Critiquing Empire Through Desirability: A Review of 40 Years of Filipinx Americans in Education Research, 1980 to 2020

Abstract

There is a paucity of research on the educational experiences of Filipinx Americans, the second-largest Asian American group in the United States. Studies that do exist often lump Filipinxs with other Asian Americans or present them devoid of critical contexts that shape their experience, namely, colonialism and racialization. Using a desire-based framework and empire as an analytic, we conducted a semi-systematic review of 74 journal articles to better understand how Filipinx Americans are presented in the research. Our analysis suggests that researchers often position Filipinx Americans relative to whiteness or utilize critical educational framings to interrogate the complex ways they are racialized. We offer implications for research focused on Filipinx Americans and minoritized groups. We conclude by discussing the utility of interdisciplinary research as well as the necessity for desirability and empire as a lens for future education research.