ROYAL UNIVERSITY OF PHNOM PENH

How Cambodian students selected their major

study at university – Their challenges.

A Thesis

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master

in Education in Educational Management and Planning

POR Silong

February 2015

i
 ROYAL UNIVERSITY OF PHNOM PENH

How Cambodian students selected their major

study at university – Their challenges.

A Thesis

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master

in Education in Educational Management and Planning

POR Silong

Examination committee: Dr………………....……..

Dr……………..………….

Dr……………….………..

February 2015

ii
 ។

ឱ ថ ។ ។

iii
 ABSTRACT

Little is known about or why Cambodian university students choose a major and

future career. The decision regarding a major is important for a student‟s life and future

career. The Cambodian students in higher education enrolled more in some programs like

architecture, IT, medicine, nurse, English and finance etc. The current study was designed

to identify the factors that influenced the university students‟ major selection, examine

the challenges they have been encountering when they are studying some majors and

explore the impact of the students‟ major selection toward the future labor market and

their commitment

These observational interview and questionnaire survey approach as were

employed for the data collection in the study. The utilized semi-structured interviews to

collect data from two male and two female students enrolled in architecture and IT

majors, who volunteered to participate in the research questionnaire survey.

The findings were that value beliefs were important in students‟ choice of major.

Most of students chose architect, IT, medicine, nurse, English and finance etc. Because

they believed that these majors would have good employment prospects and lead to a

worthwhile career. Other reasons included the interest value related to the subjects and to

a career, their believes in their ability to earn more money and usefulness to the long-term

plans of their own business.

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 SUPERVISOR’S RESEARCH SUPERVISION STATEMENT

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

Name of program: Master of Education

Name of candidate: Por Silong

Title of thesis: How Cambodian students selected their major study at university – Their
challenges: a study at universities in Phnom Penh

This is to certify that the research carried out for the above titled master‟s thesis was
completed by the above named candidate under my direct supervision. This thesis
material has not been used for any other degree. I played the following part in the
preparation of this thesis: guidance in research problem development, theoretical
framework, methodology, and presentation and discussion of findings.

Supervisor(s) (Sign) ……………………….

Date ……………………………………….

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 CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

This is to certify that the thesis that I (Por Silong) hereby present entitled How
Cambodian students selected their major study at university – Their challenges: A study
at Universities in Phnom Penh

for the degree of Master of Education at the Royal University of Phnom Penh is entirely
my own work and, furthermore, that it has not been used to fulfill the requirements of any
other qualification in whole or in part, at this or any other university or equivalent
institution.

Signed by (the candidate): …………………………………………

Date: …………………………………………….

Sign by (the supervisor): ………………………………………….

Date: …………………………………………………………………

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 ACKOWLEGEMENT

The study entitled “How Cambodian students selected their major study at university –

Their challenges: A study at Universities in Phnom Penh” was successfully carried out

due to a collective effort of a group of people. Thus, I would like to take this great

opportunity to extend my profound appreciation and special gratitude to the following

individuals.

To begin with, I am immensely grateful and deeply thankful to my thesis

supervisor, Dr. Neth Barom, for his constant supports, invaluable advices, constructive

academic guidance and encouragements throughout the whole process of my academic

research. This special and enthusiastic supervision has definitely resulted in my thesis

completion.

Next, my eternal and profound gratitude goes to my adored mother, Mrs. Prak

Sreung and my beloved, Mrs. Ngorn Sokunthea, brothers, sisters and relatives, for their

continuous wholehearted support, sound advices, considerable encouragement and

especially their tremendous sacrifices when I needed their positive care and attention.

Without those significant contributions from the above-mentioned highly appreciated

individuals, my study would not have come to such a successful end.

Last but not least, I cannot forget to extend my deep thanks heartfelt appreciation

to all my lecturers / professors, friends, and other significant others, for their momentous

assistance in teaching, advices, motivations and other necessary help. With these

invaluable assistances, I have successfully completed my study goals with immensely

satisfying upshot.

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 Table of Contents

Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... iv

Supervisor‟s Research Supervision Statement........................................................................... v

Candidate‟s Statement .............................................................................................................. vi

Ackowlegement ....................................................................................................................... vii

Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... viii

List of Table .............................................................................................................................. xi

List of Figure ........................................................................................................................... xii

List of Acronyms .................................................................................................................... xiii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1

1.1. Background of the Study ..................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Problem Statement .............................................................................................................. 3

1.3 Purpose of the study: ........................................................................................................... 3

1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................. 3

1.5 Objective: ............................................................................................................................ 4

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................... 6

How Cambodian Students Select their Major ................................................................................10

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................11

3.1 Study Design .....................................................................................................................12

3.2 Data Collection Methods ...................................................................................................13

3.3 Questionnaire development for Data Gathering ................................................................13

3.4 Population and Sampling...................................................................................................14

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 3.5 Data Collecting Process.....................................................................................................15

3.6 Data Preparation and Analysis .........................................................................................15

3.7 Ethical Consideration ........................................................................................................16

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS ................................................................................................................18

4.1 Demographic information .................................................................................................18

4.1.1 Sex .......................................................................................................................... 18

4.1.2 Age ......................................................................................................................... 18

4.2.1 Decision to choose major of study at an institution.................................................. 19

4.2.2 Type of study- Scholarship or Fee paying ................................................................ 20

4.2.3 Place of stay during the study................................................................................... 20

4.2.4 Voluntary and internship working experience.......................................................... 21

4.2.5 Being confident to get the expected career............................................................... 21

4.2.6 Study effort made to get the expected career. .......................................................... 22

4.2.7 Expectation to finish university ................................................................................ 23

4.2.8 Language for instruction .......................................................................................... 23

4.2.9 Opinion on lecturers ................................................................................................. 24

4.2.10 Other challenges during the study .......................................................................... 24

4.3.1 Gender and Majors ................................................................................................. 25

4.3.2 Majors and Extra jobs ............................................................................................. 25

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMONDATION ......................................................26

5.1 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................26

5.2 Discussion .........................................................................................................................27

5.3 Recommendations .............................................................................................................28

5.4 Areas for further research ..................................................................................................29

REFRENCES .................................................................................................................................30

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APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................33

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 List of Table
Table 1: Sex of participants ............................................................................................................ 18

Table 2: Age of respondents ........................................................................................................... 19

Table 3: Type of study- Scholarship or Fee paying ........................................................................ 20

Table 4: Gender and Major selection ............................................................................................ 25

Table 5: Extra job among majors ................................................................................................... 25

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 List of Figure
Figure 1: Research Conceptual Framework ....................................................................... 10

Figure 2: Decision to choose major of study at an institution ........................................... 19

Figure 3: Place of stay during the study............................................................................. 20

Figure 4: Voluntary and internship working experience ................................................... 21

Figure 5: Being confident to get the expected career ........................................................ 22

Figure 6: Study effort made to get the expected career ..................................................... 22

Figure 7: The expectation to finish university ................................................................... 23

Figure 8: Language for instruction .................................................................................... 23

Figure 9: Perception of respondents on lecturers ............................................................... 24

Figure 10: Challenges during the study ............................................................................. 24

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 List of Acronyms

HE Higher Education

HEIs Higher Education Institutions

GPA Grade point average

MoEYS Ministry of Education Youth and Sport

NEA National Employment Agency

VIE Valence, Instrumentality, Expectant

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the Study

The current study concerns on the major selection of Cambodian university

students. Higher education in Cambodia has its long history and had different experience.

The first higher education Institution in Cambodia was established in 1940s. It emerged

from time to time and become very famous in 1960s. During 1970s and 1990s higher

education institutions in Cambodia had struggled in a difficult ways (Nith, 2013). In early

2000s, HEIs started to develop themselves again and private HEIs became popular and

attracted many students country wide of in Cambodia. At the present time, there are 102

HEIs in Cambodia of which 14 are supervised by 14 different ministries Nith, 2013). The

numbers of students enroll in HEIs in Cambodia increases from year to year. In 2006-

2007 there were 117, 420 students studying in Cambodia HEIs (female 32.75%), this

number increase double in 2011-2012 which account for 245,329 and 37.17% are female

(Nith, 2013).

The undergraduate Training distribution by field in 2011 showed nine shares of

field of study and revealed that Business Administration share around 47% where Foreign

languages 12%, Basic science 8% and Tourism 2% of the total numbers of students at

University (Nith, 2013). This distribution clearly shows that the practice of choosing a

major for the study varies, but the numbers of students selecting Business Administration

is the highest share compare to the rest.

The way that Cambodian University students choose the major to study is

mysterious. Little is known about how they select the major and career (Mao, 2013).

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The decision regarding a major is important for a student‟s life and future career. The

Cambodian labor market has a shortage of graduates in science, technology, engineering,

math and agriculture. For example: students who chose a finance and banking major

because they believed that this major would have good employment and lead to

worthwhile career. Other reasons included the interest value related to the subject and to a

career, their belief in their ability to learn a business degree.

Moreover, students who have chosen their majors is influenced by many points. For this,

the most influenced is by their relatives and follow their friends because of their miss

understanding and readiness to choose the majors because of Cambodia is the developing

country and the majority of Cambodians rely on agricultural sector for their living lives.

According to Borchert(2002) rested that choosing careers is a problem not only

for students at universities, but also a problem since they were at high schools. The

factors because of their parents, educators and industry have no good advice to give

students or make them trust in the career selection process. He also rested that there are

three reasons that affect students in their career choices: environment, opportunity and

personality. For these three points are playing the important roles in career outcomes.

These reasons can influence students when they study at university because their

background is poor. So when they are studying, some students change their majors

because they see that Cambodia is producing too many business graduates including

accounting, finance and management.

As showed about, because of the shortage of higher education graduates with

good jobs, Cambodian people will see only an oversea supply than in their nations.

Besides, if students have chosen majors that from their intentions, they will get successful

in their study and easy to find good jobs (Arcidiacono,2003).

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1.2 Problem Statement

Cambodian higher education is comprised of two interrelated streams: academic

and vocational. The MoEYS is responsible for the academic stream whereas the

vocational stream is under the supervision of the Ministry of Labor and Vocational

Training. Even though, the MoEYS has curriculum that is appropriate to the modern

market, some students don‟t know clearly which major they will choose. For this, because

most of them they lack of reading and poor in doing research about the curriculum

Morgan (n.d). Moreover, Cambodian youth are being cheated out of a proper education

since they were at secondary or high school yet to reach the tertiary levels, especially for

girls. Additionally, universities need to become more responsive to industry needs and

young Cambodian need to acquire analytical and technical skills that make them valuable

to employers Mansfield (2008). Also, some universities are still recommending some

careers only for boys and others only for girls. Moreover, some companies require only

for girls and some only for boys so that is the reasons that affect to the wrong major

selection at universities (John and Liz Soars).

1.3 Purpose of the study:

- Understanding how and why students choose their majors.

- Explore their difficulties when following the majors selected.

1.4 Research Questions

1. What factors had influenced on their decision making in selecting the study

majors in higher education learning?

2. What are key challenges for student‟s learning in higher education?

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1.5 Objective:

 To identify the factor that influenced the university students‟ major

selection.

 To examine the challenges they have been encountering when they are

studying some majors.

 To explore the impact of the student major selection toward the future

labor market.

1.6 Significance of the Study

Research on students‟ choice of major has been undertaken in various disciplines,

for example engineering, information of technology, accountant, banking…. However,

this research study will focus on the under-researched of the difficulty for students‟

majors‟ selection. Internationally there is growing interest in students‟ decision making.

First, the study is needed for Cambodian higher in higher education sector since it

may serve as a guide, literature review, or any other supporting document. It should be

noted that there has been little Cambodian based on research, especially on Cambodian

higher education (MoEYS, 2009). Basically, this study informs all the relevant

stakeholders of critical factors that influence students „choice of a particular major in

higher education institution in Cambodia. With this information, researchers, students,

private higher education institutions and those working in the relevant fields would use it

as the source of information.

Second, it provides students with judgment on how to choose majors that matches

with the students‟ labor market. Informed of all these influencing factors, management

leader, personnel, lecturers and those working in higher education better understand the

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students‟ need and also their satisfactions. Given this awareness, it can identify those

challenges and hence respond to the students‟ need by designing the appropriate majors.

Third, the findings from this study also inform policy makers in higher education

in Cambodia of the students‟ education choice of particular majors. In this sense, the

policy makers in charge and other relevant stakeholders and better informed of those

critical issues, and they can make use of the study findings to contribute to the students‟

improvement in the future.

Finally, the information is used not only for those responsible for providing

students with information about the skill in higher education and guiding them in their

decision making process, but also for them to improve themselves when they learn the

selected majors. Therefore, this research is highly relevant and its findings can inform

relevant stakeholders on the research topic. A deeper understanding of how student select

and value a choice by their own and follow from friends or families can reveal values

students set for their study and their future career prospects related to their interest,

perceived costs, attainment, and utility. In addition, an increased understanding of

students‟ values and career plans can improve or create more supportive services and

programs from the stakeholders. Understanding students‟ goals, objective and values is

significant for stakeholders and educators involved in recruiting and training students.

5
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

There were a few studies showing about factors influencing students‟ choice of

their majors at universities. This study was based partly on relevant the majors of studies

in Cambodian higher education. A number of studies have been conducted to find out

why students chose their majors and what factors were behind their education choice. As

a result, the studies shared common findings with both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. This

chapter presents various pieces of literature detailing factors influencing student‟s

decisions to choose particular majors.

Education is very important for all people especially students because it gives

opportunities for them to prepare something to get greater jobs. Choosing majors at

university is still concerned for students and difficult for them during their study. For this

reason, some students choosing major by well-being of individuals, families, and some

influenced from their friends (Chuang,Caine-Bish& Walker, 2009). In Cambodia there

are many problems for students who have finished from universities to find jobs that are

appropriate for their careers. For this phenomenon, the majors‟ selection is not based on

their own choices or abilities. It means that the decision on choosing a major was

influenced by their peers or by parents. Through the study on the agricultural field

showed that parents or guardians were the most important factor followed by personal

role model. The effect of the major selection is not only just influence from parents but

also from people during high school indicated by agricultural educational teachers. On the

other hand, university factors were found that the influential were the major atmosphere

in the College of Agriculture, followed by interesting, job considerations followed by

6
working outdoor (Barkly & Parrish, 2005). Some students get successful and some

students don‟t get successful with their majors. The choice of major has been described as

the most.

Mitchell (1975) proposed that a decision maker chooses an alternative based on

the comparison between alternative and an ideal situation. As a result, he noted that an

ideal situation generally does not occur because decision makers might not have an ideal

situation in mind or might not know enough about the alternatives to construct an ideal

situation. Chien (n/d) stated that the problems bothering college students were the

difficulties for them especially for freshmen that have their complicated college life and

connected with scholastic work (Barrase, 1917). Jones (2013) stated that choosing a

college major is one of the most important decisions students will make. The study also

raised that major or program students study will likely affect which university or

community they attend. Moreover, the major you chose determines the department you

are in, so choosing a college major based on students‟ personality and interests make

them likely to earn higher grades with their intentions, stick with the choice of major

through graduation, graduate on time and be more satisfied and successful in their career.

The major objective of the study was to identify and quantify the determinants of the

selection of a major field of study in the College of Agriculture at Kansas State

University in 2004.

College major choice influence self-belief and beliefs about the population

distribution of some college major characteristics. If students are misinformed about

population characteristics between population and self-beliefs, this information should

cause them to revise their beliefs and choices. In addition, because of their

misunderstanding about the major of their studies, including beliefs about ability, labor

supply, and marriage market returns, can make them difficult to learn with their ability

7
and skills. As a result, males and females are known to choose very different college

majors. Also, we find that major choice, earnings differences across majors is more

important factor for men than women, and ability differences matter more for women

than men (Zafa, January 2013).

According to Gregory (1946) showed that the normal college students‟ problems

varied greatly according to individual situations and most of them centered around social

and family relationships. Many young men entered university not prepared for adjusting

themselves to university life and without the best encouragement from their parents to

secure the most favorable atmosphere for higher education. However, many kinds of

personal and social troubles were also frequently functioning of students‟ cultural

backgrounds, sex and year in college. Lee (2009) stated that the model of decision

making to investigate possible relations between the coping patterns proposed by models

and some of the personal factors that might influence choice of college major. Moreover,

he also showed that choosing major to study at university more likely on personal

variables such as self-esteem, career decision making, self-efficacy, goal instability and

personal growth initiative vocational interests. According to Vroom (1964) showed that

an individual decision-making contains(VIE) that refer to the attitudes that affect

people‟s reactions toward an outcome or obtaining the desired outcome and the set of

beliefs about whether these preferences can be realized.

Davidson, Metcalfe, Mueller, Molony , and Vodouris (n/d) stated that self-esteem

is an important measure for students to take majors that are appropriate to career outside;

students with high self-esteem could find jobs and the labor market looks positive, but if

their self-esteem are low they seem to be more likely to take time off after graduation.

They also, rose that the higher amount of debt students have less likely to take time off

and are more likely to enter workforce or continue higher education. In addition, the

8
results they found were that self-esteem and GPA had a strong correlation. Arcidiacono

(2003) stated that the differences in return to majors are much larger than returns to

college quality. The issue of selection is potentially very important as wide differences

exist in the ability compositions across majors covered the jobs associated with particular

majors demanded different sets of skills, some of which learned in college. Moreover, the

difficulty in mastering these skills mostly deals with ability. He also found that higher

education is that individuals who choose school where their abilities are significantly

below those of their peers may be forced into easier majors. So, the individuals who

attend higher quality college may be more likely to choose majors if they are surrounded

by ambitious students. In addition to this, there are three dynamic reasons. First,

individual choosing over periods of time is possible to separate the effort of the college

environment that related to majors and workplaces. Second, learning through other

abilities is very complicated for those who can‟t catch the knowledge, so as a result, they

seem to drop out or switch to a less difficult major. Finally, by returning to college may

return to individual‟s ability that most likely to take part in the treatment of attending

college.

Students and families have good relationship in making decision to continue

studying at university. Among those men and women, still women to the field of their

study skills and their ability still low to get knowledge. So, with higher education the

number of student rates increasingly competitive environment emerged. On the other

hand, universities responded by using financial aid strategies that influence students‟

enrollment and their parents felt pressure to make the right decision in order to learn in to

the right colleges.(Kinzie, Palmer, Hayek, Hossler, Jacob& Comings, 2004). Major

selection and academic success among engineering students who leave engineering for

other disciplines can share information to other people who have an interest in or are

9
affected academic phenomena. Academic success after leaving engineering is

characterized by three outcomes: graduation in the first non- engineering major,

graduation after at least one additional change of major, and failure to graduate. For this,

females leaving engineering with lower GPA were more likely to graduate in the first

non- engineering major. On the other hand, females who changed their major were more

likely to graduate than their male counterparts when leaving engineering with lower GPA.

Both males and females are who leave engineering with lower GPA more likely to major

in business than science. The research also showed that females were twice as likely as a

major in education when leaving engineering and females selecting education are more

likely to graduate than male.(Ohland, n/d).

Themselves

Motivation

Neighbor

How Cambodian Students

Parents/Relatives
Select their Major

Teachers
Challenges

Recommendation
Friends

Figure 1: Research Conceptual Framework

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 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes the methods used to achieve the research. It sets the

research methodology, characteristics of the participants, context of the research, data

collection and analysis approaches. It also discusses the strategies used during the

research to ensure its reliability. In the first section, the justification for a quantitative

approach is set out. In the second section, a description is provided of participants and

how they were recruited. The third section outlines the contextual setting of the research.

As in a qualitative study, many factors were identified in this study that would not

have emerged with a strictly quantitative approach, but additional quantitative work

would much more clearly identify the contribution of variables to motivational factors.

Follow-up studies would be helpful in this area.

The current study changed the expectancy-value theory in understanding students‟

motivation to choose architecture and IT major in Cambodia.

For the study population, the researcher is going to choose universities in Phnom

Penh which provide many majors. Moreover, because researcher lives in Phnom Penh, so

researcher does not spend much money in doing the survey. Another reason is that many

students come from provinces to study at Phnom Penh in the hope that they can find jobs

during their study. Sometimes the job they are employing influence on their decision

making and lead them to change their majors. For current study we am going to mainly

employ questionnaires for data collection. As mentioned by Cohen, Manion & Morrison,

2007, a questionnaire is a powerful tools utilized to collect data from a large group of

respondents highly and efficiently. It is easy to be administered by the respondent as it

11
can be completed without the presence of the researcher and often being comparatively

straight forward to analyze (Wilson and McLean as cited in Cohen, Manion & Morrison,

2007). The researcher select the 3rd year students because students start to learn their

skills. For this, it is easy for him/her to measure their understanding. Moreover, we want

to choose the 2nd year students but it is time for vacation.

3.1 Study Design

This study was designed to be a qualitative method. Qualitative method was a

kind of educational research which is based on the opinion of participants, asks general

questions for in-depth information, collect mostly verbal data, and finally analyze for

themes (Creswell, 2005). Further, Merriam (1998) describes about the people understand

the concepts is important in qualitative method, in which inductive approach is normally

employed to analyze data.

In order to achieve the aims of this exploratory research, a quantitative approach

was employed as this type of research is helpful for understanding people‟s experiences

and their perspectives through converting qualitative questions into a questionnaire

survey with the coding level. Moreover, quantitative data is rich and provides an in-depth

understanding of how and why a sample of Cambodian students chooses their majors.

Therefore, a quantitative approach was most appropriate to explore students‟ experiences

of selecting a major and perspectives on their future careers. Quantitative research

approaches which can be used to understand participants‟ personal perspectives include

basic interpretive quantitative study, case study. The researcher choose these cases of

study as the research method because we wished to gain in in-depth understanding of how

and why students chose majors follow their friends or families.

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3.2 Data Collection Methods

Quantitative questionnaire is the most popular form of data collection for

quantitative researchers (Tichtman, 2010). Also, clear information of questionnaire,

enables a researcher to get insights into the internal world of the participant and to get an

in-depth understanding of that participant‟s perceptions (Merriam, 2001). A questionnaire

can be more flexibility that use varies questions dependent on situation demands then a

structured in the questionnaires. The question list is relevant to this study as it was to

build understanding of how and why students choose majors. The questionnaires were

translated into Khmer because the participants‟ English proficiency was at a level where

they could not share detailed information. Moreover, students feel comfortable answering

the questions with their mother tongues. It is also, students feel more comfortable to

express their feelings and share their stories.

The questionnaires were conducted in a room in the university or anywhere

dependent on students themselves and these created constraints around time to access and

give back no later than a week after getting the questionnaire. In addition, the researcher

was conscious of needing to complete the questionnaires around two weeks or to enable

students to attend their next class. Students who arrived late for the interview added to a

sense of urgency to get through questions.

3.3 Questionnaire development for Data Gathering

Since the concept of factors influencing students‟ choice of a particular major, the

researcher used reliable and valid qualitative research instruments for data collection:

interview and questionnaire. Based the concept in previous research conceptual

framework, their respective cluster questions were developed as measurement questions

for respondents to select their proper option.

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3.4 Population and Sampling

The population in this study was year-three students at public and private

universities in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Since students with academic performance seem

to choose majors with slightly different criteria. The main reason why the study targeted

the above-mentioned population was because they were able to provide information with

regard to what factors influence students‟ decision to select different majors at

universities. In this case, the researcher decided to select two fields which include

Architecture and IT. The sample of this study will be 103 year-3 students. The simple

random is used for sampling to select students to include in the study. To ensure

reliability and validity in the data collection the researcher divided the instruments into

two categories (1) interview with four year-three students for in-depth information, (2)

questionnaire with 103students.

With the letter of approval, the researcher then contacted with the Directors of

Studies and Research for target participants, year-three. With the coordination from the

Directors of Studies and Research, the researcher was able to invite four target students

for interview, 103for questionnaire. For the interview, the researcher arranged the

different schedule for different students according to their available time and also when

they were willing to be interviewed. To distribute and collect the questionnaire from 103

students, the researcher asked the class-monitor to be responsible for distributing,

collecting, and returning the questionnaire to the researcher on a specified date. Finally,

the researcher was successful in the data collecting process from the target institution.

For primary data collection, the researcher used two tools to collect primary data:

interview for in-depth information and questionnaire with open-ended questions. The

interview was conducted with four year-three students; two with high academic

14
performance while another two with poor academic outcome. In addition to the interview,

103 students were invited to fill in the questionnaire with open-ended questions.

3.5 Data Collecting Process

In order to collect the data, several stages were used. First, the researcher had to

finalize all the documents needed for the data collecting process. The documents included

Consent Form, information sheet, interview questions, questionnaire, timeframe for the

interview and questionnaire. These documents were initially written in English and then

translated into Khmer in order to help participants understand better since some

participants could not clear in English language (see Appendix C)

In addition, secondary data was collected using different sources of information

related to the relevant existing studies. These included sources from libraries, Websites,

brochures, guidelines, journal articles, meeting minutes, and other existing studies

relevant to the study.

3.6 Data Preparation and Analysis

The questionnaires were produced by setting questions that students are easy to

understand and the notes in Khmer. The Khmer questionnaires were sent to the research

participants for checking and comments. After receiving the feedback from the

participants, I started to translate the questionnaires into English. Translating Khmer into

English is not too easy. It requires translation skills and understanding of the context of

what the questionnaires and response to the questionnaires were about and what exactly

the participants had meant in each word and sentence. After finishing the translation,

researcher reread the questionnaires to check accuracy of the translated document.

Reading the questionnaires again and again helped us to get a general view point of the

15
research responses. Then we begin summarizing each questionnaire in order to have a

better understanding of all participants‟ responses.

3.7 Ethical Consideration

In order to ensure that participants felt comfortable to attend in this study, the

research was conducted with care and respect for the research participants. It was

important to ensure that participants received clear information about the research, and

felt free to decide about their participation without any caring. So, to minimize this

possibility, students were clear informed that they were not obligated in this research and

I asked them to accept my role as a researcher. Also, researcher tried to create a friendly

and relaxed environment during the presentation. A convenient time for them would be

arranged. They have full right to withdraw their participation within a reasonable time (no

later than a week after they have received the questionnaire paper).

Then, through the assistant of the Master of Education Program (Med), the

researcher requested the letter seeking permission for the data collection at the target

university from the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP). The letter was addressed

directly to rector of the concerned university and asked permission for the researcher to

collect the data from the universities. In so doing, the researcher could ensure that the

participating universities were voluntary and approved of the data collection.

Once the letter seeking permission was issued from the Royal University of

Phnom Penh, the researcher submitted the letter to the rector of the target universities

along with all the relevant documents such as information sheet, Consent Form,

timeframe for students‟ interview and questionnaire. With all these documents, the

concerned universities should be better informed that its approval of participation was

16
truly voluntary. A few days later, the researcher received a letter of approval from the

rector of the universities allowing the study to be carried out in the universities

(See Appendix B). Thus, the study was fully supported by all the relevant departments

and offices of the universities where the researcher needed assistance.

In the questionnaire fulfillment, the respondent was not required to mention his/

her identity. That measure his/ her confidentiality was maintained.

17
 CHAPTER 4

RESULTS

To give a background picture for further elaboration of the results and discussions,

the following is, the description of the characteristic of the sample.

4.1 Demographic information

4.1.1 Sex

In the current study, data were collected from the total number of 103 students as

the sample; as can be seen from Table 4.1. Among the sample respondents, 87(84.5%) of

them are male and 16 (15.5%) are female

Table 1: Sex of participants

Respondents
Sex
N %

Male 87 84.5

Female 16 15.5

Total 103 100

4.1.2 Age

In the current study, as shown in the above section, the data were collected from

the total respondents 103. As presented in Table 4.2, the descriptive analysis reveals that

the ages of the 103 students, some of the students might have entered their schooling

early, yet some other might have started a bit late than the age of six.

18
 Table 2: Age of respondents
Variable Minimum Maximum Mode

Age 18 24 20

4.2.1 Decision to choose major of study at an institution

The choice of majors selected was influenced by different factors (George-

Jackson, and Trent, 1999). Generally, most people in Cambodia believe that majority of

university students in Cambodia were influenced by their friends, relatives, neighbor and

parents when choosing majors for their university study. As can be seen in Figure 4. 1,

according to this research, 7.8 % of university students have chosen the field of study

which their friends had chosen and 5.8% followed by their teachers‟ recommendation.

Whereas, 20.4% and 37.9% of students were influenced by neighbor and their parents.

Moreover, the result has shown that 41.7was personal decision, which the most influential

factors for student‟s choice of higher education major

Figure 2: Decision to choose major of study at an institution

19
4.2.2 Type of study- Scholarship or Fee paying

According to the Admission office of the Department of Higher Education,

in2012of only had 15% of the total number of scholarship students were pursing their

degree in higher education. In the Table 4.3 below, among the collected 103 respondents,

76.7% of them are fee paying while 23.3% are scholarship holders.

Table 3: Type of study- Scholarship or Fee paying

Response

N %

Fee paying 79 76.7

Scholarship 24 23.3

Total 103 100

4.2.3 Place of stay during the study

In Figure 3, the person whom the students were staying with while they are studying

their degree is shown that large number of students was staying with their parents

(49.5%), about 14.6% were staying with their relatives‟ houses. More interesting 34%

were staying in the rented place. Only about 1% was offered a place to stay in the

dormitory and pagoda.

Figure 3: Place of stay during the study

20
4.2.4 Voluntary and internship working experience

While studying at university, some students are employed as well as working

experience. As shown in Figure 4.3, the highest range of the collected subjects has gone

through the internship working experience about 35.7% while voluntary work to which

students could earn more experience is about 21.4%. However, the report also showed

that among the internship and voluntary working experience, student who got the part-

time job is 18.6% and full-time job is 5.7%. In the contexts in CAMFEBA (2008)

reported that about 41% of students who were studying in higher education in Cambodia

did not have chance to get the internship or voluntary working if they don‟t have

experience in the working fields.

Figure 4: Voluntary and internship working experience

4.2.5 Being confident to get the expected career

The respondents to the questions to get their expected careers with their study

majors are 53.9%. Students who were quite confident of creating their business with the

majors are 19.6%, and only 11.8% wish to continue their further study. Unfortunately,

21
about 14.7% indicated that they have no any idea about whether their majors will be

matched with their future jobs expected.

Figure 5: Being confident to get the expected career

4.2.6 Study effort made to get the expected career.

With the response rate about 54.4% to the question, the report has made

considerable to work harder to get their expected careers. Furthermore, in order to

achieve their purpose, they have to try their best in working in groups (2.9%) and do more

research (32%).

Figure 6: Study effort made to get the expected career

22
4.2.7 Expectation to finish university

Figure 7 shows the expectation of the respondents to finish university. The data

reveals that nearly all respondents (97%) expected to finish course. Only few respondents

(2%) reported that their graduation were uncertain. Their answers could reflect back to

last year result. Only 29.10% reported that last their result was good; 49.50% were fairly

good, and 18.80% were fair in result.

Figure 7: The expectation to finish university

4.2.8 Language for instruction

As can be seen in the Figure 4.7, the languages used for instruction to each major

at both universities are mixed between Khmer (79%), English (73%) and French (7%).

Figure 8: Mixed languages for instruction

23
4.2.9 Opinion on lecturers

Around 20% found their lecturers were very helpful while the most majority

reported that their lecturers were encouraged (55%). Only few students gave their opinion

that their lecturers were rarely difficult to be reached.

Figure 9: Perception of respondents on lecturers

4.2.10 Other challenges during the study

Figure 10 presents the level of personal hardship the students faced during the

course. As the respondents which can be seen, 42.7% reported that they quite have met

the serious problem hardship. Unfortunately, 17.5% of students faced difficulty with

financial status, Followed by 4.9% and 3.9% reported that because of their tools and

teachers respectively.

Figure 10: Challenges during the study

24
4.3.1 Gender and Majors

Table 4 shows the gap between gender and majors selection. Out of 60

respondents who choose Architecture major to study are female 20.%). Interestingly,

there is a big gap between gender and IT major selection in term of gender enrollment.

The data shows that the majority of respondents (90.7%) who studied IT are male. While

only (9.3%) of the respondents who study IT are female.

Table 4: Gender and Major selection

Sex Architect IT

% N % N

Male 80 48 90.7 39

Female 20 12 9.3 4

Total 100 60 100 43

4.3.2 Majors and Extra jobs

Table 5 presents the gap between major and extra jobs in both architecture and IT.

Out of 59 participants who study Architecture major have extra jobs (n=41, 69.5%) and

out of 44 respondents who study IT have extra jobs (n=31, 70.09%).

Table 5: Extra job among majors

Sex Architect IT

% N % N

Yes 69.5 41 70.09 31

No 30.5 18 29.91 13

Total 100 59 100 44

25
 CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMONDATION

The major findings of the study were concluded as the following:

5.1 Conclusion

The factors influencing the decision making of the students‟ selection they have their

preference. 41.7% of them chose the field of study by themselves. Around 38% have

chosen their major by the influence from their parents where 20.4% of them were

influenced by their neighbors. Friends have less influence to those students. Only 7.8%

selected the field of study by their friends introduced. Around 6% other were influenced

by their teachers.

In terms of challenges encountered during the study, most of the respondent

reported that they met with personal problem such as ability to acquire concepts of some

subjects, poor health, deadline pressure due to many assignments and homework as well

as project works. The others challenges related to financial problem, lack of

accommodation, poor school facility, inadequate study materials such as computers, and

poor teacher motivation. Students had change to give their opinion on the lecturers of the

selected universities. Around 20.40% found their lecture very helpful while the most

majority reported that their lectures were helpful. Only few students gave their opinion

that their lecturers were rarely difficult to be reached.

Besides, 70% of the respondents reported that they were having extra job along

with their study. Among those who employed, about 6% were full-time staff, 18.6% were

part-time staff while 14.6% and 24.3% were volunteers and internship respectively. This

issues can have impact to their learning outcomes. While they spend their spare time on

extra job, they lack of time for self-study or doing assignments for their lecturers. It has

26
indirect impact to their study and this reflects in their study result. Positively, only 18%

other were taking extra courses. Nearly all respondents expected to finish bachelor

program. Only few respondents reported that their graduation were uncertain. Their

answers could reflect back to last year result. Only 29.10% reported that last their result

was good; nearly half of them (49.50%) were fairly good, and 18.80% were fair in result.

5.2 Discussion

The study found that the main factors in students „choice of major was the

expectancy and value beliefs of the expectancy-value theory. The most important belief

was the useful value, for example students expected the architecture major would provide

worthwhile employment. Interest and attainment values were important for many students

in choosing a major that they liked and fitted their abilities.

The relationship between expectancy-value beliefs and the choice of a architecture

major, the current study provided a broader understanding of sources of relevant to a

choice of major. The most important influencers on students „choice were themselves,

parents and neighbor who had a high level of education. Parents were usually financial

supporters. Friends were the main source of information on the major and high school

teachers were advisors who provided feedbacks on the choice.

In order to provide a number of recommendations to key stakeholders including

Cambodian policy makers, universities, high schools, high school teachers, parents, and

other relevant agents. The recommendations were mainly to support a student‟s „decision-

making process, as it is not only important for students and their families, but also for the

country‟s development. The current study expects that strong collaboration among the

27
stakeholders will lead to good choices of majors and these choices will lead to higher

employment rates the fulfillment of the social needs of development.

5.3 Recommendations

Based on the research findings, some recommendations are proposed as

followings:

The programs by public and private universities should corporate with the

partnership of the National Employment Agency (NEA) be strengthened. There is a need

for agents to provide guidance and counseling should provide orientation training or

workshop to students and their parents before choosing their field of study. In addition,

there would be quality in the universities employing specialized career counselors to

provide further guidance as this study found that some students were not very clear about

the labor market.

Teachers should encourage students to find out or research more on how to choose

their majors. Participants should advice from their high school teachers because they

thought that teachers would be reliable counselors and knowledgeable. Therefore, more

information on the labor market should be provided to teachers.

Public media such as newspaper, magazines, radio and television programs have

potential to be good sources of information for students and their families. It is important

to use public media to show study and career opportunities. Moreover, it should be

limited media advertising because only one participant mentioned public media as a

source of information, it is likely that media is not yet being used effectively to reach

students

Next, these three agents should be strong cooperation. Transition from high school

to tertiary education is a complex stage in a student‟s life. Thus, universities could work

28
with the high schools to provide support and guidance to students in making their future

plan early. They could cooperate in providing information on the current and expected

labor market for students to prepare themselves for a well-considered decision after they

finish high school. The universities should also work with high schools in strengthen

networks with students‟ family. Parents, sibling and neighbor have been found to be

influential in the choice of major. Moreover, their role needs to be acknowledged, and

they need to be encouraged to work with school and universities to support their children

for a good choice of major or career because schools may have significantly less

knowledge about the labor market than universities.

5.4 Areas for further research

Future research can explore students‟ motivation to choose a major in different

cultural contexts using various motivational theories. Because most of the motivation

theories were formed in Western culture, it is worth studying how these theories are

applied in other cultural contexts. Further research could also look at more specific areas

in the choice of career or major such as the influence of culture on the choice of major,

gender differences in the choice of majors in Cambodian higher education, quality of

higher education and the choice of major, with and without career guidance, and the

cooperation between high schools and universities. The study was conducted in only two

universities in Phnom Penh with a small sample size; therefore, the finding is not

generalizable as a whole. Moreover, further research should collect more sample and

more majors which are more influence in students‟ choice in a broader context with larger

sample size and among at least 6 universities both in Phnom Penh and other provinces in

order to ensure more reliable data. Thus, the finding can be more generalizable.

29
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returns to education, human capital. Retrieved January 12, 2014 from

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Barkly,P. and Parrish, D.M.(2005). The selection of a major field of study in the college

of agriculture at Kansas state university. Selected paper prepared for presentation

at the American agricultural economics association annual meeting. Retrieved

January 15, 2014

http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/19275/1/sp05ba12.pdf

Chien, M.F. (n/d) Areview of students on college students‟ adjustment problems.

Retrieved February 8, 2014 from

http://ir.lib.ntnu.edu.tw/retrieve/35808/ntnulib_ja_A0101_0017_00a.pdf

Chuang,N-K. (2009). Student perceptions of career choices: The impact of academic major,

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Creswell,J. (2005). Quantiative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions.

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Davidson,k. , Metcalfe, J. , Mueller,L. , Molony, S . , & Vodouris , K . (n /d) . How does

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Jones.K.(2013) Choosing a college major based on your personality. What does the

research say? Retrieved February 16, 2014 from

http://www.careerkey.org/pdf/choosing-a-major-with- personality-match.pdf

Kinzie,J. , Palmer, M., Hayek, J. , Hossler,D,. Jacob,S.A, & Commings,H.( 2004). Fifty

years of college choice: Social, political and institutional influences on the decision

making process,5 (3). http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/Hossler.pdf

Kienzl, G. S., Goerge -Jackson, C. E., & Trent, W. T. (1999). Underrepresented students entering

STEM fields. Educational Policy Studies. University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign.

Lee, W.V.(2009). Choosing a college major: Factors that might influence the way

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Merriam, S. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San

Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Nith, B. (2013). Government policy on higher education in cambodia and how it is

related to the ASEAN integration. Policy roundtable of the ASEAN integration on

higher education in Cambodia.

Zafar,M.W.(January 2013). Determinants of college major choice: Identification using

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Zhang, .G., Padilla,.M.A.,& Anderson,.T.J.(n/d). Gender differences in major selection

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32
APPENDICES

Appendix A: Letter Seeking Permission for field visit

33
Appendix B: Permission Letter from University A for the data collection

Appendix C: Questionnaire for students

34
C.1 Students questionnaire in English

Dear all Valuable Respondents,

I am PorSilong, a candidate for Master of Education Program majoring in Educational

Administration and Leadership at Royal University of Phnom Penh. Currently, I am on
the process of writing my master thesis to meet the requirement of the university on the
topic: “How Cambodian students selected their major study at university – Their
challenges.” with professional and academic support from my supervisor, Dr. Neth
Barom. The main aim of this study is to investigate factors influencing students‟ choices
of major selection and their challenges when studying the selected majors.

Your participatory input is necessarily important and highly appreciated. Thank you very

much for your valuable time in completing this questionnaire.

1- Please kindly answer all the questions of the questionnaire and check it again

to make sure they all were completed before handing it back to the researcher.

You do not need to write down your name in the questionnaire, and your

answers will be kept confidential and anonymous. Moreover, you can

withdraw your participation any time you wish to.

Por Silong

Master of Educational Administration and Leadership Candidate

DIRECTION: Indicate your response by filling in the appropriate boxes  with a

tick () next to its respective question or write the answer wording where needed. Some

questions you can tick more than one box, if appropriate.

Part 1: Personal Information

1. Gender:  Male  Female

2. Age ……………
3. Marital status:  Single  Married  Widow(er)
4. How many members are there in your family (include you)? M: ……..F: …
5. What is your father employment? _____________________________
6. What is your mother employment? ____________________________

35
 7. How many of your brothers and sisters are graduated from
universities?....................................

Part II- Educational Information

8. Where did you finish your high school?

 Phnom Penh  Province (please state)………………………
9. What major did you choose?
…………………………………………………………………………
10. What year are you in?
 Foundation Year  Year 1  Year 2
 Year 3  Year 4  Year …………….
11. Why did you decide to select this major?
 It is my aspiration It is popular
 Easy to get job  Can earn better  Other
reason…………………
12. Who did you consult before you decided to choose the selected major?
 Myself  Friends  Parents
 Relatives  Teachers  Others (please
specify)………
13. Are you a fee-paying or scholarship student?
 Scholarship  Fee-paying
14. Do you take any other major at the same time as you are doing this major?
 Yes  No
15. If yes, please specify it2`
……………….…………………………………………….

III-Challenges

16. Where do you stay during your study?

 Parents‟ house  Relatives‟ house  Rented house
 Pagoda  School Dormitory  Others (please
specify)………………

17. Please rate the following

18. 0 Computer skill ( word processing & Excel):

 Very good  Good  Somehow  Poor  Very poor

18.1. Access to Internet

 Very good  Good  Somehow good

 Poor  Quite poor

18.2. Access to Library

 Very easily  Easily  Somehow Easy

36
  Difficult  Quite difficult

18.3. Lecturers are

 Very helpful  Helpful  Somehow helpful

 Unhelpful  Quite unhelpful

18.4. Languages for instruction

 English  French  Khmer

 English-Khmer  French-Khmer  Others

(specify)…………….

18.4‟ Form as group for learning:

 Never  rarely  Somehow  often  Always

18.4” Your English skill:

 Very good  Good  Somehow  Poor  Very poor

18.5. Which subjects of your major did you find yourself the most
difficult in your university study?

…………………………………………………………………………………

18.6. How do you deal with this difficulty?

…………………………………………………………………………………

18.7. Please mention other challenges you are facing, if any?

…………………………………………………………………………….

19. Motivation

19.0‟Are you interested in continuing your study till graduation?

yes No unsure

19.0” What is the GPA (results)of your study in last year:

 Very good  Good  Fairly good

 Satisfaction  Not so good

19.1. What are you doing at the present time besides your study?

 I am working as a full time staff  I am working as a part-time staff

37
  I am a volunteer  I am an internship

 I am doing nothing

19.2. What are you planning to be employed after graduation?

 Get a job immediately on your major  Create my own business

on your major

 Continue my study  I don‟t know yet

 Others (please specify)……………………………………………………..

20. What can you say to the program you are attending?

 I like very much

 I will recommend this university program to my friends/relatives for the

next.

 I don‟t like it

 I have no idea

38
C.2 Students questionnaire in Khmer

ខ្ុំញ បា ទឈ្មោះ ជាឈេក្ខ ជ នថ្នា ក្់ េ រ ញ្ញ

ិ ា េររជាន់ ខព ស់ ផ្នា ក្ អេ់ រ ុំ
ជុំ នា ញ រដ្ឋបាល
អេ់រ ុំនិងភាពជាអាក្ដ្ឹក្នាុំឈៅសាក្លវ ិទាល័យភូ មិនទភុំ ឈា ពញ។
ខ្ុំញបាទក្ុំពញងដ្ុំឈ ើ រការសរឈសរនិ ឈក្ខេេទ
ថ្នាក្់េរ ិញ្ញាេររជាន់ខពស់ឈដ្ើ មបីេុំឈពញលក្ខខ ឌ រេស់សាក្លវ ិទាល័យ
ឈរកាមការដ្ឹក្នាុំ និងទុំនញក្េរមុង យ៉ា ងជុំនាញពីសុំណាក្់សាស្រ្សាាចារយផ្ នាុំ ឈោក្
េ ិឌ រ ។

“
”

។
កម្រងសំណួរ
សូ ម ឆ្លើយ នូ វ សំ ណួរខាងឆរោមទំ ង អស់ និ ង ពិ និ ត្យឆ ិ មត ង ឆ ៀត្ឆដើ មបី ដឹ
ើ ងវញ
ងច្បាស់ ថា ឆោក-
ិ ។
អន ក បានបំ ឆពញរួច្ប រាល់ មុ ន នឹ ង របគល់ ឆៅឆោយអន ក សិ កាស្រាវរាវវញ មិ ន

ចំបាច្ប់ សរឆសរឆ្មោះឆលើ ករមងសំ ណួរឆនោះឆ ឆ ើ យរាល់ ច្ប ឆមលើយរបស់ នឹ ង រត្ូ វ

បានរកាោរសម្ងា ត្់ ។
ោច្បឆបាោះបង់ ឆចលោរច្បូ លរួមកនុងោរសិកាឆនោះរគប់ ឆពលដដលអនកច្បង់។

ឆបកខជនថានក់បរ ិញ្ញាបរត្ាន់ខ្ស
ព ់ដផនករដឋបាលអប់រ ំ និងភាពាអនកដឹកនំ

កនុងរបអប់ 
ឆោយឆរបើ សញ្ញាគូស () ឆៅាប់ាមួយនឹងច្បឆមលើយដដលឆោកអនកបានឆរជើសឆរ ើស
ឬ ឬ

។ ។

១:
19. ឆភ  របុស  ស្រសី
20. ោយុ…………………….

39
21. ស្ថានភាពគ្រួស្ថរ
 ឆៅលីវ  ឆរៀបោរ ឆ ោះម្ង៉ា យ/ឆមម្ង៉ា យ
22. ?

……… …………

23. ?.............................................................

24. ?.............................................................

25.

…………..…..

26. :
    
២:

27. ?

  ( )………………………………..

28.

?........................

29. ?

  ១  ២  ៣  ៤

 ……….

30. ?

( )

 

 

 ……………………………

31. ឬ

    

 ( )…….

40
32. ថឬ ? ថ 
33. :

ឬ ?

 / 

/ ?………………………..

៣:

34. ?

    

 ( )…………………………………

35. ឬ

17.1 (microsoft word/Exel)

    

17.2

    

17.3
  

 

17.4

  

 

17.5 ( )

  

 ( )………………………..

17.6

   

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 17.7

……………….

36. ឬ ?
 /  

19. ?

    

៤:
20. ?

 

 

21. ?

 

 ( )…………………………………………

22. ?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

23. ?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

24. : ?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

42