Thesis: Conclusion

Summer 2010 is here! It's been so long since I last blogged. For most of April and May I was entirely consumed with writing my Thesis. I really gave it all I got. I couldn't keep up with my running exercise and had to halt my marathon training. I didn't feel good about that since I gained at least 5 lbs. from sitting all day and writing. But, I would say, it was all worth it! And, I am determined to shed the extra weight now!!

Finishing the Thesis is the greatest experience one could ever feel! I submitted the entire Thesis in late April, and spent the following week editing the draft. It consisted of 3 chapters, 64 pages total! I have never written that much ever in my life! In fact, writing the conclusion was a complete labor of love. I felt the conclusion was the best piece of writing I had ever done in graduate school. It's something that I'm very proud of. Maybe it's because every thought and sentence flowed out so naturally with Chapter 3, that my advisor actually accepted the first draft without me having to edit as much as I had to with Chapters 1 & 2. Below is my abstract, acknowledgements & Chapter 3 (Conclusion) of my Thesis. It's a lot to take in, but I hope you enjoy reading it.


Thesis Title: AN EXAMINATION OF THE SOCIAL MARGINALIZATION OF CHINESE IMMIGRANT YOUTH & ITS RELATIONSHIP TO SCHOOLING

ABSTRACT
While popular culture may paint Asian American students uniformly as academic high achievers, the statistics have shown otherwise. This study of Chinese immigrant youth investigates the association between social marginalization and school performance. The purpose of the study is to analyze experiences of discrimination, acculturation gaps and cultural stereotypes and the implications they have on schooling. The study process involved reviewing literature in the historical, educational and sociological context of the immigrant Chinese experience. The literary review conclude with suggestions for creating a caring school culture through culturally relevant pedagogy that empowers immigrant students to develop a sense of belonging, positive identity and purpose.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My work is dedicated to my father, whose spirit of community and humanity lives on.

My heartfelt gratitude extends to my mother, Susanna, for her encouragement and unconditional love.

Thank you to my students, whose voices are a source of inspiration.

Thank you to Dr. Hemphill and Dr. Andrade for sharing their passion and knowledge, which has informed much of my work.

Thank you to Dr. Flowers for sharing her knowledge and creating a space for group dialog and self-reflection, which has illuminated my work.

Most importantly, I am indebted to the support and guidance of my advisor,
Dr. Lee, who has made this entire journey truly awesome!
Thank you.

CHAPTER III
Conclusion, Discussion & Recommendation

Conclusion
Chinese immigrant youth has been socially marginalized which has a direct impact on students’ perception and performance in school. Historical research have documented a long history of anti-immigrant and anti-Asian sentiment which has existed in the U.S. since the 19th century, where Chinese workers were treated with hostility and frequently physically attacked for allegedly taking jobs away from white workers. These anti-Chinese sentiments eventually led to legislation passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 banning Chinese people from immigration to the country. In resistance to mainstream discrimination, the Chinese people established a Chinatown community, meant to be self-reliant and self-thriving. Subsequently, different waves of Chinese immigrants arrived from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, forming different Chinese immigrant groups who are heterogeneous with complex and multiple experiences.

Studies show the model minority racial stereotype is damaging to Asians in America. Though it appears to portray Asians in a positive light, being successful and high achieving, it perpetuates a false representation of a group of people. Evidence shows that Asians are perceived as the ‘other’ (Benner & Kim, 2009). Moreover, the stereotype has a profound impact on the Chinese immigrant youth. Though the model minority stereotype refers to Asian Americans in general, studies (Kawai, 2005; Ng, Lee & Pak, 2007) suggest that since it is a racial stereotype, it is inclusive of all Asians who are foreign-born and American-born no matter how many generations Asians have lived in the U.S. Not only are Asians viewed as the ‘other,’ they are also seen as never fully ‘Americans.’ Theoretical and empirical studies (Yu, 2006; Kawai, 2005) suggest that the model minority stereotype is also a political device to uphold the status quo set forth by the white, elite power confirming to minorities in America that academic achievement and social mobility could be accomplished on the strength of one’s individuality and hard-work. Thus, some Chinese immigrant parents internalize this stereotype, and project ‘education fever’ onto their children. This in turn becomes a factor in the family dynamics which play a role in the psychological adjustment of Chinese immigrant youth. Even though some students are doing well in school, the level of psychological well-being seem to diminish when parents fail to adjust their parenting strategies to meet the needs of their children as they cope with their cultural competence in mainstream society.

In addition, research (Qin, 2006; Qin, 2008; Xue, 1995; Yeh et al, 2008) shows Chinese immigrant youth experience dark adolescent years. Empirical studies attribute family dynamics and peer harassment as the causes of alienation and isolation. Not only do Chinese immigrant youth suffer internal strife as they cope with ‘traditional’ immigrant parents who they themselves are socially marginalized, but they also deal with physical and verbal harassment in a hostile school environment. Yeh & Drost’s (2002) theoretical study argued that white, middle class norms and values dominate the cultural and social discourse in American schools; therefore students of color are marginalized. Thus, Chinese immigrant youth faces a dilemma in schooling. While the school curriculum (Hata & Hata, 1974) does not include the contribution of Chinese immigrants to America, it also implies that Chinese people are ‘foreign,’ invisible and second-class citizens. Even though most Chinese immigrant students are ESL students, marginalized from the mainstream classrooms, their perceptions of discrimination have increasingly affected their school performance as evident in Qin’s (2008) foundational study.

Racial and cultural hierarchy cognitively unbeknownst to most Chinese immigrant students, and unrecognized by most teachers and school staff, play out on the grounds of school, perpetuating alienation by failing to address the social and academic needs of Chinese immigrant youth. Since institutions like schools have failed to meet the needs of Chinese immigrant youth, evidence shows how organizational support became vital and function as a supplementary education in the last decade (Shea, Ma, Yeh, Lee & Pituc’s, 2007; Wong, 2008 & Zhou & Kim, 2006). These organizations play a key role in supporting students’ development through cultural language learning, mentorship, English language tutoring, career assessment and cultural adaptation to mainstream society.

Discussion
Overall, this paper contributes to the research on Chinese immigrant youth in three ways: 1) it highlights social marginalization 2) it adds to the education discourse and 3) it is multi-disciplinary by design. The existing scope of literature on Chinese immigrant youth and their complex experiences is limited. For example, predominant research has been done on the model minority stereotype affecting Asian Americans primarily from a theoretical framework (Kawai, 2005; Yu, 2006; Ng, Lee & Pak, 2007). More studies addressing Chinese immigrant youth schooling and their perceptions of dominant stereotypes like the model minority is an overdue discourse. Empirical studies address the emotional and psychological strife in the student (Qin, 2006; Qin, 2008; Xue, 1995; Shea,Yeh, Ma & Pituc, 2008) in relationship to external hostilities (Benner & Kim, 2009; Goto, Gee & Takeuchi, 2002) which add to the oppositional discourse on the model minority myth. While these empirical studies are longitudinal and foundational, more are needed in the educational field and centered on the Chinese immigrant students. Many themes such as student underachievement and over-achievement, peer/teacher relationships, student identity development, peer dynamics and race relations, 1.5 generation immigrant students, GED student trends, student opposition and resistance, and organizational support are on-going issues in the Chinese immigrant community, which remains future areas of research in the educational field.

Moreover, it is important to move beyond the cultural clash discourse which was a predominant theme in early research on Chinese immigrant studies (Xue, 1995). In Ngo’s (2008) study, he proposes a post-colonial framework in understanding student identity development as fluid and on-going as opposed to Yeh & Drost’s (2002) study of ethnic minority youth identity as a struggle of bridging identities between being American and being non-American. To understand the heterogeneity of Chinese immigrant youth in response to popular culture and global trends and issues, cultural and theoretical research with post-colonial perspectives is needed. Some particular themes of research are the sub-cultures and counter-cultures that arise in the Chinese immigrant community from being marginalized in the mainstream society. What coping mechanism has been developed and how is agency related to resisting external hostility? Along the lines of resilience (Yeh, Kim, Pituc & Atkins, 2008), what coping mechanism has Chinese youth been able to muster in response to external hostility? Why has stories of resilience been a common theme in the Chinese Diaspora? Those are rich and complex experiences that could be explored from a post-colonial framework.

Moreover, more critical, theoretical and methodological perspectives are needed that centrally address the marginalized issues of racial identity and representation in the education of Chinese immigrant youth (Crichlow & McCarthy, 1995). Hata & Hata’s (1974) pioneer study addressed the school curriculum as marginalizing students’ sense of cultural and social identity by excluding the mention of Asian American contribution to America and referring to them as ‘oriental,’ an old European imperialist term. It is clear that schools haven’t met or addressed the needs of Chinese immigrant students as evident in the abundant research on organizational support (Shea, Ma, Yeh, Lee & Pituc, 2007; Wong, 2008; Zhou & Kim, 2006). On the one hand, those studies offer hope in the form of supplementary education, but they also highlight two issues: parental education fever and mainstream education inadequacy and inequity. Students being interviewed stated their feelings of helplessness and rejected as a newcomer in school. Education at a broader level means not only adding or including cultural text to school materials, but also understanding education to be a pedagogical practice in response to dominant discourses since these are what immigrant students already know. How social powers are structured in school and in society is an untapped, but on-going discourse relevant and important to the Chinese immigrant youth

Recommendations

This paper highlighted the escalating problem of discrimination and harassment of Chinese immigrant youth. Much more study need to occur before we are able to truly evaluate the experiences of Chinese immigrant students. This paper only skims the empirical surface. Many questions need to be probed regarding the nature of the relationship between multiple cultures and multiple words. Do Asian students find school to be a welcoming place? Is the anti-Chinese stance only rhetoric, or has it carry into practice? What are the experiences of everyday Asian American students in school? How do they see the institution and its members? A deeper investigation of these questions has unearthed the reality of American schooling and the stories of those participants who have been traditionally marginalized in the mainstream narrative.

The social marginalization experiences that Chinese immigrant youth face should be understood in their specific context as well as in the larger educational context. Educators need to understand an individual student’s lived experiences and address his/her psychological and educational needs so that they can achieve his/her own success. Schools and policy makers can help educators do so by 1) developing appropriate curriculum that is oriented toward ESL students, rather than using mainstream curriculum that does not fit the needs of ESL learners. For schools that serve large Asian population, bilingual programs may also be considered. 2) An ethnic studies course requirement for all high school seniors can enlarge their understanding of ethnic formation, race relations, ethnic heritage and immigrant contribution to the U.S. so students can develop a healthy understanding of racial ‘differences’ and ethnic cultural diversity. 3) Training teachers to implement classroom strategies (e.g. culturally responsive teaching) that aim to understand students’ individual needs and foster students’ school-home connections; and 4) Employing bi-cultural paraprofessionals or counselors to facilitate school-home communication and interactions that will help schools and parents listen to each other’s concerns and expectations; and 5) Educators should liaison with CBOs in order to connect students to social networks and resources so that on-going support with peers and adults go beyond the classroom for community support.

If the broader story of Chinese immigrant students has been one of learning to cope with American racism manifested in verbal and physical harassment, there is need to learn a great deal about American race relations by examining themes of social power that play out in the United States and its role in other countries, in other places with different histories and entirely different cultures. As more people have moved across the world, bringing disparate cultures and ways of life in close contact with one another, we’ve seen more intense conflicts based on race, identity, immigration status, and class. This is evident in the growing cases of hostility towards Asians. I hope this study can draw more attention to the social and academic needs of Chinese immigrant students in the United States where they are socially marginalized and searching for their voices to be heard.

THE END