Using MOOCs for professional development purposes by education professionals in Cambodia: A qualitative study

Sarin Sok
University of Puthisastra, Cambodia
Liz Bennett
University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have become an effective learning approach for continuing professional development (PD) and there is an increasing body of literature on MOOC learners' perspectives drawing from a range of the global contexts. However, in developing countries like Cambodia, relatively little research on this phenomenon has been carried out. This study therefore aims to address this knowledge gap by exploring the perspectives of the Cambodian education professionals towards taking MOOCs, centering around motivations for enrolment, challenges of MOOC completion, and suggestions for promoting MOOCs in Cambodia for teachers' PD. Drawing on evidence gathered from semi-structured interviews with English program leaders and coordinators, and teachers of English, our study reveals that Cambodian education professionals perceive a range of perspectives of taking MOOCs in terms of motivations and challenges. We highlight some steps that would promote the use of MOOCs for teachers' PD in the Cambodian context, and might also be applicable to other developing countries with similar geographical and socioeconomic status, especially the significance of using mother tongue (Khmer) as the language of education and the importance of teachers' mindset in undertaking PD.
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Authors: Sarin Sok is a Quality Assurance Manager at the University of Puthisastra, Cambodia. He was a Chevening scholar and completed a Master of Education at the University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom. His research interests include educational technology, higher education, GenAI in education, and teacher education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0595-5998 Email address: sarinsok99@gmail.com Professor Liz Bennett is an Emerita Professor in the School of Education at University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom. Her research focuses on technology enhanced learning, higher education, and digital scholarship. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6072-7426 Email: e.bennett@hud.ac.uk Please cite as: Sok, S. & Bennett, L. (2025). Using MOOCs for professional development purposes by education professionals in Cambodia: A qualitative study. Issues in Educational Research, 35(1), 320-338. http://www.iier.org.au/iier35/sok.pdf