How Do Perceived Instructors’ Mindset Beliefs Influence STEM Students’ Belonging Uncertainty and Dropout Intentions?

Abstract

Abstract: We examined how undergraduate STEM students’ ( N = 389) perceptions of their instructors’ beliefs that intelligence is malleable ( growth mindsets) or unchangeable ( fixed mindsets) influence their uncertainty about belonging and, in turn, their dropout intentions. Taking an intersectional research perspective, we focused on students’ gender and immigrant background to better understand the distinct and combined impact of these social categories on students’ academic experiences. Our results show that male students who perceived their instructors to hold more fixed mindsets reported fewer dropout intentions. In contrast, female students’ dropout intentions were unaffected by their perceived instructors’ mindset beliefs. Belonging uncertainty predicted students’ dropout intentions regardless of their gender and immigrant background, but did not serve as a mediator in the relationship between perceived instructors’ mindset beliefs and dropout intentions. Overall, our findings suggest the predominance of students’ gender in the examined context rather than definitive evidence of intersectional effects with their immigrant background.