WHEN measured in terms of academic achievement, Asian Americans are a successful bunch. Forty-nine percent have a bachelor's degree or higher. This compares favourably against white Americans (30%), African-Americans (19%) and Latinos (13%). These racial disparities can be seen in school as well, and they increase when postgraduate degrees are thrown into the mix. Amy Chua, a self-declared "tiger mother" who became famous for promoting the benefits of harsh parenting, would put this down to culture. She has argued that Chinese-American children statistically out-perform their peers because they are pushed harder at home. This is an argument she reiterated in a recent book, “The Triple Package”, written with her husband Jed Rubenfeld, a fellow law professor at Yale, in which she ascribes the success of different cultures in America to a "triple package" comprised of a superiority complex, insecurity and good impulse control. In other words, certain groups tell themselves they are better than other groups, but learn that they have to work hard to succeed, and must resist temptation and distraction in proving themselves.

It isn't exactly a radical suggestion, but Ms Chua and Mr Rubenfeld were criticised for their ideas. Some wondered if they were describing a form of racism. Ellen Wu, a history professor at Indiana University, suggested in the Los Angeles Times that there was a "danger in offering culture as a formula for success, because our ideas of culture are hardly fixed". She pointed out that before the mid-20th century Americans believed that Chinese culture was disgusting and vile.

Yet despite this pushback, the Asian-American achievement advantage is well documented, and Amy Hsin and Yu Xie, sociologists at City University of New York and the University of Michigan, wanted to try to find out why it exists. In a new paper in the journal PNAS, they looked at whether it could be explained by socio-demographic factors (such as family income and parental education), cognitive ability (were these children simply more intelligent?), or work ethic.

Although Asian Americans do often come from better educated and higher income families, socio-demographic factors could not explain the achievement gap between Asians and whites. This is because recently arrived Asian immigrants with little formal education and low incomes have children that do better in school than their white peers. Asian-Americans actually fall into four distinct categories in America. East and South-Asian children tend to be socio-economically privileged, whereas South-East Asian and Filipino children tend to be disadvantaged.

Being brainier isn't the answer either. When the pair looked at cognitive ability as measured by standardised tests, Asian-Americans were not different from their white peers. Instead Dr Hsin and Dr Xie find that the achievement gap can be explained through harder work—as measured by teacher assessments of student work habits and motivation. (Although the authors warn that this form of assessment will capture both true behavioural differences as well as a teacher’s perception of differences.)

What might explain harder work? The authors point to the fact Asian-Americans are likely to be immigrants or children of immigrants who, as a group, tend to be more optimistic. These are people who have made a big move in search of better opportunities. Immigration is a "manifestation of that optimism through effort, that you can have a better life". Added to this mix is a general cultural belief among Asian-Americans that achievement comes with effort. We know that children who believe ability is innate are more inclined to give up if something doesn't come naturally. An understanding that success requires hard work—not merely an aptitude—is therefore useful. This finding is worth bearing in mind when considering the current fuss over new tests in mathematics, as some parents complain that they are now too hard.

Ms Chua promoted what was perhaps an extreme form of this no-excuses parenting. She set high expectations for her daughters, and punished them if they failed to meet them. “Tiger” parenting clearly has its place, but it is not everything, according to this study. Dr Hsin says that Asian-Americans also have some unique social and ethnic capital, such as good access to tutors and social networks that offer information about schools and college-admission routes. They also benefit from positive stereotypes which lead to wider expectations of success.

Is this a vindication of tiger parenting? Should Ms Chua’s approach to child-rearing replace the American standard, which seems to emphasise self-esteem over test scores? Not necessarily. The report’s researchers point out that Asian-American children also suffer from poorer self-images and more conflicted relationships with their parents. Dr Hsin wonders if this may be the result of pressure to meet narrowly defined and high standards for success. Children who fail to meet these expectations end up feeling like failures, while those who succeed fail to feel satisfied because they are simply achieving what is expected. Perhaps there is something to be said after all for praising a student’s effort, not merely the result.

(Photo credit: AFP)