Abstract
Statement of the Problem
The purpose of this study is to understand and delineate the various factors which contribute to Asian American college students’ major and/or career choices, and to specify how these potential factors interact with various intersecting identities. There is often a predominant yet faulty notion among Asian cultures and cross-ethnically, that the ideal career choice is that within the sciences or STEM fields with not much consideration given to the Arts or Humanities disciplines (Lowinger & Song, 2017). The latter fields of study are often stigmatized and looked down upon. It is important to understand what exactly causes this kind of an outlook, whether or not it is still prevalent today and the individual responses to such factors. The current consensus so far shows that the majority of Asian college graduates are pursuing or expressing interest in pursuing STEM related fields, according to Lowinger and Song (2017).
The importance of this study rests in the fact that there is a lack of literature studying Asian American college students. The utilization of existing data regarding Asian culture and Asian American college students allows for research to consider how one may be influencing the other, while simultaneously taking into consideration gender and intersectional identities. This study hopes to achieve this and fill the research gap in understanding the Asian American higher education experience.
Sources of Data
The study utilized narrative and survey inquiry as its methodology using qualitative and quantitative data collection. To maximize quality results and to minimize bias, a mixed methods approach was utilized, whereby a survey was distributed to 35 upper division education class students, who identified as Asian American. Of the 35, 10 were purposively sampled for in-depth interviews with the researcher. The questions sought to investigate each individual’s cultural background, personal experience, and current academic trajectory, with an emphasis on understanding their intersectional identity and how that affected their major choices.
Conclusions Reached
The factors identified throughout the study which were found to greatly influence the academic choices of these ten individuals were social, cultural, economic, gender, and life events. What was seen was that these factors work in concert with each other in a variety of combinations in each individual, which ultimately resulted in unique situations that are idiosyncratic. Each interviewed participant also expressed some form of relief to be able to speak with and relate to someone, to discuss their own personal situations and being able to delineate and verbalize their experiences gave them a sense validation, satisfaction and empowerment.