Although Cambodia has achieved remarkable progress in access to education and gender parity at the primary education level, recent trends in secondary education indicate a steady decline in boys’ educational participation. Enrollment and completion rates for boys at the lower secondary level are lower than those of girls. For example, during the 2022–2023 academic year, boys’ dropout rates were significantly higher across most provinces, with boys in rural areas being the most vulnerable. Assessments of learning outcomes, including the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), consistently show lower academic performance among boys, particularly in reading and science. This case study explores the root causes of boys’ disengagement from education at the lower secondary level in Cambodia. Commissioned by UNESCO and supported through the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE-KIX), the study draws on data from explanatory mixed-methods research. It combines administrative data, stakeholder interviews, focus group discussions, and participatory activities involving students, parents or guardians, teachers, school leaders, civil society representatives, and government officials. The study applies Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory to examine how individual, family, school, community, and structural factors interact to influence boys’ educational experiences and pathways.
