Cambodian Youth Perspectives on Social and Educational Barriers
An exploratory case study in a rural border region
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/jise.vi0.1227Keywords:
Cambodia, education, youth, poverty, developmentAbstract
This case study examines these barriers using a questionnaire assessing the youth’s attitudes toward education (n = 50). Results indicated that poverty and the pressure to migrate for work remain significant barriers to educational attainment, despite the perceived benefits of education by youth and encouragement by families. Results revealed that inter-educational issues occur despite unclear prevalence, including negative pressures, physical and verbal abuse of students by teachers, teachers charging students fees, and government schools being comparatively less safe and encouraging than home and a local NGO school. These findings can be used to better tailor development aid targeting educational measures, particularly encouraging a shift from convincing rural Cambodians to value education to targeting the contextual barriers that exist.
Downloads
References
Asian Development Bank. (2012). Cambodia: Country poverty analysis. Retrieved from
Behrman, J. (1996). The impact of health and nutrition on education. World Bank Research
Observer, 11(1), 23-37. Doi: 10.1093/wbro/11.1.23
Bunlay, N., Wright, W., Sophea, H., Bredenburg, K. & Singh, M. (2010). Active-learning
pedagogies as a reform initiative: The case of Cambodia. USAID/EQUIP. Retrieved from http://www.equip123.net/docs/E1-ActiveLearningPedagogy-Cambodia.pdf
Burleson, S. E. & Thoron, A. C. (2014). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and its relation to learning
and achievement. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences: University of Florida. Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC15900.pdf
Creswell, J.W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting and evaluating qualitative
and quantitative research. (4th ed). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.
Desautels, L. (2014). Addressing our needs: Maslow comes to life for educators and students.
Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/addressing-our-needs-maslow-hierarchy-lori-desautels
Dy, S. & Ninomiya, A. (2003). Basic Education in Cambodia: The impact of UNESCO on
policies in the 1990s. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 11(48). Available online at:
http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v11n48/
Haggerty, M. R. (1999). Testing Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: National quality-of-life across
time. Social Indicators Research, 46(3), 249-71.
Hutchinson, L. (2003). ABC of learning and teaching: Educational environment. British Medical
Journal, 326, 810-12. Doi: http://dx.doi.org.proxygsu-ecor.galileo.usg.edu/10.1136/bmj.326.7393.810
Jeong, H. (2014). Legacy of Khmer Rouge on skills formation in Cambodia. Journal of
International and Area Studies, 21(1), 1-17.
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-396.
Doi: 10.1037/h0054346
Maslow, A. H. (1987). Motivation and personality (3rd. ed.). New York: Harper Collins
Publishers.
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. (2015). Education statistics and indicators 2014/2015:
Banteay Meanchey Province. Retrieved from http://www.moeys.gov.kh/en/banteay-meanchey/1609.html#.WMb_UzvytPY
Mittelman, W. (1991). Maslow’s study of self-actualization: A reinterpretation. Journal of Humanistic Psychology. 31(1), 114-135
Morley, R. & Lucas, A. (1997). Nutrition and cognitive development. British Medical Bulletin,
(1), 123-134. Retrieved from
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/eb3a/0cf6daf5871fc90b571dfff9fe99d608c474.pdf
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks:
Sage Publications, Inc.
Author (2015).
Author (2014).
Stein, Z. & Stusser, M. (1987). Effects of early nutrition on neurological and mental competence
in human beings. Psychological Medicine, 15(4), 717-726.
Tan, C. (2006). Education reforms in Cambodia: Issues and concerns. Educational
Research for Policy and Practice, 6(1), 15-24. Doi: 10.1007/s10671-007-9020-3
Vo, J. (2016). Breaking the cycle: Shifting towards effective education reform to overcome
poverty and abate Cambodia’s sex industry. Suffolk Transnational Law Review, 39(2). 481-507.
Wahba, M. & Bridwell, L. (1976). Maslow reconsidered: A review of research on the need hierarchy theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 15(2), 212-240
World Food Programme. (2003). Micro-level estimation of the prevalence of stunting and
underweight among children in Cambodia. Ministry of Health. Retrieved from http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/ena/wfp034526.pdf?_ga=1.241350529.2097165118.1489436332
Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
