by Carolyn Bick
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Mental health challenges significantly impact Asian American and Native Hawai’ian, and Pacific Islander (AA+NHPI) experiences in education—and these challenges appear to roll over into these communities’ health and health outcomes, too, according to recent research out of the University of Washington (UW).
As the Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs (CAPAA) prepares for its next boarding meeting on Nov. 16, the focus will be on advancing discussions about two long-term by two CAPAA-hired UW research teams. These studies, launched two decades ago, have focused on Asian Americans and Native Hawai’ians and Pacific Islanders separately.
The last study was completed in 2008, with updates in 2015. The teams are now in the final phases of research, and plan to release a preliminary report before the end of the year, with a final report expected in May 2025.
Following the findings regarding mental health, the teams “have recommended that CAPAA start preparing for how to best present the report to various groups once the studies have been completed,” and “would love to see the studies extend beyond just education into the realm of health,” CAPAA wrote in its Sept. 21 meeting minutes.
“We will be discussing whether this is something we should pursue once the report is completed,” CAPAA wrote of the data, which the teams updated in July 2024. “Staff has approached the Dept. of Health to see what data they might already have, and there is also an ongoing discussion on standardizing data collection within the state. We are working with the Office of Equity and the Environmental Justice Council to address this standardization during the next legislative session.”
The studies have two arms, quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative aspect aims to “understand the extent of the opportunity gap in the domains of school achievement,
postsecondary outcomes, and socioemotional well-being,” while the qualitative aspect is meant to “understand lived experiences and barriers to educational equity.”
The research findings to date highlight the growing population in Washington State—with Asian Americans increasing by over 55% and Native Hawai’ians/Pacific Islanders by more than 62% from 2010 to 2020. Despite this growth, however, AANHPI students still face significant barriers, particularly when it comes to representation among educators. While the number of AA+NHPI teachers has increased overall since 2011, Native Hawai’ian/Pacific Islander teachers remain significantly underrepresented in relation to student populations.
This suggests that NHPI students still struggle to see themselves represented in educational environments. Research affirms the importance of teachers of color—not just so that students of color can see themselves reflected in an important position, but also because teachers of color are more likely than their white peers to practice culturally responsive teaching, forming relationships with students and their families to help students on their educational journey.
This continued trend of low numbers of AANPHIs in education has a negative impact on AA+NHPI educators, too. The studies identified several other emerging topics, too, including the impact of COVID-19 and the intersectionality of disability, gender, and sexual identity.
CAPAA also announced that it recently convened the first two meetings of an advisory board of people who serve the AANHPI community. During the first meeting, the board gave CAPAA input on interview guidance for students, teachers, and administrators. During the second meeting, CAPAA consulted with the board on how to reach students and how to best hear their voices.
CAPAA also shared that it had been granted approval to conduct focus groups with teachers and students, and interviews with administrators, and was in the process of initiating recruitment for these groups and interviews. There are seven student groups, which comprise a total of 42 students, six groups of a total of 36 teachers, and interviews with six principals and three counsellors.
CAPAA plans to conduct the teacher focus groups in areas serving a higher population of AANHPI students, specifically in Seattle, Highline, Bellevue,
Issaquah, Tacoma, Puyallup, Edmonds, Everett, and Spokane.
Students and teachers in the Asian American and Native Hawai’ian and Pacific Islander communities are encouraged to share their experiences. Teachers who work closely with these communities are also encouraged to share their experiences. Readers can find QR codes and more information in the flyers below, and can request more information by emailing uwaanhpi@uw.edu.
CAPAA’s board will meet again on Saturday, Nov. 16.