Life in Cambodia can be challenging and education is often seen as a key development intervention to address social and economic issues. However, rural Cambodian youth face a variety of barriers to education. The current case study examines these barriers using a questionnaire assessing youth's attitudes toward education (N = 50). Results indicate that poverty and the pressure to migrate for work are a significant barrier to educational attainment, despite the perceived benefits of education by youth and encouragement by families. Results also reveal that inter-educational issues persist. These findings can be used to better tailor development aid targeting educational measures, particularly encouraging a shift from convincing rural Cambodians to value education to targeting the contextual barriers that exist.