| Cambodian
Culture |
American
Majority Culture |
 |
| Cambodian parents
regard teachers and administrators as authority figures
and will defer to them when there are difficult decisions
to make regarding their child. |
Parents are
expected to participate in most decisions regarding their
child’s education at school. Parents have the final
say. |
| Cambodian parents
have little or no contact with the school and rely on
the school system for their child’s education; hence
the proverb, “First you learn respect, then your
letters.” Cambodian parents view teachers as “intellectual
parents” (Tith, 1990). |
Parents are
expected to come to school for a variety of reasons including
parent’s night, volunteer activities and school
committee meetings. |
| Cambodian parents
would not bring an advocate or to question a teacher’s
or administrator’s professionalism. In Cambodian
culture, this would show extreme disrespect. |
It is not
uncommon to bring professional advocates to special education
evaluation meetings and to question the school administrators’
decisions.
|
| Cambodian parents,
when speaking in English or through a translator tend
to convey information in a non-linear style. |
Parent-teacher
dialogue is generally conveyed in a very direct style
and is conscious of time restraints. |
Cambodian
parents tend to emphasize respect for authority - including
teachers. Looking eye-to-eye with a teacher is forbidden
because it is deemed to be disrespectful.
NOTE: Teachers or administrators viewing
this through the eyes of the U.S. majority-cultural
perspective may assume that such behavior demonstrates
something other than respect. |
Children are
encouraged to look a person in the eye when speaking or
listening. This is considered a sign of respect or a signal
that the child is listening and attending to the speaker.
|
| Cambodian parents
or their children may show reluctance or may refuse to
give telephone numbers or addresses of persons to contact
in the event of an emergency. Numbers given are frequently
no longer in service or invalid, according to the direct
experience of the fellows in this project. |
Parents often
give accurate telephone numbers (often more than one)
and addresses for contacting them in the event of an emergency.
|
| Cambodian students
often perceive that expressing oneself in the classroom
is inappropriate. They may view a productive learning
environment as one where everyone is very quiet (Nguyen,
n.d.). |
Children are
encouraged to give and share opinions freely in and out
of the classroom. |
| Cambodian students
are taught to value their own family’s opinion of
themselves over individual achievement. They may show
a high level of discomfort with individual recognition.
|
Children value
individual achievement and recognition. |
| Cambodians
are often stoic when in pain. |
Children will
usually tell someone or show that they are uncomfortable
or in pain. |
| Cambodian students
have a tendency not to seek help from the teacher when
they do not understand something in the classroom (Walker,
1985). |
Children will
ask for help from the teacher when they need it. |
