a critical review of the model minority stereotype shibboleth

The author conducted a thematic review of the literature on the model minority stereotype  (MMS).  MMS  writings  (n  =  246)  included  peer-reviewed  and  non-peer-reviewed materials spanning from the 1960s to present. Writings were reviewed if their title included “model minority.”  The purpose  was to review the MMS critically.  Six major themes were found to recurrently appear in the MMS literature. Those themes were the following: (1) critiquing colorblindness, (2) countering meritocracy, (3) demystifying Asian  American  exceptionalism,  (4)  uncovering  divide  and  conquer  stratagem,  (5) problematizing Asian American homogenization, and (6) unmasking the “yellow peril” stereotype. Implications for the education of Asian students in America and abroad are shared.