Changing mindsets: Reducing stereotype threat as a barrier to student success

'Reducing stereotype threat as a barrier to student success' was run from the University of Brighton as a strand of the 'Changing mindsets' project led by the University of Portsmouth.

HEFCE research has exposed gaps in the higher education outcomes between different student groups. These gaps in attainment and progression to further study and employment persist even when background characteristics and prior attainment are taken into account. HEFCE has announced the launch of the national Catalyst funded project – the Addressing barriers to student success programme – to tackle the causes of these disparities. Professor Gina Wisker, Jennie Jones, Catherine McConnell and Jenny Terry led on the University of Brighton's contribution to this endeavour.

The projects particularly benefited those student groups affected by differential outcomes highlighted in previous HEFCE research, including minority ethnic students, students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, disabled students (including those presenting with mental health issues and specific learning difficulties), mature students and part-time students.

The programme focused on scaling up activities already proven to be successful in individual higher education providers, and identified how good practice and interventions can be validated, replicated, transmitted and embedded across a wider range of providers. Projects will generate evidence across inclusive teaching and learning practices, employability, learning analytics, and wellbeing.

Changing mindsets is an innovative intervention initially developed for schools and Further Education colleges. It is a student and staff workshop approach, avoiding a student deficit model, that builds a growth mindset: the belief that ability develops through effort and by embracing challenge. Developing a growth mindset has been shown to have profound motivational impacts on learners and on staff expectations of learners that have effects on attainment gaps.

At the University of Brighton, the intervention was embedded into the existing PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions) training for students, which engaged over 100 student mentors every year with over a 1000 first-year students across the university. The Centre for Learning and Teaching (CLT) delivered the staff-facing workshops through existing staff development events and courses. Their target cohort was to engage approximately 625 students and 100 academic staff in years 2017/18 and again in 2018/19 and evaluate their experiences of being involved.

HEFCE awarded £500k to five project partners, including the University of Portsmouth, Canterbury Christchurch, University of the Arts London, and the University of Winchester. The University of Brighton received approximately £64k to fund the coordination, delivery and evaluation of the project, with at least £15k of this sum to go directly to students as incentives for taking part. The matched funding that Brighton pledged to the project included significant contributions of leadership, research expertise and development from the CLT staff involved.

The project aimed to take staff and students through a process in which they explore their own beliefs around the nature of ability and intelligence. This was conceptualised within the context of mindset research, and led them to explore their own mindset, and the impact of this on their expectations for self and others, on their behaviour and decision making, and on their language and feedback (internal and to others). From here, they explored strategies to develop a 'growth mindset', inclusive behaviours, high expectations and enabling language for all learners.

University’s £500,000 to break down barriers
Item published in The Argus, Brighton and Hove, 14/3/17:


The University of Brighton is sharing in £500,000 funding aimed at breaking down barriers to help students achieve greater success.

Research by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has exposed gaps in the higher education results between different student groups.

The project, Changing Mindsets: Reducing stereotype threat as a barrier to student success, funded from HEFCE’s Catalyst Fund, will benefit students likely to drop out or perform less well.

The university is one of five institutions involved in the project which is being led by the University of Portsmouth.

Brighton’s share of £64,000 will be used to co-ordinate, deliver and evaluate the project with at least £15,000 going to students as incentives to take part.

Brighton is matching the funding with leadership, research expertise and development from staff involved.

The thinking behind the project is based on the belief that ability develops through effort and embracing challenge.

Developing this “growth mindset” has been shown to have profound motivational effects on learners.

The project, to run to 2019, will see the University of Brighton’s Centre for Learning and Teaching (CLT) giving staff-facing workshops through existing staff development events and courses.

The aim is to engage about 600 students and 100 academic staff in years 2017/18 and again in 2018/19 and evaluate their experiences of being involved.

The project is being run by Professor Gina Wisker, CLT head and professor of contemporary literature and Higher Education; Catherine McConnell, senior lecturer; and Dr Rachel Masika, senior research fellow.

In a joint statement, they said: “We are delighted to have been awarded Catalyst funds to be able to trial this activity which focuses on developing students’ potential.

“This offers us an exciting opportunity to help students develop an awareness of, and language for learning, and to find out if this approach can address some of the inequalities in higher education attainment.”

"We are delighted to have been awarded Catalyst funds to be able to trial this activity focusing on developing students' potential. This offers us an exciting opportunity to help students develop an awareness of, and language for learning, and to find out if this approach can address some of the inequalities in higher education attainment."

Professor Gina Wisker, CLT head and Professor of Contemporary Literature and Higher Education

"Funding this programme will support real progress towards closing the unacceptable differences in outcomes between groups of students. We look forward to working with providers to make sure this targeted, evidence-led investment maximises outcomes for students – contributing to improved productivity and social mobility and, of course, individual opportunities."

Madeleine Atkins, Chief Executive, HEFCE

From Changing Mindsets: Evaluation Report and Executive Summary
Rienzo, Cinzia; Rolfe, Heather; Wilkinson, David, 2015

The Changing Mindsets project sought to improve academic attainment by supporting pupils to develop a growth mindset: the belief that intelligence is not a fixed characteristic and can be increased through effort. Previous research (Good et al., 2003; Blackwell et al., 2007) has suggested that holding this belief enables pupils to work harder and achieve better results. The project consisted of two separate interventions: (1) an intervention that taught pupils directly about the malleability of intelligence through six workshops, which were delivered by undergraduates from the University of Portsmouth, and four further sessions delivered by two local organisations: the Education Business Partnership, and Pompey Study Centre (now called Portsmouth in the Community); and (2) a professional development course that trained teachers on approaches to developing and reinforcing growth mindsets through their teaching. This course consisted of two half days of instruction. The project targeted Year 5 pupils in Portsmouth, Southampton and Hampshire. The delivery of the interventions was led by the University of Portsmouth and took place between January and May 2013. Key conclusions included: (1) Pupils who received the growth mindset workshops made an average of two additional months' progress in English and maths. These findings were not statistically significant, which means that we cannot be confident that they did not occur by chance. However, the finding for English was close to statistical significance, and this suggests evidence of promise; (2) Pupils whose teachers received the professional development intervention made no additional progress in maths compared to pupils in the control group. These pupils made less progress in English than the control group, but this finding is not statistically significant and we cannot be sure that it did not occur by chance; (3) Free School Meal (FSM)-eligible pupils who were involved in the professional development intervention gained a better understanding of the malleability of intelligence; (4) Intervention and control schools were already using some aspects of the growth mindsets approach. This may have weakened any impact of the interventions; and (5) Future trials could examine the impact of a programme that combines the two interventions and runs for a longer period of time. Findings from the process evaluation highlight some key issues relevant to future use of Mindsets in UK schools, including EEF target schools and pupils. These concern: (1) the appeal of mindset approaches to teachers; (2) the 'fit' of mindset with schools' ethos; (3) its relative simplicity and ease of use; and (4) understanding of the approach by pupils and, potentially, parents.