Friday, July 16, 2010

Universities Fail at Critical Thinking: Student Advocate

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Thursday, 15 July 2010

“The quality of education in these skills is still very limited.”
Cambodia’s higher education system has failed to address a lack of critical-thinking and problem-solving curricula among university students, a youth advocate told “Hello VOA” on Monday.

Instead, says Cheang Sokha, head of the Youth Resource Development Program, “student-centered” approaches exist on paper only within higher education.

“The quality of education in these skills is still very limited,” Cheang Sokha said.

“If we want to see a society’s fate, we look at how young people’s education is invested in,” he said. “Now look at the way our current education system invests in young people. How can we hope that our society will have a good fate?”

The Youth Resource Development Program hopes to improve that, he said, and has trained around 2,000 university students since 1999 to make them better thinkers and more attractive in the job market.

Employers put more value on people with high critical-thinking and analytical problem-solving skills,” he said.

More than that, said one caller, Sun Thun, the education system has also failed to instill the proper sense of patriotism, democracy and respect for human rights.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had met Khmer Students from Cambodia, they are show nothing that they are professional, they act more like spoil rats, their knowledge just like preschoolers in United States.

Anonymous said...

Fuck 7.18am .....is this true? shit you....many young Cambodian people are good and strong...I am educated in Cambodia...now I work for a well known international organization regional office in Bangkok. I also met alot of fuck westernees that come to work in Southeast Asia only through only its government money and aid...they know only about shit fucking lady only!

Anonymous said...

cambodia needs to emphasis the importance of critical thinking and analytical skills, etc... the schools needs to add this ciricula into the graduation requirements like they have in america's school system of higher learning, etc... good for students advocate to point this out! god bless.

Anonymous said...

Yes, you work in Bang Cock, I know what you mean, is Bang Cock is the same as kissing ass show no results? and thinking that is a success??

Anonymous said...

Yes this is how profesional you claim yourshelf to be...the profesional from the US speak dirty thing like that..this is why I say they like to fuck lady only! I don't have time to play with profesional idiot like u.

Anonymous said...

Pannasastra Univeristy of Cambodia teach critical thinking for two terms. I am disappointed that Mr. Cheang Sokha did not mention.

Anonymous said...

yes, in the western society and in the real world or real work place, critical thinking skills and analytical skills pays more in salary, really. employers look for people with these life skills, that's right! critical thinking makes us think before we speak and analyze the situation(s) before we jump to conclusion, etc..., all good life skills or real life experience to have. it'll help us to be a better person or individual, etc...

Anonymous said...

it broadens our mind as well. it let us think logically, thus makes us a better person in society and country, etc...

Anonymous said...

To 10:09am,

it's good to know that Pannasatra teaches critical thinking but then again Pannasatra is a good university. Not many students can meet Pannasatra's admission criteria. Reality is a lot of Cambodia's graduates study in private universities with very low standard that do not encourage or even teach critical thinking.

My assistant, she is currently working and studying at the same time. She has no critical thinking skills at all. When I assign work to her, I have to tell her what to do step by step otherwise she can't manage. Besides that, I have to check her work from time to time to ensure she is on the right track. When problems arises, she can't solve them at all. I asked her about her assignments at school, thinking that the assignments should be the same as where I'm from where we are given questions to think and research on. But she told me that for the questions that her lecturers give, she just copies the answers from the textbook. That doesn't encourage thinking at all on the students part.

For my part as an employer, I really wish to see more cambodians who can analyse and think through problems. I always tell my assistant this...everyone can work but not everyone can think and problem solve and that sets an excellent or average employee apart.