An inquiry into South Asian American high school student discourses

The category of Asian American has been socially constructed providing paradoxical existence. Disaggregated data is necessary in order for narratives and experiences to not be invisiblized. Drawing on AsianCrit, this narrative study aimed to discover the experiences that South Asian students at Z High School navigated. This qualitative research study sought to answer “What discourses do South Asian students navigate in high school?” Specifically, I explored how these experiences interplayed with their South Asian diasporic and academic identities. Eleven South Asian students participated in individual interviews and five South Asian students participated in a follow-up focus group. The findings from this study revealed how the identities of South Asian students are shaped due to support and/or stereotypes encountered, expectations, pressures, and assumptions that are placed on students from friends and parents, and an unwavering desire for connection, allowing opportunity for more research to be conducted. It suggested how the diasporic identity and academic identity intertwined to help unveil the complexities of the discourses that South Asian students navigate in educational settings. The findings from this study contribute to the literature regarding South Asian high school student experiences through an AsianCrit lens, the theory by creating space for more specific theory, and future research.