

understandings of supplementary education will be stated in 2.5. Then 2.6. will discuss current opportunities and challenges with English supplementary education in Cambodia. In keeping with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) supplementary English education will be evaluated in 2.7. The theories discussed are contextualised in a conceptual framework presented in section 2.8.

2.1. Sen’s Capability Approach

The overarching and fundamental link between Sen’s capability approach and this research is discovering what individuals find valuable to their lives. Using Sen’s capability approach provides a way to discover the social advantage of what people have ‘reason to value’ (Walker, 2005: 104). Sen highlights the difference between a capability: ‘the ability to achieve’, and a functioning: ‘the achievements’ (Sen, 1987: 36). For example; attending English lessons is the capability and being able to speak English conversationally is the functioning. Activities outside of the classroom such as ‘taking part in the social life of a community’ (Walker and Unterhalter, 2007: 4) are also functionings and capabilities like learning to read or debate can enhance these functionings. Studying capabilities allows the discovery of what students find valuable from this process of capabilities and functionings. This study identifies what students find valuable from their English supplementary education and divides them into capabilities and the functionings. It is also important to understand the factors that enhance or diminish the capabilities of students in order to maximise the potential functionings.

2.2. Why the Capability Approach?

Initially the utilitarianism approach was to be used as it focuses on the individual and what they find valuable. The shortcomings of utilitarianism is what one desires is not created in a vacuum and that our circumstances can be impacted by different factors (Sen, 1987). As this research recognises there are outside influences on the students such as teachers, friends, parents, the community and society, the utilitarianism approach was decided against. Capabilities can lead to justice but Rawl’s approach to justice was rejected for use in this research. Rawl focuses on resources and argues that equitable access to resources results in equitable opportunity (in Saito, 2003). This is not the most appropriate in the context of rural Takeo where nearly all students come from an agriculture background and access to

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11 resources in general is relatively limited. The extent of wealth in the community studied is further addressed in 6.7. Furthermore, Sen’s capability approach allows us to focus on the people themselves and what they do to achieve opportunities. This research wants to focus on experience and opinions of students, so the capability approach fits in well to a human-centric rather than Rawl’s resource-focused approach.

Engaging with the work of Sen is apt for this research as his work is often of a pragmatic nature. ‘If we are trying to wrestle with injustice in the world in which we live we have to be realistic about human behaviours that will emerge in the real world, in actual institutions, not in these idealised situations.’ (Sen, 2009: 81). The capability approach looks at development where those involved can change their lives, instead of just having basic needs met. By engaging with the student voice the participants goals can be be understood through looking at what students’ value and also the reasons they have to value what they have spoken about. Student agency involves their ‘ability to act on what they value and have reason to value’ (Alkire, 2002: 14). Students interviewed in this research receive public school education as well as supplementary English education. It is unfortunate that a minority of students will miss out on supplementary education due to the monetisation of education. This research does not aim to dream about ‘achieving some perfectly just society or social arrangements, but about preventing manifestly severe injustice’ (Sen, 2009: 21). Inclusive education, where all marginalised groups have access to equitable education is a fantastic development aim, but a degree of realism for the situation in Cambodia must be considered. Many rural students attend supplementary English education and this research seeks to understand how this affects their lives currently and for their futures. Sen’s capability approach allows us to focus on ‘contingent circumstances, both personal and social to which individual capabilities depend’ (Otto and Ziegler, 2006: 277). The students in Preykla Commune have the option of supplementary English education in an underserviced rural area. Their capabilities, while impacted by their style of education, will also be influenced by their surrounding

environment and those involved in it. The concept of capability of the students is directly associated with their ‘freedom – the range of options a person has in deciding what kind of life to lead’ (Dreze and Sen, 1995: 10). Discovering how the students see English

supplementary education influencing their lives and how much freedom they may gain as a result will be crucial. Most importantly finding out what individuals students find ‘valuable’ will be featured throughout this work.

2.3. Capability and education

Amartya Sen’s capability approach provides a useful way to view the benefits of education. Although Sen himself did not engage much on the educational aspect of the capability approach it has been utilized for education and development since its inception. The Human Development Index (HDI) was inspired by Sen’s work which contains two key educational components: literacy and school enrolment (Saito, 2003). This research does not focus on these two aspects however but rather on what the students find valuable about the process of learning English. By focusing on what the students themselves find valuable the traditional focus on inputs and outputs in education can be avoided (Tikly and Barrett, 2010). Sen’s capability approach has been criticised by Roemer as it is too difficult to operationalise, but if

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12 this were the case then the HDI would not exist (Saito, 2003). This is not to argue that HDI is the perfect way to measure education capabilities, but it demonstrates it can be done. The operationalisation of the capability approach for this research focuses on what the students feel they gain from learning English rather than how literate in English they are. Robeyns (2010) points out that the capability approach is a descriptive tool and this tool has been used to highlight the qualitative experience of students learning English in Takeo.

The transformative power of education can have a tremendously positive impact in peoples’ lives. One example of education power is the ability to reach one’s goals. Cambodian culture reveres education and values the work opportunities a good education can provide (World Bank, 2005). The most popular university courses are ones that will lead to work in a relevant professional field. These include business, medicine, and tourism (Hashim et al., 2014). English is considered a valuable skill in the Cambodian education system and economy. As it is seen as providing good job prospects (Ibid, 2014) and that globalisation increases the demand for English speakers (Park et al., 2016). The relationship between the importance of English also became apparent in this study and is discussed in Chapter 5.

This research agrees with Vongalis-Macrow (2007: 437) in that education’s primary

importance is not simply: ‘to prepare people for an economic life’ and that is the reason why capabilities stress the importance of what is of value to the learner. Otto and Ziegler agree with Saito’s take on the capability approach: ‘approach is clearly apt for exploration from an educational point of view’ (Saito, 2003: 17) however they emphasise that education could be a ‘fundamental’ part of the capability approach as it enables them to the opportunities to ‘live a life they have reason to choose and value’ (Otto and Ziegler, 2006: 269). Common

arguments in favour of fee charging education focus on the potential future income of students. By concentrating on capabilities, employment will only be considered important if students identify they study English to get a job that pays well. The students’ aspirations can be discovered rather than assigned to them in a top-down manner (Ibid, 2006). Indeed, ‘Education for All’ states that capabilities in education are ‘central to the process’ of

expanding ‘real freedoms that people value.’ (UNESCO, 2002: 33). Capabilities in education give students the opportunity to be involved in the educational process in a bottom-up manner which is all too often forgotten. This is done by identifying what the students find as making a positive impact in their education and what they believe this leads to. By finding out capabilities and functionings from students, criteria for capability-focused education are arrived at. This can be used to evaluate whether students are receiving an education that maximises the potential positive impact from their educational experience.

2.4. Student Voice

Some scholars contest the usefulness of the capability approach as it is intrinsically linked with freedom and they argue that children do not have the freedom to enact real choices in their lives (Boulding in Saito, 2003). Others such as Saito (2003) contest this as they say what is important is that it enhances your freedom to make choices for the future. This research was conducted with the belief that as far as possible it is important students have the freedom to pursue what they find of value. Using student voice in research allows for ‘Those who have in the past have often been the mere objects of investigation themselves become the agents of their own transformation’ (Fielding, 2004: 306). The children themselves were

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13 asked about their opinions on their own freedom rather than having academics argue whether children have freedom. Students are certainly influenced by factors such as parents, friends, teachers, their community and society but by focussing predominately on the students, a better idea of how much freedom they see themselves as having in this process was arrived at. This research gave a voice to the students to determine what they think about their own freedom and futures.

The capability approach stresses the importance of what the individual finds valuable (Walker, 2005). For this reason it is fundamental to this research to listen to the ‘student voice’. Here the student voice will refer to ‘the articulated spoken views, opinions and choices of the pupils as “captured” by the research process’ (Payne, 2007: 91). Observable actions and reactions of pupils in education will also inform the student voice in this research when supported by their spoken views. The student voice involves the individual voice of students in interviews but also a group voice seen in focus group discussions. The attention to the student voice lacks in development debates over education and even in formal education student voice has usually referred to the quantitative opinions of students (Ibid, 2007). By using qualitative research methods, more attention to detail of students can be paid, giving researchers a deeper understanding of the opinions of those receiving the education. No matter where the education is taking place, following the argumentation of Flutter &

Rudduck (2004), school effectiveness can be increased through listening to the student voice. When teachers take the time to talk to students as individuals and as groups, classroom communication improves dramatically and students have a better understanding as their roles as agents in their own learning (Tarp, 2017). Amundsen (2017) discovered by paying

attention to learners’ opinions, signals of disengagement become easier to spot and educators can respond in unique ways to engage individual learners thus meaning less class stoppage time for student intervention. Tarp (2017) and Amundsen (2017) learned that listening to students helped teachers set aside previous assumptions they held on how to educate their students. Therefore, to increase a school’s effectiveness with English education and student capabilities this cannot be done properly without listening to the student voice. This study will give a voice to students eight years old and above as Alderson (2000) highlighted the importance of including the opinions of students from 7-17 years old. Cullingford (1991: 2) best stressed the importance of why young voices deserve to be heard and their opinions hold weight.

‘Children reveal that they have the articulateness and honesty to analyse what they experience. They show consistent judgement and evidence for what they are saying. Their views deserve to be taken into account because they know, better than anyone, which teaching styles are successful, which techniques of learning bring the best out of them, and what the ethos of the school consists of.’

The work here gives such priority to the students in supplementary English education. To understand why supplementary education is increasingly popular in rural parts of Cambodia the student voice should be listened to. By understanding the reasons the children give for attending out-of-school classes a more holistic picture of supplementary English education in Cambodia can be arrived at. This provides a different narrative to parents paying for

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2.5. English supplementary education

The world of education does not lack for different names; ones that can often be applied to the same/similar types of education. Terms such as shadow or supplementary education are sometimes used interchangeably which can add to confusion. The different types of English education will be clarified in order to understand what this research refers to when it mentions supplementary English education.

A general term for any out-of-traditional state school learning is shadow education. Shadow education is seen as a reaction to potential failings in public school (Bray, 2013). Shadow education includes ‘private supplementary education activities’ and ‘public learning activities outside of regular school’ (Park et al., 2016). Supplementary education takes place outside of the school hours (NRSE, 2019). This can include private tuition and private tuition that takes place outside of the school hours but in the regular school setting, as seen commonly in Cambodia. The school featured in this research is a supplementary English school which operates outside of school hours where students have extra English lessons with teachers that do not work in public education.

This research concentrates on the supplementary education system at Your English School (YES) which students attend before or after completing their regular school day for low fees. Therefore, when supplementary education is mentioned in the research it is referring to the style of education at YES. The free after school English lessons from New Futures

Organisation (NFO) will also be mentioned to contextualise findings but it will be explicitly stated when the research is referring to these NGO classes. The private tuition conducted by public school teachers outside of regular school hours is also a form of supplementary education, however, in this research to avoid any confusion, it will be referred to as ‘private tuition’. Low-fee supplementary English education is increasingly common in rural

Cambodia, but English educational research has not engaged with how these lessons affect students’ lives. Supplementary education can be researched effectively using the capability approach which will highlight the student experience of their lessons rather than largely focusing on teacher or parent views as is common in supplementary education work around the globe (Buchmann, 2003; Cole, 2016; Hartman, 2008; Stanfield, 2011; Tooley, 2016). Cambodia is considered in the ‘Expanding Circle of English’ (Igawa, 2010: 149). This means English is spoken as a foreign language in Cambodia. (Moore and Bounchan, 2010). Both S. Clayton (2012) and T. Clayton (2002) believe learning English as a foreign language is a privilege held by urban Cambodians. Yet supplementary English education now exists in remote rural areas. It is therefore important to understand if underserviced rural areas are having a need met by accessing supplementary English education. Furthermore, the

importance of English education in Cambodia is highly influenced by globalisation (Hashim et al., 2014). The impact of globalisation is not only limited to Cambodian cities but also in the countryside, as seen by the demand for supplementary English education. S. Clayton (2012) argues it is the international pressure of globalised business and neoliberal policies which drive the demand for English in Cambodia. While T. Clayton (2002) agrees that external forces are part of the reason for the growth of English in Cambodia, he also points out that policy makers and individual learners in Cambodia make the choice to learn English. Therefore, student learning and what they perceive as capabilities and functionings from their

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15 education, are influenced by globalisation, decisions of the government as well as individual decisions. Parents may be more aware that supplementary education provides educational possibilities not always provided or fulfilled by the public education system. Low-income parents in developing countries often choose to send their children to supplementary education because of the measurable outcomes such as improved exam results or what they believe is higher quality teaching (Stanfield, 2011; Tooley, 2013 & 2016). The youth perspective on their own education is rarely explored and is highlighted in supplementary education in an underserviced rural area in this research.

2.6. Opportunities and challenges

The proliferation of English learning in Cambodia presents both opportunities and challenges to the developing nation. The benefits to English learners are usually put into either of two boxes; how it benefits them academically and how it benefits them financially. Opportunities focus on the functionings of having learnt English. Academic opportunities from learning English largely focus on how it benefits students at university. In Cambodia many university courses are conducted in English (Tweed and Som, 2015). Additionally, the ASEAN

University Network promote Cambodian students to go abroad on scholarships to universities in countries like Malaysia where a strong command of English is essential (Ibid, 2015). Igawa highlights the financial benefit to having learnt English in Cambodia ‘communicative competence in English means a better job and better pay’ (Igawa, 2008: 344). Better paying jobs as a result of knowing English apply to both the private and public sector in Cambodia (S. Clayton, 2012). The existing literature on English learning in Cambodia has not addressed opportunities as the factors which make achieving these functionings more likely.

Challenges of learning English in Cambodia focus on the impact learning English has on Cambodian society. Going by current academic knowledge, the ability to learn English at a supplementary school exists almost entirely in urban Cambodia (Bray, 2013; S. Clayton, 2012; Igawa, 2010; Moore and Bounchan, 2010; Tweed and Som, 2015). The body of work on English education in Cambodia paints the picture of urban haves that can learn English and rural have nots whose only access to supplementary English education is the corrupt system of private tuition (Bray et al., 2019 & Dawson, 2011). Furthermore, the challenges talk about the impact of learning English on Khmer culture. The only existing research in Cambodia that gives a voice to the students highlighted ‘22.4%’ of students surveyed quantitatively stated they considered the English language to be superior to Khmer (Moore and Som, 2010: 117). Igawa (2010) describes some students are using English greetings with their elders instead of the traditional Khmer greeting which involves putting hands together as a sign of respect. A barrier in the Cambodian English education is the existence of private tuition and the coercion to attend these classes (Bray, 1999 & 2013; Bray et al., 2019; Dawson, 2011). Prominent classroom challenges in public school and private tuition, especially in rural Cambodia, are teacher quality and class sizes (C. Tan and Ng, 2012 & P.Tan and Fukao, 2015). There has not been any research on the challenges faced by students in supplementary English education in rural Cambodia. This research looks at the

opportunities and challenges students see in supplementary English which impact their capabilities.

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2.7. Inclusive education and SDG4

It is important to engage with targets set by SDG 4 when looking at English education in Cambodia. Two targets will be focused on. The first is Target 4.4 ‘By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills including technical and vocational skills for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship’ (SDG 4, 2015). It is argued that the link between learning English and accessing employment and being able to use ICT is fundamental in the Cambodian context. The second target explored involves the issue of inclusive education and looks at Target 4.5 ‘By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.’ (SDG 4, 2015). This target is used as a lens to look at the supplementary English education in Cambodia. The issue of how inclusive English supplementary education in Takeo is will be discussed in 6.7. This framework sets the context of how English education in Takeo fits within part of the United Nations goals to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

2.8. Conceptual model

This conceptual model was created in order to understand the theories and concepts used in this research on supplementary English education and student capabilities in a rural setting. As English varies across national boundaries the research focuses on a rural community which is underserviced educationally. Within an underserviced community the student experience of supplementary English education is explored. The existence of opportunities along with the challenges in an English educational setting will have an impact on the capabilities the students currently gain. In turn, the capabilities picked up by student learners will impact the functionings they feel they can achieve later in life by studying English at a low-cost supplementary English school. Student voice is used as an approach to analysis capabilities of rural students. Student voice helps to inform the opportunities and challenges in the students’ supplementary English education which impact student capabilities.

The use of the student voice allows the students to define their own capabilities. Through this conceptual model English education can be assessed in order to understand, from the

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3 – Research Design and methodology

3.1. Methodology

In this chapter the methods used to gather data is discussed in detail. It begins by justifying the research strategy behind the data collection. A table is included which details the methods used to answer the research. It includes a list of respondents. It will then explain the units of analysis and information on the sampling strategy. Following this, the organisation of the fieldwork will be detailed and how the data was analysed. Finally, it concludes with a methodical reflection considering the limitations of this research.

Research Strategy

Qualitative research methods were used for this research as the thick description from interviews and focus groups were fitting to the capability approach (Robeyns, 2005). Giving the students a voice through quantitative research methods is the most common way

educators engage with the student voice but qualitative research has been underutilized even though it paints the most detailed picture (Payne, 2007). Interviews engage with the student voice and ideal ‘for gaining a better understanding of people’s experiences and the meaning of these experiences to them, and the dynamic interplay between individuals and contexts’ (Groot, 2010: 42).

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3.2. Unit of analysis

The unit of analysis in this student-centric research is the group of students learning English in Takeo. The research analyses the educational experience of current English learners as well as engaging with different educational stakeholders to understand the student experience in more depth. Such stakeholders include university students, educational NGO management, teachers and community leaders in Takeo.

3.3. Sample

The data collected for this research was conducted primarily in Takeo Province. All students interviewed are from Preykla Commune and most adults were interviewed in either Krong Doun Kaev or Phnom Penh with one interview from an email correspondence. The five focus groups were conducted in Preykla Commune as well as 17 observations. Table 1 has the number of observations, Table 2 shows the respondents for the thirty-four interviews details the focus group, and Table 3 details the focus groups. All participants took part voluntarily and were informed by their teachers if they wanted to be interviewed to speak to myself during the breaks. Due to the number of students, finding eager volunteers was not a challenge. As YES has more female than male students the aim was to reflect this in the interview and focus group participants. Gaining a plurality of voices representing the different genders is crucial when understanding the student voice (Fielding, 2004). Further information on consent, confidentiality and the interview process are detailed in 3.6.

Before conducting any interviews, classroom observations were conducted to ascertain what English education at YES entailed and what students responded to during the learning process. Observations were categorised under ‘descriptive’ and ‘reflective’ notes. Data was collected when the variables, and indicators/questions in the operationalisation table arose during class. The process remained open to collecting data on aspects happening in the classroom not considered in the pre-set operationalisation table. These observations also assisted in creating the structured interviews for the students and the semi-structured interviews for the adult participants. NFO observations were used to contextualise the learning experience of students at YES, especially regarding how English is taught and what students find useful, and what challenges might be. Additional observations were conducted after the interview phase began, including breaktime observations when the free-time aspect to education was highlighted as important by students.

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20 The qualitative research involved thirty-four in-depth interviews to create a

multi-dimensional view of the learners as interviews help researchers develop understanding on educational issues (Groot, 2010) such as capabilities. Twenty structured interviews were conducted with public school students that also attended English supplementary education. The advantage of structed interviews are they can be conducted in a short time (Groot, 2010) and once the translator understands the set questions it minimises potential comprehension problems which can arise from improvised questions in semi-structured interviews. Nineteen of these students were primary students over the age of eight and one student was a high school student. Before COVID-19 more interviews with high school students were planned but the high school interview was used as findings were in line with primary student findings. The aim of the research was not to compare primary and high school students. These

interviews were used to discover the opinions of the students on learning English and what they might find valuable from their English education. Interviews with students ranged from between 15 to 45 minutes. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 situation the original plan of twenty interviews with primary and twenty interviews with high school students was not possible and in the end 19 primary school interviews and one high school interview were conducted. Student interviews were kept short to keep students interested. Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with adult stakeholders in Cambodian education; university students, local NGO management, international NGO management, a public school teacher, a private international school teacher, charity workers, a Commune Chief, and supplementary education teachers. By using the views of primary, secondary, and tertiary students, former students, teachers, and management of educational organisations - a comprehensive picture of education in Takeo was gained. The adult participants could identify what they found relevant from their own experience of learning English. These interviews ranged from 18 to 65 minutes. Due to a busy schedule one interview was

conducted via email. Interview 27 involved two participants and all other interviews were one on one. YES students interviews used set list of questions Appendix 7 so the students were all asked the same questions. Adult participants used the same questions to only to guide the interview as these participants were involved in education in Takeo in different capacity so more flexibility of questions were required.

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21 Focus group discussions were conducted to get greater insight into views that arose from interviews, particularly on capabilities that were identified during the interview process. Bourke and MacDonald (2016) highlight that to engage with student voice effectively, focus groups are important as students enjoy the opportunity to work with their friends. Using focus groups is an effective manner to understand how a learning environment creates student ideas on what they value in school and shared goals students have (Groot, 2010). Four groups were held with students and one involved supplementary education teachers. The first student focus group involved four male and four female students. The second, third and fourth student focus groups were divided into one male and two female groups of eight participants each. This was as the mixed focus group had mostly male students dominating the discussion. As Denscombe (1998) points out extrovert speakers often take up most focus group

discussions and so the translator was requested to ask the opinions of quieter students during the discussions. The questions for the focus groups can be found in Appendix 8.

3.4. Organization of fieldwork

The total time spent in Cambodia last from January 25 to March 20. All interviews with adults, except for the Commune Chief, were conducted in English.

Preykla Commune was selected for two main reasons. Firstly, it is a rural rice-growing economy like many rural areas in Cambodia. In 6.7. it is considered average in terms of rice-growing wealth. Secondly, it is a rural area that has access to supplementary English

education. This meant that students could be interviewed about their experiences with supplementary English education in context of an underserviced rural area.

3.5. Analysis

Qualitative data collection and qualitative analysis were used in this research. The qualitative data from interviews, focus groups and classroom observations were all transcribed and then uploaded into Atlas.ti for coding. The data and operationalisation table set the base for a coding scheme to be developed. Codes were inspired by the variables and

indicators/questions from the table in the Appendix 6. Examples of pre-set codes included: ‘teacher-student support’, ‘inclusive’, and ‘enjoyment’. Parts of the data collected were put into these pre-set codes depending on where they were believed to best give information on and when information applied to more than one code all relevant codes were applied. There was a total of 19 pre-set codes. The pre-set coding scheme determined by the

operationalisation table was added to as new themes arose from the data. Open coding added issues such as ‘technology’ and ‘knowledge’ to the pre-set codes. This resulted in an

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22 structured manner. Participants were all logged, based on their role and gender, to allow for potential comparison. Quotes in English and Khmer translated to English were used in how they were given so not to lose important information by trying to interrupt what was said. Atlas.ti made it easy to identify how different educational stakeholders viewed the impact of English education. Coding was done by adding open coding to a pre-set codes in order to create a framework for how students view learning English and their capabilities.

3.6. Methodological reflection

This section will reflect on the methodical approach used in this research. It uses the criteria for qualitative research by Guba and Lincoln (1994) which centres on trustworthiness and authenticity (cited in Bryman, 2012). The issue of trustworthiness of research methodology shall be discussed in four main categories: credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability.

Credibility

As stated in Bryman (2012: 390) ‘there can be several possible accounts of an aspect of social reality, it is the feasibility or credibility of the account that a researcher arrives at that is going to determine its acceptability to others.’ When I was unsure or doubtful about issues, I

checked with another source not related to the respondent to verify what I had been told about a topic. Confirming findings without using participant names ensured that findings could be confirmed in an anonymised way. This was done as ‘submitting research ﬁndings to the members of the social world who were studied for conﬁrmation that the investigator has correctly understood that social world’ is important when pursuing credibility (Bryman, 2012: 390). I triangulated my findings using my qualitative observations, participant interviews and focus groups. Being able to triangulate findings is the second important way to achieve credibility within conducted research (Bryman, 2012). I was constantly asking questions and taking notes to best understand the local context.

Transferability

According to Lincoln and Guba, confirmability means whether findings ‘hold in some other context, or even in the same context at some other time, is an empirical issue’ (cited in Bryman, 2012: 392). I have tried to achieve transferability by using detailed descriptions by emphasising the importance of giving a voice to those that are receiving the education. By doing this I believe that my work is somewhat transferable to educational research. While it would not need to be the main focus for most educational researchers, I hope that this work would serve as an example that researchers should take some time to find out the opinions of those receiving the education that they are writing about. Furthermore, supplementary education in rural Cambodia has similarities with supplementary English schools in other areas of the developing world. It is important to note that I believe Takeo as a province is relatively representative province of all of Cambodia. It has a population that mostly live in rural areas and has no cities. Therefore, findings in Takeo to an extent are applicable across similar provinces. In 8.5. the lessons learned that would benefit other researchers are made.

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Dependability

Lincoln and Guba promote the idea of using an auditing approach (cited in Bryman, 2012). This means that the process of research and all stages of collecting data are made apparent. Initially the subjectivity of myself as a researcher was a concern to my research. This was because I was looking at my friend’s school as an alternative to private tuition in public school. However, as the research progressed, I shifted the focus of my research to looking at English supplementary education in rural Cambodia. This way I could observe supplementary education but not have the overriding question to my research focus on supplementary

education as an alternative to private tuition. I found it was important to observe education in operation for a week before conducting any interviews with students or teachers. I then had coded notes to help form my interviews and focus groups. Notes were coded thematically using template analysis and are all traceable. The interviews transcripts of those conducted with adults, who gave verbal consent, and codes are available for reading upon request. To avoid subjectivity as much as possible I looked to work with a translator not involved with the school where I did my Khmer interviews. The reason for this was that using my friend to translate interviews to his own students could potentially sway the data in favour of looking favourably upon his own school. A translator not associated with the school had much less chance of doing this and meant that I could feel freer to ask students questions where they could potentially criticise the education they receive. Having an independent translator meant I was limited to when I could conduct research due to her availability, however, I felt it was necessary rather than using the principal of the school as my translator.

Confirmability

‘Conﬁrmability is concerned with ensuring that, while recognizing that complete objectivity is impossible in social research, the researcher can be shown to have acted in good faith; in other words, it should be apparent that he or she has not overtly allowed personal values or theoretical inclinations manifestly to sway the conduct of the research’ (Bryman, 2012: 392). I tried to achieve this by trying to be as objective as possible. I used the same structured interviews for all students interviewed. This meant that I did not alter student interviews or focus groups when data arose to confirm what I suspected before conducting the research. Although at times new questions were added when some information came to light that I had not previously considered. Questions were kept deliberately open and I did not try to

influence what respondents might think ‘capabilities’ from English education are. Open questions like ‘What do you want to do in the future?’ were asked rather than ‘What job do you want in the future?’ Having said this, it was difficult to have my translator leave

questions open without answer suggestions and they at times tried to lead students to answer rather than have them not answer a question. This meant it is possible students that might not have answered, did so, or might have answered based on examples of answers potentially given by the translator. This would mean that the confirmability of my research would not be as strong as if I myself was conducting the research and spoke Khmer fluently. The reason for using open questions was done to avoid my bias as a researcher. In order to avoid my potential bias to paint the learning of English as a complete positive, great care was paid to asking every student about possible negatives of learning English and all students were asked to name things they did not like about their English education.

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Authenticity

Authenticity, according to Lincoln and Guba, concerns ‘a wider set of issues concerning the wider political impact of research’ (Bryman, 2012: 393). To add to authenticity of the research, participants involved directly, or indirectly, with English supplementary education such as public school teachers, private school teachers, NGO staff, local charity management, a community leader, and former supplementary English education students were included in interviews. This meant regarding fairness more stakeholders in English supplementary education in Takeo were included giving their own views points. With ontological authenticity the research provides what students see as beneficial to them in their supplementary English education. The research has strong educative authenticity as it includes primarily the opinions of those currently receiving the education. Regarding catalytic authenticity there are suggestions of how supplementary English education can better enhance capabilities of students. Finally looking at tactical authenticity the research has the potential to empower students to enhance their capabilities, but this is dependent on the implementation of findings by supplementary schools.

Limitations

Some limitations exist in this research and it is important to address them, so the reader has a better overall understanding how to interpret this research themselves. Firstly, it is possible, being a Western researcher, seen as a Barrang (foreigner), in Takeo Province may have had an impact on the data gathered. This could be especially true in Preykla Commune which is an all Khmer community. Some people may have been more apprehensive to share

information with an outsider or might have been inclined to paint a positive picture of their education system. Secondly, although great emphasis was made to the students interviewed that the translator and I were independent of the supplementary education they attended, some students may have felt the need to speak of this education in a positive light. The COVID-19 situation had an impact on data gathered. The impact this had is that high school voices are not as represented in this research as I would have liked. This is important as they are the ones that have been learning English for longer and are closer to finishing school. Without the participatory research the voice given to students is not as big as originally planned.

One of the biggest limitations of this research was the use of a translator that was not fluent in English. Although unless I wanted to use a teacher from the school where I was interviewing the students, I had no other options available. Using the students’ own teacher as a translator could swing student answers in favour of their education at this school. The translators works as a public school teacher in an area of Takeo. While the translator was independent of YES, there were several problems while translating. These ranged from trying to get the translator to not lead answers, under translating what was said, and having transcripts with many grammatical mistakes. I strongly believe the data is still valid and I can use it effectively, however, it is not as strong as it could have been if the translator was able to translate Khmer-English more fluently. I believe the trade-off between using a translator not associated with YES and not having C1/C2 level English was worth the potential downside.

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3.7. Ethical Reflection

After completing fieldwork in Takeo Province these following paragraphs will reflect on: voluntary participation, informed consent, safety in participation, confidentiality, and trust on how English education in rural Cambodia might enhance the capabilities of students.

Voluntary participation was an important part of the research conducted. Students that wanted to be interviewed came forward during the breaks. All students interviewed did so voluntarily having been informed by their teachers that they could only be interviewed during their breaks, if they wanted to. Students were told it was ok not to answer questions. This was then reiterated by the translator. Both students and adults had it made clear to them that at any point they were free to leave the interview. An example of this is one student left during an interview as they wanted to play with their friends.

All interviewees were told the about nature of my research, that the interview would be recorded, and that my translator and I were not associated with the school. Students were asked Concept Check Questions (CCQs) to ensure that they understood what they were taking part in. Students were given a passive consent form in Khmer in Appendix 5 to give to their parents before any interviews took place. It cannot be said for sure if all the parents received these forms. For this reason, I did not interview students from the NGO school as their parents had not been informed. All interviewees gave verbal consent

To ensure safety and anonymity of participants all students were interviewed with a third person there (a translator) that had experience working with young students and could assure them of their anonymity in the research process. The additional benefit of having a female translator meant there was more of a gender balance so some participants may have been more willing to talk to a female. Interviews took place on school grounds but outside of the building itself in case they might have felt pressured by their teachers to provide positive answers on their education there. Students were then close to their classrooms and teachers but without their answers being overheard. To ensure the safety of adult participants I made sure I did not ask any questions directly connected with politics and had no intention about investigating any context sensitive governance questions.

No student names are used in this thesis but will appear as ‘Interview (number)’. Adult participants could choose pseudonyms unless they said themselves that they wanted their real name to be included. One adult participant was firm that he wanted his real name to be used, however, using my own judgement I changed his name due to some of the politically

sensitive things he raised.

An ethical challenge I faced was trying to conduct interviews with students when they had class. As I was limited to when I had a translator some students, with their teacher’s permission, did miss parts of their class to be interviewed. Students were asked if they wanted to continue doing the interview if there was an overlap between break and class starting. On the issue of trust many students knew me already as I had visited the school in 2019. My own positionality as a teacher with 5 years of experience meant I was well suited for interviewing students.

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4 – Context

4.1. Takeo Province, Cambodia

Cambodia is a predominately a rural country with only 21% of citizens living in urban areas (World Bank, 2018). 90% of the poorest Cambodians live in rural areas (Engvall, Sjoberg and Sjoholm, 2007). Takeo province has a population of 899,485 according to the 2019 census (City Population, 2019), the biggest town is Krong Doun Kaev which is also the provincial capital. It is home to 41,383 people as shown by the 2008 census (City Population, 2019). In Figure 5 Krong Doun Kaev is located in 2108. It has two public schools, private schools that act as an alternative to public school as well as different supplementary educational options. English is an important skill to have if attending either Build Bright University or Angkor Khemara University, or working in the numerous microfinance institutions, the provincial government ministries and for the university graduates that move to Phnom Penh to pursue a career in the city. Takeo Province, similar to all of Cambodia, has its population mostly located in rural areas. Dawson (2011) states that Takeo is a rural province. Preykla Commune is an example of a rural community in Takeo Province and where the students in this study come from. In Figure 6 Preykla is located in 210503.

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4.2. Supplementary English education in Takeo

Supplementary English education in Takeo comes in different forms. The only town, Krong Doun Kaev, has supplementary education of different quality and prices, as well as having free supplementary English education by NGOs like NFO, that have schools in five different locations. NFO have 500 students receiving free English supplementary education. Smaller communities by the main highway might have a supplementary English education school. The educational opportunities in Krong Doun Kaev are quite representative of the small towns which make up the majority of provincial capitals across Cambodia (S.Clayton, 2012). Rural villages inhabited mostly by rice farmers, similar to Preykla Commune, usually have access to private tuition and public school English classes. The underserviced areas that have supplementary education often run classes both in the morning and afternoon to adapt to the half day primary school students attend public school. High school students attend after they have completed a full school day. Supplementary education operates in the shadow of state education and so supplementary schools adapt depending on the situation in the local public school (Bray, 2013).

4.3. Background of Your English School

The rice growing community of Preykla Commune has had supplementary English education from YES since 2018. There are two options for supplementary English education in Preykla Commune, YES and Bright Future School. There are no NGOs providing free English lessons in Preykla Commune although this can be found in other communes like the schools

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28 where NFO operate. According to the CPP Headquarters statistics provided by the Commune Chief Preykla Commune has 11,162 people (6150 female and 5012 male), 2426 families, and 7404 adults of which 3624 are female. There are 15 villages all served by the primary and secondary school called Hun Sen Preymilo School. Preykla Commune has 3758 people under the age of 18. It is not possible to know for sure how many are old enough to attend school but of these 3758 children 357 of primary and secondary students are receiving English education at YES. In this research little is known about how many students attend the one other supplementary English school in Preykla Commune.

After the creation of YES in Preykla Commune there was now an additional way to learn English before or after regular classes. YES provides low-cost English lessons to a rural community. An hour of English at YES costs $0.18, which is slightly more affordable than private tuition in the same region. It is a grassroots school founded by four people from Takeo Province with the aim to provide affordable English education to the community. The founders had graduated with degrees in English; the lead teacher had taught and managed an English school previously. They also have a sponsorship program where they give free lessons to members of the community that are orphans.

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5 - Finding value in English education

This chapter will answer the question: How do students in Takeo view the relationship between learning English and their capabilities? To understand how students view the relationship between their English education and the impact it has on what they see as their capabilities this research has divided capabilities into two categories. Capabilities they gain while currently receiving their English education. These variables are what the students have identified give them the ability to achieve. The capabilities that students currently benefit from as a result of their English education are speaking English, showing disciplined

behaviour, having self-confidence, and to being motivated to succeed. The second part looks at functionings achieved from studying English. Functionings are what the students find valuable reasons to study English that will enhance their future lives. The functionings are success in tertiary education, employment related achievements, improving their knowledge, being more able to go abroad, the ability to help one’s family, and having the knowledge to engage with computing technology.

5.1. Capabilities: the ability to achieve

5.1.1. Being able to speak English

The value people living in rural Cambodia have for speaking English has not previously been studied. Moore and Bounchan (2010) assume people living in rural Cambodia would not consider learning English as important. They admit that ‘this remains an untested hypothesis’ (Moore and Bounchan, 2010: 120). Listening to students attending English lesson in rural Cambodia it can be stated that they do find the ability to speak English important. 40% of students considered being able to use English is useful to their current lives.1_{A remote}

community like Preykla Commune does not have any immediate business which requires the use of English or a community of foreigners to interact with. However, some students nevertheless liked to use English in their daily lives. ‘I came to study English because when I go to public school my friends speak English.’2_{Another student said that knowing English}

helps them to ‘get along well with my teacher’.3_{A YES teacher spoke about how some}

students like to use their English with the family members that know some English.4_{This was}

confirmed by a student that enjoys speaking English with her uncle who works as a Khmer-English translator.5

Students being able to speak some English in their current lives was identified as valuable to them. It is therefore considered a capability, and importantly, without this capability, none of the student perceived functionings from knowing English would be possible. Listening to the student voice in Preykla Commune has highlighted that rural Cambodians do in fact value the

1_{Interviews 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 16, 19 and 20 (Primary school students and High school student, male and female)} 2_{Interview 8 (Primary school student, male)}

3_{Interview 19 (Primary school student, female)} 4_{Interview 29 (YES teacher, male)}

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30 use of speaking English. Speaking English is not just a skill which Cambodians in urban areas favour.

5.1.2. Demonstrating good behaviour

YES students identified the way they behaved in class with the teacher and amongst their peers was improved by attending supplementary English classes. It is for this reason that showing good behaviour is considered a capability. 70% of students talked about the good behaviour of YES students.6_{Students gave examples of good behaviour related to learning.}

‘YES students study well and quiet.’7_{Students also treat each other in a calm and respectful}

manner while interacting with their peers. ‘Here my friends like me and never fight me or bully me.’8_{‘Most students here are kind.’}9_{An explanation which explains the good}

behaviour at YES is the focus on discipline.

Students had a clear understanding of the extra discipline at YES. 60% of students spoke about discipline being a prominent part of attending YES.10_{Through learning discipline from}

teachers, the students involved in this research improve how they act in class and during student free-time. Discipline is central to YES and even features in its motto of ‘Discipline, Morality, Quality’. Students who attended supplementary English classes were guided by relatively minimal classroom management. Management of primary school student classes involved tapping a student’s shoulder to remind them not to talk while other students were answering, using a student’s name when telling them to look at their book and instructing students to listen to their peers.11_{The use of these classroom management techniques meant}

the lessons could continue with minimal disturbances. At YES students were put into a routine where they would line up at the sound of a bell and were taught to wash their hands before the start of class.12_{Students understood that this was expected of them each time, and}

would line up quickly and efficiently at the sound of the bell. The discipline enforced at YES also brought better hygiene practices; a particular benefit during the current COVID-19 pandemic. YES students were taught the importance of picking up litter and reported that this did not happen at public school.13

Attentive student behaviour was witnessed at YES where all students were observed working on the tasks assigned to them without the teacher having to micromanage certain students to get them working.14_{With this good behaviour it was noticed that teachers in turn respected}

their students and trusted them. Teachers would leave their classes to get things and students would continue working while they were away.15_{As a result of good student behaviour the}

teachers understood they could trust the students in these situations. In high school classes at YES one teacher trusted five students to go outside the classroom to do a test that they had 6_{Interviews 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18 and 19 (Primary school students, male and female)} 7_{Interview 6 (Primary school student, female)}

8_{Interview 13 (Primary school student, male)} 9_{Interview 11 (Primary school student, female)}

10_{Interviews 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 17 and 18 (Primary school students, male and female)} 11_{Observations 1, 6, and 10 (YES, Primary)}

12_{Observation 16 (YES, Primary)}

13_{Interviews 3 and 18 (Primary school students, male)} 14_{Observation 9 (YES, Primary)}