The present study examines the relationships between young children’s school readiness and primary school enrollment, grade retention and completion through a panel study in rural Cambodia. School readiness refers to young children’s foundations necessary for their learning in school environments.

  With the backdrop of a recent emphasis on early childhood education in developing countries lies an expectation that improving school readiness during the early years contributes to children’s increased educational attainment in later life. Such policies sound promising, particularly for those developing countries in the last stage of universalizing primary education, in tackling the remaining issues of educationally disadvantaged children in rural and impoverished areas. Yet, the argument rests on weak empirical footings, wherea majority of evidence comes from developed countries and the few longitudinal studies in developing countries have generated mixed results thus far. This study therefore poses the following four questions to accomplish the above research purpose: 1) What is the level of young children’s school readiness in rural Cambodia?; 2) What determines their school readiness?; 3) Are there differences in school readiness between on-time enrolled students at the official school-staring age and those who did not, grade repeaters and non-repeaters during primary school years, and graduates and non-graduates from primary school?; and 4) What are the relationships between school readiness and primary school on-time entry, grade retention and completion after controlling for children’s and their families’ background characteristics?

  A panel of 252 children in two rural districts of Province A in Cambodia was first studied in November 2008 when they were around 5 years old and later tracked through four instances of fieldwork in the years of 2009, 2010, 2017, and 2018. In the sampling of 2008, 25 villages with community preschools were first selected by systematic random sampling, which was followed by the selection of three public kindergartens located in their neighborhood and 20 other villages of similar socio-economic levels without access to any preschool education. All children born in 2003 in these villages and kindergartens participated in the study in principle, and only those who did not change their preschooling status during 2008 and 2009 remained in the sample. School readiness of individual children was measured twice at the ages of 5 and 6 before primary schooling, using the “Cambodian Development Assessment Test” developed by Unicef based on the government’s “Early Learning and Development Standards” for children aged 5. Other data were also collected, such as children’s demographic characteristics, their families’ socio-economic status, along with past schooling records in the follow-up fieldwork. In the sample, 47% had preschool experience at the age of 4, and 75% received preschool education either at a public kindergarten or a community preschool at the age of 5.

  The study’s uniqueness is found not only in its longitudinal design, but also in the accuracy of the sampled children’s chronological age, which often constitutes a serious challenge in education research in rural areas of developing countries where people are not particularly age conscious. In fact, the original sample size as of 2008 was 378; however, 56 children were later confirmed not to be in the targeted age group, reducing the original sample to 322. With the final sample of 252 children for analysis, the retention rate after the ten years of follow-up was 78%. Change of residence accounted for the majority of the sample loss. (View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)

  This paper aims to draw a theoretical picture of the intercultural education practices observed in an Italian public library that was opened in 2007 in a suburb of Bologna city. Ethnography was adopted as the research method. It was carried out by the author alone from October 2011 till the end of 2013.

  Since the 1990s, the Italian Ministry of Public Education has approved interculturalism in its public education policy for immigrant children, and in 2007, the ministry published guidelines in which it declared its intention to open schools to intercultural dialogue and effect relevant changes.

  Some well-respected Italian researchers have pointed out that since the concept of intercultural education had been broadly introduced into schools over a 10-year timespan, the challenges experienced by schools during the introductory phase have already been overcome. Therefore, the next step should be to introduce society to this intercultural dialogue, which would mean advancing this dialogue both outside and after school hours.

  This, therefore, suggests that the after-school lives of immigrant children in Italy—a subject that is not well-researched—should be given special attention. Consequently, this study attempts to identify a public place to engage in intercultural education and theorize its concepts based on intercultural practices.

  The Casa di Khaoula (K-library), a public library with a multicultural mission, was found in a public report on “Cultural Consumptions of Foreign Citizens: Demand and Supply in Bologna Commune and Province” and chosen as the research subject of this study after several preliminary visits.

  The person responsible for the library explained that the mutual visibility among the community members is the basis on which an intercultural relationship is expected to develop. These statements are instrumental in ascertaining the principal framework of their practice.

  In this paper, the K-library’s objective of promoting mutual visibility is depicted by a cyclic model composed of three critical dimensions (i.e., inclusion, expression, and display) that have been observed in their practice.

  The three theoretical frameworks discussed below offer the main threads for an intercultural conceptual model. First, Hannah Arendt’s (1958; 1961) thoughts on adults’ responsibility toward their children, which are based on her theoretical division of public/private places, contribute to the model’s main plot. Arendt requires adults to introduce children to the world and protect children’s uniqueness and the world from any form of destruction.

  The K-library’s practices correspond with Arendt’s requirements—that is, it has implemented inclusive practices that allow children to access private spaces where they can satisfy their primal and common needs and expressive practices that allow children to express their uniqueness. In addition, the librarians display the children’s works while taking care not to cause harm to the children or the outside world.

  Second, expressive practices can be interpreted using the theory presented by Keiichi Noe (2005) on narrative action. Noe focuses on formality, which is intrinsic to narrative action, making it different from other types of linguistic actions such as saying and speaking. Throughout the K-library’s expressive practices, such characteristics of narrative action seem to support children who use the library to weave their own unique narratives. (View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)

  This paper centers on the case of robam boran (Cambodian classical dance), and more specifically the acquisition of embedded dance skills through the process of apprenticeship as it evolves into the post-modern period. The model of apprenticeship is one that derives from ancient times but has endured into the present due to its indispensability. Lave and Wenger (1993) introduced the theory of community embedded skill acquisition through Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP), in which learning occurs through the community of practice, and after which full participation can be achieved as one gains legitimacy and credibility. Fukushima (1995) took this theory one step forward using the case of noh and kagura dance, where he argued that the social construction of the body has been reinforced through the idea of performing art apprenticeship education (geidoteki totei kyouiku), a dedicated non-systematized kinesthetic learning process. Ikuta (2019) questions whether performing art apprenticeship education can ever truly be replaced by curriculum-based education, even as many others consider the transition away from apprenticeship, which started with western industrialization, to be inevitable. She considered that an irreplaceable dimension of performing art apprenticeship education is that it does not differentiate between learning and life, but is rather an integrated humanistic education.

  In this paper, I propose that, while apprenticeship does indeed contain many irreplaceable elements, how apprenticeship is embedded in the wider education process can evolve across time and context. I use comparative analysis to explore the continuities and adjustments faced by performing art apprenticeship education. While this form of education has received little coverage in recent decades because wholesale changes in the education system were the primary focus, Cambodian society is now rediscovering the value of apprenticeship. This is part of a broader unfolding of the post-war reconstruction and development process in Cambodia, in which the early stages focused on macro-level reforms, leaving secondary areas for subsequent intervention. In the context of post-colonial educational reform, it is also important to pause and consider whether pre-modern forms of instruction should be given the opportunity to evolve, instead of being preemptively replaced.

  To study this phenomenon, I examine a range of classical dance education systems, ranging from large, public systems to diaspora-based private entities. In Cambodia, I evaluate the Royal University of Fine Arts, Faculty of Choreographic Arts, Department of Dance, Classical Dance Course (hereafter, RUFAC), the institution that took over dance education in 1970 when it was separated from the Royal Palace. Abroad, I study the Khmer Arts Academy (KAA) which was established in Long Beach, California by Sophiline Cheam Shapiro to serve the largest diaspora Khmer community in the world using approaches that are approximately grounded in RUFAC’s pedagogical approach. As an in-between case, I present the example of Prumsodun Ok and NATYARASA Dance Company (PrumN), Cambodia’s first gay identified classical dance company, which was established in Cambodia by a diaspora teacher. Collectively, these cases represent the range of conservative to post-modern manifestations of classical dance education, all of which continue to engage apprenticeship as the primary mode of instruction, although its expression differs in each case. Social science fieldwork began in 2003 and was conducted intermittently over the subsequent 15 years, mostly in Cambodia but also partly abroad and virtually. (View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)

  The purpose of this paper is to examine how the concept of citizenship is interpreted in the United Republic of Tanzania’s (hereafter Tanzanian) civics/ general studies education. The focus of this paper is on civics/ general studies teachers in public secondary schools in Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania. This study reveals how teachers interpret the concept of citizenship as indicated in the nationally provided syllabus, by referring to the value and practice of communal society in Tanzania.

  Citizenship and citizenship education in non-western societies, namely those post-authoritarian, post-colonial, and post-socialist societies, have recently received greater interest in the discourse of comparative education. For instance, the British Association for International and Comparative Education (2018) published a special issue on citizenship education in a non-western context. Also, the World Council of Comparative Education Societies held its first symposium in South Africa, titled “Comparative Education for Global Citizenship, Peace and Harmony through Ubuntu” in 2018. Many scholars have pointed out the limited discussion on a comprehensive understanding of citizenship education in non-western contexts. A growing interest is reflected by these critics; this can be understood as an attempt to further the understanding of the concept of citizenship. By examining its reinterpretation and recontextualization, referring to the indigenous values and practices in non-western societies, this study may deepen the understanding of the diversifying and expanding view of citizenship and citizenship education.

  Tanzania is a distinctive country which has been living within the value of communal society. Thoughts of communal society originates in their philosophy of nation building, called Ujamaa. This is a well-known philosophy enunciated by Julius Nyerere, the first president of Tanzania, around the time of independence in the 1960s. It is a value respecting mutuality and equality in “traditional” communities. While political regimes have changed in the intervening period, the value and practice of the communal society is still widely recognized and respected today by Tanzanian citizens. However, until now, there has been no discussion on their understanding of citizenship reflecting its value and practice. Therefore, this paper examines the concept of citizenship as it is understood by the civics/general studies teachers in Tanzania in comparison to those indicated in the nationally provided syllabus, paying careful attention to those values and practices.

  This study was conducted through a qualitative approach. Fieldwork took place in six public secondary schools in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from October to December 2018, and July to August 2019. The data obtained includes several formal and informal semi-structured interviews of 17 teachers and observations of their classroom activities.

  The current syllabus (2005, 2009) has replaced that of 1996, which was criticized of being content based and insufficient to provide education for active citizenship. The new syllabus aims to enable students to attain competencies to effectively participate in a democratic society. It advises teachers to use participatory and learner centered strategies in order to enhance learning.

  The findings are as follows. (1) Students’ participation is often restricted by teachers in contrast to what is suggested in the syllabus. It is not only the lack of resources nor the low quality of teachers, which has been already pointed out in previous studies, but also the teachers themselves who purposefully avoided student participation. Silence and obedience were preferred by teachers in order to conduct classes effectively passing information to students. (View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)