Hmong High School Students in Afterschool Effects on Achievement, Behavior, and Self-Esteem

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Pentious

The study examines how participation in afterschool programs affects Hmong high school students’ achievement, behavior, and self-esteem, addressing a research gap for Asian-American youth. It critiques the “model minority” stereotype and highlights the diversity and vulnerability of Asian-American communities, noting immigration history, trauma, language and cultural barriers, poverty-related challenges, and education inequities. Using a causal-comparative design, it compares Hmong students who do and do not attend afterschool programs across two Central Valley high schools in California.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Background and Problem Statement

Model Minority Stereotype and Asian-American Diversity

Hmong Immigration Experience and Adjustment Challenges

Study Focus and Research Gap

Why Afterschool Programming Matters

Research Design and Comparison Groups

Hmong High School Students in Afterschool Effects on Achievement, Behavior, and Self-Esteem by Kimberley A. M. Boyer and Susan M. Tracz By 2040, Asian Americans are expected to account for 10 percent of the country’s total population (Lee, 1999) . However, few studies focus on afterschool interventions for Asian-American young people or examine how afterschool programming affects them. One reason may be the myth of the model minority, the stereotype that Asian-American students are all high-achieving conformists (Olsen, 1999; Walker-Moffat, 1995) . However, Asian Americans are far from being a monolithic group. For one thing, their backgrounds are highly diverse. The Asian population is made up of 31 different ethnic groups who speak close to 300 languages and dialects (Olsen, 1999). Among these groups, wide differences in experiences are common. Recent immigrants, particularly those from underprivileged areas where education levels are low, are less likely to have the resources to support their children’s learning than are immigrants from more affluent regions. Experience of trauma before and during immigration likewise takes its toll. For example, the families of the Hmong students who are the focus of this study came to [the U.S. as](the U.S. as) refugees, often after long and debilitating stays in refugee camps. The children of such immigrant families must cope not only with language and cultural differences but also with recent trauma and with all the challenges of living in poverty. Contrary to KIMBERLEy A. M. BOyER, Ed. D., is executive director at Central Valley Afterschool Foundation, a technical assistance and capacity building organization that supports high-quality afterschool and summer programs through training and coaching, curriculum development, community partnership development, special events, and public policy initiatives. For the past 16 years, she has worked as an elementary school teacher, afterschool director, and consultant. Her research focuses on expanded learning and on Asian-American youth. SuSAN M. TRACz, Ph. D., is a professor at California State University, Fresno, where she teaches graduate research and statistics courses and guides doctoral students in their research methods. As graduate programs coordinator, she assists with the administration of the university’s master’s degree programs. She is on the editorial board of several journals and has served as program evaluator for National Science Foundation grants and others. the “model minority” stereotype, these young people face at least as many barriers to educational and social success as do members of other minority groups in this country. Afterschool programs can support Asian-American young people by providing academic support and culturally specific programming designed to help them bridge their native and adopted cultures. However, little is known about the effect of afterschool participation on academic and social outcomes for Asian-American students. This causal-comparative study helps to fill this gap by studying the differences in achievement, behavior, and self-esteem between Hmong students who did and did not participate in afterschool programs in two high schools in the Central Valley of California. The focus on a specific ethnic group is a reminder that Asian Americans are not a single entity but a diverse set of groups. Our study helps to fill another gap in the literature by focusing on the high school level, where the effects of afterschool programming are much less well documented than at the elementary and middle school levels. The Experience of Hmong Students Beginning in 1975, the Hmong from northern Laos began to immigrate to the United States (Bliatout, Downing, Lewis, & Yang, 1988). Recruited by the CIA during the Vietnam War, many Hmong later fled from Laos to Thailand, where large numbers lived in refugee camps for up to 20 years (Goodkind, 2006). Between 1975 and 1999, about 1.2 million Southe

FAQs

How are afterschool programs described as potentially beneficial?

Afterschool programs are described as providing academic support and culturally specific programming that helps students bridge native and adopted cultures. The study aims to evaluate their effects on educational and social outcomes, especially given limited prior evidence at the high school level.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Pentious