Any history is someone's history: Cambodian teachers' historical recognition of the Khmer Rouge in a post-conflict context

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to clarify how Cambodian teachers recognise the history of the Khmer Rouge when viewed through the prism of their lived experience. This paper draws on interviews with secondary school history teachers who teach the history of the Khmer Rouge era to the next generation. To achieve this purpose, I formulated two research questions: (1) How did the teachers acquire knowledge of the history of the Khmer Rouge? (2) What educational value do teachers place on the teaching of Khmer Rouge history? Design/methodology/approach I conducted interviews with 11 secondary school history teachers. I then constructed life histories from the interview data to analyse how the teachers' experiences and thoughts both shaped and transformed their historical understanding. Findings One teacher from a generation generally considered to have no real experience of the Khmer Rouge era had experienced the Khmer Rouge invasion and clashes with her village in her childhood. Another teacher had been educated in anti-Pol Pot ideology, but in his later educational activities, he valued teaching Khmer Rouge history as an education in the value of peace. This study reveals that many teachers had diverse experiences that cannot be summarised as generational theory, but all teachers valued Khmer Rouge history education as a way to teach their students about peace. Detailed analysis of the teachers' narratives also revealed that their values such as education for peace were diverse. Research limitations/implications One limitation of this study is that it did not examine how history was transmitted during the Khmer Rouge era in relation to Cambodia's broader political, social and economic history. Although perceptions and values based on individual experiences are also tied to a broader context, the focus of this study was specifically on history education. Originality/value The findings are significant in showing differences in the historical understanding of the public and of teachers. Studying teachers' life histories recaptures and restores the value of education in a particular context.