Elementary School Teachers' Theories of Intelligence Predict Their Differential Treatment of Low- and High-Ability Students

• In Event: 16.061 - Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: 16.061-5 - Extending Mindset Research: Implicit Beliefs of Teachers and Students in Diverse Contexts

Abstract

Elementary school teachers (N=247) were asked to think about a student they knew who was low in math or verbal ability, as well as a student who was high in this ability. For each student, they had to imagine that the student was struggling with a math/verbal task and then rate how likely they would be to engage in five autonomy-supportive and five controlling teaching behaviors. The results showed that the more participants endorsed an incremental theory of intelligence, the more likely they were to engage in autonomy-supportive teaching practices and less likely to engage in controlling teaching practices, and this was particularly true when it came to helping students who they perceived as being low in math/verbal ability.

Authors

• David B. Miele, Boston College

• Shenira A. Perez, Boston College

• Ruth Butler, Hebrew University of Jerusalem