Teaching for Greater Inclusion: Searching for Talent as a Potentially Harmful Teaching Practice

Past research has found that women held stronger beliefs in scientific success due to effort, whereas men believed in success based upon ability. While this does not seem problematic, because females have been more likely to attribute their successes to effort, this may have compromised their perceived intellectual ability in the eyes of ability-referenced academics and peers. Females, in traditionally male subjects, with their sense of ability, academic confidence and self-efficacy compromised, may feel compelled to leave engineering. While this basis for departure may be a common phenomenon amongst engineering majors, many studies have measured the effects of effort and ability on self-efficacy. However, what is not understood are the effects of these variables on test-anxiety by gender. Data from approximately 700 university engineering students across four universities indicated that belief in ability lowered females´ self-efficacy, producing greater test-anxiety and potentially lowering GPA. Conversely, beliefs in effort raised self-efficacy, lowered test-anxiety and may result in higher GPA. Therefore, faculty might adjust their teaching practices to reinforce effort as the cause for success in engineering courses