A scalable goal-setting intervention closes both the gender and ethnic minority achievement gap

Abstract

The gender and ethnicity gap in academic achievement constitutes one of today's key social problems. The current study, therefore, assessed the effects of a brief, evidence-based online intervention aimed at enhancing goal-directed conceptualization and action among first year college students (N = 703) at a large European business school. The academic performance of these students was contrasted with that of three pre-intervention control cohorts (N = 896, 825 and 720), with particular attention paid to the role of gender and ethnicity. The intervention boosted academic achievement and increased retention rates, particularly for ethnic minority and male students (who had underperformed in previous years). The gap in performance between men and women, and for ethnic minorities versus nationals, became considerably smaller within the intervention cohort. After Year 1, the gender gap closed by 98%, and the ethnicity gap by 38% (rising to 93% after the second year). All groups in the intervention cohort performed significantly better than control cohorts, but the effect was particularly large for males and ethnic minorities. The increase in performance was largest for ethnic minority males: they earned 44% more credits, and their retention rate increased 54%. Overall, the results indicate that a comprehensive goal-setting intervention implemented early in students' academic careers can significantly and substantially reduce gender and ethnic minority inequalities in achievement.

Nudging in education

“…16 Dobronyi, Oreopoulos, and Petronijevic (2017) implemented a similar goal-setting intervention among a larger sample of nearly 1500 undergraduate Economics students in Canada and Schippers, Scheepers, and Peterson (2015) studied a similar large scale intervention in the Netherlands. Schippers et al (2015) found positive effects on grades and retention for university students, especially for male and minority students. Dobronyi et al (2017) also tested the effect of combing or replacing part of the goal-setting curriculum with a curriculum intended to promote a growth mindset and in some treatments they regularly reminded participants of their goals.…”

Retrieval Practice and Study Planning in MOOCs: Exploring Classroom-Based Self-regulated Learning Strategies at Scale

“…Study Planning The goal setting intervention by Schippers et al [18] was introduced to an entire class of students in an undergraduate business school. This intervention, which required four hours of student engagement at the beginning of their program, had a positive impact across a prolonged period of time.…”

“…Research in this area has found students who spend time thinking about, explicitly stating, and reflecting on their goals on a daily, weekly, or even yearly level show increases in both engagement and academic performance [13,18,21].…”

A Holistic Conception of Nonacademic Support: How Four Mechanisms Combine to Encourage Positive Student Outcomes in the Community College

“…A particularly promising study comes from outside of the U.S. community college setting. Schippers and colleagues (Schippers, Scheepers, & Peterson, ) found that European students who participated in an intervention designed to help them develop clear and specific goals, plans for achieving those goals, and strategies for addressing obstacles earned more credits and persisted at higher rates than nonparticipants. The impact was stronger for minority and male students.…”