“A House for My Mother”: Motivating Hispanic High School Students

The literature about minority education typically focuses on failure and deficits. Scant attention is paid to why some students succeed and how others can be motivated to do so. This study discovered specific teacher strategies in a college prep program for Hispanic students that effectively addressed psychosocial conditions which predict minority student failure, and motivated the students to (1) create a vision of the future, (2) redefine their image of self, and (3) build a supportive community.