08.13.07

Report: ‘Model minority’ stereotype untrue for many college students

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:09 pm by albert_lim

U.S. college students of East Asian and Indian heritage tend to do well academically, fulfilling the “model minority” stereotype, but several other Asian demographics — Pacific Islanders and some Southeast Asian groups — aren’t enrolling in the high-level courses that will get them ahead in school, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office, Congress’ research arm.

Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander students are also more likely to need financial aid, and thus have to live with their parents and work to support their families.

“The report confirms the need to avoid making national generalizations about Asian American achievements in education and conflating all Asian American subgroups as if all Asian Americans are homogeneous,” says L. Ling-chi Wang, chairman of U.C. Berkeley’s ethnic studies department.

The full report is available here.

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