Narratives of Academic Mobility for Disenfranchised Youth in the Kingdom of Cambodia

NCSEHE at Curtin UniversityApril 28, 2016

Alexander Jun, Ph.D.Professor of Higher EducationAzusa Pacific University

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.

Samath (20)

We also survived by eating snakes, crabs, frogs, grasshoppers, and crickets or anything else we could catch.

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.

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.

Samath (20)

I met someone from Cambodia’s Future and started a new life in the orphanage.

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.

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

Consequences

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

Challenges to Educational System

Access and attendance

High drop-out Low student

enrollment Low rates of

college participation

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…”

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

CollaborationOrganizational Structure

FeederSchools

College Scholarshi

p

House of

Strength

House of

PeaceLocal Admin

Agape Int’l

Academy

Cambodia’s

Future

State-side Headquarters

Cambodia’s Future

House of Strength House of Peace Guardia Family Regimented Daily Chores ESL and English Days Homeschool Agape Int’l Academy

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

High Expectations

They wanted us children to compete academically. Mr. Guardia pushed us hard. And he taught us that anything is possible.

-Soka

High Expectations

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

-Soka

Agape International Academy

Pre-K–12 one class per grade465 full time student enrollment

123 students hold Cambodian citizenship

23 nationalities represented$3,000 USD annual tuition$145,000 USD revenue from

tuition

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

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

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

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

Implications for Policy

Recognize Organizational Saga Legacy of founding principles

Maintain Cultural Integrity Focus on Systemic Change

Reciprocity (Orphan Care)

Narratives of Academic Mobility for Disenfranchised Youth in the Kingdom of Cambodia

DISCUSSION

Alexander Jun, Ph.D.Professor of Higher EducationAzusa Pacific Universityajun@apu.edu