This research is based on a multi-disciplinary and multi-levelled analysis of evidence to present the case that education reform needs to be contextualised far more widely than is currently practised. It focuses on the voices of Cambodian local teacher trainers through interviews over a five-year period. Interview data is triangulated against academic sources, national policy documents and classroom observations. The research reveals how notions of globalisation and knowledge economy have led to education being driven by measurable outcomes resulting in simplified educational policies that have a negative impact on teacher development. By allowing the Khmer teacher trainers to articulate their opinions on a wide range of themes, the interviews provide evidence to support historical and cultural theories proposed by academics working in the social sciences in Cambodia. This approach identifies that a deeper contextual analysis should enable teacher development programmes to be more closely aligned to national contexts.