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Becoming a “Model Minority”: Acquisition, Construction and Enactment of American Identity for Korean Immigrant Students

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Abstract

While the “model minority” stereotype of Asian Americans and its negative effects has been documented elsewhere, relatively little attention has been paid to how recent Asian immigrant students begin to embrace the stereotype while in schools. This study explores the identity formation process for a group of recent Korean immigrant students as “model minority” in an urban high school to empirically document the process. Through interviews and observations, I learned that the immigrants acquired an unauthentic American identity as a racial minority, constructed their status as “model minority” in response, and enacted the stereotype as they sanctioned those who couldn’t live up to the stereotype. The aim is to add to the body of knowledge on the school experiences of recent Asian immigrants.

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Correspondence to Gilbert C. Park.

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Park, G.C. Becoming a “Model Minority”: Acquisition, Construction and Enactment of American Identity for Korean Immigrant Students. Urban Rev 43, 620–635 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-010-0164-8

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