Educational experience and structural constraints faced by Myanmar refugee youth enrolled in camp-based higher education in Mae La camp, Thailand | |
| Author | Phyu Phyu Thin |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.DP-26-04 |
| Subject(s) | Education, Higher--Refugee camps--Thailand Refugees--Eudcation--Thailand Refugees--Education--Myanmar |
| Note | A thesis submitted in patial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Development Planning Management and Innovation |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Globally, access to higher education for refugees remains one of the least developed areas in refugee education research, with existing literature focused largely on primary and secondary schooling and offering limited analysis of how refugee youth navigate or are excluded from higher education pathways. Within this context, this study examines Myanmar refugee youth in Mae La Refugee Camp and defines higher education not simply as any post-secondary learning, but as access to formally recognized and transferable educational pathways, alongside the widespread reliance on non-formal, camp-based programmes. Drawing on the Capability Approach, the research analyzes how structural conditions, household capacities, and NGO interventions jointly shape young people’s real opportunities to pursue and complete higher education.This study employed a mixed-methods case study design, combining a survey of Myanmar refugee college students with focus group discussions involving youth and parents, as well as key informant interviews with NGO staff and education leaders. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data were examined thematically to capture the lived experiences, strategies, and constraints shaping higher education pathways in the camp. The findings show that refugee youth in Mae La maintain strong educational aspirations, but these aspirations are systematically constrained by the non recognition of camp-based qualifications, legal and documentation barriers, restricted mobility, and chronic economic insecurity. Students are often able to participate in camp-based post secondary learning, yet this does not translate into genuine access to accredited universities or formal employment, leaving many effectively educated but excluded. Family support remains important, but parents’ ability to sustain their children’s education is limited by poverty, debt, and dependence on unstable humanitarian assistance. NGO support contributes through direct programmes inside the camp and indirect opportunities outside it, but such support remains selective, fragmented, and insufficient for long-term higher education needs. The study therefore finds that the key challenge is not simply low aspiration or lack of effort, but the structural disconnection between refugees’ educational participation and the formal systems of recognition, progression, and employment that would allow those efforts to produce meaningful futures. |
| Year | 2026 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | Faculty of Public Policy and Sustainable Development (2026) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Development Planning Management and Innovation (DPMI) |
| Chairperson(s) | Ahmad, Mokbul Morshed |
| Examination Committee(s) | Kusakabe, Kyoko;Tsusaka, Takuji W. |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Prospect Burma;AIT Scholarship |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2026 |
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