Challenging the model minority myth: Engaging Asian American students in research on Asian American college student experiences

Using students as researchers can yield useful empiricaldata and result in a plethora of benefits for students,researchers, and institutions.

Challenging the Model Minority Myth:Engaging Asian American Students inResearch on Asian American CollegeStudent Experiences

Karen L. Suyemoto, Grace S. Kim, Miwa Tanabe, John Tawa, Stephanie C. Day

In spite of the continuing growth of the Asian American college studentpopulation, there is a paucity of research about those students’ experiences.Scholars have written about the various factors that perpetuate the invisi-bility of Asian Americans in educational research (for example, Museus,2009). One factor contributing to this lack of scholarship is the modelminority myth, or the assumption that Asian Americans are universally academically successful. This myth is associated with a narrow focus on aca-demic achievement that is measured by grades and degree attainment anda lack of attention to other measures of success. A second factor contribut-ing to the lack of research on this population is the relatively low numbersof Asian American faculty and graduate students in education and relatedsocial science disciplines who might pursue research on the experiences ofmembers of their own racial and ethnic communities (Nakanishi andNishida, 1995). These two factors contribute, in part, to perpetuating lim-ited scholarship on Asian American students.

The lack of scholarship on Asian American undergraduates can perpet-uate faulty assumptions that they do not face challenges in college, and thoseassumptions in turn can contribute to a lack of attention by educational

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NEW DIRECTIONS FOR INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH, no. 142, Summer 2009 © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) • DOI: 10.1002/ir.295

42 CONDUCTING RESEARCH ON ASIAN AMERICANS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH • DOI: 10.1002/ir

researchers, constituting a cyclical process. The purpose of this chapter is toaddress the dearth of existing knowledge about Asian American college stu-dents by describing a process of facilitating research using two previous stud-ies as examples. One of these inquiries is focused on the needs of AsianAmerican undergraduates, and the other examines the impact of Asian Amer-ican studies on Asian American college students.

The model minority myth obscures both the diverse experiences withinthe Asian American population (see, for example, Chapter One, this volume)and the social, emotional, and psychological challenges with which AsianAmerican students must deal. For example, Lorenzo, Frost, and Reinherz(2000) and Okazaki (1997) found that Asian American high school and col-lege students experience significantly higher depressive symptoms and feel-ings of anxiety than their white peers. According to Chung and Sedlacek(1999), Asian American students report more negative appraisals of socialexperiences than black students and less desirable appraisals of academicand social experiences than their white peers in college. Asian Americansalso experience more social isolation, self-segregation, and exclusion and lesssatisfaction with social support than their non-Asian American peers (Chen,Edwards, Young, and Greenberger, 2001; Lorenzo, Frost, and Reinherz,2000; Lorenzo, Pakiz, Reinherz, and Frost, 1995; McCormack, 1998; Yingand others, 2001). Research also confirms that Asian Americans experienceverbal and physical harassment, pressure from stereotypes of success andpassivity, and harassment and that educators minimize or ignore these expe-riences (Hurh and Kim, 1989; Kiang, 1998; Kiang and Kaplan, 1994; Lee,1994; McCormack, 1995, 1998; Museus, 2008; Rosenbloom and Way, 2004).

The Students-as-Researchers Model

In this chapter, we introduce a method of understanding the experiencesand needs of Asian American students on college campuses through theresearch process. Specifically, we offer a students-as-researchers approach toconnect the transformative educational aims of Asian American studies to the scholarship, service, and lived experiences of Asian American stu-dents. Asian American studies and transformative education emphasizesocial justice by empowering individuals and communities, as well asencouraging critical exploration of epistemology (Suyemoto and others,2009). An example of this type of education is when students becomeresearchers examining the experiences of Asian American college students,and their research contributes to their own education and empowerment,as well as that of the Asian American community, through increasing levelsof knowledge about Asian Americans’ lived experiences. This students-as-researchers model also functions as community-based learning by encour-aging students to address the needs of their communities through research.That is, through their research, students can provide service to the univer-

43CHALLENGING THE MODEL MINORITY MYTH


sity community by increasing visibility, raising consciousness, and startingpublic dialogues regarding the experiences and needs of Asian Americanstudents. In the process, students are empowered to take action within theirrelationships, institutions, and social systems in order to challengeinequities that detrimentally affect Asian Americans and address the oftenoverlooked needs of their community.

Introducing the Research Projects

Both projects presented here had three aims: increasing knowledge regardingthe complex lived experiences of Asian American college students, exploringways to support these students, and addressing the underrepresentation ofAsian Americans as educational and social science researchers through usingthe students-as-researchers model. Meeting these pedagogical and method-ological aims presented challenges. On the one hand, we had to considermethodological rigor and educating students about optimal research meth-ods (for example, full data saturation in a qualitative study). We also aimedto produce results that were meaningful and could contribute to knowledgeabout Asian American college students. On the other hand, we had to balancethese methodological and outcome goals with pedagogical goals of transfor-mative education and the practical constraints of conducting research withstudents (for example, limited time and the limited prior research experience).

In both studies, we used qualitative methods to explore experiences withcomplex contexts and interactions in depth. Thus, the findings from theseexaminations were intended to help develop a more intricate understandingof the experiences of Asian American college students. Furthermore, given ourtransformative educational aims, we believed that qualitative inquiries wouldenable student researchers to more fully engage with participants by hearingcontextualized voices and stories during interview processes. We also believedthat increased engagement with participants would translate into increasedengagement with the Asian American student community, a goal of AsianAmerican studies and transformative education. Furthermore, a qualitativemethodology grounded in constructivist, social justice philosophies inherentlyemphasizes researcher reflexivity (for example, understanding the role of theresearchers in interpreting the data analyzed), inclusion of marginalizedvoices, and empowerment, which are values of transformative education.

Through the Asian American Student Needs Assessment project, weexplored the experiences and needs of Asian American college students.This project was aimed at developing directions for future research and rais-ing consciousness regarding Asian American students. Second, the AsianAmerican Studies Project, which emerged from the needs assessment proj-ect, was designed to examine the impact of Asian American studies on theexperiences of Asian American college students. Here, we provide a briefoverview of the students-as-researchers model, as well as the methods and



findings, of each study. We then discuss the impact of these projects on stu-dent researchers and the institution.

The Asian American Student Needs Assessment Project

Consistent with the goals of Asian American studies as a discipline, weaimed through the needs assessment project to develop an understandingof the educational and psychological experiences and needs of Asian Amer-ican undergraduates. Simultaneously we aimed to provide Asian Americanstudent researchers with opportunities for personal and cultural exploration,racial and ethnic identity development, and empowerment. Achieving thesemultiple goals required attention to the demographic composition anddiversity of the research team.

Role of Students as Researchers. The research team consisted of fac-ulty members, graduate student researchers, and undergraduate studentresearchers. The principal investigator, a faculty member with a split-lineposition between Asian American studies and clinical psychology, led aweekly research team meeting with Asian American doctoral students inclinical psychology and undergraduate students from various majors, mostof whom were Asian Americans. The doctoral students also met with herfor weekly individual mentoring. Paralleling this faculty-graduate studentmentoring, graduate student mentors met weekly with individual under-graduate student mentees. In addition to assigning research tasks andreviewing research methodology, graduate students helped the undergrad-uates develop their interviewing skills by modeling the interview processand, subsequently, supervising the undergraduates as they interviewed eachother to develop their interviewing approaches.

Most of the project work and student learning occurred during theresearch team meetings. For example, both undergraduate and graduate stu-dents conducted and presented a literature review focused on Asian Amer-ican college student issues related to mental health, acculturation, identity,oppression, and education to the research team. For the undergraduates,writing reviews of the literature under the supervision of graduate studentshelped foster critical writing skills. These reviews also served as a founda-tion for the construction of interview questions. Team members discussedthe research process and analyzed data collaboratively.

The multilevel structure of the research team, careful attention givento fostering interpersonal relationships, and emphasis on empowering teammembers cultivated an interdependent and collaborative, rather than a hier-archical, learning environment. Indeed, the participation and reflection ofeach team member throughout the research process were imperative for theproject to succeed. Moreover, the collaborative structure created a safe spacein which all members were able to voice their personal and educationalexperiences regarding what it means to be Asian American in higher educa-



tion, their experiences with the research process, and their contributions tothe research project.

Research Methods. The needs assessment project was conducted byeleven faculty members, ten staff members, and twenty-seven Asian Amer-ican students. Nine of the eleven faculty members and three of the ten staffwere Asian Americans. A purposeful sampling approach was used to selectfaculty and staff who had high contact with Asian American students,including five faculty members who were affiliated with Asian Americanstudies. Staff participants in this study were recruited because of their inter-actions with large numbers of Asian American students. They included indi-viduals in spiritual life, police and security, academic advising, supportservices, student life, and health services.

Faculty, staff, and nine of the Asian American students from variousacademic majors and ethnic backgrounds participated in individual inter-views lasting thirty to sixty minutes. These nine Asian American studentswere recruited through flyers, classroom announcements, personal contact,and referrals. In addition, eighteen Asian American students were recruitedin Asian American studies classes and were interviewed in two focus groupinterviews. Those interviews were semistructured, with all participantsbeing asked initial questions about perspectives on the experiences of AsianAmerican students, factors that influenced their positive and negative expe-riences, and whether those students had needs that were not being met.Interviewers asked follow-up questions tailored to participants’ responses.

Graduate and undergraduate student researchers conducted and tape-recorded the interviews. They also took detailed notes during or imme-diately following interviews that described interviewees’ responses, obser-vations of nonverbal communication, and interviewers’ reflections on theinterview process. Using a second-listener strategy, another studentresearcher listened to the interview recording and took detailed notes aboutthe content of the interview. Notes from the interviews were thematicallyanalyzed in team discussions.

Results of the Project. In this section, we provide a brief review of thethematic results from the needs assessment. First, we offer an overview offaculty and staff participants’ perspectives and then discuss the perspectivesof the Asian American student participants.

Faculty and Staff Perspectives. Faculty and staff participants discussedboth their own perceptions of Asian American students and their percep-tions of how those students were perceived or treated by other faculty orstaff at the university. There were frequently differences between the per-spectives offered by Asian American studies faculty and those offered byother faculty and by staff members. Four themes emerged:

• Cultural isolation. Faculty and staff perceived Asian American students asa united (that is, panethnic) student body who had found their niche atthe university, but also perceived them as relatively isolated from white



students and other students of color. Some faculty and staff interpretedthis separation as self-segregation. Most of the Asian American studiesfaculty and staff, however, interpreted this isolation as marginalization bytheir non–Asian American peers.

• Language barriers. Many non–Asian American studies faculty suggestedstudents’ lack of English proficiency was associated with communicationdifficulties and a lack of general academic skills. One faculty member whospecialized in courses for nonnative English speakers, however, chal-lenged the terminology of language barriers, preferring the term languagedifferences, to deemphasize language ability as an individual problem andframe it as a systemic issue. Many noted that Asian American studiesclasses were frequently more successful in addressing language differencesand helping students feel more comfortable in the classroom.

• Cultural misunderstanding and stereotyping. Some faculty and staff mem-bers, particularly those who were not affiliated with Asian American stud-ies, conveyed a lack of awareness regarding Asian American students’cultural values (for example, deference to authority or related hesitancyin speaking up and asking questions), family-related responsibilities, andcommunity obligations. Moreover, they tended to stereotype Asian Amer-ican students. Some faculty held perceptions of Asian American studentsconsistent with the model minority stereotype. One staff member, forexample, stated that there was no need to understand how cultural val-ues affect the educational achievement or psychological and social adjust-ment of students. Yet other faculty and staff members in Asian Americanstudies expressed feelings of responsibility for being aware of how stu-dents’ cultural values affect their learning and use of support services.

• Availability of resources and support. Some Asian American faculty andstaff participants highlighted potential barriers to Asian American stu-dents’ access to or use of resources and support. These included generalbarriers, such as a lack of student awareness about available services, lackof knowledge regarding ways to access these services, and lack of out-reach by staff. Other barriers specific to Asian American students includedcultural misunderstandings, such as staff interpreting Asian Americansstudents’ family influence in academic major choice as a lack of indepen-dence on the part of the student; the perception of language differencesas students’ problems, which resulted in steering Asian American studentsaway from classes involving writing or oral presentations; and negativestereotyping, such as staff assuming that Asian American students lackEnglish-language abilities or experience no race-related challenges oncampus, resulting in students’ having to educate staff or challenge stereo-typical assumptions.

Asian American Students’ Perspectives. Asian American students whoparticipated in the study shared many important insights during the inter-views. From the interviews with students, five themes emerged:



• Social isolation. Students reported a lack of cohesive community, chal-lenges in making friends and social connections, and resulting feelings ofisolation at the large commuter campus.

• Racial segregation. Students discussed separation between Asian Ameri-can and white students, as well as divisions among Asian American stu-dents from different ethnic and generational backgrounds (for example,immigrants versus native students).

• Negative experience with advising. Student participants frequently dis-cussed experiences with advising. Students pointed to the need for AsianAmerican staff and staff with greater understandings of Asian Americanexperiences. Some students reported that they were not made aware ofresources or did not receive culturally sensitive advising. Others felt thatadvisors did not care about or understand them. These students won-dered whether this was because they were Asian Americans or was a gen-eral problem for all students.

• Difficulties with faculty. Students discussed experiences with faculty whomthey perceived as lacking sensitivity to Asian American experiences andunderstanding of Asian American cultural values. Students perceivedthese faculty members as misinterpreting what happens in classrooms.One student, for example, described how a professor perceived a Japan-ese student as disengaged because the student did not raise her hand toask questions or offer opinions. This professor did not understand thatthe Japanese student’s prior schooling was in a cultural setting where ask-ing questions or offering personal perspectives was interpreted as takingtime and attention away from the important material and the learning ofthe class. Other students discussed professors who assumed that all AsianAmerican students had difficulty speaking English or could not succeedin writing-intensive courses.

• Importance of Asian American faculty and Asian American studies courses.Students discussed the positive impact of Asian American faculty andAsian American studies courses. We acknowledge that this finding waslikely affected by the fact that most student participants were taking thesecourses at the time the study was conducted. Nonetheless, studentsdescribed the importance of learning about their own people and beingin a classroom where they felt more comfortable, particularly because theyperceived a greater understanding of language issues and a greater aware-ness of cultural values.

The Asian American Studies Project: Impacts of AsianAmerican Studies for Asian American Students

Because Asian American studies courses were identified in the Asian Ameri-can Student Needs Assessment as an important resource for Asian Americanundergraduates, we became interested in understanding how Asian Ameri-can studies courses shape the experiences of Asian American college students.



We also aimed to expand on the students-as-researchers model. In doing so, we hoped to continue empowering students by making connectionsamong the academic endeavors of students, empirical research, and social jus-tice through engaging Asian American students in community research thatcontributes to positive change.

Students as Researchers. The Asian American Studies Project wasconducted in Applied Research in Asian American Studies, an upper-levelcourse, as a collaborative effort of the instructor and student researchers. Inthis course, the student researchers first learned about Asian American stud-ies as a discipline and qualitative methodology in the social sciences. Theyread literature in these areas and prepared critical summaries they shared inclass. After gaining rudimentary knowledge of the foundations of AsianAmerican studies and being introduced to the philosophies underlying qual-itative research methodology, they learned about qualitative interviewing. Inaddition to reading about interviewing, they watched a mock interview con-ducted by the instructor and subsequently interviewed each other. In classthey discussed, critiqued, and improved their interviewing skills. Followingthis interview training, they collaborated in developing interview questions.Each student researcher then contacted and interviewed two participants forthe project.

Similar to the needs assessment project, throughout the researchprocess, student researchers were encouraged to reflect on their ownassumptions, biases, and experiences. They also completed weekly reflec-tion journals, discussed their reflections during class, and wrote a reflectionpaper at the end of the semester. Students discussed the philosophies andthe processes involved in conducting qualitative research, emphasizing mul-tiple perspectives, including marginalized voices, empowering themselvesand others, and sharing power.

Although the multilevel research team structure was not employed in theApplied Research in Asian American Studies class, there was a similar empha-sis on developing an interdependent and collaborative team. Each studentresearcher’s voice was welcomed, and it was clear that the project’s successdepended on the ability of all researchers to collaborate effectively. As in theneeds assessment project, this interpersonal empowerment approach fosteredrelationships among students. Student researchers frequently met outsideclass to work together on the project, providing support for each other. Intheir final reflection papers, they discussed the importance of these relation-ships for their sustained motivation and explicitly recognized the strengthsand contributions of other student researchers. The instructor also wrote afinal reflection paper and shared it with the student researchers in the course.

Research Methods. Participants were one male and seven female AsianAmerican students enrolled in their first Asian American studies course atthe same public research university where the needs assessment project wasconducted. Their ethnic backgrounds were East Asian (three), SoutheastAsian (three), Filipino (one), and South Asian (one). Five participants were



first-generation immigrants or refugees, two were international students,and one was a second-generation Asian American. Students were recruitedthrough announcements made in Asian American studies courses, and par-ticipants received a small monetary incentive for participation. Each studentparticipated in an individual interview lasting thirty to sixty minutes.

During the interviews, students were asked about their experiences inAsian American studies courses, ways in which those courses influencedtheir perceptions of self and others, and what aspects of the courses affectedthem. All interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a grounded the-ory approach (Strauss and Corbin, 1998). The interview data were codedusing open-, axial-, and selective-coding techniques. Initially studentresearchers coded individually. Then they discussed their coding with theresearch team and instructor to arrive at a consensus about emerging themesthat explained the impact of Asian American studies courses on participants.

Results of the Project. Participants in the study described four com-ponents of Asian American studies courses that affected their experiencesand perceptions: course content relevant to the lived experiences of AsianAmericans, course structure that encouraged creating connections betweencourse content and those lived experiences, positive relationships withAsian American professors, and positive relationships among classmates. Aconfluence of all four components resulted in three outcomes: increasedself-awareness, increased motivation and involvement, and more positiveviews of other Asian Americans.

Impact on Views of Self. As a result of taking Asian American studiescourses, students better understand what made their own experiences uniquewithin the pan–Asian American population. They associated this increase withtheir exposure to the course content through readings, media presentations,class activities, and class discussions, which helped them discover and under-stand similarities and differences in Asian American experiences. They alsoreported that these courses positively influenced their self-esteem and confi-dence in their racial and ethnic identities. One student, for example, stated:

I guess this class makes me feel more important. Because of my race I am notashamed. I feel more confident in myself as a person, not just because I amFilipino, but just because of who I am. I like sharing more thing[s] about myculture, about who I am.

Asian American studies courses were also attributed to increases in asense of empowerment and agency among Asian American students. Partic-ipants discussed the ways in which they were more able to make a differ-ence in their communities and pursue particular careers to help others as aresult of their Asian American studies course work:

I work at a youth agency. And most of our clients are Asian youths. . . . Mostof them are coming from the same boat that I [was in]. They don’t know



much. They know just basically what to say when they want to eat in theirlanguage. . . . I can educate them by bringing things up and have them be like,“Whoa! I didn’t know that!” So it’s kind of exciting.

Impact on Motivation and Involvement. Participants also described howAsian American studies courses increased their motivation and involvementthrough the course content that reflected their own lived experiences andmade education relevant to their lives:

[The course] requires you to reflect upon your own experience. . . . I feel likeregular courses require you to just do regular things and what you do is whatyou are required to do and then just reflect on what the teacher said. . . .[Asian American studies is] talking about our life. Told by the teachers. . . .It’s really about our daily life. It’s not for the rich people in academia.

In addition, the course structures encouraged collaboration among students, which contributed to their increased feelings of connectedness and belonging that extended beyond the classroom. Students reported thatthe relationships they built in Asian American studies courses with both theprofessors and peers increased their involvement in college.

Impact on Views of Others. Finally, participants asserted that Asian Amer-ican studies courses increased their knowledge and empathy toward their fam-ilies and other Asian Americans. Learning in these courses broadened theirunderstanding of the heterogeneity of Asian American experiences andconsequently decreased negative attitudes (for example, becoming less judg-mental and more appreciative) toward other Asian Americans:

I learned more about how much it takes for a family to survive here. I see myparents in a different light; it really makes me think how they get here, theywork hard, you see their sacrifices. . . . I appreciate more, I have more respectfor them, I speak to my parents more, I try to learn more, and try to ask themquestions about back home. Things like that.

Implications of Engaging Students as Researchers

Engaging students as researchers to examine the experiences of racial/ethnic minority students enabled us to better understand the experiences ofAsian American students and effect positive transformative individual andsocial change. One student researcher, for example, reflected with the fol-lowing statement: “I understand the importance of being a part of a com-munity, taking from the community, and giving back to the community.”

Impact of the Research Experience on Student Researchers. Stu-dent researchers in both projects were required to write reflection papersafter the projects were completed. They were also asked to reflect as a group



on the impact of the project on themselves, the research team, and the uni-versity community. Similar themes emerged in both groups’ reflections.

All student researchers discussed an improvement in their understand-ing of research methodology, including research design, interview, analyzingskills, and reflexivity. They also gained an appreciation for the value ofresearch and developed epistemological understandings of how knowledge iscreated and maintained. This process began during the literature review whenthey learned to critically examine how and why psychological and educationalresearch has paid scarce consideration to the complex experiences of AsianAmerican students in higher education. Students began thinking about howthey might contribute to addressing the issue of limited research on AsianAmericans. In the research projects, they also experienced the challenges ofconducting empirical research, leading to insight regarding the complexity of empirically valid knowledge construction.

The experiences of the needs assessment project also had a significantimpact on graduate students. The interpersonal connections that those stu-dents developed in the mentoring process introduced them to and helpedthem gain insight into multiple aspects of undergraduate students’ lives,including academic and personal challenges, such as discomfort with par-ticular classes and career interests. One of the graduate students said:

As a first-year graduate student in a new school, the team provided me witha community and support system I did not expect. I learned a tremendousamount about mentoring and being mentored . . . about balance, keeping peo-ple accountable, and sharing knowledge and resources. It was cool to be in aposition where I can impact someone’s personal and educational growth.

Each project had one white female team member whose race was discussedwithin her own and other team members’ reflections. These reflectionsseemed to parallel the reports of participants in the Asian American stud-ies project, as they described how having both Asian American andnon–Asian American students enabled the sharing of multiple perspectivesand increased empathy among racial groups. The social status of whiteEuropean American students in Asian American studies classes shifts byvirtue of being a numerical minority in these classes and by participatingin education that intentionally challenges the Eurocentric dominance ineducation. The research projects provided places for white studentresearchers to examine their experiences in relation to the racial and cul-tural conflicts in mainstream society, as well as to acquire new knowledgeabout Asian Americans to which they had not been previously exposed intheir education and psychology courses. White student researchers alsodescribed their beliefs that this knowledge and self-awareness would sig-nificantly affect their future work as a counselor, in one case, and as ateacher, in the other.



The Asian American student researchers highlighted value in beingAsian Americans who were researching Asian American experiences. Theyfound the project results relevant to their own lives and developed a betterunderstanding of their experiences as Asian American students. AsianAmerican student researchers in the Asian American studies project per-ceived the findings of the project as relevant to the processes they had gonethrough in Asian American studies courses: processes regarding how andwhy their own understanding of themselves and others had changed.Indeed, conducting research contributed to Asian American studentresearchers’ abilities to integrate their own experiences with their growingunderstanding of the experiences of other Asian Americans, within a sharedhistory, in the context of current realities of social inequality, and in relationto existing social structures of race, culture, and education. The structuralemphasis on reflexivity as an integral part of methodology employed in theprojects consisted of regular journaling and participation in interviews withpeer researchers before conducting interviews with research participants;that reflexivity facilitated connections between the research and studentresearchers’ own experiences.

Student researchers also reflected on how the social process of partici-pating on the research teams affected them. These reflections are particu-larly important in that their reports paralleled participant experiences in theAsian American studies project. Like the participants in that project, stu-dent researchers discussed a close sense of community and social relation-ships created among the students and with the professor and increasedaccess to social capital extending beyond the specific class and semester.One student illustrated this with the following comment:

I don’t know if this was intentional, but I sense that the underlying agendawas to bond the students in this research class into working towards the classgoal yet not have the class goal be a class goal but a team and personal goal.. . . Instead of just having us reach a goal, that of answering the research ques-tion and then presenting it, the class and the goal have also become the pointfor bonding. The bond wasn’t the goal. The goal produced the bond and thatbond was to exist even after class was over with.

Student researchers also developed stronger racial and ethnic identities. Fur-thermore, they identified the research projects as acts of resistance to racialinequality and oppression. Thus, the projects functioned to empower stu-dent researchers to have an impact on their university community. A mem-ber of the needs assessment research team addressed this empowerment:

I believe that research is one powerful way to make our collective voice astronger one. As a student who used to be one of the many disregarded stu-dents receiving some kind of message to give up future career through thestruggles with academic achievement and isolation, being recruited and



counted on, my efforts have been such empowerment for myself. I know thatthe past experience of silence makes me see the meaningful values of researchand motivates me to enjoy working on our research project. In this sense, ourresearch on student needs has provide[d] me opportunities to value my mosthated and depressing experience.

Impact of the Research Projects on the University. The research proj-ects and the student researchers effected change throughout their univer-sity community by disseminating the project results through university-widepresentations, which were attended by faculty, staff, students, and adminis-trators. One aspect of this impact relates to visibility. Asian American expe-riences often remain invisible due to the model minority myth andstereotypes that they are quiet and passive. Conducting research on AsianAmericans gave voice to those students. These projects also helped the insti-tution become more aware of the needs of and challenges that Asian Amer-icans face, thereby fostering increased support for these students on campus.

A second way in which the projects influenced the university commu-nity was through increasing public dialogues about Asian Americans’ expe-riences. Results from the projects dispel the model minority myth; theydemonstrate and explain complex and diverse challenges and experiencesamong Asian Americans on campus. Raising consciousness about thesechallenges and experiences among members of the institution aided in fos-tering important public discourse about and more accurate and nuancedperceptions of Asian American students.

A third way in which the projects influenced the institution was by fos-tering students’ active involvement in institutional research. The studentresearchers not only participated in service-learning on campus, but theyalso participated in the coconstruction of knowledge. This sharing of powerin knowledge production and dissemination is congruent with philosophiesof transformative education, as well as feminist and multicultural perspec-tives (Suyemoto and others, 2009). Moreover, the marginalized voices ofracial and ethnic minority students, faculty, and staff were excavated and val-idated. The research goals and outcomes also include empowerment in thoseinvolved in the research process. Traditional social science researchers maybe uncomfortable with such agenda-driven research, as it may appear to lackobjectivity. However, no research is objective or unbiased in its methodol-ogy, interpretation, or use. Rather than seeking objectivity, it is particularlyuseful to explicitly reflect on potential assumptions and biases that arealways present, yet often unexamined, in order to include multiple voices,raise consciousness, share power, and empower students and communities.

By presenting findings from the needs assessment, student researcherschallenged faculty, staff, and administrators at the university to address theneeds identified, which included increasing accessibility and availability ofcampus resources, promoting culturally sensitive curriculum and educa-tional practice, combating prevalent stereotypes of Asian Americans, and



reaching out to Asian American students. By presenting findings from theAsian American studies project, student researchers increased awareness ofthe importance of Asian American studies. Having such research to informdiscussions regarding advising, student services, and academic planningmeant that Asian American students would not be completely ignored. Infact, the university responded in various ways to the presentation of ourresults and additional discussions related to the research. For example, theadvising office requested a training consultation focused on better under-standing Asian American students.

Conclusion

More research is clearly needed if we are to better understand the diverseexperiences of Asian American students in higher education. As our atten-tion to and knowledge of the experiences of these students increase, we hearmore stories of struggle and survival that challenge the model minoritymyth. Diversity research teams—teams of diverse students researchingdiversity-related educational experiences (Suyemoto and Kiang, 2003)—contribute to our understanding of Asian American students’ experiences,empower those students, and prepare a new generation of Asian Americansto be culturally sensitive educational researchers.

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KAREN L. SUYEMOTO is associate professor of clinical psychology and AsianAmerican Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

GRACE S. KIM is an assistant professor in human development at Wheelock College in Boston.

MIWA TANABE is a case manager at Road to Responsibility in Marshfield, Massachusetts.

JOHN TAWA is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at the University ofMassachusetts Boston.

STEPHANIE C. DAY is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at the Univer-sity of Massachusetts Boston.

Documents

Challenging the model minority myth: Engaging Asian American students in research on Asian American college student experiences