Blooming Where They're Planted: Closing Cognitive Achievement Gaps with Non-Cognitive Skills

For the last several decades, education reform has focused on closing achievement gaps between affluent, white students and their less privileged peers. One promising area for addressing achievement gaps is through promoting students’ non-cognitive skills (e.g., self-discipline, persistence). In the area of non-cognitive skills, two interventions – growth mindset and stereotype threat – have been identified as promising strategies for increasing students’ academic achievement and closing achievement gaps. This dissertation explores the use of growth mindset and stereotype threat strategies in the classroom, as a form of academic intervention. Paper 1 examines the extant evidence for growth mindset and stereotype threat interventions. Paper 1 used a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and analyze 24 randomized controlled trials that tested growth mindset and stereotype threat interventions with middle and high school students over the course of one school year. Results from meta-analysis indicated small, positive effects for each intervention on students’ GPAs. Findings highlight the influence of variation among studies and the need for additional research that more formally evaluates differences in study characteristics and the impact of study characteristics on intervention effects. Paper 2 explored middle school students’ perceptions of teacher behaviors related to growth mindset and stereotype threat theories. Paper 2 used qualitative analysis of data from 9 focus groups with 44 middle school students in 3 rural, low income middle schools. Emergent themes included participants’ beliefs that all students are smart, that some teachers feel that certain students are smarter than others, and that students feel smartest when their teachers provide instrumental support and show emotional care. Findings highlight the capacity for middle school students to observe concepts like ability, identity and stereotypes in their teachers’ behavior and the resulting impact on their motivation and beliefs about the nature of intelligence. Paper 3 explored teacher strategies to implement growth mindset and stereotype threat theories in the classroom. Paper 3 used qualitative analysis of classroom observations and individual interviews with 9 middle school teachers in a rural, low income school. Findings include a theme related to teachers’ support of students’ productive struggle, in part by allowing students to resubmit assignments and retake assessments. Findings also indicate the potential for unintended consequences of implementing growth mindset and stereotype threat theories, as teachers reported that “retakes” also had the potential to demotivate students.Doctor of Philosoph

The unique and interactive effects of parent and school bonds on adolescent delinquency

Parent and school bonds are protective against delinquency. This study used longitudinal data and multilevel Poisson regression models (MLM) to examine unique and interactive associations of parent and school bonds on youth delinquency in a sample of rural adolescents (n = 945; 84% White). We investigated whether youth sex or transitioning to a new middle school moderated the linkages between parent and school bonds and later delinquency. Results indicated reduced delinquency was associated with positive parent and school relationships. Parent and school bonds interacted such that linkages between parent bonding and youth delinquency were stronger when youth also had high school bonding – suggesting an additive effect. However, interactive effects were only found when youth remained in the same school and became nonsignificant if they transitioned to a new school. Findings support prior evidence that parent and school bonds – and their interaction – play a unique role in reducing delinquency