Self and Professors’ Incremental Beliefs as Predictors of STEM Engagement Among Undergraduate Students

Ashley Lytle, Jiyun Elizabeth L. Shin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Engaging and retaining undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields is essential for the future workforce in the USA. Building off a growing body of research which explores how intelligence beliefs impact psychosocial variables of STEM engagement (e.g. STEM self-efficacy, sense of belonging), the current research included 523 undergraduate STEM majors. Participants answered a series of questions about their self-intelligence beliefs and perceived intelligence beliefs of their professors. Findings from a series of mediation analyses showed that participants’ perception of their professors’ incremental beliefs predicted variables associated with STEM engagement and retention (STEM interest, STEM self-efficacy, sense of belonging in STEM, and grit) through participants’ self-incremental beliefs. These findings highlight the important roles that academic environments (e.g. perceived intelligence beliefs of one’s professors) and one’s intelligence beliefs play in STEM engagement. Future directions and implications are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1013-1029
Number of pages17
JournalInternational Journal of Science and Mathematics Education
Volume21
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2023

Keywords

  • Grit
  • Higher education
  • Intelligence beliefs
  • STEM engagement
  • STEM self-efficacy

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