Hearing their voices: Asian American college students’ perspectives on sport and physical education

ABSTRACT

Although Asian Americans are the fastest growing minority in the USA with over 18 million in population, and have a long history, they remain underrepresented in sport and physical education. As we are living in a world that is becoming more diverse and multicultural, it is important to learn about the cultural meanings and significance of sport and physical education to Asian Americans, particularly as they are constantly marginalised and otherised. The purpose of this paper is to ‘hear the voices’ of Asian American college students. To enable this, qualitative research methods were employed to delve into the complexities of racial dynamics related to the sporting experiences of Asian American men and women (N = 10). The setting of the study was at a predominately White (anglosaxon) university in the Northeastern part of the USA. In this research, Asian American college students talk about how sport and physical education serve as a bridge that connects them with two different worlds, a tool that gives them lifelong skills, and a way to influence others as role models. Their stories reveal useful cultural knowledge and information that may serve as a powerful pedagogical tool for those in sport and physical education.

KEYWORDS:

• Asian Americans
• sports
• race
• cultural diversity
• voice

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Yomee Lee is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at the State University of New York at Cortland, Cortland, NY, USA. Her teaching focuses on sport studies related areas including sport sociology, women and sports and diversity in sports. Her research interests include race, ethnicity and gender issues in sports, in particular Asian American women in sports, Asian American men and masculinity in sports and racial identities and race relations in Korea.

James Hokanson is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at the State University of New York at Cortland, Cortland, NY, USA. His teaching focuses on the application of exercise physiology and cardiovascular fitness. His research efforts include investigating run economy variations following high-intensity interval training, focusing on gender differences. Currently, James is working on the measurement of run economy and caloric cost of exercise on lower body positive pressure treadmills. James is passionate about including undergraduate and graduate students in the research process; he has a strong history of presenting and publishing with students.