A Qualitative Analysis of Educational Messaging: Case Studies of Four Low-Income Chinese American Youth

We present in-depth cases of four low-income Chinese American adolescents' perceptions of their parents' educational messages using a discourse analytic approach. We asked how students construct and draw on discourses in order to produce interpretations of their schooling responsibilities,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of ethnographic and qualitative research Vol. 15; no. 3; pp. 173 - 190
Main Authors Bempechat, Janine, Cheung, Amy, Li, Jin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cedarville University 2021
Subjects
Academic Achievement
Case Studies
Chinese Americans
Comparative Analysis
Discourse Analysis
Grade Point Average
High Achievement
High School Students
Immigrants
Language Usage
Low Achievement
Low Income Students
Parent Aspiration
Parent Attitudes
Parent Child Relationship
Socialization
Student Attitudes
Student Motivation
Well Being
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Summary:We present in-depth cases of four low-income Chinese American adolescents' perceptions of their parents' educational messages using a discourse analytic approach. We asked how students construct and draw on discourses in order to produce interpretations of their schooling responsibilities, in light of parental messages. Our analysis uncovered how parents used language in order to impart educational messages, how students differentially constructed these messages, and how they experienced themselves through the varied discourses. The diverse discourses were key to understanding how the students constructed their realities and served to shape possible actions, as well as subjective experiences. Our findings reveal that even when achievement outcomes look the same on the surface, the discursive logic that students draw on in order to explain their achievement and their parents' educational messaging can be distinct. Our findings rebut the model minority myth and show how these youth differ from one another by deriving meaning and motivation for their education in varied ways.
ISSN:1935-3308