Hernandez Ivan A, Smith Jessi L, Villodas Miguel T, Sohl Christal D, Thoman Dustin B
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo, CA, USA.
University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, USA.
Commun Psychol. 2025 Mar 20;3(1):45. doi: 10.1038/s44271-025-00223-8.
Students who are the first in their family to go to college represent an essential pool of STEM talent, yet they are often underrepresented in STEM fields. In this study, we examined how faculty research mentors' beliefs about whether brilliance is required for success (brilliance beliefs) shape students' beliefs about who is allowed to be successful in STEM and, in turn, the extent to which they see science as an important part of who they are. Data from 3 universities involving 117 faculty mentors and 670 student researchers demonstrated that first-generation college students working with faculty mentors who held lesser brilliance beliefs expressed broader views about who can be successful in STEM and subsequently identified more as scientists three months later. Further, the more students identified as scientists the more they reported commitment to pursuing STEM careers. There were not statistically significant relationships between faculty brilliance beliefs and continuing-generation students' beliefs about who can be successful in STEM nor their science identity. These findings indicate that within faculty-led research labs - where participation is essential for STEM career advancement - faculty beliefs about who can participate and be successful in STEM can either undermine or promote equitable opportunities for first-generation college students to develop an identity in science that would motivate long-term STEM persistence.
家中第一代上大学的学生是STEM人才的重要来源，但他们在STEM领域的代表性往往不足。在本研究中，我们考察了教师研究导师关于成功是否需要天赋（天赋信念）的看法如何塑造学生对于在STEM领域谁能够成功的信念，进而影响他们将科学视为自身重要组成部分的程度。来自3所大学、涉及117名教师导师和670名学生研究者的数据表明，与持有较弱天赋信念的教师导师合作的第一代大学生，对在STEM领域谁能成功表达了更广泛的看法，并且在三个月后更多地将自己视为科学家。此外，学生越将自己视为科学家，就越表示致力于从事STEM职业。教师的天赋信念与非第一代大学生对于在STEM领域谁能成功的信念及其科学身份之间不存在统计学上的显著关系。这些发现表明，在由教师主导的研究实验室中——参与其中对于STEM职业发展至关重要——教师对于谁能够参与并在STEM领域取得成功的看法，可能会削弱或促进第一代大学生获得科学身份的公平机会，而这种身份会激励他们长期投身STEM领域。
