The individual characteristics, ethnic identity, and cultural orientation of successful secondary school students of Turkish and Moroccan background in the Netherlands

The present study focuses on the individual characteristics, cultural orien tation, and ethnic identity of academically successful 17-year-old adolesce nts of Turkish and Moroccan background in the Netherlands. One hundred and six successful and less successful adolescents of Turkish, Moroccan, and Du tch background participated in the study. The successful ethnic minority st udents were expected to be highly motivated and determined to succeed. They were thought to have more problems with their ethnic identity as well. It was concluded that success might be explanable in terms of a more positive attitude toward the Dutch society. The successful students did not need to be highly motivated to be academically successful. Although the successful Turkish and Moroccan background students had somewhat more doubts and more negative feelings about belonging to their ethnic group, this does not seem to lead to identity problems.