This study reviews empirical data from the U.S. Census, American Community Survey (ACS) and academic journals to explore K-12 and higher educational outcomes pertaining to Southeast Asian American (SEAA) males. We argue that the empirical dismissal of SEAA males in social science research reinforces a longstanding agenda of structural neglect and…

Research suggests that Cambodian students often endure conflicting ethnic stereotypes from larger society and their school and communities. We examine the ways in which Cambodian youth negotiated their ethnic identities in response to these stereotypes and argue that Cambodian students adopted, rejected, and affirmed certain ethnic identities in…

This article discusses one aspect of a research study that explored the school experiences of Cambodian American students. Due to their invisibility in the school setting and also in the literature on school reform, these children from refugee families are often overlooked as schools attempt to "close the achievement gap." Through their…

Similar to other Asian American students, Southeast Asian American students are often stereotyped by the popular press as hardworking and high-achieving model minorities. On the other hand, Southeast Asian American youth are also depicted as low-achieving high school dropouts involved in gangs. The realities of academic performance and persistence…

This report presents the results of two years (1988-1990) of the Success for All elementary school restructuring program in grades K-3 at the Francis Scott Key Elementary School (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). The program was designed to ensure basic skills education for the majority Asian population of the school. The program uses innovative…

Interviews with 144 Khmer refugee adolescents found high levels of lifetime exposure to violence, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among one third of adolescents, and symptoms of depression among two thirds. Higher exposure to violence was related to PTSD symptoms, risk behaviors, and lower grade point average. Perceived social…

In 1984-85, the final year of a two-year funding cycle, Project CHASP (Cambodian and Hispanic Achievement for Students and Parents) at Theodore Roosevelt High School in the Bronx, New York, served 75 Hispanic and 71 Cambodian students in Grades 9 and 10. Instruction was provided in English as a second language (E.S.L.) and native language…

Noting that success defines the American identity, this ethnographic case study examined the dynamics of culture, spirituality, and success in the lives of three generations of three Cambodian families. The study pursued three research objectives: (1) to challenge the dominance of quantitative measures to judge refugee students' academic success;…

Explores in-group variation in minority educational achievement by studying why a disproportionately high number of young Khmer women drop out of school in the United States. An ethnographic study (over 125 interviews) in metropolitan Boston (Massachusetts) demonstrates the importance of understanding cultural and social-historical influences on…

The myth of Asians as "the model minority" may hide the instructional needs of Asians and mislead policymakers. There is growing concern that Asians' low verbal scores are masked by their higher than average math scores and high school grade point averages. Principals and key staff at 12 (out of 20) schools identified as having…

Past research on academic achievement has tended to overlook the diversity among Asian American groups and the educational and socioeconomic difficulties that many Asians, particularly Southeast Asians, face. The present study addressed several shortcomings of past research by contrasting parent attachment and discipline, peer delinquency, and…

This report is a comparative study, conducted in 1986-87 in San Diego, California, of the adaptation of refugee youth from Vietnam, Cambodia, Indochina, and Laos. The project examined both successes and problems of these refugee youth regarding their educational and occupational attainments and aspirations, and evaluated their prospects for…

Presented is a report on a comparative study of the educational and occupational aspirations and expectations of Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, and Vietnamese adolescents and youth in the Minneapolis-St.Paul (Twin Cities), Minnesota, metropolitan area. Data were culled from interviews with about 160 informants using a "story" approach as a…