Research question 3: From a stakeholder perspective, how have these positive outcomes affected social, political and economic development in Cambodia?
As already discussed in Chapter 5 and 6, the findings of this research and the literature provide evidence that education is a powerful tool for positive social change. The discussion in this section describes the flow of positive outcomes of education in the context of development.
This research suggests that one of the functions of education in development is to empower individuals in at least three main areas: health, skills and resilience. Through education, people acquire knowledge about health and this can have both immediate and long term impacts on their health and the health of their families. In terms of personal development, education equips people with knowledge, critical thinking skills, and specific job skills; and this finding aligns with the literature. It is strongly supported by Ololube and Egbezor (2012) who saw education as a process by which the knowledge, values, skills and norms of a society are formally or informally transferred from one
generation to the next. According to Uriah and Wosu (2012), education is a process through which individual learners develop and construct their inborn potential and capabilities to become functional adults as they are systematically influenced by the knowledge, cultures, values, skills and attitudes of the community. These arguments strengthen the findings of this research which is that high school and higher education is the foundation for individual resilience and professional advancement. Thanks to such a foundation and resilience, educated individuals become qualified for skilled jobs. In other words, education provides individuals with a chance to start their professions as members of a skilled and resilient workforce. People’s skill and resilience develop over time through practical work experience; and the combination between education, which is considered the foundation for fundamental job skills, and practical work experience transforms people so that they are able to integrate into a skilled workforce and advance with the benefit of more career choices [this point has already been discussed in detail in section 7.3]. Specifically, skilled workers usually have three main career choices which are promotion within the organisation of the same employer, mobility across jobs/employers, and entrepreneurship.
In a broader discussion, the development of individuals is very essential to the country’s economy. As presented in section 4.2 and discussed in section 7.3, education transforms individuals into a skilled workforce which is an important factor for growth. In other words, education is a bridge that connects individuals with employment. It can also be said that education produces skilled labour to respond to the development needs of the society and the needs of industries on a large scale. This is strongly supported by Bowles and Gintis’s approach of ‘liberal logic of industrialism’. This approach, according to Moore (2004), regards education as an on-going mechanism for developing a modern society as it responds to the developmental needs of industrial society by developing a skilled workforce/youth and integrating them into the economic system.
There is also evidence that education leads to higher incomes and creates more jobs for society. As presented in section 5.3, entrepreneurs who have a university degree may be in a better position to apply their skills and knowledge to generate higher incomes/profit compared to their peers who have limited education. The case of UG5 is an example of the usefulness of [university] education in business operations. Given the same business, UG5, who has a master’s degree, was able to produce a more effective working system resulting in higher productivity, more jobs for others, shorter working hours, better
working conditions including higher wages for her staff, and overall much higher profits compared to her parents who had a much lower level of education. In this regard, Maina (2014) highlighted that [entrepreneurship] education promotes self-employment which leads to the growth of businesses, and those businesses consequently provide employment to other members of society. This means that education produces higher income at both individual and societal [collective] levels, and this consequently leads to a decrease in the country’s poverty.
Another important point is the improvements in social equality as an outcome of education. As presented in section 5.5, social inequalities in Cambodia such as the gap between social classes, the gap between the rich and the poor, and inequality related to discrimination, were observed to have decreased. Cambodia has done well with promoting the participation of women and people with disabilities into social, economic and political activities. This decrease in discrimination against women and people with disabilities may be associated with an increase in capacity and literacy levels of the two groups. This finding is supported by the ‘liberal logic of industrialism’ of Bowles and Gintis. As discussed by Moore (2004), education in modern society has played an important role in promoting civic values and behaviours which are necessary for an advanced liberal democracy, in promoting the development of a meritocratic selection system, and in promoting an ‘open’ society in which all members are able to mobilize more freely and to enjoy equal opportunity. In other words, the ‘liberal logic of industrialism’ provides lessons learnt that education has been an effective tool to combat social inequality in industrial countries. In support of the ‘liberal logic of industrialism approach’, UNESCO also suggested that the world believes and has evidence that education is a strong mechanism for achieving greater social and economic equality (UNESCO, 2015). It appears that education has contributed to a reduction in social inequality in Cambodia, especially in terms of discrimination against women and disadvantaged groups such as people with disabilities. This research found that education has contributed to the enhancement of career opportunities for people with disabilities and women. Decreases in social inequality and in poverty have close connections with each other. Participation of women, disabled people and other disadvantaged groups in society, especially participation in economic activity, also makes a contribution to poverty reduction.
So, this research provides evidence that education is a powerful tool for development. Education produces positive outcomes in a logic flow which may be referred to as an ‘educational logic of development’. With such empowerment, individuals are qualified or enabled to compete for skilled jobs and then develop themselves into skilled workers. Being part of a skilled workforce means that they have more career choices and higher incomes. Because people are the cells of society, educated people are able to make beneficial changes in society. Education helps keep the economy moving and improving because it produces human capital which can respond to the development of society and its economic needs. Beyond supplying industries with a skilled workforce, education encourages better working conditions, enhances higher incomes, creates more jobs, and promotes social equality including participation of women and other disadvantaged groups in all aspects of society. All of these produce an ultimate result which is a decrease in poverty in Cambodia. Because poverty is a major barrier to education, a decrease in poverty means that education is more and more accessible to more people. The flow that has been described is illustrated in Figure 7.2 on the next page.
Figure 7.2: Educational Logic of Development Impact on Individuals
- Healthier - More skilled
- More resilient Impacts on society
- Matching demand for skilled workforce - Higher Incomes and more jobs - Better working conditions - Lesser degree of social inequality More choices to start career Decrease in Poverty - Wealthier individuals - Wealthier society More choices to advance career Promotion within organisation Mobility across jobs Owning business Education