Abstract

This study has been conducted in order to understand how Cambodian teachers and librarians who implement storytelling in their primary schools and principals as supervisors define the benefits and the disadvantages of storytelling for education. Survey questionnaires were collected from 151 teachers, librarians, and school principals in two provinces of Cambodia. Data analysis revealed five main advantages of storytelling: 1) knowledge and language acquisition, 2) increase of internal education efficiency, 3) preservation of culture and tradition, 4) imagination development, and 5) moral development through analysis of stories, and found two disadvantages, 1) a lack of insight and attention and, 2) a lack of teachers' storytelling skills. Interview respondents mentioned that the problem is related to low storytelling and story selection skills of storytellers. Based on the results, the Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA) will revise its project objectives and redesign its future storytelling program and teacher training. These findings will also be shared with the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports in Cambodia as it reviews its objectives for a storytelling hour in the primary education curriculum.

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