Li, Guofang & Wang, Lihshing (Eds.) (2008). Model Minority Myth Revisited: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Demystifying Asian American Educational Experiences. Reviewed by Mitchell J. Chang, University of California, Los Angeles

Li, Guofang & Wang, Lihshing (Eds.) (2008). Model Minority Myth Revisited: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Demystifying Asian American Educational Experiences. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing Pp. xv + 338         ISBN 978-1-59311-950-8 Reviewed by Mitchell J. Chang University of California, Los Angeles March 7, 2009 According to Guofang Li and Lihshing Wang, the editors of Model Minority Myth Revisited: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Demystifying Asian American Educational Experiences, “mainstream American society’s perceptions of Asian Americans seemed to have swung back and forth on the pendulum, indicating a conflicted ‘love and hate’ relationship.” (p. 5). In their introductory chapter, they maintain that one popular stereotype that has endured for over forty years is the image of Asian Americans as the “model minority,” which characterizes them as hard working, problem free, over achievers. While this image might suggest a more positive than negative mainstream view, Li and Wang argue that this stereotype has ironically “worked against Asian American students because such labeling not only impedes access to educational opportunities but also results in anti-Asian sentiment between the majority and other minority groups” (p. 2). This book proceeds not only to demystify the model minority image, as the title advertises, but also to document the deleterious effects of this racial stereotype on a very diverse group of individuals who as a group curiously appear to have little in common. That is, the book also makes clear that individuals who are most directly affected by the model minority label do not necessarily share a common culture, language, heritage, socio-economic status, political persuasion, immigration experience, religious/philosophical orientation, worldview, and so on. Despite this population’s extraordinary diversity, this book makes a strong and compelling case that the model minority stereotype has had a powerful and lasting grip on Asian Americans. Model Minority Myth Revisitedis the first book of a series on educational research sponsored by the Chinese American Educational Research and Development Association (CAERDA). This book shares the goals of that book series and thus features multidisciplinary perspectives, educational issues as part of a larger context where Chinese and Chinese Americans are a part of, and research-based information to achieve educational excellence and equity for all. Those goals are indeed well supported by the collection of chapters including a foreward by Stacey Lee, which are authored by an interdisciplinary group of scholars. Specifically, the book is organized into five sections. The first section, titled Sociocultural Perspective, begins with a chapter written by Ling-chi Wang, a widely regarded scholar of Asian American and ethnic studies. Wang’s historical overview of the model minority myth and thoughtful remarks about its current implications are followed by two chapters that report original findings from their respective qualitative studies. In Chapter 3, Vivian Louie draws from her interview of two “working-class” Chinese American college students to illuminate the role of immigration and the challenges involved with negotiating the complex transition to college. In Chapter 4, Liang Du reports findings from a qualitative study of students and parents associated with a Chinese language school and address how the model minority discourse interact with the lives of a group of “middle-to upper-middle-class” Chinese Americans. Du is especially attentive to how that discourse limits social and cultural possibilities. Curiously, both Louie and Du analyze only a portion of a larger body of data that each had collected for a much larger study. Section two, which consists of four chapters, turns to psychological perspectives to address the model minority myth. In this section’s first chapter, Frederick Leong and James Grand examine the impact of the model minority stereotype on Asian Americans in the workplace. Their chapter is followed by two others that also draw heavily from the existing literature and provide ample academic references. In one, Mei Tang addresses “Asian Americans’ psychosocial status,” and in another Desiree Qin examines some challenges Chinese American students sometimes face at home and in school, which have ramifications on their psychological and social adjustment. The last chapter of this section reports results from a longitudinal study conducted at a large Midwestern university. Matthew Lee and Jacqueline Mac used a web survey to collect data on students’ opinions about the “racial climate” and their level of “psychological distress.” Among the findings of this quantitative study were that Asian Americans were significantly more likely than White students to indicate that their campus was hostile and that “ethnic discrimination” was a stronger predictor of anxiety for Asian American students than discrimination based on other identities. Section three, titled Educational Perspective, includes four chapters that seek to redefine how Asian Americans are considered in the educational context. In Chapter 9, David Dai makes a provocative argument that because schooling tends to be tightly structured in ways that do not necessarily cultivate the types of learning and thinking that contribute to success in the “real world,” there may be a “hidden cost” to doing well in school. Dai’s chapter is followed by three empirical studies. Lusa Lo documents the school related experiences and challenges of six Chinese parents of children with disabilities, whereas Guofang Li documents one middle class Chinese family’s difficulty with schooling. Both of these studies show how the model minority stereotype can potentially obstruct access to educational services and opportunities for those who do not fit that narrow image. In Chapter 12, Julia Dmitrieva, Chuansheng Chen, and Ellen Greenberger statistically compared responses from a psychosocial maturity inventory and found that Asian American college students exhibited greater decline in grades compared to their “European American” counterparts, which they attribute in part to the stronger negative effect of moving away from home for some Asian Americans. The final two sections address methodological issues and policy implications. Section four begins with a chapter by Annette Hemmings who discusses research related dilemmas by drawing from her experiences with a Taiwanese American student who participated in one of her ethnographic studies. In Chapter 14, Wei Pan and Haiyan Bai analyzed a random sample of students drawn from the updated national Education Longitudinal Study to highlight methodological problems among quantitative cross-culture studies. Chapter 15 (by Lihshing Wang and Duc-Le To) and Chapter 16 (by Duc-Le To) identify shortcomings of current research and provide methodological recommendations to strengthen future research that seeks to illuminate issues concerning the model minority myth. In the final chapter of the book, Yon Zhao and Wei Qiu identify four myths concerning Asian American students and also discuss their policy implications. Taken together, this is a much-needed compilation of varied academic knowledge that is appropriate for a wide range of audiences who span the full spectrum of expertise on research concerning Asian American educational experiences. For those who have not had much exposure to this body of research, this book will impress and clarify some of the most critical and longstanding concerns relevant to this growing and diverse population. For those experts on the other end of this spectrum, they will also find something new here, as authors have presented original and fresh empirical findings, insights, and critiques. Also, nearly all of these chapters can standalone and can be individually assigned for course readings. This attribute, however, might be an issue for those who choose to read the book from cover to cover because the description of the model minority myth repeats itself throughout the chapters and becomes quite redundant. Overall, the book delivers what it advertises in its title –– namely it contributes to demystifying the enduring stereotype surrounding Asian Americans by systematically applying sound reason, logic, and evidence. It is hard to ask for more than that from a group of very capable scholars, but will such scholarly efforts be enough to loosen the crippling grip of the model minority myth? Perhaps by focusing on demystifying, the book does not offer much in terms of actually dismantling the myth. After all, the end goal is not just to understand the complexity of the myth and its negative impact on individuals, which to be sure is an important and valuable exercise, but to also eradicate its relevance and effect. What is offered toward the latter goal in this book is a clarion call for more and better research. In fact, some of the chapters in the final two sections list detailed ways to improve research, which can be applied to nearly every educational topic. There is, however, an unrecognized irony to this particular call. That is, by developing a stronger science around a presumed myth, will it have the unintended effect of ensuring the longevity and relevance of this myth? Put in another way, if the myth can be studied with greater scientific rigor, could it become more real than fake? I raise these questions not because I think we should do less research, after all I too make my living conducting research, but to ask whether we might be overlooking the bigger picture. In developing viable strategies to address the model minority myth, we have to recognize fully that a main culprit is stereotyping and at work is a very powerful and flexible racial stereotype that has captured the imagination of American consciousness and may already be tightly woven into our nation’s educational institutions and even grand narrative of itself. Although it is a social construction that can be altered, this stereotype has persisted for over forty years because it continues to serve multiple purposes as documented well throughout the book. One peculiar purpose not addressed in any of the chapters, however, is that this stereotype has provided a common bond that serves to unify a group of diverse individuals grouped under the broad category of “Asian American.” While the inadequacy of this racial label is well noted throughout Model Minority Myth Revisited, none of the chapters fully explore how that stereotype might actually be a common bond that binds individuals who comprise this group. In other words, perhaps as Asian Americans there is little that we collectively share besides a distinct vulnerability to certain stereotypes and their ensuing discriminatory effects. For example, not only are we at risk of being stereotyped as model minorities, we are also vulnerable to being regularly stereotyped as foreigners and subsequently disqualified or held under suspicion. Perhaps had there been substantial social, political, or economic gains to be made when recent events involving Asian Americans unfolded, we would currently also be vulnerable to being stereotyped as spies, mass killers, or terrorists. If vulnerability to certain stereotypes and their ensuing discriminatory actions serve to bond Asian Americans, this would raise some uncomfortable ironies. One would be that by dismantling the model minority stereotype, might we unintentionally dissolve one of our strongest bonds as Asian Americans? If our common bond is weakened, what might be some of the consequences for political action, social movements, or identity? Although this line of questioning can not be elaborated here, the point is that there exists a much bigger set of questions associated with the model minority myth that needs to be seriously considered and that unmistakably gets at the core of what it means to be Asian American. Those questions are certainly beyond the scope of the Model Minority Myth Revisited, yet they should not be overlooked as we continue to work toward dismantling this onerous stereotype. In the interest of eradicating the model minority stereotype or creating more authentic racial images, I find myself agreeing with Ling-chi Wang who states in his chapter that “scholarship is rarely an effective weapon in waging a political fight which is what the [model minority] debate has been all about” (p. 32). After recently seeing a complex and believable range of Asian American characters portrayed in the movie Ping Pong Playa, a comedy starring Jimmy Tsai and directed by Jessica Yu, Wang’s claim rings even more true for me. This movie, as well as the many others such as Better Luck Tomorrow and even Harold and Kumar, which portray Asian Americans in nonstereotypic fashion while simultaneously celebrating their characters’ Asian American identities, suggests that the solution to repudiating the model minority myth and consequently diminishing its impact should not be based strictly on social science. The solution should also rely heavily on other forms of persuasion including the arts through mainstream media, which appear to capture the hearts and minds of the American public much more effectively and efficiently than academic scholarship. So in reading Model Minority Myth Revisited, let’s appreciate and apply the solid scholarship that the book delivers and calls for, but not forget about the importance of other forms of persuasion in this discourse that aim to address the bigger picture. About the Reviewer Mitchell J. Chang is Professor of Higher Education and Organizational Change at the University of California, Los Angeles and also holds a joint appointment in the Asian American Studies Department. Chang's research focuses on the educational efficacy of diversity-related initiatives on college campuses and how to apply those best practices toward advancing student learning and democratizing institutions. Regarding Asian American student populations, he co-authored in 2007 the report “Beyond myths: The growth and diversity of Asian American college freshmen, 1971- 2005” with J. Park, M. Lin, O. Poon, and D. Nakanishi, which received the ACPA Asian Pacific American Network Outstanding Contribution to APIDA Research Award.