Blog Post 11

 Asian American & Pacific Islanders

The act of disaggregating data is essential to coming to accurate conclusions about the Asian American and Pacific Islander population. To disaggregate data means to separate data into categories or sections, in this case, breaking AAPI individuals into more specific groups. An article by Teranishi (2009) explains the main danger of not disaggregating AAPI data by stating that, “Aggregating all AAPIs into one racial category prevents scholars and practitioners from examining and serving the needs of many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who are neglected in the shadows of persistent stereotypes” (para. 18). This means that disaggregating data is important for seeing the needs of individual groups who’ve been put into the larger group of AAPI. When we fail to disaggregate AAPI data, we make assumptions that are too broad and fail to see which specific groups need help. This has many negative impacts on AAPI individuals and families. It can put academic pressure on AAPI students, because institutions, and sometimes parents, expect higher performance than students of other racial ethnic groups; this can lead to psychological stress. In addition to this, it can put stress on AAPI families, because it can overlook financial and psychological needs they may have. 

I do believe Asian American and Pacific Islander families should keep their cultural values, but I also believe they should be open to some American values as well. For example, the traditional value of AAPI children being high achieving academically is great in moderation, but too much pressure can create tension and stress. Parents who are too opposed to American values often face more challenges with their children (Lui, 2013). An article by Lui and Rollock (2013) directly states, “Asian American parents who adhere to traditional Asian values are more likely to approach parenting using the authoritarian style, which leads to greater parent-offspring conflict” (para. 10). On the other hand, AAPI children who do not have any ties with their culture may feel confused and stressed as well. I, personally, believe having a balance of AAPI and American culture is very important. 

I was definitely aware of stereotypes put on Asian American and Pacific Islanders, however, I was less aware of the aggregation of data. While I knew AAPI was a broad category, I had never thought about how such a broad term could actually be harming AAPI individuals and families. This is new information that I found interesting; going forward I will definitely be more mindful of individual struggles that different groups within the category of AAPI may face.


References

Lui, P. P., & Rollock, D. (2013). Tiger mother: Popular and psychological scientific perspectives on Asian culture and parenting. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 83(4), 450–456. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajop.12043 

Teranishi, R. T., Behringer, L. B., Grey, E. A., & Parker, T. L. (2009). Critical race theory and research on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in higher education. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2009(142), 57–68. https://doi.org/10.1002/ir.296 


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