Background The Model Minority Stereotype (MMS) describes Asians and Asian Americans (As/AsAm) as the epitome of assimilation into U.S. society using hard work, intelligence, high educational attainment, and economic success to overcome the challenges of discrimination and recent immigration. Certain facets of the MMS intersect with qualities often perceived as desirable in engineering education. Purpose (Hypothesis) Our research questions are: To what degree do academic data support the assertion that AsAm engineering students conform to the MMS? How do AsAm engineering students express the impact of the facets of the MMS on their lived experiences? What facets of the MMS are more often reported than others among AsAm engineering students? How do AsAm engineering students perceive their fellow racial/ethnic peers fit within the MMS? Design/Method The research uses a mixed methods approach including analysis of academic transcript data, surveys and semi‐structured interviews. Results The academic record of AsAm participants was not significantly different from participants in other racial/ethnic groups. Although the AsAm participants were not found to conform to the MMS academically, they discussed their perceptions of many facets of the MMS including: being hardworking, uncomplaining and extremely intelligent, and seeking both economic attainment and educational prestige. Interestingly, many students who denied that the stereotype applied to them projected this stereotype on other AsAms. Conclusions Documentation of the existence of the MMS on our campus shows that, although AsAm students are not underrepresented, they face stereotyping and discrimination. We present specific recommendations for institutions to address equity and parity challenges.
While Asian American students are not under-represented in engineering, they are still members of a minority population. In the last three years we interviewed 165 engineering students in a large scale research project that identifies factors leading to differential rates of student success among four minority populations including Asian Americans. The Asian American participants reported experiences with racially-based discrimination that were related to the most common stereotypes of Asians, including forever foreigners and the model minority. Participants' response to discrimination experiences were usually denying that the experience had happened, dismissing their feelings, and making excuses for inappropriate racially-based behavior. The failure to recognize the experiences could be the result of low levels of racial identity development. Dismissing feelings and making excuses for racially-based behavior may be participants living out one aspect of the model minority stereotype. The message from the Asian American participants is that over-representation does not remove racially-based stereotyping and discrimination in our society. Five recommendations for making engineering institutions more equitable are presented.
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