Effects of a Growth Mindset Intervention on Ninth Grade Students’ Self-Perception of AP Enrollment Likelihood
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v11i4.3147Keywords:
growth mindset, AP enrollment, historically-underrepresented students, students-of-color, barriersAbstract
Students of color and low-income students face external barriers that prevent them from reaching equal representation in Advanced Placement (AP) classes in the United States. Internal barriers, like self-doubt, however, may be just as effective at decreasing enrollment likelihood for these populations. This trend has been noticed even in regions of the U.S. that have very diverse high school populations. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects that a growth mindset can have on historically-underrepresented students’ self-perceived AP enrollment likelihood. A growth mindset intervention was administered to five standard level freshman English classes via PowerPoint presentation. These classes were chosen based on a calculated diversity score to examine historically-underrepresented populations. Two surveys were completed by students before and after the intervention. The surveys collected information on students’ self-perception of their likelihood of enrolling in an AP class in their future high school years. The analysis revealed that students who struggled to use a growth mindset had a significant increase in self-perceived AP enrollment likelihood. Based on the gap in research regarding growth mindset and AP enrollment, these analyses provide evidence that growth mindset interventions could potentially help more students overcome their internal barriers and have the confidence to enroll in AP classes.
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