The influence of ethnic identification on adolescent achievement motivation

Research on ethnic and racial minority groups has increased in recent years as diverse populations have entered the United States. However, most of the research regarding educational and psychological constructs has been confined to a few minority populations. In particular, Arab Americans have been under represented in this research. The purpose of this study was to extend the current research on adolescents from diverse and under represented minority groups. Recognizing that a lifetime pattern of success or failure is set during adolescence, and that goals related to achievement are multidimensional, the present study focused on investigating the interactions between ethnic identification, attributional style, and self-esteem with regard to adolescent academic motivation and achievement.;Results of the current study regarding achievement motivation and academic achievement implied that within and among ethnic groups, differences exist in the criteria individuals use to evaluate their achievement. In addition, students who reported a strong ethnic identity were more motivated toward achieving academically than their peers. Ethnicity was also found to have a significant effect on school motivation with Arab and African American students having higher mastery, performance, general, and social, motivation goals than European American students. Results also indicate that ethnic minority students are more motivated to achieve academically when they are in school and have higher self-concept than European American students. An inverse relationship between academic achievement, self-concept and school motivation was found among the ethnic minority students, suggesting that some criteria other than academic grades are used for self-evaluation. Gender differences in motivation and achievement were also found.;The use of self-protective attributions for success and failure was also explored. Results revealed that, Arab American students employ more externalizing attributions and devalue the importance of a negative situation more frequently than their African American or European American peers. Both Arab American and African American adolescents endorsed the belief that prejudice plays an important role in negative outcomes. Future research should increase our understanding of cultural and ethnic estimates of achievement and how the use of externalizing attributes and belief in prejudice effects academic performance and psychological interventions.