為什麽亞裔人士教育回報率低？ (圖)

為什麽亞裔人士教育回報率低？
Why is “return on education” for Asians low?
《大中報》記者南茜（Nancy Jin）(2010-10-07 PM03:58)
( with special permission from 《大中報》)

根據2002年的《種族多元化調查》，論讀書深造，中國移民的子女比加拿大本地出生的子女相比成績更令人矚目。特別是在第二代中國移民中，有逾65%的人完成了大學教育，這一比例比來自歐洲和南美的第二代移民的24%高出許多。
According to the 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey, children of Chinese immigrants particularly attain higher academic achievements than children of Canadian-born. Specifically, second generation Chinese immigrants have a university completion rate of over 65%, compared with 24% for second-generation European and South American immigrants.

中國文化中所推崇讀書，身為父母的中國移民都會督促孩子認真讀書以取得優異學習成績。而許多中國父母都相信，教育是確保孩子事業有成和經濟獨立的唯一途徑。
While deep respect for learning in Chinese culture has motivated Chinese immigrant parents to push their children to achieve academic excellence, many Chinese parents believe that education is the only way towards their children’s financial and career success.

《大中報》在一篇發人深省的名為《別給我們太多壓力，亞裔學生說》的文章中指出，中國父母在學業方麵給孩子施加了太多的壓力，一些中國家長在閱讀後卻對文章的內容表示了不同意見。
In the wake of the Chinese News article “Why do Asian students face so much pressure?”, which noted that Chinese parents put too much academic pressure on their children, some Chinese parents expressed their disapproval over the story’s findings.

一位家長說：“我們就是認為教育是孩子在加國取得成功的唯一途徑。作為中國移民，我們在加國麵對各種社會障礙並遭歧視。我們相信，隻有取得良好的學習成績，我們的下一代才能在這個國家獲得與別人同等地位。”
“We do believe that education is the only way for our children to thrive in Canada,” said one parent. “As Chinese immigrants, we encountered social barriers and discrimination. We believe that to achieve academic excellence is the only way for our children to obtain equal status in this country.”

她所說的“同等地位”，指的是在經濟上平等。她表示：“我們的孩子應該和本地的白人賺同樣多的錢，這也是移民的加國夢想。” As of “equal status”, she means financially. “Our children should make as much as whites, which is also the Canadian dream of immigrants,” she said.

如果加拿大夢想指的是與白人賺取同樣的酬勞，那麽許多移民的子女看起來已經實現了他們父母的這一夢想。因為據統計顯示，第二代的加籍華人已經與白人的收入水平相當。該項“加拿大出生的少數族裔人口收入差距發生變化”的研究指出，至1996年，第二代的加籍華人收入水平就與本地白人不相上下。
If the Canadian dream means equal earnings with whites, it seems that many children of immigrants have already realized their parents’ dreams, as stats indicate that the second generation of Chinese Canadians achieved the same income level as whites. According to the study -- “Have Earnings Gaps for Canadian-Born Ethnic Minorities Changed over Time” -- the second generation of Chinese Canadians earned about the same as the British by 1996.

不過，對於許多第二代的亞裔人士來說，他們對事業的追求可能遠遠不止與白人的經濟收入持平。雖說美籍亞裔人士就讀頂尖大學的數字，在過去幾十年來突飛猛進地增加，並且亞裔在科學和工程領域成就顯著，但其他研究發現，亞裔人士的教育回報率卻大大低於美籍歐洲人士。
But to many second generation Asians, their career expectations may be much higher than just equal earnings with whites. While the number of Asian Americans in top universities has skyrocketed over the past decades, and Asians have been prominent in the fields of science and engineering, other studies also find that the returns on education for Asians have been much lower than for European Americans.

範德堡大學歐文管理學院的Raymond A. Friedman教授曾對他做了一項針對亞裔人士“教育回報”的調查，其中一些受訪者為第二代亞裔人士。Friedman教授表示：“我研究中的亞裔人士比白人受教育程度更高，並且他們收入水平的確比白人高。” “Asians in my study tend to be more educated than whites, and they do make more than whites,” said Raymond A. Friedman, professor at the Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University, who has done a study on the “return on the education” for Asians, where some respondents were second generation Asians.

“不過，同樣是受到追加教育的亞裔人士與當地白人相比，亞裔人士因追加教育所獲得的收入增加部分卻比白人低……對於亞裔人士來說，他們得到的教育回報率更低。”
“However, compared with whites, Asians made a less amount of additional income resulting from additional education… For Asians, the return on education is low.”

教育能賦予人技能和專業知識，因此對教育投資應得到回報。普林斯頓大學經濟學教授Alan B. Krueger表示，一般來說，追加的大學學曆應該可以將某人的收入水平提高約10%。但是其他研究卻顯示出，追加教育卻給白人和中國人士帶來了不同水平的追加收入。一名年收入$42,000元的白人因其追加學曆可獲$4,349元的追加收入，而一個同等狀況的中國人士卻僅能多拿$1,936元。
Education provides skills and expertise and an investment in education should pay off. In general, an additional college degree is likely to raise a person’s earning by about 10%, according to Alan B. Krueger, an economics professor at Princeton University. But as other studies point out, an additional degree may bring different income increases to Chinese or whites -- A Caucasian making $42,000 a year can bring home $4349 more, whereas a Chinese in the same income level can only bring in $1936 more.

一份早期的研究發現，雖然亞裔工程師在工作場所中所受教育水平最高，而他們的收入卻比本地出生的加拿大人低18%。根據Friedman教授的研究，對亞裔員工來說，追加的教育似乎並沒有給他們帶來追加教育給白人帶來的影響力。
An early study reveals that although Asian engineers are the most educated in the workforce, they make 18% less than native-born Canadians. It seems that for Asians, the added education does not turn into influence within the team as it does for whites, according to Friedman.

Friedman教授稱：“追加教育應能使某人成為團隊的核心人物，也就應能令此人成為能給團隊中其他人士解答問題，提供建議的核心人物……我的研究發現，與亞裔人士相比，追加教育與核心性之間的相關性在白人身上體現得更為強烈。”
“With each additional level of education, it should produce increments of centrality, where the person becomes a central figure in the team to offer others with advice… My study found that there is a much stronger correlation between education and centrality for whites than Asians, “ said Friedman.

Friedman教授還表示：“在追加教育為其拓展職業生涯之前，某人必須先成為團隊中有影響力之人物。一個人在升遷於最高管理層之前，必須先成為一名其他同事都願意向他谘詢問題的核心人物。”
“Before turning higher education into career potential, an individual first has to be influential in a team. Before becoming top management, an individual must become someone that others seek advice from first,” said Friedman.

根據2008年“促進會”的一項針對亞裔人士在工作場所所麵臨的挑戰的研究，許多亞裔人士認為“身為顯著少數族裔的一員”是阻礙他們擔當領導角色最大的障礙。
Many Asian minorities feel that “being too identified with visible minority group” is the top barrier for them to take a leadership role, according to 2008 Catalyst study on workplace challenges facing ethnic minorities.

在該項促進會的研究中，一位加籍主專業人士說：“雖然我出生於加國，但我還是覺得因為我是一個顯著少數族裔，我必須在工作中比別人更努力 ……我認為隻有我更加努力，才能被與他人同等看待。”
“I do feel that I have to work a little extra harder, even though I was born here in Canada, just because I am a visible minority…I feel that there’s this extra effort that I just have to put in to try and be looked [at] on the same wavelength,” .a Chinese Canadian professional told the Catalyst study.

那個“更加努力”是指什麽？Friedman教授的研究發現，亞裔人士似乎在處理人事關係等方便略顯天真及方麵經驗不足，他們不知道建立人事關係網，以及與工司領導及同事層建立良好的關係會對他們成為具有影響力之人士具有極為重要的意義。
What should be that required “extra effort”? Friedman’s research found that Asians seemed political naïve, as they were unaware that building up a social network and establishing ties with executives in the workplace are critical for them to become influential.

Friedman 教授表示：“我發現中國雇員更趨向於與他們的同胞接觸交往……亞裔人士沒有意識到，他們在工作場所中必須將教育與自我推銷的努力相結合。”
“I’ve found that Chinese employees tend to hang out with people in their same race… Asians don’t realize that they have to combine education with the efforts of promoting themselves in the workplace,” said Friedman.

Friedman 教授建議亞裔人士不應該養成那種意識，以為別人都會因為他們因受過更高的教育而向自己詢問意見，從而自然獲得向心力。他們應該建立廣泛的關係，並且從其他團隊成員那裏取得信任，以及在公共場合表達自己的想法。
Asians should not develop a sense of entitlement of centrality by assuming that others will come to them for advice due to the higher education obtained, but choose to build broad relationships and earn the trust from other team members, as well as express ideas in public settings, Friedman advised.

Friedman 教授補充道：“亞裔員工應該多花時間在與人打交道，及向他們兜售自己的知識和想法。”
“Asian employees should spend more time working with people selling their ideas,” said Friedman.

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