An Exploration of How Asian American Undergraduates Navigate and Negotiate Identity, Achievement, and Academic Help-Seeking

• In Event: Supporting Diversity and Equity for Postsecondary Students

Abstract

Prior work presents help-seeking as a set of structured, iterative steps that all students can enact. However, given the racial, ethnic, and cultural experiences of Asian Americans, we wanted to understand how Asian American undergraduates conceptualized academic achievement and what connections they made between academic achievement and help-seeking. Interviews with 30 Asian American undergraduates were conducted on Zoom. Findings suggest that participants have broader definitions of achievement compared to the existing literature. Participants also drew connections between achievement and help-seeking in positive and negative ways while interrogating aspects of their Asian identity and the influence of the model minority stereotype. These findings provide evidence about the role that sociocultural factors and identity can have on help-seeking, engagement, and learning.

Authors

• Alana Aiko Uilani Kennedy, Northern Arizona University
  Presenting Author

• Erika A. Patall, University of Southern California
  Non-Presenting Author

• Gale M. Sinatra, University of Southern California
  Non-Presenting Author