Asian Americans in Class

This book challenges the “model minority” stereotype of Asian American students as a critical step toward educating all children well. Focusing on Korean American youth in New York City schools, Jamie Lew compares high-achieving students attending an elite magnet high school with students who have dropped out of a neighborhood high school. She finds that class, race, social networks, parental strategies, and schooling resources all affect the aspirations and academic achievement of Asian American youth. This in-depth examination:

• Debunks the simplistic “culture of poverty” argument that is often used to explain the success of Asian Americans and the failure of other minorities.
• Illustrates how Asian Americans, in different social and economic contexts, negotiate ties to their families and ethnic communities, construct ethnic and racial identities, and gain access to good schooling and institutional support.
• Offers specific recommendations on how to involve first-generation immigrant parents and ethnic community members in schools to foster academic success.
• Looks at implications for developing educational policies that more fully address the needs of second-generation children.

Jamie Lew is an assistant professor of urban education at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey.

“Powerful evidence that we must look beyond the classroom for ways to improve the education and life chances of poor students.”
— From the Foreword by Jean Anyon, City University of New York

“At last, a book that effectively dispels the model minority myth. Lew’s detailed and powerful analysis reminds us not only that culture does not determine achievement but that class matters in profound and complex ways.”
Pedro Noguera, New York University

“A nuanced account of the impact of social class variability on Asian American achievement. This book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of immigrant students.”
Stacey J. Lee, University of Wisconsin, Madison

“Caught between their parents’ high expectations and their own limited opportunities, these young people negotiate what it means to be ‘Korean’, to be ‘American’ and to be ‘successful.’ Lew has given us a glimpse into a rarely seen world, and reminds us of the costs of being a member of a ‘model minority.’”
Philip Kasinitz, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York