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Academic Mobility for Disenfranchised Cambodian Youth

This study explores the narratives of academic mobility for disenfranchised youth in Cambodia, focusing on the collaboration between educational institutions and NGOs to ensure their academic success. It offers recommendations for future policies regarding the education and mobility of high-risk youth in Cambodia.

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Academic Mobility for Disenfranchised Cambodian Youth

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  1. Alexander Jun, Ph.D. Professor of Higher Education Azusa Pacific University Narratives of Academic Mobility for Disenfranchised Youth in the Kingdom of CambodiaEast West Center, 2016

  2. Samath (20) I grew up in Mondulkiri where my family were farmers. There are times when we had many difficult times finding food so I remember days when all we ate were pickled chili peppers.

  3. Samath (20) We also survived by eating snakes, crabs, frogs, grasshoppers, and crickets or anything else we could catch.

  4. Samath (20) One day when I was around five years old my mom decided that she should move to the capitol, Phnom Penh, to look for a job so that she can prepare for a better future for my family.

  5. Samath (20) When I moved to the city my life changed in many ways. My mom had married again. Unfortunately her new husband was really abusive to me. Almost every day he got drunk and he would beat me.

  6. Samath (20) I met someone from Cambodia’s Future and started a new life in the orphanage.

  7. Overview & Purpose • Establish a framework for college access and resilience for disenfranchised Khmer youth in Cambodia. • Understand how educational institutions collaborate with non governmental organizations to ensure academic success • Offer recommendations for future policy regarding education and mobility of high risk youth in Cambodia.

  8. Kingdom of CambodiaBrief Overview • Bordered by Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos • The official ethnicity/language: Khmer • 90% Khmer • 5% Vietnamese • 1% Chinese • Khmer Rouge (1975-1979) • Pol Pot Genocide of roughly 2 million people • primarily elite and intelligentsia

  9. Consequences • Educational infrastructure eradicated • Low literacy rates • Widespread poverty • Government corruption • Challenges with reliable public services • Sex trafficking • Disenfranchised youth (orphans)

  10. Challenges to Educational System • Access and attendance • High drop-out • Low student enrollment • Low rates of college participation

  11. Research Design • Ethnographic Approaches • Grounded Theory • Narrative Inquiry “a collaboration between researcher and participants, over time, in a place or series of places, in social interaction…”

  12. Data Collection • Individual Interviews • 35 students (high school/college) • 25 administrators(teachers, counselors) • Participant Observations • Document Analysis • Prolonged Engagement • Over three years of participant observations

  13. CollaborationOrganizational Structure Local Admin House of Peace House of Strength Agape Int’l Academy Cambodia’s Future College Scholarship Feeder Schools State-side Headquarters

  14. Cambodia’s Future • House of Strength • House of Peace • Guardia Family • Regimented • Daily Chores • ESL and English Days • Homeschool • Agape Int’l Academy

  15. Findings • Academic Rigor • High Expectations (College Graduation) • Current Status (35 students) • 10 Cambodia’s Future students have graduated college (U.S., Thailand, India) • 15 enrolled in college • 5 currently enrolled in high school • 5 students…. 10 graduates have returned to Cambodia

  16. High Expectations They wanted us children to compete academically. Mr. Guardia pushed us hard. And he taught us that anything is possible. -Soka

  17. High Expectations Rules and expectations, such as study-before-play, were widely understood amongst the kids. -Soka

  18. Agape International Academy • Pre-K–12 one class per grade • 465 full time student enrollment • 123 students hold Cambodian citizenship • 23 nationalities represented • $3,000 USD annual tuition • $145,000 USD revenue from tuition

  19. Agape International Academy • Approximately 50 students receive need-based aid (22 receive 100% aid) • Full Tuition for Cambodia’s Future Graduates (students must return to live in Cambodia) • “Catch Up” School • Challenge: Heritage Language and Culture

  20. Cultural Integrity So they forced us to speak English, but we still speak in Khmer to ourselves. But when we saw them coming, we stopped, pretend like nothing happened, like “Hey, what’s up?” -Samath

  21. Cultural Integrity It was tough at first. Like we were not that happy at all, like “Hey, we can’t speak Khmer? That’s our language!” -Soka

  22. IMPLICATIONS • Addressing Financial Realities • Fully funded tuition, housing, travel. • Community • Sense of family among administration, staff, teachers, and students • Shared Vision • Special commitment from all

  23. Implications for Policy • Recognize Organizational Saga • Legacy of founding principles • Maintain Cultural Integrity • Focus on Systemic Change • Reciprocity (Orphan Care)

  24. Alexander Jun, Ph.D. Professor of Higher Education Azusa Pacific University ajun@apu.edu Narratives of Academic Mobility for Disenfranchised Youth in the Kingdom of CambodiaDISCUSSION

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