Pupil participation in the comprehensive school safety framework at primary schools in Stung Streng province, Cambodia

Abstract

More than 60 nations worldwide have endorsed the Comprehensive School Safety Framework (CSSF) to promote education quality and ensure a safe learning environment. The CSSF aims to take a participatory approach to inform risk and protect educators and learners from harm, violation, injury, and death in schools and other learning spaces. This article adopts the CSSF to analyze pupil participation in interventions at Cambodia's primary schools. The study focuses on exposures, awareness and knowledge, interventions, and the engagement of girls and boys in safe schools. We conducted surveys with 768 pupils at 34 primary schools in Cambodia's Stung Treng province for quantitative data and case studies with key stakeholders for qualitative data. The study reveals that (1) primary school pupils remain exposed to natural and man-made hazards. Insufficient infrastructure and limited interventions are the cause of exposure leading to vulnerability for pupils. (2) School infrastructure and awareness-raising to increase pupils' knowledge and attitudes significantly promote safe school interventions. While school safety and educational continuity management help increase pupils' knowledge and positive attitude, schools do not have the financial resources to carry out interventions. (3) Girls play more of a role as leaders and deliverers, but boys actively carry out activities for interventions. Girls need more instruction to participate in school tasks and have unequal access to resources. This first empirical study explores the implications of gendered participation in CSSF implementation and addresses a literature gap related to safe school intervention in developing countries like Cambodia.