THE CAMBODIAN SOLUTION TO CHINESE ETHNIC BILINGUAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

Abstract

Chinese ethnic bilingual education program is a mean to leverage ethnic minorities to more social upward opportunities in the Mandarin (Han language)-dominated society. After investigating contemporary papers about the remaining issues, the present article qualifies the existing inequality of ethnic bilingual education rooted from the irrationality of government’s policy, the weakness of policy implementation, and the contradicted culture environment for ethnic bilingual education. Shared a similar ethnic population structure, the Cambodian’s Highland Children’s Education Project (HCEP) provided inspirations to Chinese ethnic bilingual education in the utilization of NGOs power, the setting of community school board, the design of teacher training program and curriculum system. Deliberatively considered Chinese political environment and government funding availability, this article suggests that selected Chinese local government can partnership with domestic NGOs to run experimental school based on HCEP model and the practical insights for future ethnic bilingual innovative programs in Chinese rural ethnic area.