2018 JN PP Omiunota N. Ukpokodut_1.pdf
Terbatas  Irwan Sofiyan
» Gedung UPT Perpustakaan
Terbatas  Irwan Sofiyan
» Gedung UPT Perpustakaan
African immigrants in the U.S. have been headlined as America’s ‘‘new
model minority.’’ The purpose of this paper is to examine if evidence exists to
support the claim of African immigrant students’ (AIS) educational achievement
and excellence (a core indicator of the ‘‘model minority’’ theory) in U.S. k-12
schools. Using a multiple methodological research approach and analysis, the study
examines whether aggregated and disaggregated data exist to verify AIS’ superior
academic achievement in U.S. k-12 schools. The study reveals a lack of data to
substantiate the claim. Instead, the study reveals a paucity of research on AIS’
academic performance and achievement in k-12 schools, as well as academic
underperformance and underachievement, and the challenges that exist. The notion
of a ‘‘model minority’’ attributed to African immigrants is disingenuous and a
disservice to AIS in U.S. k-12 schools. The paper discusses significant implications
and recommendations for policy and practice that include overhauling the data
collection and reporting system, data disaggregation for AIS, debunking the African
immigrant ‘‘model minority’’ ascription, preparing culturally responsive and globally
competent teachers, and increasing research on AIS in k-12 schools.