Feeling Like an Imposter: Competition and the Classroom Experiences and Performance of First-Generation College Students

• In Event: 61.054 - Challenges and Opportunities: Exploring First-Generation College Students' Lived Experiences and Interventions to Support Their Success

Abstract

Objectives
In this study, we explore how competitive STEM courses influence the imposter syndrome experienced by first-generation (FG) college students (those who are the first in their families to attend college), and their underperformance and decreased engagement, compared to continuing-generation (CG) college students.

Theoretical Framework
In classroom contexts, competition has been shown to be ineffective for student learning (Johnson, Maruyama, Johnson, Nelson, & Skon, 1981), yet common pedagogies in college still emphasize individualistic goals that promote competition among students (Stephens, Fryberg, Markus, Johnson, & Covarrubias, 2012). This emphasis on competition could have detrimental consequences for FG students due to a cultural mismatch between the interdependent or communal values of FG students (Stephens et al., 2012) and the individualist or zero-sum emphasis of a competitive classroom. Classroom competition breeds anxiety, particularly among FG students (Posselt & Lipson, 2016), and may contribute to feeling like an “imposter” or “fraud” (Leary, Patton, Orlando, & Wagoner Funk, 2000). In this study, we examine how competitive STEM courses undermine the motivation and performance of FG students via daily in-class experiences of imposter syndrome.
Methods
713 undergraduate students at a large, Midwestern university (11.9% first-generation; 69.1% female; 69.7% white) completed a survey at the beginning of the semester assessing their perceptions of how competitive their STEM course was (2 items; α = .76). Then, immediately following every class period for two weeks, we used experience sampling methodology (ESM) to measure students’ in-the-moment feelings of imposter syndrome (e.g. “In class, I felt like an imposter”; 4 items; α = .92). ESM is different from traditional survey research in that it allows researchers to measure students’ experiences in “real time” and to avoid retrospective biases. At the end of the semester, students reported their class attendance (1 item), interest in the course (2 items; α = .94), and dropout intentions (1 item). Course grades were obtained from institutional records. Analyses using HLM (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002) controlled for students’ prior achievement.

Results
In competitive STEM courses, FG students reported more in-the-moment feelings of imposter syndrome, compared to CG students (see Fig. 1). In less competitive STEM courses, feelings of imposter syndrome did not differ between FG and CG students. We found significant indirect effects of classroom competition on end-of-semester attendance, interest, dropout intentions, and course grades for FG students. In other words, competitive STEM courses predicted greater feelings of imposter syndrome among FG students, which in turn, predicted lower grades, attendance, and interest, and more dropout intentions (see Table 1).

Significance
This study suggests that competitive classroom environments may be one overlooked barrier for FG students. We found that competition relates to the imposter syndrome experienced by FG students, and indirectly predicts the grades that FG students receive in those courses, how often they attend class, their engagement and interest in the course, and whether or not they think about dropping out of the course altogether. Future research should explore specific practices, policies, and behaviors that contribute to competitive classroom environments.

Authors

• Elizabeth Ann Canning, Indiana University - Bloomington

• Mary C. Murphy, Indiana University