Academic success of minority children is a hot issue of many modern societies. Minority status (accompanied by discrimination, segregation, perceived threat, and often language situation at home) and low professional status of their parents seem to be among the factors contributing to the risk of failure at school. We are interested in what contributes to academic resilience of minority students. Resilience is defined as “the heightened likelihood of success in school and other life accomplishments despite environmental adversities brought about by early traits, conditions, and experiences” (Wang, Haertel, & Walberg, 1994, p.46), and has been in the focus of educational policy-makers for decades. In this tradition it is common to identify risk factors and protective factors counterbalancing the former.

The main risks recognized are low socio-economic status, disenfranchised backgrounds, geographic relocation, social isolation, negative peer influence, social or cultural discrimination. Protective factors reduce the impact of negative events, help individuals avoid or resist problematic pathways, and promote positive and successful pathways (Martin, 2002). One can identify two main types of such factors: personal (e.g., social competences and skills, high expectations, high self-concept) and environmental (e.g., parental support, adult mentoring, or community organizations that promote positive youth development). Minority status is usually perceived as a risk factor on both levels. Our study aims to identify the factors, both personal and environmental, reducing the negative effect of minority status, in particular, we test how motivation can protect minority students from adversities of their status.

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