Asian and mixed students lead the pack
CVK
Ah, good to see that the model minority myth and the hybrid vigor myth are alive and well, even across the Atlantic. (sarcasm, of course) The Herald reports that among fourth-graders in Scotland, Chinese students and mixed students are ahead academically:
the analysis suggests that the 181 Chinese pupils in Scotland performed best in 2004-5 – with an average score of 209. This was followed by a score of 192 by the 276 mixed-background pupils, while 150 pupils of Indian origin scored 182 points.
This seems like a ridiculously small sample to be drawing such broad conclusions from. And even the statisticians themselves “caution that averages calculated from small numbers may be ‘misleading.’”
Ben wrote:
If it is indeed a myth that Asian students perform better in school than their non-Asian counterparts, can you point me to the data that refute that finding?
I haven’t seen any, but I might just be looking in the wrong places.
Posted 27 Mar 2006 at 7:37 pm ¶
Meg wrote:
“Ah, good to see that the model minority myth and the hybrid vigor myth are alive and well, even across the Atlantic. (sarcasm, of course) The Herald reports that among fourth-graders in Scotland, Chinese students and mixed students are ahead academically”
A bit touchy are we? In defence of the statisticians since we haven’t seen the report, the newspaper may have drawn out the racial aspects to create a more interesting story. Group differences can be of interest so long as they’re not used to suggest that there’s some special ’smart gene’ only asians have. It’s more to do with socialisation/family expectations/priorities, etc.
“If it is indeed a myth that Asian students perform better in school than their non-Asian counterparts, can you point me to the data that refute that finding? ”
Why would you want to know that there’s evidence showing asians are better performed than non-asian? To understand what they are doing to perform better or to confirm a racial stereotype?
Posted 28 Mar 2006 at 1:21 am ¶
Ben wrote:
Because I want to make sure we’re talking about the right myth.
In all the studies I’ve seen, East Asian students do, actually, perform better in school than their non-Asian peers. The findings seem consistent, but my earlier request is an admission that my perspective might be limited.
As I understand it, though, the myth is not simply that they do better, it’s that they do better because of some genetic difference. I certainly agree that that’s false, but it’s not preposterous to wonder whether, for instance, the comparatively higher value that Chinese culture places on education has a positive effect on their children’s school performance. Or perhaps children of immigrants take less for granted and work harder in school. Or perhaps families who have the means and desire to move from China to Scotland are disproportionately wealthy and well-educated.
Basically, I think the mildest flaw of the study is the sample size. The greater flaws are 1) the study’s use of national origin as its primary grouping mechanism, and 2) the article’s clumsy collapsing of those real but irrelevant national-origin categories into the social construct of race.
Posted 28 Mar 2006 at 10:19 am ¶
justin wrote:
Ben, you should read some postmodernism or post-structuralism. There’s a Roland Barthes book called Mythologies. Myths are not about empirical truths they’re about cultural values. Like the ones that you site about Chinese people and immigrant children, those are part of the model minority myth. It’s not a one line confusion about genetics its an ideological thing.
Posted 28 Mar 2006 at 12:53 pm ¶
Ben wrote:
Thanks for the tip, justin… Barthes looks a little dense for me, but I’ll give it a shot
In the meantime, let me make sure I understand you: myths are not necessarily false, but they are bad because they stem from flawed or distasteful ideologies?
Posted 28 Mar 2006 at 11:40 pm ¶
justin wrote:
Taste can be ideological or it can be subjective. Nothings necessarily good or bad, but you have to think about who’s being subjected to what. Mythologies is easy reading, you will get the most benefit out of the introduction. I really like the Beginners guide comic books about Postmodernists, they’re worthwhile even if you’re familiar with all that.
Posted 29 Mar 2006 at 4:59 pm ¶
justin wrote:
Sorry, I’m not being consistent. Values and morality are played out in myths. I think the ideology thing I was reffering to surrounds some class hang ups I have. The way we value primary,secondary,tertiary education/enterprises is relevant here. Someone could say somthing funny or offensive about Chinese values and communism. If you can keep pointing out the flaws in my comments I am sure you can work things out for yourself.
Posted 29 Mar 2006 at 5:41 pm ¶