The role of STEM professors’ mindset beliefs on students’ anticipated psychological experiences and course interest.

Abstract

Two decades of research consistently demonstrates that students’ beliefs about the malleability of intelligence (also known as “mindsets”) influence their motivation and academic outcomes. The current work provides a novel extension to this literature by examining how STEM professors’ mindset beliefs can influence students’—and particularly female students’— anticipated psychological experiences and interest in those professors’ courses. In 3 experiments, college students evaluated STEM courses taught by professors who espoused either fixed or growth mindset beliefs. Students’ anticipated psychological experiences (i.e., fair treatment concerns, sense of belonging, evaluation concerns), anticipated course performance, and ultimately, course interest were assessed. Results revealed that, regardless of gender, students anticipated more negative psychological experiences, lower performance, and lower course interest when courses were taught by STEM professors who endorsed more fixed (vs. growth) mindset beliefs. However, consistent with an identity threat framework, the effects of STEM professors’ mindset beliefs (in all studies and across all outcomes) were much larger among female students. Results suggest that professors’ perceived mindset beliefs may deter students from taking the STEM courses students need in order to major in STEM.

The Changing Landscape of Doctoral Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: PhD Students, Faculty Advisors, and Preferences for Varied Career Options

“…A recent study shows the power of the perceived beliefs of STEM faculty members ( LaCosse et al, 2020 ). The researchers had students evaluate STEM courses that were taught by professors who, via random assignment, either expressed fixed or growth mindset beliefs about intelligence.…”

Beyond students: how teacher psychology shapes educational inequality

“…In a recent experiment, when a teacher expressed a colorblind (versus multicultural) ideology in class, students of color perceived that the teacher was more racially biased and performed worse on a quiz at the end of the class, whereas White students were not affected [39]. Additionally, although teachers' expression of fixed or non-universal ability beliefs may harm all students [92], members of marginalized social groups may be disproportionately affected due to prevalent negative stereotypes about their ability [28,32,93,94]. For example, a recent series of studies found that the negative effects of a teacher expressing non-universal ability beliefs on students' anticipated performance, belonging, and interest in a class were 36-64% larger among women than men [94].…”

“…Additionally, although teachers' expression of fixed or non-universal ability beliefs may harm all students [92], members of marginalized social groups may be disproportionately affected due to prevalent negative stereotypes about their ability [28,32,93,94]. For example, a recent series of studies found that the negative effects of a teacher expressing non-universal ability beliefs on students' anticipated performance, belonging, and interest in a class were 36-64% larger among women than men [94].…”

Early and Dynamic Socio-Academic Variables Related to Dropout Intention: A Predictive Model Made During Pandemic

“…It has been observed that high levels in the sense of belonging in university students contributes to increasing their levels of participation, being able to seek help in the face of difficulties, feeling less alone, anxious or depressed, increasing the use of self-regulation strategies and raises levels of academic self-confidence and motivation [64,66,77]. In addition, various investigations have observed that the sense of belonging turns out to be a direct predictor of study engagement, dropout, and permanence in studies [40,41,45,65,66,73,[77][78][79][80].…”