Living up to Expectations: The Strengths and Challenges Experienced by Chinese Canadian Students

Abstract

This article reviews qualitative and quantitative studies related to the academic achievement of youth from immigrant Chinese families. Overall, the literature suggests that Chinese Canadian students demonstrate high levels of achievement and that this academic success is associated with factors such as stronger feelings of ethnic identity, better English language skills in the family, Chinese cultural values, parental emphasis on schooling, and access to social networks that support achievement. Barriers to high achievement are created by stress in the home, experiences of peer discrimination, cultural differences in school-related expectations, and obstacles to parental involvement in schooling. Importantly, despite high average levels of achievement, the reviewed literature also highlights the psychological and social struggles that many Chinese youth experience. High achievement for some Chinese Canadian adolescents comes at a cost of other aspects of their well-being. In particular, intense parental expectations for these youth, as well as the extremely high standard set by the “model minority” stereotype of Chinese youth, contribute to students’ psychological distress and alienation from parents and peers. Furthermore, the almost exclusive attention to high achievement among Chinese youth ignores those Chinese youth who are not high achievers. Implications are discussed for educational policy and practice related to the schooling of Chinese Canadian youth specifically, as well as youth from families with diverse ethnic backgrounds more generally.