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This study seeks to investigate an interesting and understudied case of the persistence and retention of immigrant students in postsecondary education. Specifically, the study examines the way family dynamics of second-generation Cambodian college students influence their success in postsecondary education. Currently, much of the academic literature examining Southeast Asian Americans concentrates on other ethnic groups besides Cambodians, who are less numerous in education, and pays little attention to the unique convergence of family, cultural, and historical forces and conditions at play in these young adults educational experience in the United States. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to build on previous works that are similarly related to the issues at hand, and to develop a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the educational trajectory of these young people, with the ultimate hope of improving their educational experiences.

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Nikum received his M.Ed. degree from Seattle Pacific University and PhD degree from the University of Washington. Professionally, he has dedicated the last 21 years of his life working with a wide range of students and their families in racially, linguistically, and culturally diverse communities and classrooms in the greater Seattle area.

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