Asian/Pacific Islander (API) College Students

1
Asian/Pacific Islander (API) College Students

• Marinna He
• Sarah B. Nelson
• Andrew H. Nichols
• Joan C. Pecht

2
Learning Outcomes

• Become familiar with the API population
• Gain awareness of the Model Minority myth
• Identify theories that can be useful in working
  with API students
• Learn how the collegiate experiences of API
  students shape their outcomes
• Utilize this information to inform practice and
  policy.

3
Who are API students?

• Asian
• Asian Indian
• Cambodian
• Chinese
• Filipino
• Hmong
• Japanese
• Pacific Islander
• Native Hawaiian
• Samoan
• Guamanian
• Tongan

• Korean
• Laotian
• Pakistani
• Thai
• Vietnamese
• Other
• Fijian
• Marshallese
• Other

(U.S. Census Bureau, 2004 U.S. Census Bureau,
2004)
4
Demographics

• U.S. Demographics 4
• Projection in 2050
• 8
• Tripled in numbers since 2000
• Fastest growing population by percentage
• Distribution
• Intra-Group Difference
• Postsecondary Education Enrollment
• 2002 6.5
• Majority in 4 year institutions

(U.S. Census Bureau, 2004 U.S. Census Bureau
2004 U.S. DOE, 2005)
5
Asian/Pacific IslanderCollege Students

• The Model Minority Myth

6
What is a Model Minority?

• Asian Americans are often referred to as model
  minorities because they are believed to have
  achieved a high level of success despite the
  challenges that accompany being a person of
  color (Hirschman Wong, 1986 Kim Chun, 1994
  S. J. Lee, 1996).
• What are the common misconceptions of and
  stereotypes about Asian American students?
• Listen to what Asian American students say

7
Quotes

• You know, Asians dont talk about their problems
  - We just keep it inside - My father would kill
  me if I talk about stuff (Lee, 1994).
• I used to go into classes, and if you dont do
  that well in math or science, the teacher is
  like, What are you? Some kind of mutant Asian?
  You dont do well in math (Lee, 1994).
• One of my professors told me that Asian American
  students are apathetic and they are here just to
  study and get their degree and get out.
  (Lagdameo, Lee, Nguyen, Liang, Lee, Kodama,
  McEwen, 2002)

8
Reality check

• Statistics dont liedo they?
• Returns on Education each additional year of
  education attained, Whites earn another 522
  Japanese Americans, 438 Chinese Americans,
  320.
• Model Minority effect
• Unheeded complaints of discrimination
• Overlooked real needs for services
• Undue pressure
• Resentment and hostility from other groups

(Chang, S. 1991 Lew, Chang Wang, 2005)
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Asian/Pacific Islander College Students

• Relevant Theories

10
Chickerings Seven Vectors

• Competence
• Intellectual more valued
• Emotions
• More internalized
• Autonomy and Interdependence
• Familial values
• Relationships
• Collectivism
• Hierarchical nature

(Kodama, McEwen, Liang, Lee, 2002)
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Chickerings Seven Vectors (cont.)

• Identity
• Acculturation vs. Biculturalism
• Purpose
• Tied to academic achievement
• Integrity
• Self vs. Family

(Kodama et al., 2002 Kodama, McEwen, Liang,
Lee, 2001)
12
Kims (1981, 2001) Theory of Asian American
Identity Development

• Ethnic Awareness
• White Identification
• Awakening to Social-Political Consciousness
• Redirection to Asian American Consciousness
• Incorporation

13
Phinneys Four Categories

• Achieved
• Consistent level of ethnic interest
• Moratorium
• Cultivated ethnic interest in later years
• Foreclosed
• Sporadic ethnic interest
• Awareness of API identity
• Diffuse
• Little ethnic interest/practice

(Kawaguchi, 2003)
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Asian/Pacific Islander College Students

• Collegiate Experiences and Outcomes

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Campus Climate

• Perception of college environment
• Filipino the most positive perception of the
  university environment but the highest college
  stress
• Korean and Chinese the least positive perception
  
• Cultural Congruity
• Japanese the highest level of cultural
  congruity, the lowest college stress
• Chinese and Korean American students the lowest
  cultural congruity
• Positive perception mentorship

(Gloria Ho, 2003)
16
Support Mechanisms

• Family support
• Intergenerational family conflicts
• Parents recognize conflicting cultural demands
• Parents seek to retain values/traditions
• High expectation vs. limited access to support
• Peer support
• Higher support than from family
• Intra-group disparity

(Gloria Ho, 2003)
17
Racial Identity and Psychosocial Development

• Self-efficacy for education (Gloria Ho, 2003)
• Racial identity and psychosocial development are
  related (not causal) (Pope, 2000)
• Lagged behind in
• Development of academic, career, or life goals
  and plans
• Integration of academic, vocational, or
  recreational activities

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Cross-Racial/Cultural Interactions

• Few cross-cultural interactions and friendships
  (Ying, Lee, Tsai, Wan, 2001)
• Collectivistic culture
• Cross-racial engagement was positively predictor
  of coherence
• GPA was not a predictor of coherence
• Satisfaction increases (Villalpando, 2002)
• Racial/cultural awareness workshops
• Socializing with other racial/ethnic groups
• Diverse faculty orientation
• Institutional emphasis on diversity

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Academics Major Choice

• Influential Factors
• Gender
• Intra-group differences
• Math aptitude
• Parental involvement/pressures
• Home language environment (only men)
• Psychological factors (only men)
• Self-esteem
• Locus of control
• Non-influential Factors
• Family background/status
• Socioeconomic status
• Immigration status

(Song Klick, 2004)
20
Academics Major Choice

• Investigative occupations (Tang, 2000)
• 1 Choice Business (Wilds, 2000)
• Men
• Engineering
• Biological/Life Sciences
• Social Sciences
• Women
• Biological/Life Sciences
• Social Sciences
• Health Professions

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Risk Factors Affecting Persistence

• Individual
• Language, education, immigration status
• Family
• Socioeconomic status, parental education,
  family support and guidance
• Institutional
• Inadequate academic preparation, institutional
  climate inadequate institutional support
  programs
• Community and Societal
• Model minority stereotype, intragroup
  socioeconomic gap

(Yeh, 2002)
22
Degree Completion Rates at Four-year Institutions
Persistence
API 70.5
European American 66.8
Latino/Hispanic 47.3
African American 45.7

• API students receive approximately 6.5 of all
  bachelors degrees. (U.S. DOE, 2005)
• 65.2 of students persist at four-year
  institutions.
• (U.S. DOE, 2003)

(U.S. DOE, 2003)
23
Within-Group DegreeCompletion Rates at all
Institutions
(Museus, Forthcoming)
24
Asian/Pacific Islander College Students

• Implications

25
Implications

• Harmful ramifications of model minority myth
• Recruitment efforts academic and career advising
• Support diverse student affairs units (API staff)
  and their professional development
• Consider cultural/familial perspectives of API
  students

(Kawaguchi, 2003 Kodama et al., 2002 Suzuki,
2002)
26
Asian/Pacific Islander College Students

• Reactions, Additional Ideas, Questions

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References

• Chang, S. (1991). Asian Americans An
  interpretive history. NY Twayne Publishers.
• Gloria, A. M., Ho, T. A. (2003). Environmental,
  social, and psychological experiences of Asian
  American undergraduates Examining issues of
  academic persistence. Journal of Counseling and
  Development, 81, 1, 93-105.
• Hirschman, C., Wong, M. G. (1986). The
  extraordinary educational attainment of Asian
  Americans A search for historical evidence and
  explanations. Social Forces, 65(1), 1-27.
• Kim, U., Chun, M. B. (1994). Educational
  "success of Asian Americans An indigenous
  perspective. Journal of Applied Developmental
  Psychology, 15, 329-343.

28
References

• Lagdameo, A., Lee, So., Nguyen, B., Liang, C.,
  Lee, Su., Kodama, C.M., McEwen, M.K. (2002).
  Voices of Asian American students. In M.K.
  McEwen, C.M. Kodama, A.N. Alvarez, S. Lee,
  C.T.H (Eds.), Working with Asian American college
  students. New Directions for Student Services
  (No. 97, pp. 61-71). San Francisco Jossey-Bass.
• Lee, S.J. (1994). Behind the model minority
  stereotype Voices of high- and low- achieving
  Asian American students. Anthropology and
  Education, 25(4), 413-29.
• Lee, S. J. (1996). Unraveling the "model
  minority stereotype Listening to Asian American
  youth. New York Teachers College, Columbia
  University.
• Leong, F. T. (1991). Career development
  attributes and occupational values of Asian
  American and White American college students.
  Career Development Quarterly, 39 (3). (page
  numbers???)

29
References

• Lew, A.S., Allen, R., Papouchis, N. Ritzler, B.
  (1999). Achievement orientation and fear of
  success in Asian American college students.
  Journal of Clinical Psychology, 54(1), 97-108.
• D. (Forthcoming). Asian American men in higher
  education. In S. R. Harper F. Harris III
  (Eds.), College men of color Toward productive
  identity convergence and equitable outcomes in
  higher education.
• Pope,R.L., (2000).The relationship between
  psychosocial development and racial identity of
  college students of color. The Journal of College
  Development, 41(3), 304-314.
• Song, C.,   Glick, J.E. (2004). College
  Attendance and Choice of College Majors Among
  Asian-American Students. Social Science
  Quarterly, 85(5), 1401-21.
• Teng, M. (2002). A comparison of Asian American,
  Caucasian American, and Chinese college students
  An initial report. Journal of Multicultural
  Counseling and Development, 30, 124-134.

30
References

• U.S. Census Bureau. (1990). Census of population
  and housing. Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of
  Commerce.
• U.S. Census Bureau. (2004). Census 2000 special
  reports We the people Asians in the United
  States, by T.J. Reeves C.E. Bennett.
  Washington, DC.
• U.S. Census Bureau. (2002). Census 200 Brief The
  Asian population 2000, by J.S. Barnes C.E.
  Bennett. Washington, DC.
• U.S. Census Bureau. (2004). Census 2000 special
  reports We the people Pacific Islanders in the
  United States, by P.M Harris N.A. Jones.
  Washington DC.
• U.S. Department of Education. National Center for
  Education Statistics. (2002) Descriptive Summary
  of 199596 Beginning Postsecondary Students Six
  Years Later, NCES 2003151, by Lutz Berkner,
  Shirley He, and Emily Forrest Cataldi. Project
  Officer Paula Knepper. Washington, DC.
• U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
  Education Statistics. (2005). Digest of Education
  Statistics, 2004. Washington, DC U.S. Government
  Printing Office.

31
References

• Wilds, D. J. Seventeenth Annual Status Report on
  Minorities in Higher Education, 19992000.
  Washington, DC. American Council on Education,
  2000.
• Yeh, T.L. (2002) Asian American college students
  who are educationally at risk. In M.K. McEwen,
  C.M. Kodama, A.N. Alvarez, S. Lee, C.T.H
  (Eds.), Working with Asian American college
  students. New Directions for Student Services
  (No. 97, pp. 61-71). San Francisco Jossey-Bass.
• Ying, Y., Lee, P.A., Tsai, J.L., Wan, Y. (2001).
  Asian American college students as model
  minorities An examination of their overall
  competence. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic
  Minority Psychology, 7, 59-74.