Educational and career expectations of Chinese-American college students

Journal of College Student Development, Nov/Dec 1998 by Liu, Ruth Wang

The findings of this exploratory study, in which individual interviews were conducted with 30 second-generation Chinese-American undergraduates, revealed high self-imposed and perceived parental educational and career expectations. The data suggest the powerful role of culture and parental pressure in the development of inner drive for achievement, which in some cases exceeded parental pressure. Parental support as well as pressure were reported. Several issues raised by the findings are discussed.

The challenge of ethnic diversity is one of the most critical issues facing higher education today. The proliferation of Asian Americans enrolled in colleges and universities, coupled with the common misconception that Asian Americans are problem-- free and the extant research suggesting otherwise, gives rise to the urgency of more research to better understand this group. By exploring the experience of Chinese-American undergraduates as they confront personal and perceived parental expectations for achievement, this study provides an expanded context for reassessment, development, and implementation of institutional policies in higher education.

The educational achievement of Asian Americans has been manifested in the higher education arena by enrollment, retention, graduation rates, and scholastic rankings disproportionate to their presence in the general population (Peng & Wright, 1994). Curiosity about the factors contributing to such attainment has resulted in burgeoning interest among educators. In an attempt to discover and account for these factors, three explanatory arguments have been advanced: (a) the cultural perspective, (b) the generational perspective, and (c) the relative functionalism model.

Proponents of the cultural perspective point to the fact that most Asian cultures have traditionally upheld scholarship, with parents transmitting to their children strong values of education (Hess, Chih-Mei, & McDevitt,1987; Hirschman & Wong, 1986; Mordkowitz & Ginsburg, 1986; Sue & Morishima,1982). Additionally, in a collectivistic culture, external expectations are potent as the family or other in-group sets the standards, evaluates the individual's performance, and determines outcomes (Yu & Yang, 1994).

Despite the paucity of research literature on the personal and perceived parental expectations of college students, the empirical studies that have been reported suggest that Asian-American college students experience pressure to succeed academically because of high internal and external expectations (Hsia,1988; Mordkowitz & Ginsburg, 1986; Tanaguchi,1989/1990; Toupin & Son,1991).

Extant research also suggests that among parents of elementary and high school children, Asian-American parents hold higher educational expectations than non-Asian parents (Hess, Chih-- Mei, & McDevitt,1987; Kao,1995; Peng & Wright, 1994; Schneider & Lee, 1990), and that self-- expectations of Asian-American students are also higher than that of their non-Asian counterparts (Tanaguchi,1989/1990). The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) revealed that among all variables, the correlation between parental educational expectations and children's academic achievement was .47 for Asian Americans, the highest of any group (Peng & Wright). Further, among all groups (including Caucasian), Asian parents held the highest educational expectations for their children-16.7 years of education. Another explanatory argument for the achievement of Asian Americans is the generational perspective that proposes that educational achievement levels can be generationally linked (Chen, 1996). As immigrant parents struggle for economic survival, infusing their dreams in their children and sacrificing for their education, high expectations for success are communicated. Using the data from the base year and first follow-up of NELS:88, Chen found that the second-generation Asian-American students (born in the U.S. of immigrant parents), as opposed to first-generation or third-and-later-- generation groups, evidenced the most educational gain and outperformed all other ethnic groups. Families of second-generation students were found to be the most highly educated and the most supportive of education.

Linked to the generational perspective but with a divergent philosophical base is the relative functionalism model (Sue & Okazaki, 1990). Arguing that culture alone is inadequate in explaining high academic achievement of Asian Americans, Sue and Okazaki contend that education is perceived as the only means for upward mobility in a restrictive society. Supporting this model are findings suggesting that Asian Americans' pursuit of careers in the sciences, engineering, and technology brings concomitant prestige, income, and security, important factors for survival in an alien society (Leong,1991; Leung, Ivey, & Suzuki, 1994; Sue & Frank, 1973). Moreover, the popularity of these fields arises out of the belief that greater objectivity in evaluation of performance in these fields exists than in the social sciences and humanities (Kim & Chun, 1994). Thus, fears of racism and the "glass ceiling" phenomenon become inherent in career choices.