EDUCATIONAL ACTION RESEARCH Discovering its applicability in Cambodian pre-tertiary education

Abstract: Aim: In the case of Cambodia, whose educational system is in the critical stage of reconstruction and reform after emergence from its almost three decades of civil war, action research should be integrated into teaching profession to empower teachers in this educational reforming process. Therefore, this study is essentially aimed at discovering action research in Cambodian education in the three levels of schooling, primary, secondary and high schools to explore its applicability in the recent educational system. Theory: As this research is attempting to understand facts in association with personal, social and institutional factors hiding behind a phenomena which only members in that particular context are most suitably able to construct; therefore, constructivist perspective with the guidance from theory of practice architectures and a complemantary theory of motivation will lay a firm conceptual ground for this study. Method: This research is conducted qualitatively, specifically operationalized in a form of multiple-case study. Semi-structured interview is chosen, for it ensures that all participants are given a wide room of expression with minimal pressure of formality from the researcher while it also prevents me from getting lost during interviewing as a list of open-ended questions with fairly specific topics is prepared as an interviewing guide. Results: This research reveals the truth that action research has not been implemented by Cambodian teachers at pre-tertiary levels. This phenomenon is explained by the failure at establishing proper arrangements defined by the theory of practice architectures such as cultural-discursive, material-economic and social-political arrangement and the absence of fundamental motivational factors, both individual and institutional, such as proper living standard, research capacity enhancement, supporting mechanism and teacher-empowering educational system.