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Tiger Moms and Liberal Elephants: Private, Supplemental Education among Korean-Americans

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Abstract

This article discusses the transnational industry of private, supplemental education (PSE) among ethnic Koreans, especially in Southern California. PSE offers a unique vantage point to examine the educational struggles and values of students, parents and teachers. A “Tiger Mom” educational culture reflects the extreme competition for elite, educational credentials, which can foster academic cheating and racial prejudices among Korean-Americans. In response, a growing number of educators, parents and students espouse more traditional, liberal-humanistic values of developing individual interests and talents and of mutual respect among diverse persons. This “Liberal Elephant” culture receives significant support from some members of actively proselytizing, Christian churches.

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Notes

  1. Scholars sometimes use the term “cram school,” which implies studying large amounts of material in a short period of time for high-stakes exams (i.e., cramming). However, cram school is considered pejorative and inaccurate by many reputable, private instructors and entrepreneurs, who prefer more long-term, sustainable education. In this article, I use the more neutral term hagwon or private academies; and private, supplemental education (PSE) to describe the wide variety of educational services, including private, at-home tutoring.

  2. Orange County has the highest concentration of middle-class Koreans in Southern California, and probably in the USA.

  3. Rubén G. Rumbaut (n.d.) tracked the life patterns of 5,262 second-generation children, who in 1992 attended eighth and ninth grades in public and private schools in the metropolitan areas of Miami/Ft. Lauderdale in Florida and San Diego, California.

  4. To protect confidentiality, I use pseudonyms for names of individuals and schools.

  5. 1.5 generation refers to those not originally born in the USA, but educated here. Second-generation are born in and educated in the USA.

  6. I use another Asian animal symbol, the Elephant, which typifies lumbering, steady wisdom, to describe the immigrant parents, students and educators not obsessed with elite, educational credentials.

Further Reading

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Correspondence to Joseph Yi.

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Yi, J. Tiger Moms and Liberal Elephants: Private, Supplemental Education among Korean-Americans. Soc 50, 190–195 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-013-9638-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-013-9638-0

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