Session: Session 7, 3:45-5:15 pm, Saturday 9/30

Category: Individual Papers

Location: Technology

Chair: Michelle Le (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

Paper Presenters: Huanshu Yuan (Texas A&M University), Sinyeong Lee (Independent Scholar)

Preparing Culturally Responsive Han Teachers: Case Studies of Teacher Education Programs in China

Speaker: Huanshu Yuan
Role: Paper Presenter
Institution/Affiliation: Texas A&M University
Abstract: This qualitative case study examines how a teacher education  institution in China prepares culturally responsive Han teachers for diverse  student populations. The purpose of this study was to explore preservice Han  teachers’ perspectives of, and academic preparation in, multicultural  education in order to enhance institutional quality and effectively prepare  culturally responsive Han teachers for multicultural and multiethnic students  in China. Four major findings revealed teacher candidates’ ambiguous  perceptions of diversity; the inadequate academic preparation in teaching for  diversity; disparity between academic training and teaching practice; and lack  of institutional commitment to preparing teachers for diversity in China.

Asian Americans’ Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action in College Admissions

Speaker: Sinyeong Lee
Role: Paper Presenter
Abstract: Asian Americans centered the stage of the affirmative action debate in college admission after Students For Fair Admission (SFFA) sued Harvard University in 2014 for allegedly using a race-conscious admission process unfairly for Asian American applicants. Although this affirmative action in college admission for Asian Americans has been the subject of intense research and litigation interest lately, there is little empirically verified knowledge of attitudes toward affirmative action in college admission of Asian American adults. Moreover, previous quantitative research has regarded Asian Americans as a monolithic group, masking their heterogeneous characteristics of them in terms of attitudes toward affirmative action. Applying a regression analysis model to the 2016 post-election National Asian American Survey (NAAS) data, this paper examines what factors affect support for affirmative action in college admission by 10 Asian ethnic groups. This paper found a statistically significant difference in attitudes toward affirmative action within Asian ethnic groups. Furthermore, factors including the strength of racial identity had a conspicuously different effect according to ethnic groups. This study adds to previous literature by demonstrating distinct differences in affirmative action attitudes within Asian ethnic groups, even among East Asian groups as well as South Asian groups. The study suggests baseline findings for future research on what factors should be considered concerning Asian Americans and affirmative action together.