The Influence of the Model Minority Myth on Educational Practices

• In Event: 32.082 - Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: 32.082-19 - Model Minority Myth and Asian Pacific Islander and Desi Americans: Examining Research, Policy, and Practice

Abstract

The presenters below will lead the practice component for this symposium session:

Truc HaMai, MA, Ed.D. is a lecturer in the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies at California State University, Long Beach and is also a Psychology instructor at East Los Angeles Community College. Dr. HaMai was awarded the national recognition of the 2015 Dissertation of the Year by the Council for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC). In addition, her research was nominated for the 2015 Mildred Garcia Award for Exemplary Scholarship at ASHE. Her qualitative research work is on the experiences of women faculty of color in the community colleges. HaMai holds a Masters in Psychology and Ed.D. in educational leadership from California State University, Long Beach.

Contribution: As an interdisciplinary scholar who teaches high school, community college and university students in the urban communities of Los Angeles County, Dr. HaMai will share her practitioner perspective of what it means to serve, advocate and role model for APIDA students who have refugee backgrounds and histories of war trauma. She will discuss how her Vietnamese American identity serves as an empathic connection point and foundation for culturally competent teaching methodology for these student populations.

Soua Xiong, M.S. is a current doctoral student of Higher Education & Student Affairs in the joint Ph.D. program between San Diego State University and Claremont Graduate University and the Co-Coordinator of the Minority Male Community College Collaborative (M2C3). Xiong has delivered 20 conference and professional presentations, and published 6 peer-reviewed journal articles on student success in postsecondary education with a focus on factors that affect the experiences and outcomes of diverse student populations. More specifically, his research addresses the racial/ethnic disparities in college outcomes for Southeast Asian American students.

Contribution: Xiong will share his experiences as a Southeast Asian American community college counselor and scholar engaging in research on and working with Southeast Asian American community college students, a student population that has been invisible in the higher education scholarly literature and underserved due to the minority model myth. His key points will focus on how the model minority myth impacted his research and practice.

Authors

• Soua Xiong, San Diego State University

• Truc HaMai, CSULB