Model Minority and Learning Disabilities: Double Jeopardy for Asian Immigrant Children in the USA

Abstract

There exists a scarcity of discourse in the education of ethnic Asian students with disabilities in the USA, due to their historical under-representation in the disability population and the ‘model minority’ thesis. This colloquium aims to examine the ramifications of the model minority label with regard to equitable access and schooling for Asian immigrant students with learning disabilities. The colloquium briefly analyzes the political and social impact of the model minority thesis, before exploring how the model minority label has negatively influenced the opportunities of post-1965 Asian immigrant children with learning disabilities for equitable education, in the hope of bringing greater awareness of the needs of these children. Here, it is argued that the model minority label and learning disabilities have invisibly marginalized and deprived Asian immigrant and Asian American students of equitable education.