The unremitting image of Asian Americans as being "Model Minority" has created a veil that conceals their incessant struggles with discrimination, prejudice and microaggressions on individual, institutional and cultural levels. Previous studies have highlighted the personal and collective struggles of this group and emphasized the harmful consequences to physical, emotional and mental well-being of Asian Americans. The current study explored potential factors that may influence the impact of experiencing racial microaggressions for Asian Americans. More specifically, a 2 x 2 between-subjects factorial design was utilized to examine whether level of familiarity and role of power in the target's relationship with the perpetrator differentially impacts the experience of a racial microaggression. A vignette illustrated a microaggressive encounter with a perpetrator who differed on these conditions with a sample of 263 Asian Americans. The findings indicate support for the damaging psychological consequences of receiving racial microaggressions with participants reporting significantly negative experience when the perpetrator was someone familiar in a position of authority. The results of the present study contribute to the literature on racial microaggressions by providing support for the injurious impact it has for Asian Americans and continues to challenge the model minority myth that persists to silence their voices and invalidate their racial reality.

Americans felt threatened by Asian immigration in the late 19th century. As a result, Asian Americans were stereotyped as foreign and dangerous. The United States government supported Asian American stereotyping by passing prohibitive immigration policies. These policies were a reflection of discrimination and institutionalized racism at the time. Asian American stereotyping still exists today, but in covert form. The media plays a powerful role in perpetuating these covert stereotypes. Asian American stereotypes negatively impact the Asian American community in a number of ways, including ostracizing Asian Americans, making Asian American issues invisible, and harming the mental health of the Asian American community. As a result, stereotypes increase cumulative stress for Asian Americans, and also decrease Asian American community support. This paper reviews and provides recommendations to help reduce stereotypes and also change media representations of Asian Americans.

abstract: This study addresses racial segregation in schools by examining the self-selecting patterns of middle class Asian immigrant parents in a public non-charter school district who enrolled their children in specialized academic programs. This phenomenological study focused on the educational history and the decision-making process of school choice in a sample of 11 Chinese and Vietnamese immigrant parents; a majority of them were identified as Chinese mothers. This study was conducted to answer the research questions: (R1) How do the parents' past experiences play a role in their perception of specialized academic programs and the decision-making process of selecting a school? (R2) What kind of informational networks or sources are used to make school choice? (R3) What are parents' notions of academic achievement or success for their children? (R4) How do parents' perceive specialized programs after engaging in them? This study sought to understand the relationship between the parents' own educational experiences and their negotiation of school choice for their children by collecting data through interviews, focus groups, and artifact documents. This study found that (1) the competitive conditions of the parents' educational experiences attributed to their sociocultural belief of education as social mobility which was a significant factor in their selection of an advanced program and expectations of high academic achievement; (2) mothers identified school reviews from friends as the most important information they obtained when they made school choice; these reviews took place in their coethnic social networks in Chinese language schools that offered their children heritage language development, academic, and nonacademic-based extracurricular classes; and (3) parents indicated that school choice is a continuous evaluative and comparative process. Overall, the study highlights the participants' bimodal acquisition of school advantages for their children in market-oriented school systems and the roles parents play in establishing cultural norms in making school choice. In return, these norms have depicted the participants in the model minority role, which leads to the perpetuation of the racist stereotype of all Asians as high achievers. This study has presented a multi-layered perspective of how middle class Chinese and Vietnamese American immigrant parents capitalize on specialized academic programs. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2012

How to Be A Model Minority: Mastering the American Dream is a satirical instructional manual which teaches readers to be idealized Chinese Americans in order to integrate into American society. The booklet bases its standards off of the model minority myth, a conception of Asian Americans which assumes Asian Americans must repress their Asian heritage and embrace overachievement to attain the socioeconomic status of a middle class white American family. Through color illustrations, photos, and short expository texts, the booklet explains to readers how and why they should accept the standards of the model minority myth, and uses Asian American characters in popular television and movies as references. How to Be a Model Minority humorously deconstructs the model minority myth by exaggerating the expectations the myth places on Asian, particularly Chinese, Americans. This exaggeration allows the reader to question the validity of model minority expectations and the groups truly benefitting from these imposed standards. By examining media representations of Asian Americans, the booklet also suggests the role popular media has in disseminating cultural information.

abstract: Despite high levels of academic achievement as a group (Ryan & Bauman, 2016), Asian American students face many challenges, including academic stress (Flatt, 2013; Liu, 2002) and depression (Aczon-Armstrong, Inouye, & Reyes-Salvail, 2013; Wang & Sheikh-Khalil, 2014). The purpose of this study was to examine self-beliefs (academic self-efficacy and independent self-construal) and family and cultural variables (perceived parental expectations for academic achievement and internalization of the model minority myth) that may affect the academic stress and depression experienced by Asian American undergraduates. A national sample of 314 participants (221 female, 89 male, 4 nonbinary) who self-identified as Asian American undergraduates were recruited online and through word of mouth. They completed assessments of six constructs: Academic self-efficacy, independent self-construal, perceived parental expectations for academic achievement, internalization of the model minority myth, academic stress, and depression. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that of the two self-beliefs, only academic self-efficacy was a predictor of academic stress and depression. The greater the students’ academic self-efficacy, the less academic stress and depression they reported. Independent self-construal was not a significant predictor. Additionally, perceived parental expectations for academic achievement also predicted academic stress and depression. The more students perceived that their parents had high expectations for their academic achievement, the more they experienced academic stress and depression. The cultural variable, internalization of the model minority myth, was not a predictor of academic stress or depression. A moderated hierarchical regression examining whether academic self-efficacy and independent self-construal moderated the relation between perceived parental expectations for academic achievement and academic stress and depression revealed no moderation effects. The importance of academic self-efficacy is discussed in the context of cognitive theory that posits that thoughts and beliefs affect behaviors and emotions. In addition, cognitive theory is used to explain perceived parental expectations for academic achievement, as these are perceptions and beliefs about others, as related to one’s self. That the internalization of the model minority myth was not related to depression and academic stress is discussed. Limitations and clinical implications for working with Asian Americans with academic stress and depression are also discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Counseling Psychology 2019

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Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Louise Benjamin / This study examines women’s interpretations of model minority stereotypes of Asian American women in prime-time television. This stereotype depicts Asian Americans as well educated, intelligent, competitive, hardworking and successful career women. Using focus group discussions, this study recalls perceptions and explores potential effects of model minority stereotypes in prime-time television among women of varied racial-ethnic backgrounds. The study finds that both Asian/Asian American women and women from other racial-ethnic groups confirm belief in the model minority media stereotype in prime-time television. The selfperception and others’ perception of Asian American women as a model minority imposes stress on Asian/Asian American women in terms of gender role, academic performance and career achievement. Additionally, perceptions toward the model minority media stereotype among women of varied racial-ethnic backgrounds influence intergroup relations, interracial contact and evaluation of the model minority media image. Implications indicate that the model minority media stereotype has both positive and negative influences on Asian/Asian American women and other racial-ethnic groups. The study suggests that American media can increase the frequency and diversity of Asian American women’s media representation to reduce the negative societal influence of one-dimensional media stereotypes.

This paper examines the causes for socioeconomic variation between African Americans and West Indians in the United States, focusing primarily on New York City. Nearly 2 million African Americans live in New York, 30 percent of whom are black immigrants, and likely another 15 percent that are the children of these foreign-born individuals. I provide an overview of the socioeconomic positions of both groups, focusing especially on residential patterns, labor market participation, and educational attainment. I then compare leading theories used to explain West Indian success, arguing that selective United States immigration practices account for most variation both between the two groups and also within the West Indian immigrant population itself. The success of many black immigrants, including West Indians, is attributed to their motivation and ability to leave their home country and pursue opportunities abroad, rather than by virtue of being born of their individual culture. Selective immigration practices have privileged many West Indians who’ve settled in the country, especially in regard to educational attainment. Critiquing current affirmative action programs, I offer policy suggestions to ensure restitution for African Americans who remain persistently disadvantaged by the legacies of slavery.

Contrary to the model minority myth that portrays Asian Americans as academic all-stars over-represented in elite four-year institutions, half of all Asian American college students do in fact attend community colleges, and many experience myriad challenges. This exploratory study investigated the community college pathways of Asian American community college students, the role of family and culture in shaping expectations for higher education, and participants’ perceptions of the model minority myth and the degree to which this myth influenced their college experiences. Institutional practices and policies, or lack thereof, that support the success of this highly diverse population were also studied. Purposeful sampling was used to gather a sample of 28 students, who self-identified as Asian American and attended one of the three largest community college districts located in North Texas. The sample included 16 males and 12 females, whose ages ranged from 18 to 49 years old, with a mean age of 24. Data collection involved a demographic questionnaire and semi-structured individual interviews. The participants represented 13 different ethnicities, and nine were members of more than one ethnic or racial group. Ten participants were foreign-born citizens, and all of the participants had at least one foreign-born parent. Qualitative data provided description rich information that shed light on the expectations, experiences, and views of Asian American community college students, a virtually unstudied population. Consistent with current literature on Asian American college students, the findings suggest many Asian American community college students struggle with tremendous cultural and familial pressures for succeeding academically, and many described their experiences with racial microaggressions related to model minority stereotypes that they perceived their peers and instructors to have held. Recommendations for policy and practice designed to improve educational outcomes for Asian American community college students are addressed.