Cambodia for Sale: Everyday Privatization in Education and Beyond

Cambodia for Sale: Everyday Privatization in Education and Beyond is a book that explores the privatization of education in a post-conflict society in Cambodia. It argues that efforts to rebuild Cambodia after decades of conflict have resulted in various forms of everyday privatization, particularly in the education system. The book is based on an ethnography of one village and explores the lives of six residents who depict everyday life through overlapping village institutions, systems, and histories.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 148 pages
Publication date: 26 September 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Winner of the Comparative and International Education Societys Globalization and Education SIG Book Award, Cambodia for Sale: Everyday Privatization in Education and Beyond delves into a post-conflict society where children are socialized into a world of private goods rather than public services. Despite the government's best efforts since the 1990s to re-establish a functioning system of public services, life remains organized around the buying and selling of virtually everything, ranging from humanitarian aid to schooling and religious good deeds to irrigation.

Through an ethnography of one village, Cambodia for Sale argues that efforts to rebuild Cambodia after decades of conflict have resulted in various forms of everyday privatization. While this is most notable in the education system, these practices of privatization can be found in multiple institutions that constitute social life, from the Buddhist pagoda to local government. The various efforts of international development are as much at fault for this reality as are the legacies of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. This argument unfolds through the life stories of six residents of the Preah Go village, who collectively depict everyday life through overlapping village institutions, systems, and histories.

This is an insightful and valuable reference for scholars interested in educational development, Southeast Asian studies, and comparative education.

Weight: 266g
Dimension: 155 x 234 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367712044