It is Not Just About Scoring Points

Asian Americans and Interracial Relations in US Education Policy Debates

DOI

10.2991/assehr.k.220105.173How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Asian Americans; Model minority; Affirmative action; Critical race theory; Solidarity

Abstract

This article examines the controversy around race-related topics in US education policies and their relation to the Asian American identity. Asian Americans are often viewed as the model minority among ethnic minority groups in US society. The myth is especially prominent in education, where Asian students in the US are often seen as hardworking, ambitious, and acing the standardized tests. Nevertheless, Asian students and Asian families often found themselves in awkward positions in debates around US education policies, especially regarding racial politics. They perceive that affirmative action in the higher education admission process discriminates against Asian students, who are often omitted by such policy, albeit their identity of color. The continuing debate on whether critical race theory should become part of the US curriculum also attracts discussions in the Asian community, some of them contending that the achievements of Asian Americans disprove the existence of systematic racism. The analysis of discourses on educational policy debates relevant to racial relations in the U.S. demonstrates the inability for the model minority myth to capture the demographics of Asian Americans. Moreover, through the rhetoric of meritocracy and utilization of misinformation and emotional appeal, the model minority myth within conservative narratives functions as a reactionary forces in racial activism through hindering the solidarity among ethnic minorities.

Copyright

© 2022 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.

Open Access

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Tianxin Du
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/01/17
TI  - It is Not Just About Scoring Points
BT  - Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Social Development and Media Communication (SDMC 2021)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 938
EP  - 946
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220105.173
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.220105.173
ID  - Du2022
ER  -