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Article

Open Access

The Experience of Model Minority for High- and Low-Income Asian American Students

Author(s)

Amy Yun-Ping Chen

Full-Text PDF Download XML 1255 Views

DOI:10.17265/2159-5526/2016.04.001

Affiliation(s)

Saint Louis University, USA

ABSTRACT

The author examines the differentiation of self-identity, school treatment, and academic struggle between two Asian American students in U.S. Midwest urban school environments. Using an interview study, the author focuses on understanding the students’ perspectives in relation to the label of model minority. The purpose of the study is to investigate how social, academic, and economic factors affect these students, including different outcomes in terms of school achievement and self-identity formation. The findings aim to help urban educators approach complex factors regarding minority students’ educational opportunities. Comprehensive results identified that: (1) The concept of model minority significantly affects Asian American students at all levels of daily life; (2) Urban schools continue reinforcing social reproduction and producing perceptions based on socioeconomic background and intersectional discrimination; (3) The evidence in the study shows that school environments do not aid students in valuing their cultural capital; (4) Students from different social classes present different linguistic and behavioral patterns; and (5) Social stratification significantly influences students’ perspectives in response to the Asian stereotype, self-identity, and racial hierarchy in school and society.

KEYWORDS

Cultural capital, racial hierarchy, model minority, self-identity, social reproduction

Cite this paper

Sociology Study, April 2016, Vol. 6, No. 4, 211-218

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