Despite some research to the contrary, many hold the "model minority" stereotype that Asian American youth are civically unengaged. To highlight their diverse experiences, we examined profiles of civic engagement in 3,556 Asian American students from the 2008 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey. Using 7 indicators of political and community participation, latent class analysis revealed 3 subgroups: Highly Involved (11%), Voting Involved (57%), and Uninvolved (32%). Compared to Chinese Americans, Filipino and East Indian/Pakistani American students were most likely to be Voting Involved. First-generation immigrants were least represented, and students with more educated parents most represented, in the Voting Involved group. Campus experiences including climate of respect, freedom of expression, academic engagement, cultural identity development, and religious participation were uniquely associated with civic engagement typologies. Findings advance research on heterogeneity among Asian American youth and offer implications for colleges and universities that aim to promote civic development among Asian American students.

Describing how much and what type(s) of change are evident in civic engagement across adolescence is a fundamental starting point for advancing developmental theory in the civic domain. Using five annual waves of data from a large national U.S. sample spanning 8th-12th grades, our study describes civic engagement typologies and transitions in and out of typologies across adolescence. Four distinct civic typologies were identified across indicators of civic values, behaviors, and future expectations. Two-thirds of youth demonstrated ipsative continuity, i.e., within-class stability over time. Transitions indicated gradual stepwise change in both upward and downward directions and thus provided only modest support for age-related gains. Our study has the potential to spur theoretical progress regarding civic development by documenting developmental change as a series of transitions that vary across people. Results help to clarify the diverse civic pathways that youth experience across adolescence.

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Background Asian American experiences have been largely ignored in the engineering education research literature. Asian Americans are often considered as a homogenous group, despite including over 40 different ethnic subgroups who speak over 300 languages. The immigrant trajectories, cultural experiences, and college completion rates of Asian Americans also vary. Purpose This study compares classroom engagement of Asian American subgroups whose members are undergraduate engineering majors, and next examines the relationship between classroom engagement and grade point averages across subgroups. Design/Method Survey responses from Asian Americans in undergraduate engineering programs at nine campuses in a public research university system were analyzed using quantitative methods to test for measurement invariance in terms of classroom engagement. The classroom engagement was correlated with grade point average, after controlling for prior achievement and student demographics. Results There was evidence of measurement invariance of classroom engagement across Asian American subgroups. Classroom engagement was higher for the East Indian/Pakistani subgroup than the Chinese, Filipino, and Thai subgroups. There was also evidence that classroom engagement was significantly related to grade point average. However, the low effect sizes suggest that these items may not adequately capture classroom engagement. Conclusions Disaggregating data by subgroups provides important information regarding student classroom engagement and academic outcomes. Our findings can inform policies and approaches to ensure that all racial/ethnic groups benefit from classroom activities.