Students hold self-beliefs about the malleability or stability of their abilities. Recent work has shown how self-beliefs about intelligence (i.e., whether they believe intelligence is fixed or malleable) support students' development and academic outcomes (Bostwick et al., 2019, Costa & Faria, 2022). Furthermore, intervention studies can shift students' mindsets from a more fixed to a growth mindset (e.g. Yeager et al., 2019). Most studies have focused on domain-general mindsets, such as intelligence. However, it is crucial to examine domain-specific mindsets to understand students' domain-specific development better. Students' science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) mindsets have not yet been the subject of much research.
In the present study, we investigate students' STEM mindsets and the effectiveness of a digital mindset intervention (three 45-minute digital modules). We expect the intervention to support (female) students' positive STEM mindsets and significantly change career prospects towards greater openness toward STEM careers.
The study follows a class-based randomised control group design. N = 866 students from 51 classes (8th grade; n = 29 intervention group classes; n = 22 control group classes) in a Western country participated in the study. The control group received similarly designed but content-neutral digital modules. Data collection occurred immediately before and after the intervention (t1, t5) and during the intervention (t2-t4). Data collection is ongoing at the time of submission (t5).
Data from the first time point can be presented as part of this abstract. Male students rated STEM skills as significantly more helpful for their future careers and enjoyed math and computing significantly more than female students. Finally, they showed a stronger tendency to stereotype STEM fields than female students. However, no significant differences were found between male and female students regarding growth mindset in STEM. The results of the intervention will be presented at the conference