Surfing the "model minority" wave of success: how the school context shapes distinct experiences among Vietnamese youth.

Abstract

Vietnamese students must contend with the burden of the myth of being a model minority. As a result of adults' high expectations of them, Vietnamese youth receive structural and ideological advantages over other nonwhite racial groups. Further, the students themselves reinforce the model minority image as they attempt to attain educational mobility. The authors examine the role of two distinct school contexts within the same school that shape the academic outcomes of Vietnamese students contending with the pressures of being considered members of the model minority.