During the 1980s, an influx of Cambodian Americans resettled in the United States due to the Cambodian genocide. Those Cambodian refugees who came to the United States as either infants, children or adolescents due to warfare, are members of the 1.5 generation. This thesis examines the educational trajectory of 1.5 generation Cambodian Americans…

In elementary classrooms, teaching immigration often begins and ends at Ellis Island--without discussions of racist migration policies or engagement with current issues. Although contemporary immigration is rarely discussed with elementary students, the number of young people from immigrant and/or refugee backgrounds in the U.S. continues to rise.…

In this article we illustrate how we utilize acceptance and mindfulness techniques in our treatment (Culturally Adapted CBT, or CA-CBT) for traumatized refugees and ethnic minority populations. We present a Nodal Network Model (NNM) of Affect to explain the treatment's emphasis on body-centered mindfulness techniques and its focus on psychological…

While Asian Americans are frequently thought to form a singular group, Cambodian Americans are associated with unique sociohistorical and political characteristics, and are often associated with academic underachievement. This article reviews and synthesizes the major existing Cambodian American-related works in the fields of anthropology,…

This study aims to explore mental health literacy, specifically focusing on depression, among Southeast Asian (SEA) elderly refugees residing in the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Three focus groups were held with nine mental health professionals who work with SEA elders. Jorm's mental health literacy framework guided the…

This article describes influences on intergenerational communication within refugee families about sociocultural trauma and explores how education may positively affect this communication process. Drawing on qualitative research and grounded theory through a larger study concerning intergenerational effects of and communication about trauma in…

Cambodian Americans are a fairly recent language minority group in the United States; most families arrived in the United States as refugees during the 1980s. Over the past 30 years, there has been great concern in the community regarding the maintenance loss of their native Khmer language. This article provides an historical and contemporary…

This study examines the characteristics and patterns of child maltreatment among Cambodian refugee families in Los Angeles and assesses the implications for child welfare practice with Cambodian refugee families. Data were extracted from 243 active Cambodian case files maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services…

This 578-entry annotated bibliography is intended for use by people who work with Cambodian refugees in the United States, as well as anyone interested in Cambodian history, politics, and culture. It consists primarily of books and journal articles on Cambodia and Cambodians available in the University of Minnesota library system or that are part…

This article discusses one aspect of a research study that explored the school experiences of Cambodian American students. Due to their invisibility in the school setting and also in the literature on school reform, these children from refugee families are often overlooked as schools attempt to "close the achievement gap." Through their…

Between 1975 and 1987, 140,000 Cambodians arrived in the United States; most have settled in California. This handbook for teachers and administrators who work with Khmer students and their parents begins with an overview of Cambodian history, and pays special attention to events since the Communist takeover in 1975. The second chapter,…

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide the American educator or sponsor with a set of reading passages in Khmer (the language spoken in Cambodia), so that he will have some means of determining whether or not his Cambodian students can read Khmer. Three short passages have been selected, each given in the Khmer alphabet and in its romanized…

This study investigates the settlement of Cambodian adolescents in New South Wales (Australia). It looks at their participation in education and employment, the effects the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia had on those who lived through it, and the identity problems that usually occur in young people as a result of migration. According to the 1986…

The early 1980s saw an influx of Southeast Asian refugees from various demographic groups and backgrounds to Minnesota. As teachers, the author and her colleagues regularly added children from these groups to their classrooms, receiving little explanation of a student's history or language proficiency. To counteract increasing teacher resentment…

Basic information that teachers of English as a second language should know about Indochinese refugees, including the identification of different ethnic or regional groups and characteristics of four Indochinese languages, is presented. Indochinese refugees come from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The five major groups of people are unrelated…