An Empirical Exploration of Southeast Asian-Americans in Education Research: A Qualitative Meta-Analysis

This research examined how Southeast Asian-Americans are treated in leading K-12 and higher education research. A qualitative meta-analysis was conducted using secondary data sources. I analyzed 1,192 pages of text from 151 peer-reviewed academic articles in six K-12 and higher education journals. In a span of 10 years (2007-2016), only four of the 151 articles (2.6%) reviewed specifically addressed in whole or in part Southeast Asian-Americans—one of the most disadvantaged ethnic minority groups in America. Findings demonstrated that aggregating racial data for Asian-Americans silences under-represented Southeast Asian-Americans, suggesting that the continued fight for racial equality in educational research for Southeast Asian-Americans requires more attention at the most basic level.