Project Artifact

SALA Learner Persona

A composite learner persona showing how SALA Pathways supports Cambodian students making academic, career, language, and post-secondary planning decisions.

In development Learner Analysis | Career Guidance | Cambodia Education | Bilingual EdTech | UDL

Artifact Overview

This learner persona is part of the SALA Pathways project. It represents a composite Cambodian secondary student, not a real individual. The persona helps clarify the learner needs, access barriers, decision pressures, language considerations, and guidance supports that shaped the prototype.

Composite Learner Persona

Name

Sophea

A composite design persona representing a Cambodian secondary student exploring possible next steps after school.

Age

17

Preparing to finish secondary school and make decisions about education, work, and language learning.

Grade

Grade 12

At a point where pathway decisions can feel urgent, confusing, and connected to family expectations.

Location

Public high school outside a major city in Cambodia

May have fewer structured career guidance resources than students in more resourced urban settings.

Language Profile

Khmer first. Learning English. Interested in improving English for school, scholarships, and future work. May also be curious about Chinese or another regional language depending on career goals.

Academic Context

Sophea is preparing to finish secondary school and is trying to decide what to do next. She has heard about university, scholarships, TVET, work opportunities, and language programs, but she is unsure how to compare them.

Learner Goals

  • Understand possible pathways after Grade 12
  • Compare university, TVET, work, scholarship, and language-study options
  • Connect school subjects to career fields
  • Identify realistic next steps based on grades, interests, cost, and location
  • Learn which skills or languages may help with future opportunities
  • Feel less confused and more confident about planning

Learner Challenges

  • Limited access to structured career counseling
  • Uncertainty about STEM vs social science pathways
  • Pressure from family expectations or peer comparison
  • Limited knowledge of scholarships and application steps
  • Concern about cost, transportation, and moving away from home
  • Confusion about TVET and whether it is respected or useful
  • Difficulty judging whether dual-degree plans are realistic
  • Limited confidence using English-only career information
  • Lack of personalized guidance based on interests, grades, and context

Guidance Needs

Sophea does not only need a list of careers. She needs guided reflection, simple explanations, examples, and realistic next steps. She benefits from Khmer-first support, English bridge terms, clear pathway comparisons, and prompts that help her think about cost, workload, timing, language skills, and future opportunities.

Design Implications for SALA Pathways

  • Use Khmer-first language with English support
  • Make questions simple and student-friendly
  • Explain unfamiliar terms such as TVET, pathway, scholarship, major, and dual degree
  • Show career sectors relevant to Cambodia
  • Provide realistic next steps, not only motivational advice
  • Include rural/public-school context
  • Frame TVET as practical and stackable, not as a low-status route
  • Include language-learning pathways such as English, Chinese, French, Korean, Japanese, or Thai depending on goals
  • Provide accessibility supports such as readable text, clear navigation, and future audio guidance

UDL and Accessibility Considerations

The persona highlights the importance of Universal Design for Learning and accessibility. Students may differ in reading confidence, technology access, English proficiency, family support, and prior exposure to career information. SALA Pathways should support multiple ways to access information, reflect on choices, and understand recommendations.

  • Simple language
  • Large readable interface
  • Clear steps
  • Visual pathway summaries
  • Khmer-first explanations
  • Optional English terms
  • Future audio support
  • Mobile-friendly design
  • Student-friendly feedback

Persona Quote

"I know I need to choose a direction, but I do not know which path fits my grades, my family situation, and the kind of future I want."

Relationship to Instructional Design

This persona supports instructional design by grounding the prototype in learner needs. SALA Pathways is not only a career information tool; it is a guided learning experience that helps students make sense of options, compare pathways, reflect on strengths, and identify realistic next steps.

Relationship to SALA Pathways

The learner persona informs the prototype's questions, pathway feedback, bilingual language support, accessibility direction, and Cambodia-specific career sectors. It helps ensure that the design begins with the student's lived decision-making context rather than a generic career database.

Back to SALA Pathways Project