The Cultural Production of Racial Narratives About Asian Americans in Mathematics

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 581-614
Author(s):  
Shelley Yijung Wu ◽  
Dan Battey
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Education ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Cultural Production ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
Immigrant Parents ◽  
Asian American Students ◽  
American Students ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Racial Narratives

Although considerable literature illustrates how students’ experiences and identities are racialized in mathematics education, little attention has been given to Asian American students. Employing ethnographic methods, this study followed 10 immigrant Chinese-heritage families to explore how the racial narrative of the model minority myth was locally produced in mathematics education. We draw on constructs of racial narratives and cultural production to identify the local production of the narrative Asians are smart and good at math during K–12 schooling. Specifically, the Asian American students (re)produced racial narratives related to three cultural resources: (a) Their immigrant parents’ narratives about the U.S. elementary school mathematics curriculum; (b) the school mathematics student tracking system; and (c) students’ locally generated racial narratives about what being Asian means.

“Over-zealous Parents, Over-programmed Families”: Asian Americans, Academic Achievement, and White Supremacy

2021 ◽  
pp. 233264922110184
Author(s):  
Pawan Dhingra
Keyword(s):  
Asian Americans ◽  
Asian American ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
White Educators ◽  
Asian American Students ◽  
American Students ◽  
High Achieving ◽  
K 12

Discussions of white supremacy focus on patterns of whites’ stature over people of color across institutions. When a minority group achieves more than whites, it is not studied through the lens of white supremacy. For example, arguments of white supremacy in K-12 schools focus on the disfranchisement of African Americans and Latinxs. Discussions of high-achieving Asian American students have not been framed as such and, in fact, can be used to argue against the existence of white privilege. This article explains why this conception is false. White supremacy can be active even when people of color achieve more than whites. Drawing from interviews and observations of mostly white educators in Boston suburbs that have a significant presence of Asian American students, I demonstrate that even when Asian Americans outcompete whites in schools, white supremacy is active through two means. First, Asian Americans are applauded in ways that fit a model minority stereotype and frame other groups as not working hard enough. Second and more significantly, Asian Americans encounter anti-Asian stereotypes and are told to assimilate into the model of white educators. This treatment is institutionalized within the school system through educators’ practices and attitudes. These findings somewhat support but mostly contrast the notion of “honorary whiteness,” for they show that high-achieving minorities are not just tools of white supremacy toward other people of color but also targets of it themselves. Understanding how high-achieving minorities experience institutionalized racism demonstrates the far reach of white supremacy.

The Mathematics Education of Asian Americans

1984 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-122
Author(s):  
Sau-Lim Tsang
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Education ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
American Population ◽  
Cognitive Differences ◽  
Asian American Students ◽  
Mathematics Tests ◽  
American Students

A review of the research literature on the mathematics education of Asian-American students indicates that although their achievement in mathematics has been relatively high, the effects of the recent wave of immigration from Asia have not been studied. Problems faced by immigrant students in taking mathematics tests have been identified, and research has begun into cognitive differences between them and students educated entirely in the United States. Researchers and educators alike need a greater sensitivity to differences within the Asian-American population.

Model Minority, Model for Whom? An Investigation of Asian American Students in Science/Engineering

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-73
Author(s):  
Yingyi Ma
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Model Minority ◽  
Immigrant Parents ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
National Education ◽  
Asian American Students ◽  
American Students ◽  
Using Data

This study examines the attainment of the bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering among Asian American students, including those who are immigrant children and children with immigrant parents. Using data from National Education Longitudinal Studies: 1988-2000, this study finds that Asian Americans have the highest rate of expectation for majoring in natural science and engineering. After they attend college, they have the highest rate of persistence. Drawing from Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital and habitus, this article finds that Asian American students are disadvantaged in cultural capital compared with other racial groups from the similar socioeconomic backgrounds, and they tend to formulate certain negative self-perceptions associated with their inclination towards science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. These findings provide further evidence to challenge the model minority thesis, which suggests the choice and the attainment of STEM degrees by Asian American youth is entirely a success story.

"Greasy Grinds” and “Quasi-Robots”: Rhetoric of Exclusions against Jewish and Asian American Students in American Universities

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-82
Author(s):  
Jillian Liesemeyer
Keyword(s):  
Asian American ◽  
Historical Trends ◽  
Historical Discourse ◽  
American Universities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Historical Comparison ◽  
Asian American Students ◽  
American Students ◽  
Current Controversy ◽  
Jewish Students

This study examines the historical comparison between exclusionary quotas against Jewish students in American universities and the recent similarities with the controversy over Asian American enrollment. Through an analysis of historical discourse from within the administration, in the public realm, and from students, parallels are seen between the two incidents. With a more complete understanding of the historical trends in exclusionary practices in universities, policymakers can recognize the current controversy with Asian American enrollment and take on the problem at the source.

Community-based? Asian American Students, Parents, and Teachers in the Shifting Chinatowns of New York and Los Angeles

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benji Chang ◽  
Juhyung Lee
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Asian American Students ◽  
Education Experience ◽  
American Students ◽  
Community Organizers ◽  
Holistic Vision

This article examines the experiences of children, parents, and teachers in the New York and Los Angeles Chinatown public schools, as observed by two classroom educators, one based in each city. The authors document trends among the transnational East and Southeast Asian families that comprise the majority in the local Chinatown schools and discuss some of the key intersections of communities and identities within those schools, as well as the pedagogies that try to build upon these intersections in the name of student empowerment and a more holistic vision of student achievement. Ultimately, this article seeks to bring forth the unique perspectives of Chinatown community members and explore how students, families, teachers, school staff and administrators, and community organizers can collaborate to actualize a more transformative public education experience.

Between-Year and Within-Year School Mobility: Different Effects by Race/Ethnicity

2021 ◽  
pp. 001312452110045
Author(s):  
Jie Min
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Asian American ◽  
School Mobility ◽  
Student Groups ◽  
Asian American Students ◽  
Math Scores ◽  
American Students ◽  
Reading And Math ◽  
Multiple Membership ◽  
Racial Ethnic

The current study investigated the effects of school mobility on the academic achievement of different racial/ethnic groups in four cohorts of students from a very large urban school district. In this study, I compared within-year and between-year mobility and, most importantly, account for all the schools students attended over the study period. Using a multiple membership model (MMM), the findings confirmed that, for all student groups, academic achievement was affected more by within-year school mobility than between-year school mobility. Black students had the highest mobility rates, both for between- and within-year mobility. Although Asian-American students achieved higher reading and math scores on average, they were more negatively impacted by within-year school mobility compared to other groups. The current study was able to pinpoint the students most at risk for negative outcomes following within-year mobility. The findings are discussed in the context of policy recommendations that can be adopted by school districts.

The Centrality of Critical Agency: How Asian American College Students Develop Commitments to Social Justice

2021 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
Samuel D. Museus
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Critical Consciousness ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
Asian American Students ◽  
Sources Of Knowledge ◽  
American Students ◽  
Asian American College Students

Context Systemic oppression is one of the most pressing problems in U.S. society. However, relatively little is known about the process by which college students become committed to social justice agendas. In addition, systematic empirical inquiries that examine how Asian American students, in particular, develop such commitments are difficult to find. Purpose/Research Question This inquiry was focused on understanding the process by which Asian American college students develop commitments to social justice. The following overarching research question guided the inquiry: How do Asian American college students cultivate a commitment to social justice? Research Design Using a qualitative approach grounded in a critical paradigm, individual interviews were conducted with Asian American college students involved in social justice activism and advocacy. Data Collection and Analysis A single, semistructured 60-minute face-to-face individual interview was conducted with each participant. The data were analyzed in three phases, using line-by-line, focused, and axial coding. Memos were also used throughout the data analysis process to capture thoughts, make comparisons, and clarify connections across data points. Findings The analysis shows how environmental threats that create a sense of urgency, sources of knowledge that foster collective critical consciousness, and models of critical agency contribute to students developing their own critical agency, which ultimately leads to social justice commitments. Conclusions/Recommendations The current study extends prior knowledge by demonstrating that critical agency is salient in Asian American students developing commitments to engage in social justice agendas. The findings also contribute to existing research by offering some evidence that ongoing opportunities to cultivate critical consciousness and connections to agents who model social justice interact and converge with key environmental threats to shape critical agency. The study also provides some initial evidence that Asian American parents can catalyze students’ critical agency and social justice commitments through serving as sources of knowledge that increase students’ awareness about social injustices and modeling how to contribute to a more just world, while college curricula across diverse disciplines and peer networks that center social injustices also help foster critical consciousness that leads to social justice commitments among some Asian American students.

Influence of perfectionism on career decision self-efficacy and vocational outcome expectation among Asian American college students

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Han Na Suh
Keyword(s):  
Career Development ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Outcome Expectations ◽  
Career Decision ◽  
Asian American Students ◽  
American Students ◽  
Vocational Outcome ◽  
Maladaptive Perfectionism

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] In this study, Social Cognitive Career theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, and Hackett, 1994; 2000) was the conceptual framework to understand Asian American students' career development process that incorporates cultural (person and contextual level). Due to the strong cultural emphasis on family obligations for achievement in academic and vocational realms, perfectionism is a salient construct among Asian American students (Chao and Tseng, 2002) and thus was included to explore its influence on Asian American students' career decision self-efficacy and vocational outcome expectations. The relationships among the study variables were explored through structural equation modeling analysis. As expected, a positive relationship between adaptive aspect of perfectionism and career variables (i.e., career decision self-efficacy and vocational outcome expectations) was found. This is in line with Asian culture in which there is the tendency to set high standards and strive to reach that standard to honor the family (Wang, 2010). Also, consistent with expectations, a negative association of maladaptive perfectionism on career decision self-efficacy and vocational outcome expectations was found. Career decision self-efficacy and vocational outcome expectations play a crucial role for successful career performance and outcomes (e.g., Gysbers, Heppner, and Johnson, 1998; Kim, 2000; Swanson and Woitke, 1997). Some studies in the past have focused on only the negative aspect of perfectionism (Blatt, 1995), limiting and invalidating its importance in certain cultures. However, considering these significant implications of career decision self-efficacy and vocational outcome expectations on career outcomes, the study's results suggest that it is important for career counselors and psychologists to intervene to increase adaptive perfectionism and lower maladaptive perfectionism. The research model was significant even after acculturation and enculturation were controlled, which was previously considered to be major constructs influencing Asian American students' career development. So the findings present a new aspect of understanding Asian American students' career development process, stressing the importance of perfectionism among this group of students. Suggestions for future research directions, clinical implications, and limitations are further provided.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document