“Becoming Somebody”: Central American Immigrants in U.S. Inner‐City Schools

Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the United States. Although research on the educational functioning of Hispanics has gained increasing attention in the last decades, some areas of the Hispanic experience are virtually unknown. This study explores the motivational dynamics of a group of recent arrivals from Central America. The specific issues facing this population are framed in the context of a psychosocial model for understanding minority status and educational functioning in plural society.