Asian American Pacific Islander Male Mathematics Teacher Identity and the Myth of the Model Minority

• In Event: 44.073 - Beyond Black, Brown, and White: A Critical Symposium of Asian American Teacher Identity

Abstract

This study explores how the model minority myth positions AAPI male mathematics teachers in perpetuating or resisting white supremacist sorting mechanisms used to justify oppressing students and teachers of color. We focus on the following research questions. 1) How does the myth of the model minority influence how AAPI male math teachers position themselves in their work? 2) How do AAPI male math teachers’ identities influence their work as math teachers? This study uses an intersectionality lens (Crenshaw, 1994) that situates Critical Race Theory (Bell, 1995), critical mathematics (Frankenstein, 1994; Gutstein, 2006; Gutiérrez, 2013), and the model minority myth (Brand, 1987; Chang & Au, 2007; Lee, 1996; Ng, Lee, & Pak, 2007) to engage male math teacher identity in relationship to the “model minority myth” (Hartlep, 2013) and examine how male AAPI mathematics teachers reflect on the intersecting identities of being AAPI, male, and a teacher of mathematics, in addition to other identities (e.g. sexual orientation). Data was collected using Photovoice interviews (Author 3, 2014; Wang and Burris, 1997) with eight male AAPI math teachers teaching in Title I California public high schools. Participants took part in a 90-minute interview, sharing and discussing self-selected photographs connected to their identity as an Asian American male math teacher. Two weeks after the interview, we conducted 30-minute follow up interviews to reflect upon the Photovoice experience and record any residue this experience had on the participants’ teaching. Initial results highlight participants’ awareness of the model minority myth and how it influences their focus on equity and their commitment to teach in Title I public schools. Participants indicated awareness of how the myth positions some students with high status in mathematics (e.g. white and AAPI students) and others with low status or potential in mathematics achievement (e.g. Latinx, African American, Southeast Asian American students). Some participants explicitly became teachers to combat these stereotypes and work toward equity in mathematics achievement for their diverse students. However, participants struggled with whether or not they were tacitly perpetuating the model minority myth. This study becomes important in its focus on male Asian American mathematics teachers and dismantling stereotypes of AAPIs, as well as informing research institutions, government policy organizations, and teacher education programs on how to support AAPI male mathematics teachers and mathematics teachers from diverse backgrounds (e.g. race, gender, sexual orientation) to dismantle hegemonic structures perpetuated by the model minority myth.

Authors

• Theodore Chao, The Ohio State University

• Kari Kokka, University of Pittsburgh