
How Cambodian NGOs’ Education Systems Cultivate SEL: A Comparative Analysis Based on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Model
- 1 United World College South East Asia
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Cambodia is a country dense with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the third sector of the country is active in education. Educational NGOs in Cambodia vary in many aspects; however, many education programs exhibit the capacity to facilitate social and emotional learning (SEL). This study aims to compare two different NGOs and their respective influences on student SEL to identify positive features leading to increased SEL levels. Through a mixed-method design involving surveys, interviews, and observations, this research compares and evaluates two educational NGOs’ programs, SOS Children’s Village (SOS) and Village Development Program (VDP), as well as their effectiveness in fostering Cambodian youth SEL development. The results show higher levels of social awareness and relationship skills within VDP. Regression analysis reveals a negative correlation between the socioeconomic control with self-management and responsible decision making. The results obtained in the study could provide information for the educational program design regarding SEL and present valuable insight into two educational NGOs operating in Cambodia.
Keywords
Cambodian NGO education, SEL, developing country education, NGOs, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, Cambodia education, teen education
[1]. Cambodian Rehabilitation and Development Board Council for the Development of Cambodia. (2020) Development Cooperation and Partnerships Report. http://cdc-crdb.gov.kh/en/officials-docs/documents/DCPR-2018-English.pdf
[2]. Chan, C. (2019) The Roles and Functions Of NGOs in Children’s Education. UC Occasional Paper Series, 3(2), 27–58. https://uc.edu.kh/Occasional_Paper_Series/December%202019/Second%20article.pdf
[3]. Pellini, A. (2005) Decentralisation of education in Cambodia: searching for spaces of participation between traditions and modernity. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 35(2), 205–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057920500129866
[4]. Jagers, R.J., Rivas-Drake, D. and Williams, B. (2019) Transformative Social and Emotional Learning (SEL): Toward SEL in Service of Educational Equity and Excellence. Educational Psychologist, 54(3), 162–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2019.1623032
[5]. Weissberg, R.P., Durlak, J.A., Domitrovich, C.E. and Gullotta, T.P. (Eds.). (2015) Social and emotional learning: Past, present, and future.
[6]. Zins, J.E. (Ed.). (2004) Building academic success on social and emotional learning: What does the research say?. Teachers College Press.
[7]. Calhoun, B., Williams, J., Greenberg, M., Domitrovich, C., Russell, M.A. and Fishbein, D.H. (2020) Social Emotional Learning Program Boosts Early Social and Behavioral Skills in Low-Income Urban Children. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.561196
[8]. Weems, C.K. (2021) Evidence-Based Program Selection and Duration of Implementation of Social-Emotional Learning as Related to Student Growth and Non-Academic Outcomes [Doctoral dissertation, East Tennessee State University]. Proquest. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3933
[9]. Banks, N., Hulme, D. and Edwards, M. (2015) NGOs, States, and Donors Revisited: Still Too Close for Comfort? World Development, 66, 707–718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.09.028
[10]. Brass, J.N., Longhofer, W., Robinson, R.S. and Schnable, A. (2018) NGOs and international development: A review of thirty-five years of scholarship. World Development, 112, 136–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.07.016
[11]. Edwards, M. and Hulme, D. (1996) Too close for comfort? The impact of official aid on nongovernmental organizations. World Development, 24(6), 961–973. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-750x(96)00019-8
[12]. Rose, P. (2009) NGO provision of basic education: alternative or complementary service delivery to support access to the excluded? Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 39(2), 219–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057920902750475
[13]. Mitlin, D., Hickey, S. and Bebbington, A. (2005) ‘Reclaiming development? NGOs and the challenge of alternatives’, Background paper for the conference on Reclaiming Development: Assessing the Contribution of NGOs to Development Alternatives, Manchester June 27–29 (draft paper).
[14]. Curley, M. (2018) Governing Civil Society in Cambodia: Implications of the NGO Law for the “Rule of Law.” Asian Studies Review, 42(2), 247–267. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2018.1457624
[15]. Cooperation Committee for Cambodia. (n.d.). CCC NGO Database. CSO Database Management System. Retrieved July 27, 2022, from https://www.ccc-cambodia.org/en/ngodb
[16]. Hashim, A.T., Osman, R. and Badioze-Zaman, F.S. (2016) Poverty challenges in education context: a case study of transformation of the mindset of a non-governmental organization. International Journal of ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES, 3(11), 40–46. https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2016.11.008
[17]. Kumar, A. (2019) Cultures of learning in developing education systems: Government and NGO classrooms in India. International Journal of Educational Research, 95, 76–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2019.02.009
[18]. Msindo, E.M. (2014) The role of civil society in advancing education rights : the case of Gadra Education, Grahamstown, South Africa [Master’s Thesis, Rhodes University]. South East Academic Libraries System. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016500
[19]. Aston, H.J. (2014) An ecological model of mental health promotion for school communities: adolescent views about mental health promotion in secondary schools in the UK. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 16(5), 289-307.
[20]. McCormick, M.P., Cappella, E., O’Connor, E.E. and McClowry, S.G. (2015) Context Matters for Social-Emotional Learning: Examining Variation in Program Impact by Dimensions of School Climate. American Journal of Community Psychology, 56(1–2), 101–119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-015-9733-z
[21]. Meyers, A.B., Tobin, R.M., Huber, B.J., Conway, D.E. and Shelvin, K.H. (2015) Interdisciplinary collaboration supporting social-emotional learning in rural school systems. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 25(2-3), 109-128.
[22]. Trach, J., Lee, M. and Hymel, S. (2018) A social-ecological approach to addressing emotional and behavioral problems in schools: Focusing on group processes and social dynamics. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 26(1), 11-20.
Cite this article
Zhu,H. (2023). How Cambodian NGOs’ Education Systems Cultivate SEL: A Comparative Analysis Based on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Model. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,9,17-25.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer/Publisher's Note
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
About volume
Volume title: Proceedings of the International Conference on Social Psychology and Humanity Studies
© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who
publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this
series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published
version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial
publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and
during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See
Open access policy for details).