ABSTRACT

Asian Americans have been labeled "model minorities" because it is presumed that they have attained "success" through education and high-income occupations. Although there is no question about the high educational levels of most categories of Asians in the United States, it is not clear whether Asian Americans have been able to translate their education into equivalent occupational prestige or income levels. The general role of education in the occupational achievement of immigrant minorities has long attracted sociologists. Human capital theory even more directly asserts the positive role of education in the advancement of minorities. Many of the structural criticisms of assimilation and human capital theories rest on studies of long time resident minorities in the United States, especially blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians. Asian Americans have been considered different from these ethnic groups because of their comparatively high levels of education and high visibility as petite bourgeoisie and professionals.