From silence to solidarity: Asian American youth navigating school ethnic-racial socialization

This qualitative study examined how 30 first- and second-generation Asian American youth navigated school Ethnic-Racial Socialization (ERS) in predominantly White K-12 schools, primarily located in Southern U.S. states with low Asian American population density. We collected data through semi-structured interviews and analyzed them using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Guided by the School ERS and Asian Critical Race Theory, we identified six interconnected themes. Participants vividly recounted persistent pressures from stereotypes such as the model minority and perpetual foreigner, deepening their experiences of marginalization and isolation. Curricular erasures further reinforced feelings of invisibility, portraying Asian American histories as peripheral or entirely absent. Compounding these challenges, institutional silence in response to racial bullying intensified their marginalization. Peers also played a contradictory role, serving both as sources of racialized harm and as spaces of cultural support, where friendships helped participants navigate identity and build belonging. Yet, even amid these structural barriers, participants actively resisted by creating cultural spaces and sharing counter-narratives. These strategies demonstrated significant agency, enabling participants to reshape their educational and social environments. This study extends the School ERS framework by revealing students as producers of ERS, moving beyond its traditional top-down emphasis. Through these retrospective narratives, we also captured participants' developmental progression from initial internalization of stereotypes and passive acceptance to active advocacy and identity affirmation. This study represents one of the first detailed explorations of school ERS specifically among Asian American youth, highlighting the dual process by which they navigate persistent marginalization and assert their identities, voices, and cultural presence within their schools.