Chinese Americans make up 1.2% of the US population and are economically diverse. Traditional Chinese Medicine is commonly used by first generation immigrants. Most Chinese Americans can trace their roots to China or Taiwan. They began immigrating in the 1800s and faced much discrimination, though their population has continued to grow. Family, education, and respect for elders remain highly important cultural values for many Chinese Americans today.

1. Cultural Competence with Chinese
Americans
ALICIA DONO

2. Statistics
 Chinese Americans make up 1.2% of the total US population,
and they are the largest Asian ethnic group, comprising almost
25% of all Asian Americans.
 The Chinese American population is very economically
diverse. While their median income is higher than the national
median income, there are slightly more Chinese Americans in
poverty than the national average.
 Traditional Chinese Medicine is the most common form of
healthcare among first generation immigrants. TCM is mainly
guided by a holistic concept of health that emphasizes
achieving balance and harmony throughout bodily systems.

3. History of Chinese Americans
 The majority of Chinese Americans are from one of two
nations: either from the mainland of China or Taiwan.
 Chinese people have been immigrating to the United
States since the late 1800s. There has since been an
increase in immigration. According the U.S. Census, 70%
of Chinese Americans are foreign born.

4. Immigrating to the United States
 The first Asian immigrant group to enter the US was the Chinese in the
1840s. Mostly single men, these sojourners were looking for their
“mountain of gold” in order to make good money, buy a business or land,
and return to China as prosperous successes. This was their dream. Their
reality in California in the 1800s and 1900s was hostile confrontation,
exclusions, and even fatalities because of riots against them. In 1882,
legislation was passes (the Chinese Exclusion law) that halted immigration
and exacerbated the already discriminatory practice of not allowing
Chinese immigrants to become citizens. Although in 19434 the Exclusion
Act was finally repealed, much pressure, such as being driven out of their
work and communities, was put upon the Chinese laborers to return to
China. Some succumbed, but despite the racist and discriminatory
practices against them because they worked for wages lower than their
Euro-American counterparts, many remained in the US and formed
Chinatown communities.

5. Chinese Americans Religious Culture
 All kinds of religions are practiced in the Chinese American
Community today. There are Christians as well as Buddhists,
Daoists, and Confucianist. Chinese churches and temples are
found wherever there are Chinese Americans.
 Generally speaking, Chinese are pragmatic in their approach to
life and religion. They are somewhat superstitious: they
believe in the doctrines of fengsui, which are intended to help
in the organization of a home, and they do not want to do
anything they personally think is likely to offend the gods or
the ways of nature. Toward this end, they choose what they
want to worship and they worship them through certain objects
or locations in nature.

6. Chinese-American Family Culture
 Today, most middle-class Chinese Americans place the
highest priority on raising and maintaining the family:
providing for the immediate members of the family,
acquiring an adequate and secure home for the family, and
investing comparatively greater amounts of time and
annual income in their children’s education. Even in
poorer families, which have neither financial security nor
decent housing, keeping the family intact and close and
doing all they can to support their children are also
priorities.

7. Chinese-American
Youth and Elderly Culture
 Youth Children learn that high achievement, hard work
and responsibility bring honor to the family name.
During adolescence, stress arises out of the conflict of
living up to family expectations while adapting to
Western cultural values at school.
 Elderly Respect for the wisdom and contributions of
the elderly are an essential part of Chinese culture. The
elderly usually remain at home where they are taken
care of by the family.

8. Barriers to learning faced by
Chinese American students
Research has helped us realize that mature, able, bright, and caring Asian students require almost three
and a half years to feel at home in American and participate fully in the academic life. Students must first
resolve the following educational barriers to increasingly participate in class on a par with American
students.
1. The amount of time needed to assimilate a classroom question and formulate a verbal response.
2. The complexity of language comprehension problems.
3. The fear of ridicule of the limited language skills.
4. The sense of isolation.
5. The difficulty in preparing written assignments.
6. The inadequacy of conventional approaches to problem-solving.
7. The problems experienced with a teacher’s classroom presentation.

9. Classroom-based support mechanisms
Although research has described pain and difficulty as they confronted the barriers to
learning, they also expressed joy and happiness as they began to move toward fuller
participation in their classes. Classroom support involves the kind of support the
individual instructor may provide.
1. Instructor presentation. Teachers talk too fast for Asian students. Teachers must speak
standard English with a slow delivery pace.
2. Classroom teaching aids. Provide student with classroom notes.
3. Concept review.
4. Special assistance on research papers.
5. Glossary of terms used.
6. Frequent formative and summative assessments. They easily prepare for them, studying
hard, covering the material, and learning it well.

10. Resources for Chinese Americans
 http://parentseyes.arizona.edu/promise/
 Educational Website about Chinese Heritage
 Chinatown:
http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/history/ind
ex.html
 Chinese American Citizen Alliance:
http://www.cacanational.org/
 Chinese Historical Center: http://www.chsa.org/
 Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco
 http://www.c-c-c.org/

11. Resources
 http://ssrdqst.rfmh.org/cecc/index.php?q=node/24
 Chinese-American Outreach Guide: Caring Connections
 http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Bu-Dr/Chinese-
Americans.html
 http://www.learn-accounting-visually.com/barriers.html
 Culturally Competent Practice: A Framework for
Understanding (Chapter 12)