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

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.
When Samath was nine… mother died, and he ended up out of the house. He was picking garbage in the street when a staff member with Cambodia’s Future found him and took him in.

6. Samath (20)
I met someone from Cambodia’s Future and started a new life in the orphanage.
When Samath was nine… mother died, and he ended up out of the house. He was picking garbage in the street when a staff member with Cambodia’s Future found him and took him in.

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 Cambodia Brief Overview
Bordered by Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos
The official ethnicity/language: Khmer
90% Khmer
5% Vietnamese
1% Chinese
Khmer Rouge ( )
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…”
Constant Comparative Analysis

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

13. Collaboration Organizational Structure
Local Admin
House of Peace
House of Strength
Agape Int’l Academy
Cambodia’s
Future
Organizational Structure
Finances / Socialist Model
Fundraising Wing – Denver Colorado/ Fundraiser on Stateside
Logos & Kindercare – revenue generator and goes into central to go to other parts of the organization
360 degree approach to justice – not just orphan care and education.
*Creating a culture of justice* - how to build this work that is perpetuating and building from within outwards.
**Higher education scholarship** dotted line feeding into AsianHope
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
Logos & Kindercare – revenue generator and goes into central to go to other parts of the organization

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

17. High Expectations
Rules and expectations, such as study-before-play, were widely understood amongst the kids. -Soka
Because of their vision and hopes for the children’s futures, academic development and spiritual growth were a top priority.

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
Add new numbers with Asian Hope International School (Pre-K – 2) student Fall of 2011
Annual Tuition
Average with AHIS

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
Add new numbers with Asian Hope International School (Pre-K – 2) student Fall of 2011
Annual Tuition
Average with AHIS

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
Because of their vision and hopes for the children’s futures, academic development and spiritual growth were a top priority.

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
A challenge with English Speaking and Heritage and Culture

22. IMPLICATIONS Addressing Financial Realities Community Shared Vision
Fully funded tuition, housing, travel.
Community
Sense of family among administration, staff, teachers, and students
Shared Vision
Special commitment from all
Sense of Family among admin, staff, teachers
*Concrete Examples of Community – Khmer teacher training to empower
*External outside the school – School in School and Village Project

23. Implications for Policy
Recognize Organizational Saga
Legacy of founding principles
Maintain Cultural Integrity
Focus on Systemic Change
Reciprocity (Orphan Care)
Focus on Justice as their central driving force

24. Narratives of Academic Mobility for Disenfranchised Youth in the Kingdom of Cambodia DISCUSSION
Alexander Jun, Ph.D.
Professor of Higher Education
Azusa Pacific University