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Exploring the College Pathways of Asian American Community EXPLORING THE COLLEGE PATHWAYS OF ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS AND THE MODEL MINORITY MYTH Amanda E. Hamm, M.A. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS May 201 5 APPROVED: Am y Fann, Major Professor V. Barbara Bush, Committee Member Marc Cutright, Committee Member Daniel Chen, Program Coordinator for Higher Education Janice Holden, Chair of the Department of Counseling and Higher Education Jerry Thomas, Dean of the College of Education Costas Tsatsoulis, Interim Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Hamm, Amanda E. Exploring the College Pathways of Asian American Community College Students and the Model Minority Myth. Doctor of Philosophy (Higher Education), May 2015, 156 pp., 5 tables, references, 102 titles. 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. Copyright 2015 by Amanda E. Hamm ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to Dr. Amy Fann for her guidance, support, and encouragement throughout my educational journey at UNT. Dr. Fann has been an amazing major professor, mentor, and friend. She taught me so much and I will forever be grateful to her for making my doctoral student experience enriching and rewarding. I would also like to graciously thank Dr. V. Barbara Bush and Dr. Marc Cutright for their advice and encouragement throughout the dissertation process. In addition, I want to express my appreciation to the Bill J. Priest Center for Community College Education and UNT’s College of Education for the generous dissertation grants and financial support. I want to thank the student participants for their time and willingness to share their stories. I enjoyed learning from them and appreciated that each participant offered a unique perspective to the study. I would also like to acknowledge my UNT colleagues: Mayra, Serena, Dawna, Nydia, Ruben, Catherine, Ivonne, Hope, David, Kim L., Kim F., Patrick, Craig, Tyler, Ah Ra, and Margarita. They embodied a special support system throughout coursework, qualifying exams, and the dissertation process. Finally, none of this would have been possible without the encouragement and patience of my family. I extend a heartfelt appreciation to my parents Mary and Andre Assalone and my sister Kristen Snow for their unconditional love, support, and assistance with the interview transcriptions. Thank you for always believing in me. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................vi THE INFLUENCE OF MODEL MINORITY STEREOTYPES ON ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS ............................................................................ 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 Asian American Student Population ..................................................................... 2 Community College Pathways .............................................................................. 3 Stereotype Threat ................................................................................................. 4 Critical Race Theory Framework .......................................................................... 6 Methods ....................................................................................................................... 7 Site Selection........................................................................................................ 8 Sample ................................................................................................................. 9 Member Checking .............................................................................................. 10 Findings ..................................................................................................................... 13 Influence of Model Minority Stereotypes on Students’ Education ....................... 13 Student Experiences and Perceptions ................................................................ 14 Impact of Stereotypes on Students’ Education ................................................... 16 Exploiting the Stereotypes .................................................................................. 17 Discussion ................................................................................................................. 18 Implications and Recommendations .......................................................................... 22 Diversity Coaching for Faculty, Staff, and Students ............................................ 22 Future Research ................................................................................................. 23 iv References ................................................................................................................ 25 APPENDIX A EXTENDED LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................... 32 APPENDIX B DETAILED METHODOLOGY ................................................................. 68 APPENDIX C COMPLETE/UNABRIDGED FINDINGS ................................................. 82 APPENDIX D SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................... 119 APPENDIX E INVITATION EMAIL TO PARTICIPANTS ............................................. 134 APPENDIX F DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONAIRE ....................................................... 136 APPENDIX G INTERVIEW PROTOCOL .................................................................... 139 APPENDIX H FOLLOW-UP SURVEY ......................................................................... 142 COMPREHENSIVE REFERENCES........................................................................... .144 v LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1 Percentage of Asian American Total Enrollment in Two-Year and Four-Year Public Institutions ...................................................................... 4 Table 2 Community College District and State Enrollment of Asian Americans ..... 8 Table 3 Percentage of Asian Americans without High School Diploma and with Bachelor's Degree by Ethnicity ................................................................ 47 Table 4 Texas Community College Demographics ............................................... 60 Table 5 Student Demographics ............................................................................ 72 vi THE INFLUENCE OF MODEL MINORITY STEREOTYPES ON ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS Introduction The college experiences of Asian American students are typically viewed as natural and highly successful. Popular media’s model minority stereotype portrays Asian American college students as intellectual overachievers requiring few educational resources and favored by their professors (Fong, 2002: Lee, 1996; Suzuki, 1989; Wu, 2002). A perception exists that Asian American students are “taking over” college campuses, especially private four-year institutions (Chang, 2008; Wang & Teranishi, 2012). For decades, media headlines have referred to Asian American students as “Whiz Kids” (Brand, 1987), and the New York Times declared, “Stellar academic achievement has an Asian face” (Kristof, 2006, p. 13). Even award-winning television shows such as Grey’s Anatomy have introduced viewers to characters like Dr. Cristina Yang, an overachieving Asian American
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