Mott-Smith, "The Theory of

This paper reports on a continuing study of Australian Aboriginal and Navajo Indian children. The study investigates the relevance and applicability of goLil theory to explaining indigenous minority motivation in school settings. Task, ego cocial solidarity, and extrinsic goal structures were examined as a means of explaining and predicting minority motivation in school settings. Data on how these groups conceptualize education were obtained through interviews and a questionnaire completed by more 'than 100 Aboriginal parents and interviews with members of the Navajo community and educators. Aboriginal students (n=496) in grades 7 through 12 in high schools in New South Wales and Navajo students (n=529) in grades 9 through 12 at Window Rock High School on the Navajo Reservation were surveyed with an instrument developed for the study, the Inventory of School Motivation (ISM). Explanatory factor analyses of the ISM offered considerable support to the Persona