Dr. Rowena Tomaneng
About 88% of AAPI adults believe a college degree is “essential or important” to supporting a family, compared with only 76% of all U.S. adults a year ago, according to the survey. Furthermore, 86% of AAPI adults versus 70% of the general population believe holding a college degree is “essential or important” to minimizing debt long-term. And 78% of AAPI adults believe earning a degree is “essential or important” to being “an informed and engaged citizen.” In contrast, only 62% of all U.S. adults have that opinion.
Those are among the findings of a new national poll of AAPI adults conducted in April. Poll results were released last week during a panel discussion held virtually that was titled “Voices of AAPI Communities: AAPI Views on Education, Taxes, Economy & Federal Budget.”
The opinions of the general U.S. population were measured separately in May 2024.
The latest survey shows that 87% of AAPI adults worry about increases in student loan debt. Also, 65% of AAPIs polled oppose federal funding cuts to colleges with diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
Dr. Rowena Tomaneng, deputy chancellor of California Community Colleges, shared during last week’s panel discussion her observations from several recent affinity-themed graduation ceremonies.
“The students were grateful for support from counselors, from faculty,” Tomaneng said. “But the threat to ending DEI programs makes them feel unwanted, that they don’t belong. We already know that DEI programming increases student engagement and leads to student success. A few of these graduation celebrations were for international students. They have feared revocation of their visas. They have feared federal agents coming onto their campuses.”
Survey results show that 89% of AAPIs ages 18 to 29 oppose the arrests or deportation of students protesting on campus the elimination of funding DEI programs. Even among adults ages 60 and older – the smallest slice of supporters -- 51% oppose such punitive actions against student protesters.
Social stereotypes characterize AAPI people as quiet and afraid to “rock the boat.” But across all age groups polled, 83% of AAPI adults worry about restrictions on free speech on college campuses, according to the survey.
Meanwhile, about 56% worry about federal government cuts to university research.
The poll was conducted by two entities. One was AAPI Data, a research and policy organization based at the University of California, Berkeley, that produces data to help solve problems in Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. The organization aims to change public and private systems to benefit these communities. The second entity was the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The partnership aims to address the historic underrepresentation of AAPIs in public opinion research.
A particularly notable survey finding was one that measured intergenerational beliefs, said Dr. Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and executive director of AAPI Data. About 66% of AAPI adults think it’s unlikely that young people today will have a better standard of living than their parents.
“That should be a flashing warning,” Ramakrishnan said at last week’s virtual panel discussion.
The survey also gauged AAPI opinions about education in public K-12 schools. Among the findings:
· 75% of AAPI adults favor the teaching of the history of AAPI communities in this country.
· 73% want the history of slavery, racism, and segregation taught.
· 57% want issues related to sex and sexuality taught.
· 60% oppose local school boards restricting the subjects that teachers and students can discuss in class.
Regarding the U.S. economy, most AAPI adults are pessimistic, according to the survey. About 74% of those polled believe the economy will get worse in the next year, and 73% believe the way things are going in this country will worsen in the next 12 months.
This affects how AAPIs view the job market nowadays. About 51% lack confidence that they can find a good job, the survey shows, which is worse than the 35% who had these feelings in a similar survey conducted in December 2023, heading into the 2024 presidential campaign season.
Where government size is concerned, about 63% of AAPI adults favor a bigger government that provides more services rather than a smaller one providing fewer services. But ironically, 45% also have little or no confidence in “any level of government” to spend taxes appropriately.
Most AAPIs polled (66%) agree that higher income households aren’t paying enough in federal taxes, and 63% say that middle-income households are paying too much, according to the survey.
A lot more AAPIs ages 18 to 29 oppose tax cuts for higher income households (83%) than do adults ages 60 and older (58%). Where business is concerned, 63% favor tax cuts for small businesses and 68% oppose big corporations getting them.
Bob Sakaniwa, director of policy and advocacy for APIAVote, said at the virtual panel discussion that “there’s a huge need for voter education” leading into the nation’s mid-term elections and that AAPI adults “very clearly have concerns about the direction the country is headed.”
The nationwide poll took place April 7 to April 14 through online and telephone interviews conducted in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Korean
