Burden of Acting Neither White Nor Black: Asian American Identities and Achievement in Urban Schools |
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| Authors: | Jamie Lew |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Urban Education, Rutgers University-Newark, 110 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07102-1814, USA |
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| Abstract: | Ogbu’s theory of “burden of acting white” has been one of the most frequently cited studies to explain black and white achievement
gap. However, emerging studies have argued that Ogbu’s theory may be limited when examining variability of school achievement
among black and white students. Research shows that in addition to culture, other social forces, such as class, peer networks,
and school context may play a significant role when accounting for minority students’ academic aspirations and achievement.
In the midst of this on-going debate, however, there is a limited understanding of how, if at all, theory of “acting white”
plays a role for racial groups other than black and white students. By extending the discussion beyond a black-and-white discourse,
this research examines how Asian American students in two different social and economic contexts, negotiate their race and
ethnic identities. Framed by a prevalent model minority stereotype that conflates Asian Americans with whiteness, the findings
show that portrayal of Asian “success” much like black “failure” cannot be explained solely on their cultural orientation.
By comparing experiences of two groups of Korean American students—both high- and low-achieving—in different economic and
school contexts, this study illustrates how the two groups of Korean American students adopt different racial strategies depending
on their socioeconomic backgrounds, peer networks, and school contexts. Using Korean American students in urban schools as
a case study, this research complicates and challenges our understanding of the role of culture in school achievement and
illustrates how culture intersects with class, race, and schools.
Jamie Lew is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban Education, Rutgers University-Newark, 110 Warren Street, Newark,
NY, 07102-1814, USA |
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| Keywords: | Asian American Korean American race and ethnic identity acting white peer networks minority students urban schools school achievement achievement gap |
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