Berkeley Review of Education

A study aimed to examine South Asian American experiences in schools, especially in context of interactions with teachers through qualitative, was undertaken, and used retrospective narrative responses about microaggressions from ten South Asian American young adults (from a broader sample, n = 85) reflecting on experiences in K-12 settings. Retrospective responses to constructed survey items about participants' experiences revealed four key themes, which are explored in this paper: (a) overt racism (“microassaults” and “microinsults”), (b) an expectation that South Asian American students serve as “spokespersons” for their cultural or racial group, (c) a tendency to expect students to be spokespeople even when the student is unqualified to do so, and (d) a willingness or unwillingness on behalf of some students to serve as spokespersons. Implications and recommendations, including that teachers refrain from positioning students of color as "spokespersons" for their perceived cultural or racial communities, are offered.