Fixed and growth mindsets in physics graduate admissions
Fixed and growth mindsets in physics graduate admissions
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DOI：
10.1103/physrevphyseducres.13.020133
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发表时间：
2017-11-29
影响因子：
3.1
通讯作者：
Hodapp, Theodore
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Scherr, Rachel E.;Plisch, Monica;Hodapp, Theodore
考虑到标准的物理学研究生招生实践倾向于将女性和传统上被边缘化的种族和民族群体排除在学科之外的证据，我们调查了(a)物理学研究生招生委员会成员试图录取的学生的特征以及(b)与这些招生目标相关的实践。这项调查的数据是对18名研究生招生委员会主席的采访，这些委员会在研究生招生实践中优先考虑多样性。我们发现，一些人表达了一种被称为“固定心态”的内隐智力理论的元素，在这种理论中，智力被理解为一种内在的能力或能力，主要通过标准化考试分数和成绩来衡量。一些人还表达了“成长心态”的元素，在这种心态中，智力被理解为获得的知识和努力。总的来说，大多数接受采访的教师都表达了这两种心态的元素。物理学研究生招生中的固定心态与将物理学视为“需要才华”领域的研究是一致的，该领域的成员倾向于认为，天生的天赋是在该学科取得成功的首要条件。这种心态直接影响到妇女和一些种族或民族的参与，他们被定型为缺乏这种高水平的智力能力。
Considering the evidence that standard physics graduate admissions practices tend to exclude women and traditionally marginalized racial and ethnic groups from the discipline, we investigate (a) the characteristics of students that physics graduate admissions committee members seek to admit to their programs and (b) the practices associated with these admissions goals. The data for this investigation are interviews with 18 faculty who chair graduate admissions committees in programs that prioritize diversity in their graduate admissions practices. We find that some express elements of an implicit theory of intelligence known as a "fixed mindset," in which intelligence is understood as an inherent capacity or ability primarily measured by standardized test scores and grades. Some also express elements of a "growth mindset," in which intelligence is understood in terms of acquired knowledge and effort. Overall, most faculty interviewed expressed elements of both mindsets. A fixed mindset in physics graduate admissions is consistent with research identifying physics as a "brilliance-required" field, whose members tend to believe that raw, innate talent is a primary requirement for success in the discipline. Such a mindset directly affects the participation of women and some racial or ethnic groups, who are stereotyped as lacking such high-level intellectual ability.