On 5-7 September 2017, KAPE sent two representatives, Mr. Hang Pisseth, the I'm Learning Project Manager and Mr. Steven Prigent, Research Adviser, to attend the UK Education and Development Forum at the University of Oxford, which was sponsored by the UK Forum for International Education & Training. KAPE was one of the successful candidates selected to present its research findings and best practices relating to the outcomes of the I’m Learning Project, which was a 4-year longitudinal study of a multi-dimensional and holistic approach to educational development, funded by Norad. Participants from all over the world attended the conference to share findings and experiences relating to sustainable development in the areas of curriculum, cognition and context.

The KAPE research team presented the findings of its longitudinal study entitled, “The Impact of holistic educational programs on quality and learning outcomes in Cambodia” to a large audience at the conference. As many donors move back towards funding projects with a more uni-dimensional focus such as ‘early grade reading’ or ‘teacher education’, the study provided a contrarian view to these development trends that again makes the case for more holistic approaches such as the Child Friendly School model promoted by UNICEF and Save the Children. KAPE hopes that the empirical evidence generated by the study will enable it to better advocate for its own multi-dimensional approach to educational development. The research study will also soon be printed in the Journal of Modern Education.