Learning resource
Cambodian American Studies Model Curriculum
The Cambodian American Studies Model Curriculum is a set of open-source lessons for California K–12 teachers on Cambodian American history and culture.[1][2] It covers Cambodian American history and heritage, the long-term causes and effects of the Cambodian Genocide, the experiences of Cambodian Americans coming to the United States, and the building of Cambodian American communities.[1][2]
History
California's Assembly Bill 167 (2021), later amended by Senate Bill 369 (2023), provided for model curricula that include one on the Cambodian genocide. The Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) led the work under contract with the California Department of Education, alongside curricula on Hmong and Vietnamese American history.[2][3] Work began in 2022 and was scheduled to end by September 2025.[2]
Community voices shaped the curriculum. Community organizations and local education agencies hosted listening sessions where people said what they wanted taught, and that feedback guided the choice of topics.[1] Educators wrote the lessons with support from scholarly talks, and researchers, writers and community members took part, many of them of Cambodian ancestry.[1][3] A research team of university scholars reviewed the content for relevance, accuracy and framing, and a leadership team of county offices of education and community organizations advised on the writing and on community engagement.[4]
In November 2024, OCDE introduced the curriculum at a two-day conference at the Long Beach Hilton, attended by more than 500 people. The Los Angeles Times reported the Southeast Asian curricula as the first of their kind in the country. Teachers may use the lessons in full or in parts, and their use is not required.[5] Tori Phu, a curriculum program specialist at OCDE, said: "The beauty of this project is that it's built by the community and for the community."[5]
Contents
The curriculum brings together open-source lesson plans, primary source documents, planning resources, teaching strategies and professional development activities. It is designed to enrich existing courses or to help teachers build new ones.[1][2] The lessons fall into four areas of study: Introduction to Cambodian History, Genocide in Cambodia, Cambodian Diaspora, and Community Building and Healing. Each area opens with a narrative that explains the historical background and key ideas.[3]
Student materials, including lessons, handouts and slide decks, are available in Khmer as well as English. Twenty-seven scholar talk videos, recorded in 2023 and 2024 across the three Southeast Asian curricula, can be downloaded with captions.[3] Video of a tour of Cambodia Town in Long Beach runs 68 minutes, with a 12-minute short version. The tour starts at the Mark Twain Library, visits a traditional Cambodian bridal shop and Wat Kampuchea Krom, stops for lunch at Udom Khmer Restaurant, and ends with a romvong dance lesson.[6] Some lessons can be taught in an Ethnic Studies class, but the curriculum is not part of the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum.[3][7]
The curriculum artwork, titled Cambodian American, sets a silver impression of Angkor Wat against an azure sky over Cambodia, the United States and the wider world.[1]
Credits
The OCDE Model Curriculum Team is Marika Manos, Matt O'Donnell, Joshua Brown, Tori Phu, Ger Thao and Robin Silver. Brian Veasna Sengdala, Cheryl Yin and Khatharya Um served on the research team, and Camille Keo Campos of the Los Angeles Public Library and Sayon Syprasoeuth served on the leadership team.[4] Laura Ouk was a writer on the Cambodian American curriculum.[5]
Community partners include the Los Angeles Public Library, Cambodia Town, the Los Angeles County Office of Education, SEARAC, CERI, Dignity Health–St. Mary's Medical Center Foundation, AYPAL, the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, the Khmer Parents Association, The Asian American Education Project, UMass Global, the California History-Social Science Project, the Santa Clara County Office of Education, Long Beach Unified School District, The Cambodian Family and The Fresno Center.[4]
Access
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 UC Davis California Model Curricula, Cambodian American Studies
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 California Department of Education, Model Curricula and Curriculum Guides
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Orange County Department of Education, Model Curriculum Projects
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 UC Davis California Model Curricula, Cambodian American Studies: About Us
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Los Angeles Times, California to roll out the nation's first Southeast Asian school curriculum (December 7, 2024)
- ↑ Orange County Department of Education, Cambodian Model Curriculum
- ↑ California Department of Education, Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum