This study explores how Asian Americans’ educational aspirations are different from other racial groups as well as uncovers differences among Asian American subgroups. This study developed a hypothesized model on the formation of educational aspiration. Among factors affecting educational aspirations that were derived from the literature review, students’ academic effort and performance, students’ perceived academic self-efficacy, and support received from students’ significant others were hypothesized to have direct effects on students’ educational aspirations. In addition, students’ perceived self-efficacy and academic effort were hypothesized to have indirect effects on students’ educational aspirations through students’ academic performance. Students’ demographic and socio-economic characteristics were controlled to examine if they had any direct and indirect effects on educational aspirations. In order to test validity of the hypothesized model on educational aspiration, this study adopted structural education modeling (SEM) to analyze the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). As a result, the hypothesized model was confirmed because of its adequate model fit. In addition, this study found that Asian American students’ educational aspirations were different from other racial groups. First, neither academic effort nor performance affects Asian Americans’ educational aspirations whereas both affect aspirations significantly in the entire sample. Second, there was a positive effect of academic self-efficacy on Asian Americans’ educational aspirations whereas efficacy did not affect aspirations in the entire sample. Third, there was a positive effect of support with college information from significant others on Asian Americans’ aspirations, which was not statistically significant in the results of the entire sample. This indicates that Asian American students’ educational aspirations are more influenced by subjective or perceived factors such as academic self-efficacy and support with college information received from significant others, rather than objective indicators such as academic performance and academic effort. Moreover, there are differences in aspirations by Asian American ethnic subgroups even after controlling for other variables. Compared to Filipino Americans, all other four Asian American subgroups show significantly higher educational aspirations. The findings of this study help to understand how high school students’ educational aspirations are formed in general by examining the conceptual model with the entire data. In addition, the findings help to fill the gap in the literature about debunking the model minority myth about Asian American students by proving that they are heterogeneous. / text

The present study examines issues that South Asian youth face as members of a model minority group. Using 14 semi-structured interviews, South Asian youth (aged 18-26) discussed issues they encountered as they navigated educational institutions in Canada. The study found that participants were not aware of the term model minority. Furthermore, participants received input, either directly or indirectly, from family and community members regarding their career choices. Lastly, participants experienced guilt and shame during decision-making processes, but ultimately chose their own path with [eventual] acceptance from parents. Results indicate that schools in the GTA are not attuned to the needs of South Asian students which often left students at a disadvantage when making future career and educational choices. There is a need for educators, administrators, and policymakers to develop more specialized programs toward helping South Asian youth navigate the Canadian educational institutions.

The present study examines issues that South Asian youth face as members of a model minority group. Using 14 semi-structured interviews, South Asian youth (aged 18-26) discussed issues they encountered as they navigated educational institutions in Canada. The study found that participants were not aware of the term model minority. Furthermore, participants received input, either directly or indirectly, from family and community members regarding their career choices. Lastly, participants experienced guilt and shame during decision-making processes, but ultimately chose their own path with [eventual] acceptance from parents. Results indicate that schools in the GTA are not attuned to the needs of South Asian students which often left students at a disadvantage when making future career and educational choices. There is a need for educators, administrators, and policymakers to develop more specialized programs toward helping South Asian youth navigate the Canadian educational institutions.

This study measures the campus climate for Asian Americans on a college campus before and after tragic events, and places it in the context of what is known about the social location of Asian American students nationally. Using a multi-method approach, including in-depth interviews supplemented by data from content analyses and surveys, it addresses perceptions of Asian American students about themselves and the campus climate. In doing so it addresses the more general question of minority stereotyping and strategies taken by minority groups to compensate for such stereotypes. Findings from this study suggest that the campus climate for Asian American undergraduates appears to be welcoming, and respondents do not report stress emanating from their 'model minority' status. Instead, they embrace and offer full-support for the 'model minority' stereotype. / Ph. D. / This study measures the campus climate for Asian Americans in higher education. In doing so it addresses the question of minority stereotyping and strategies taken by minority groups to compensate for such stereotypes. Findings from this study suggest that the campus climate for Asian American undergraduates appears to be welcoming; counter to the much of the literature in Asian American studies, this study suggests that the “model minority” stereotype can have positive outcomes for those to whom it is applied.

This study examines the perceptions of low socioeconomonic status, high academic achievement Vietnamese middle grades students in the Vietnamese community with respect to the roles that their parents and communities play in supporting academic achievement. Previous research has established the positive relationships between parent involvement and student achievement, and between high SES and student achievement. However, this study explores the perceptions of high achieving middle grades students with low SES. Through focus group discussions and interviews, this study examines student achievement within the theoretical framework of social capital.

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In 2014, in the wake of #BlackLivesMatter, a call to action was made for Asian Americans to actively engage with and unlearn the age old model minority myth and join the movement for racial justice. This thesis seeks to understand and complicate what it means to subvert this ideology in the way of #modelminoritymutiny. It is divided into three primary sections: first, a theoretical framework and of the model minority myth throughout time as a tool for positioning Asian Americans; second, an application of this framework into the recent Peter Liang and Akai Gurley case this past year; and third, a course syllabus for an Asian American studies course here at the Claremont Colleges. This trajectory showcases what it means for Asian Americans to actively resist ascribed narratives, and to propose methods for learning and unlearning.

Thesis advisor: Karen Arnold / Despite an increasing number of Asian American women earning the advanced degrees necessary to qualify them for senior administrative positions such as dean, vice president, provost and president, this group remains severely underrepresented in the upper administrative ranks in American higher education. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine if mentoring relationships, which research has shown to be vital to the success of other women administrators of color, would prove important to Asian American women administrators at critical career junctures. Eleven Asian American senior women administrators from four different ethnic backgrounds were interviewed. Two theoretical frameworks were used to interpret the data: relational cultural theory to analyze each interview from the participant's point of view, and; critical race theory to review the data from the institutional perspective. Many of the women experienced factors reported by other women administrators of color: a culture dominated by White men; sexism and racism; feelings of isolation, and; gender-typed family concerns. Most of the women also faced the model minority stereotype of being perceived as passive, yet analysis of their interviews revealed that they did not behave passively. Also contrary to what research has shown to be the experience of other women administrators of color, several reported more instances of sexism than racism. The majority of the women had White male mentors, which is consistent with the literature. For the women who had both male and female mentors, several experienced more career than psychosocial mentoring from their male mentors, a pattern opposite what is typical for other women administrators of color. No clear patterns emerged with regard to how the women utilized their mentors at critical career junctures. The interviews revealed that the women in this study were distinctly different from each other, which disputes the assumption that all Asian American women are similar. This study challenges how these women are currently perceived, and institutions must re-examine their current policies and practices to better support this population. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Higher Education Administration.

In 2011, Amy Chua published a controversial memoir detailing her experience as a "Chinese" mother and subsequently juxtaposed her experience with those of "Western" parents. The Chinese mother concept reignited discussion on the Model Minority, reinforcing the notion that Asians thrived, despite the hardships of immigration, in the modern school system and job market. Historically, education has been found to be positively correlated with strong mental health, and it was assumed that Asian immigrants thrived psychologically. Research has shown that the model minority proves not only to be false, but has been detrimental to the mental health of the Asian American community. This report hopes to expand that understanding by looking specifically at the parent-adolescent dynamic within Asian American communities in regards to education and psychological strength. In review of previous studies, it was found that the relationship between the child and parent proves to be much more complicated and stressful than one education implied and that culture plays a significant role in how parenting affected mental health.

This qualitative study of five Chinese or Korean international high school students takes place in the Greater Toronto Area and explores, from a sociocultural perspective, their discourse on the topics of differences between their home countries and Canada on matters of school structure, home life, and views on the model minority myth of Asian students excelling academically. The model minority myth is defined as homogenizing Asian students as an encompassing group of students whose academic success is attributed to their ethnicity. Through semi-structured interviews, it was discovered that most of the participants agreed that Asian students who had been educated outside of Canada were stronger academically in the subject of mathematics due to earlier and more rigorous training. These students also expressed their changing identities as independent students, the relevance of mathematics to their future academic and career goals, and their parents' support of them following their own goals.