Exploring Cambodian schoolgirls’ educational persistence: a community cultural wealth perspective

Abstract

This study draws on a community cultural wealth framework to discuss how materially and socially disadvantaged girls in rural Cambodia negotiate barriers to attending secondary school. The study explored the schooling experiences of 43 secondary schoolgirls and 23 young women in higher education, using a variety of art-based activities and more traditional qualitative methods, including interviews and questionnaires. The girls’ and young women’s narratives about persisting in education revealed the agentic ways in which they drew on manifold resources in order to stay in school. We argue that strong relational ties, particularly friendships, foster Cambodian schoolgirls’ resistant identities, expanding their mobilities and possibilities for action in relation to educational persistence. We examine how supportive family members, resourceful friends, caring teachers, and knowledgeable staff from non-governmental organisations, enabled schoolgirls and young women to develop aspirations, resilience, and coping strategies that allowed them to overcome barriers to education. We consider girls’ educational persistence in relation to Yosso’s familial, social, navigational, aspirational, and resistant capitals, and identify altruistic capital as an additional resource that the girls and young women referred to when describing their schooling experiences.

Keywords:

• Agency
• Cambodia
• capitals
• friendships
• girls
• persistence
• resources

Acknowledgments

Tracy wishes to thank the NGO staff that provided valuable logistical support and advice. In particular, she would like to thank her research assistant, Theary (code name) for her wisdom, support, and insight. She is also extremely grateful to her doctoral supervisors, Vivienne Anderson and Karen Nairn, for their invaluable guidance and feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Tracy Rogers is a teaching fellow and postdoctoral research fellow at the Higher Educational Development Centre, University of Otago. Her doctoral research investigated the various sources of support that enable materially-disadvantaged Cambodian schoolgirls to overcome hurdles and remain at school. Her doctoral thesis sought to provide a better understanding of how various stakeholders can support girls in Cambodia in their pursuit of academic attainment. Tracy’s research interests are gender inequality in education; feminist research and advocacy; the politics of voice; and education policy and practice in South East Asia.

Vivienne Anderson is a senior lecturer in higher education at the University of Otago, New Zealand. Her research explores questions relating to education, embodiment and affect; educational mobilities; internationalisation; and teaching and learning in higher education. Originally a primary school teacher, Vivienne has also worked in teacher education and dental education contexts.