This paper discusses the issue of academic underachievement among ethnic minority students at secondary
level in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam through an examination of the factors relating to low educational
motivation and its consequences for academic performance. The findings revealed that ethnic minority
students faced numerous challenges in gaining and/or maintaining adequate motivation for education. They
did not enjoy sufficient conducive conditions for formal schooling, and their living environment was not
appropriate for good educational performance. Other factors included limited parental engagement, low
level of peer support, and above all low occupational outcomes that reduced the motivation to view
education as a social ladder. As a result, they undervalued education, hardly accepting that education could
result in positive outcomes in their life, and therefore they lacked motivational attitudes and aspirations for
high educational performance.