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; and looks at implications for developing educational policies that more fully address the needs of second-generation children."--BOOK JACKET.

The purpose of the present study was to explore the extent to which racial identity attitudes and self-esteem could predict academic performance for African American middle school students. A total of 175 African American adolescents in 7th grade attending one of two urban schools participated in the study. The Multi-Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) were used to measure children's feelings toward themselves and their group. Cumulative grade point average (gpa) was used to measure academic achievement. The findings partially supported the hypothesis that racial identity and self-esteem are predictors of academic performance. Self-esteem and racial affiliation were significant predictors of academic achievement, but not the racial identity search component of the MEIM. The results revealed self-esteem to be less predictive of academic achievement than racial affiliation. The second part of the study was to examine the effects of racial identity and self-esteem on African American adolescents' academic performance. The hypothesis was supported. Students who exhibited high levels of self-esteem and racial identity performed better academically than students who showed low levels of self-esteem and racial identity. (Contains 7 tables.).

The second edition of Unraveling the "Model Minority" Stereotype: Listening to Asian American Youth extends Stacey Lee’s groundbreaking research on the educational experiences and achievement of Asian American youth. Lee provides a comprehensive update of social science research to reveal the ways in which the larger structures of race and class play out in the lives of Asian American high school students, especially regarding presumptions that the educational experiences of Koreans, Chinese, and Hmong youth are all largely the same. In her detailed and probing ethnography, Lee presents the experiences of these students in their own words, providing an authentic insider perspective on identity and interethnic relations in an often misunderstood American community. This second edition is essential reading for anyone interested in Asian American youth and their experiences in U.S. schools. Stacey J. Lee is Professor of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is the author of Up Against Whiteness: Race, School, and Immigrant Youth. “Stacey Lee is one of the most powerful and influential scholarly voices to challenge the ‘model minority’ stereotype. Here in its second edition, Lee’s book offers an additional paradigm to explain the barriers to educating young Asian Americans in the 21st century—xenoracism (i.e., racial discrimination against immigrant minorities) intersecting with issues of social class.” —Xue Lan Rong, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “Breaking important new theoretical and empirical ground, this revised edition is a must read for anyone interested in Asian American youth, race/ethnicity, and processes of transnational migration in the 21st century.” —Lois Weis, State University of New York Distinguished Professor “Clear, accessible, and significantly updated…. The book’s core lesson is as relevant today as it was when the first edition was published, presenting an urgent call to dismantle the dangerous stereotypes that continue to structure inequality in 21st century America.” —Teresa L. McCarty, Alice Wiley Snell Professor of Education Policy Studies, Arizona State University Praise for the First Edition! "Sure to stimulate further research in this area and will be of interest to teachers, teacher educators, researchers, and students alike." —Teachers College Record "A must read for those interested in a different approach in understanding our racial experience beyond the stale and repetitious polemics that so often dominate the public debate." —The Journal of Asian Studies “Well written and jargon-free, this book…documents genuinely candid views from Asian-American students, often laden with their own prejudices and ethnocentrism.” —MultiCultural Review